Fractured Fates
by DarkX the Dragon Knight
Summary: Hana Amari, the Ultimate Surfer, has recently been accepted into the famed Hope's Peak Academy. However, her first day takes a turn for the strange when she and her classmates become trapped within the walls of a castle. Forced into a twisted game of kill or be killed, Hana and her friends must uncover the mysteries lurking within their gilded prison...or face the dread of despair.
1. Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 1)

**A/N: Greetings people of Fanfiction! If you're reading this, that means you were able to overcome the admittedly generic summary (not entirely my fault, Fanfiction summaries have to be short but this story can't really be well-explained in just 384 characters) and have seen this story for the greatness it is destined to be! ...Or at the very least, it won't be set on fire by hatred from those who come across it. So either way, I'm grateful for you clicking on this story, Random Reader Person!**

 **It's me, X, here with a new story! This time, I'm playing with the big boys and writing a story for none other than the Danganronpa series! Now, I've been pretty into it lately, starting out when a Let's Player I like to watch started to do a playthrough of the first game. But how exactly did it come to this?**

 **Well, I was curious about what kind of fanfics have been written about DR, and I came across one story in particular, one that I highly recommend. It's called** ** _Despair's Last Resort_** **, a story written by an author named ParadoxProphet on An Archive of Our Own. If you like Danganronpa (and don't mind spoilers for Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair), I highly recommend it. In fact, since this story is very much inspired by** ** _Despair's Last Resort,_** **it would be a good way to get a good idea of you're gonna be in for here. And once again, it's just a very good story.**

 **Now, back to this. You're probably wondering something: "But X, what happened to Tale of Terraria?" Excellent question! I still plan to work on that story, but as of right now I'm deep into DR trash and I need to get this story out, lest I explode. And thus, here we are, with a Danganronpa (or should I say "Fanganronpa") story involving a cast of entirely original characters (save for a certain bear who I think needs no explanation)! Honestly, as nervous as I was about starting this story, I think I'm gonna have fun with this story! And not just because of all the opportunities I'll have to** ** _RIP the readers' hearts to PIECES with the powers of DEATH and FEEEELS._ My only hope is that I can do this series justice with my story...but I guess time will tell, eh?**

 **Anyways, for as much research as I did for this story, there _may_ be some characters who share "Ultimate" talents with characters from the games/miscellaneous side material/other Fanganronpa stories, as my knowledge of DR is mainly limited to the main three games (THH, SDR2, and DRV3) and some other pieces of lore. So any similarities to other characters, canon or fanon, is purely coincidental. Thanks for understanding! Finally, there's the matter of spoilers: Since I'd like this story to be friendly to newcomers as well, spoilers for the games will be...minimal. If they do show up, it won't be until waaaaay later into the story. ...But that won't stop me from making simple references here and there, sometimes I just can't help myself.**

 **Oh! One last thing: obviously this story is going to have quite a bit of blood and gore and such. If you're squeamish around that kind of stuff, then this story maaaay not be for you. If you think you'll be fine, though, then go right ahead!**

 **And with that info dump and without further ado, enjoy the story!**

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 **Review Replies**

 **...I have none yet. Leave some reviews while you're here!**

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 **Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 1)**

"Hana...?"

"Hana! Hey, can you hear me?"

"C'mon, say something, open your eyes! Hana!"

At first, her vision was dark. As her eyes adjusted, things began to brighten and become less blurry. The first thing Hana saw was the ceiling, and quickly after that she noticed the young man with wavy black hair looking down at her...Hiroshi.

"Oh thank goodness- for a split second I though something had happened to you too," the boy replied, his steel gray eyes full of worry as he stepped back a bit. "Looks like you just passed out, though."

 _Passed...out?_ Hana wondered, sitting up with a little groan. _Why would I have-_

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pair of metal doors on the other side of the hallway that was slightly open. Through the crack in the doors, Hana saw something on the floor on the other side. It was crimson, a liquid...

Blood.

Hana let out a horrified shout as she scrambled away, the memory of what she had seen quickly returning. She heard Hiroshi talking, but tuned him out as she clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut. No matter how hard she tried to block out the image of... _that,_ she couldn't. She couldn't. Honestly, Hana didn't think she ever would. As of that moment, as more people ran down the hall towards her, all she could do was sit on the ground in a somewhat fetal position.

 _How...How did it come to this...?_ Hana thought as she clutched her head more tightly. _And why...why..._

 _Someone...please tell me...why...!?_

* * *

Hope's Peak Academy. It was a beacon, a symbol throughout all of Japan. As the most prestigious school in the country, only a select few students were able to attend, but the academy still managed to send numerous young men and women out to become elite and productive members of Japan's work force. In fact, people say that those who were able to graduate Hope's Peak were essentially set for life no matter what they did afterwards. Many leaders in numerous fields and industries were apparently alumni of Hope's Peak, so they say.

True to its name, the school truly was an academy of hope.

There were only two conditions one had to meet in order to become a student at Hope's Peak: you had to be a high school student, and you had to have a specific kind of talent or profession. Such a talent could be nearly anything, from a sport to the most obscure professions- but you had to be the very best at whatever it was you did. Such students were referred to as 'Ultimates'- fitting for someone who was an expert in their field. There were no entrance exams needed, you just needed to be spotted by one of Hope's Peak's talent scouts.

Fortunately, 16-year-old Hana Amari happened to meet both of these requirements. Just by looking at her, Hana seemed just like your average high school girl. She wore a simple sky blue shirt with a gray skirt, along with a gold-colored pendant around her neck. Her physical appearance wasn't too eye-catching either; she was of average height, her skin was of a pale complexion, her eyes a simple hazel brown color, and her dark blonde hair that was rather neat (save for the prominent ahoge sticking upwards) and tied into a short ponytail. Just looking at her, one may not guess that Hana Amari was an Ultimate herself.

She was known as the Ultimate Surfer. The girl was known as a hometown hero- participating in dozens of surf competitions all over Japan since she was in middle school, Hana had made quite a name for herself as a surfing prodigy and champion. No matter the location, competition, or size of the waves she rode on, Hana would always come out on top and emerge victorious. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time until she was found by a talent scout at Hope's Peak and offered a position at the school. Of course, Hana accepted- and now, two weeks later, there she stood. The immense walls and towers of Hope's Peak Academy stared down at the urban area surrounding it, as well as all the people walking through the metal gates towards the building itself. As for Hana herself, well...

...She was currently sitting on a nearby bench, rapidly breathing in an out in a futile attempt to calm her crazed nerves. Two weeks...had it really only been two weeks? It seemed like only yesterday that she had encountered that talent scout after her last competition, how could time pass so quickly? The sight of the tall academy building wasn't helping to quell Hana's anxious feelings, as her head was filled with rapidly bouncing thoughts. _No no no, this is wrong, it's too soon, I'm not ready, do I have the proper supplies? Pencils, pens, notebooks- did I even remember to pack spare clothes!? What if-_

"Sweetie, calm down, you're spiraling," came the calming voice of her mother. Mrs. Amari put a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder and added, "Don't be so scared- you deserve to be here. You'll be fine!"

"Hey! C'mon, I wanna get a picture of us!" Mr. Amari eagerly called from behind them as he began to set up a Polaroid camera and a tripod. "We've _got_ to immortalize this moment, _the_ moment our daughter becomes a student at Hope's Peak!"

Seeing as there was no way to dissuade her always excitable father, Hana followed her smiling mother over to the sidewalk where Mr. Amari stood. The surfer couldn't be too embarrassed anyways- it wasn't every day someone's child became an Ultimate, so it made sense her parents would be so happy.

Mr. Amari soon finished setting up his camera and setting its timer, then ushered the two together before going over to join them. A few seconds later, the camera flashed as it captured the picture of the smiling family. Hana's father went over to examine the newly printed photo as his wife followed him. Hana stood back for the moment before hearing Mr. Amari exclaim, "Yes, it's perfect!"

Her parents walked over, Mr. Amari holding up the photo of the family for Hana to see. Mrs. Amari asked, "It's great, isn't it? And it's all yours, hun."

"Huh? You're just giving me the photo?" Hana asked as her father handed her the photo. "But I though you guys wanted to 'immortalize' this or something."

"Well, this is your day after all- if anyone deserves to keep this picture, it's you," her mother explained. "Plus, if you ever get homesick, you'll have something to keep me and your dad close."

"Besides, if there's some kind of Ultimate Photographer at this school, you could put in a good word for your old man," Mr. Amari added jokingly.

Hana chuckled and nodded, putting the photo inside one of the pockets of her pack. "You guys don't need to worry so much- I'll be alright."

"There you go, that's our confident girl," her mother replied, before she and her husband pulled the girl into a hug. Mrs. Amari then said, "Now remember to call us or write us at some point, okay? We'd love to know how you're doing at Hope's Peak."

"And don't go throwing any parties, you never know what things these kids'll be getting into!" Mr. Amari warned with a stern nod as they pulled away...before the man sniffled. "A-Alright, we'd best be heading home now, otherwise I might just break down right here."

Exchanging one last goodbye and 'I love you', Hana's parents headed off back to their vehicle and drove off, leaving the surfer standing at the gates to Hope's Peak Academy. She turned around, staring up at the immense brick towers and buildings that made up the academy. The massive building looked welcoming enough, and Hana was sure the inside looked just as nice...so why was she still frozen in place?

 _...Is this...really okay...?_ Hana thought, looking down towards the pavement as students filed in around her. _'Confident', yeah right...this is the best school in the country, I don't even know anything about my classmates or where my classes are or...ugh. Should I...should I really be here...?_

Hana looked up and watched the numerous other students making their way into the entrance. They, too, were Ultimates...students, just like her...

 _...I'm being dumb._ Hana told herself, giving herself a mental slap to get her out of this stupor. _Heh, what am I thinking? I'm the Ultimate Surfer, I was scouted by the school too- I have just as much right to be here as everyone else!_

With that, she took a deep breath and stood up straight and confident. _So...let's do this! Look out Class 80, here I come!_

She then ran ahead, joining the throngs of other teens making their entrance. Her anxiety had become a cautious excitement as she got closer to the doors to the school...at first, she didn't notice the edges of her vision becoming darker. However, second by second, everything started to become engulfed in darkness; however, Hana felt no different, no worse for wear...

Finally, just as the Ultimate Surfer was about to step into the halls of Hope's Peak Academy...her entire world went black.

* * *

 _..._

When Hana opened her eyes again, she winced as brightness suddenly filled her vision. She was looking at a pure white ceiling, with some kind of ornate light hanging from the top. She quickly sat up- something was _not_ right. Her brown eyes flew across the room as she tried to decipher her surroundings; she was sitting on a bed with pink sheets, inside a room with blue walls and a light blue wavy pattern to them, and the floor was covered in royal blue carpeting. To the left of her bed, a door; to the right, a door that was open enough to reveal a rather fancy bathroom within; in front, a desk of some kind where her belongings had been neatly placed; next to the desk, a closet. In one corner of the room was some kind of...surveillance camera? And in another corner...a TV monitor? That was new.

"Wha...? Is this...a dorm room...?" Hana asked herself as she slowly rose from the bed. It certainly looked like a bedroom indeed, and yet...it felt too high class, even for Hope's Peak Academy. Despite this, the girl wanted to believe this was a simple Hope's Peak dorm room- after all, she had just gone unconscious and woken up in a strange room, she wanted at least _one_ thing to be normal. There had to be an explanation for this, right?

 _Maybe I just...passed out._ Hana rationalized. _Yeah...yeah, that has to be it! I was so worried I fainted, and someone carried me up to my dorm room! That makes sense!_

With this as her accepted explanation, Hana turned to the left. She assumed that door one was the bedroom's exit, and so started to walk over to it...

In that instant, the door swung open, causing the surfer to yelp and jump back. This was followed by a male voice crying out in shock himself, before quickly responding, "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were awake! I just thought I'd check up on you real fast and see if, uh...just, you okay?"

Hana took a moment to actually get a good look at the boy who had barged in. He was a fairly tall young man, his dark blue hair was cut short- in an almost buzz-cut fashion- and his pale green eyes were filled with worry behind a pair of glasses. He wore a simple white button-up shirt, along with gray pants and a blue tie.

"Uh...nope! Hah, sorry, just getting used to...all this," Hana replied with a sheepish smile. "Um...truth be told, this day's started out pretty weird, I'm just trying to process everything..."

"Pfft, yeah, 'weird' is an understatement," the boy replied with a little chuckle. "But real fast- shouldn't we introduce ourselves? Seems like we're in the same class- you are in Class 80, right?"

"Oh! Yeah!" Hana immediately replied. Finally, a fellow classmate- it was time to make a friend! "I'm Hana Amari, I'm the Ultimate Surfer, I was raised in Niijima where I learned to surf from a young age and then I won my first competition at age-"

"Okay, okay, slow down- we just met, it'd be better to tell me your life story when we're better acquainted," Hana's classmate replied, visibly surprised at the anxious response. "My name is Mikio Nakamura. Nice to meet you, Hana!"

"Mikio Naka..." at that moment, Hana gasped. "Wait wait wait. Like, Mikio Nakamura, the creator of _Super Bread Girl?_ Developer of _Finecraft_ _?_ _The_ creator of the _Spelunker Story_ series!? Y-You're...!"

"The Ultimate Game Designer?" Mikio finished, raising an eyebrow. He then added jokingly, "So, you're a fan? Heh, wouldn't have expected to have a fan out of an Ultimate Surfer."

"Wh- Hey, I have hobbies!" Hana replied, before excitedly continuing, "Besides, I've played a ton of your games! They're really amazing, I can totally see why you're an Ultimate! Oh wow, you're actually here in front of me, in my class, I've got so many things I wanted to ask you!"

Indeed, Mikio Nakamura was the Ultimate Game Designer. He was a big name indie game developer, creating a whole slew of titles and series completely on his own. His games spanned multiple genres, numerous art and graphic styles, and plots that could be either simple and sweet or complete tearjerkers. It seemed he just made games based on whatever ideas pop into his head, but no matter what you could expect his projects to turn out like masterpieces.

"Yeah, that's cool, but- look, don't treat me as some kind of celebrity, okay?" Mikio responded with a little frown. "I'm a normal teenager and student, just like you, Ultimate status notwithstanding. Let's just leave it as that, okay?"

"Oh! Yeah, definitley!" Hana replied with an earnest nod. Mentally, though, she was chastising herself. _Great job Hana, you just creeped out the guy you admire, and now he might just want to run away! First I pass out before I'm even in the building, now this! Why is day turning out so bad!?_

Realizing she had to try and salvage this situation, Hana added, "Hey...wanna just head to class? I'd like to meet the others, since I kinda- what's with the grimace?"

"Uh...class, yeah...that might be a biiiiit hard to get to," Mikio replied, his face having a grimace indeed. "You see, we...don't freak out, but...I don't think we're at Hope's Peak Academy anymore."

"...What," Hana stated, dumbfounded by that sentence. They...weren't at Hope's Peak anymore? What did that even mean?

"It's..." Mikio began, before he sighed and gestured to the door. "Come with me. It's easier seen than explained, I guess."

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 **A/N: There you go folks! The beginning of an amazing saga! Thus far we have Hana Amari (Ultimate Surfer and our dork of a protagonist) and Mikio Nakamura (Ultimate Game Designer)! And believe me, this cast is gonna get even bigger! ...Not that it matters much since over half of them will be dead by the end of the story. To any newcomers reading this: Welcome to Danganronpa, where the characters are neat and you cry when they kill off your favorite! Will this story be any different? Heck no, I love feels! ...But we'll get to that when we get to that.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys are as hyped for this as I am! I know things are only gonna get better and better as the story goes, so I hope you'll stick around for the ride! And don't forget to leave a review, so I know this story is acknowledged!**

 **...Also don't bother asking about that mysterious opening sequence, all will be explained in due time.**


	2. Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 2)

**A/N: Hello everyone! Well, now that I've jumped down the rabbit hole by publishing this story, I suppose there's no going back for me! So here's to a glorious new chapter and such!**

 **So, now that we've met the ahoge-sporting protagonist that is Hana, what's next? Well obviously, it's time to meet the rest of the cast of poor unsuspecting souls as well as doing some exploring! ...And as a result of having to introduce 13 people in unique ways that establish character, this chapter is gonna be _loooooooong._ You'll soon see why it took so long for me to get this chapter out. Prepare thy eyes, and** **let's get to it!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _Imagination is king:_ One, thank you! Two, it seems that "Alternate Cast" fics are kinda like a sub-genre of Dangonronpa stories, which I find neat. And now I'm a part of that! ...For better, I hope.**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Oh boy, death! Just wait until you see this chapter, maybe people will start making predictions on who will be the first to die!**

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 **Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 2)**

Hana was quick to follow Mikio out of her room. When she did, she would be greeted to some kind of hallway, lined with doors on each side. She counted fourteen in all, including her own; in addition, each door had some kind of sign on it that stated someone's name (presumably the room's owner) and a little picture of what Hana could assume was the respective person...in the style of an 8-bit game sprite for some reason. Needless to say, the only names the girl could recognize were her own and Mikio's- everyone else was a total stranger. As for the hallway itself, it led to a final fifteenth door (just as identical to the others and with a nameplate as well) on the left end and an open doorway on the right. The walls were a polished white color, as if made of some kind of marble, and the white tiled floor was covered by a deep red carpet with gold trim. It was the kind of design that, in Hana's mind, wouldn't look too out of place in a mansion or a castle. Well, except for the camera attached to one of the corners of the hall, and the TV monitor attached to another.

"Looks nice, doesn't it?" Mikio asked as Hana took in her surroundings. "Though I'll be honest, I'm not much for all this luxury stuff- not that I have a choice in the matter."

"These other doors...with the names and pictures," Hana began, furrowing her brow as she examined one of the doors next to hers. "Are these people our classmates?"

"I think so," Mikio replied, before sheepishly replying, "Um, truth be told, I haven't actually met everyone here yet. I've only been awake for a little while myself, so I haven't really gotten to introduce myself to all the others...the ones I have met, though, say they're in the 80th Class too."

Hana blinked in surprise at what Mikio described. _'Been awake for a little while myself'...? Hold on, does that mean he passed out like I did?_

"Anyways, I should show you what I meant before," Mikio said, heading to the right as Hana followed him. As they got closer to the doorway, Hana could get a glimpse of some kind of larger room on the other side. Moments later, the duo stepped inside, and the surfer's thoughts were confirmed.

The room was rather large, to say the least. The walls were the same pure white color, with a large chandelier hanging from the dome-shaped ceiling providing light to the vicinity. The hall with the bedrooms seemed to be on the left side of the room; to the front side, a massive door made from a thick mahogany and had intricate designs carved into its surface. There was no doubt that this was the entrance to the room, but it appeared to be closed. Not to mention, where Hana would have expected to see a tall window on each side of the door, instead there were tall metal plates bolted to the clean wall with bolts that were almost cartoonishly large.

"Yeah, I don't get the metal plates either," Mikio commented as he noticed Hana looking towards the front. "And I'm pretty sure that big door is locked. A saw a few people tried opening it earlier and it wouldn't budge an inch."

Acknowledging this, Hana turned her attention to the rest of the room. To the opposite end of the entrance, there was another set of doors, these ones a light gray color with little windows towards the top. Between these two ends of the chamber was a large and long royal blue carpet, also with a gold trim to it. On each side of the carpet, parallel to it, a series of white pillars stood tall up to the ceiling. The surfer noticed a few more of those cameras attached to some of the pillars, with another monitor seen as well. On each side wall, left and right, there was a large staircase leading up to some kind of second floor. Hana could get a glimpse of a pair of hallways on each end of this upper area that seemed to lead deeper into the second floor...but they looked like they were blocked by some kind of gate. Hana made a mental note to get a closer look at those second floor halls later...

"Pretty grand, I gotta say," a new voice suddenly said from nearby. Hana and Mikio turned to the source of the speaking, only to see another young man leaning against the wall next to the entrance to the dorm hall.

"Ah- were you there the whole time...?" Hana asked, surprised that she and Mikio had walked right past him.

"Maybe. Don't worry about it though, I'm good at surprising people," the stranger replied, a little smile on his face. He had wavy black hair that reached down just above his shoulders, and gray eyes that had an almost amused shine to them as he looked towards Hana. He wore a dark gray shirt with a black vest, along with blue pants and...were those latex gloves poking out of one of his pants pockets? Well, despite this, the boy seemed to exude an aura of calmness around him- Hana didn't know whether to feel at ease or creeped out.

"...So! This is one of the other students I mentioned, one of the ones I already met," Mikio explained.

"Yeah, we're acquainted," the black-haired student affirmed, before nodding to Hana. "Hello there. My name is Hiroshi Ashi. And you are?"

"Oh! Well, I'm Hana Amari, Ultimate Surfer," Hana quickly replied, still hoping to make a good first impression with her fellow classmate. "Um, what's your talent?"

"Ah, that's not something I'd like to reveal right off the bat," Hiroshi replied, puttiHeng a hand behind his head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed of my talent, but it's a bit...morbid, and I'd rather not give someone I just met the wrong idea about me-"

"He's the Ultimate Coroner," Mikio told Hana. "Did a bit of research about some of our classmates before I got to Hope's Peak, so that's how I know."

"...Or the Internet could just reveal my secrets anyways," Hiroshi added to his previous thoughts, looking slightly disappointed. Key word being slightly- despite wanting to keep his talent a secret, he didn't look too upset that it had been blurted out anyways. Looking towards Hana, he continued, "Well, our game-making friend here is right, I'm the Ultimate Coroner. I know all there is to know about forensics and such, and can basically identify how a person died and the circumstances around it. So long as I'm working the autopsy, there isn't a single mystery a cadaver can hide from me."

"Huh...well, that's...certainly a unique talent," Hana replied with a nod, before cringing to herself. _Oh god, I sounded so weirded out just now, I hope he didn't think I was weirded out!_

However, Hiroshi simply chuckled. "That's about what I was expecting. No worries though, I'm sure you'll get used to me in due time."

"That she will," Mikio responded. "Though, now we should get going- I'm trying to show Hana here the rest of the place, and maybe helping to introduce her to everyone else."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding as the two began to walk off...that is, until Hana felt Hiroshi's gaze following her. She glanced back to the coroner, who was indeed still watching her. The surfer asked, "Uh...something wrong?"

"...Oh! No, sorry, I was just...you just had this feeling to you, you know? A kind of...unique feel, that caught my attention," Hiroshi explained, before adding with a little chuckle, "I look forward to getting to know you better, Hana Amari."

"...Well thanks!" Hana cheerfully responded before following Mikio away, thinking to herself, _A bit odd of an...oddball, but at least it seems like he doesn't_ not _like me, which is a win in my book!_

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Hana and Mikio made their way along the left side of the room. Past the stairs was a pair of doors, made of a similar material to the entrance door back towards the front of the room. These doors reminded Hana of the kind you'd see for classrooms, or older buildings.

"Ah, here's a neat place- the library!" Mikio announced, gesturing to the wooden doors. "...At least, I think it is."

"You think?" Hana asked, tilting her head a bit in confusion. "Haven't you gone inside?"

"Well, I tried, I at least got a glimpse of the place," the game designer explained, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. "But it was a bit...hard, considering the person inside is-"

"Person? Wait, are they one of our classmates?" Hana asked, immediately interested.

"W-Well, yeah, but you should be a little careful because-" Mikio began, but by that point Hana wasn't listening. She was more excited to meet another student, and so she pushed open the library doors-

-And was promptly blasted in the face by some kind of dark fog. With a shocked cry, Hana stumbled back and looked up at the fogged doorway. As the fog started to clear, she could see a silhouette of somebody walking forward, accompanied by a female voice darkly chuckling.

"So, I see another foolish soul has wandered into what is to be my domain..." the girl said in a voice that was clearly trying to be menacing. "I don't know whether to call you brave...or stupid. Because you have brought forth the attention of the one, the only, the Queen of the Dark Arts!"

She then spread her arms out as the fog rushed away, fully revealing her appearance. The young woman in question wore a jet black cloak that draped down to her knees, and had a hood that covered most of her head (save for her face). Beneath the cloak, the girl wore deep purple leggings and a purplish-black skirt, along with a black shirt and a red ribbon. As for her appearance, the girl's smirking face was pale with bright green eyes, black eyeliner, and her black hair seemed to have some purple and dark blue streaks in them. Overall, she appeared very skinny, though that probably only helped to compliment the dark and creepy appearance she was clearly going for.

"Th-The...Queen of the...?" Hana began, baffled by this turn of events, before shaking her head. "Hi, my name is Hana Amari, I-"

"Ah, so you and the boy back there must be fellow students," the young woman surmised with another dark chuckle. "But though we have similar titles, our positions could not be any more different! For you stand in the presence of none other than Azami Kurobe, Queen of the Dark Arts, the Ultimate Illusionist!"

"Illusionist?" Hana asked. "Like, a magician?"

"W-What!? No! I'm not a magician, I'm-" Azami began, her voice losing the deep and dark tone and returning to a normal (and somewhat indignant) sound. Of course, she immediately realized this, and continued in her previous voice, "There...is a clear distinction between the two. I, an illusionist, act as a messenger of the unknown, the darkness within!"

As Azami spoke, she moved her arms around in an almost exaggerated way, causing Hana to wonder if she was trying to cast spells while talking. The surfer spoke up, "S-So, are you...into the occult or something...?"

"Well of course! It is my domain, my source of power! All that I am stems from the powers of the arcane!" the illusionist replied dramatically. "For I am nothing less than Queen of the Dark Arts, I am AZAMI-"

At that moment, it seemed Azami was going for another dramatic gesture, swiftly moving her arm to the side...but it seemed she had forgotten about her surroundings, and thus she ended up smacking her wrist and the side of her hand against the door frame with an audible _thwack!_ Immediately afterwards, Azami let out a high-pitched cry of pain as she clutched her wrist, while Hana and Mikio looked on with concern and confusion. Moments later, the Ultimate Illusionist seemed to realize the duo was still watching, and thus she went silent as her face turned red with embarrassment. She opened her mouth a few times, as if trying to figure out what to say...before she turned and bolted back into the library, slamming the doors shut as she did.

"..." Hana turned to Mikio, her face full of confusion. Mikio could only shrug and reply, "Uh...she's the Ultimate Illusionist? Y-Yeah, she's...a bit of an oddball. To be fair, I heard her performances are pretty amazing, so she's considered an Ultimate for a reason, I suppose."

Eventually, the two decided against trying to make sense of the strange ordeal and walked off. Still, Hana was a bit concerned- first the calm but somewhat creepy Hiroshi, now the dark and dramatic Azami? If all her classmates were like this, the girl began to think suddenly waking up in a mysterious castle would be the _least_ strangest thing about today...

* * *

On the right side of the main chamber, parallel to the library, was another set of doors, these ones more metallic. Mikio jabbed a thumb at the door and explained, "In here is some kind of boiler or furnace room, I suppose. Pretty dark and such, and it's got a furnace in there that I think could also serve as an incinerator? I dunno, I didn't spend too much time in there when I looked. Heck, there wasn't even anyone in there- not sure if that's the case this time, though."

Curious, Hana opened the metallic doors and poked her head into the room. This room was darker than the one outside, illuminated by a few lights on the ceiling. The walls were the same white stone as the main chamber's walls, with the aforementioned furnace to the far wall. On the left wall was a series of cleaning supplies as well- buckets, brooms, mops, etc. Lastly, the right wall had some kind of large hatch attached to it- though what it was for, Hana couldn't tell.

As for Mikio's comment that the room would most likely be devoid of people, well...

"Heeey! Who are you?"

Hana suddenly found herself staring face-to-face with a young woman with deep blue eyes. Hana quickly stepped back a bit to put some distance between her and the stranger, before saying, "H-Huh? Where did you come from?"

"Oh, I've been looking around in here for a little while now! Sorry, got excited when I saw you, I like meeting new people!" the girl explained, jumping up with a smile.

"What are you squawking about over here? Don't think you can make me do all the searching for you!" a new voice said, irritated. A second girl poked her head out of the boiler room, her eyes a light brown color.

"Oh! Hey, I didn't know anyone was in there!" Mikio responded with a smile. "This is Hana Amari- she woke up a little bit ago, and I'm showing her around.

"Aw, Mikio, that's nice of you!" the blue-eyed girl replied. She was fairly tall, with sky blue hair reaching down to the small of her back. Her outfit consisted of a black and blue jacket over a white T-shirt, along with a pair of blue shorts and a pair of sandals. "Hi, my name is Rumi Hamasaki, and I'm the Ultimate Scuba Diver!"

"Scuba diver? Hey, I'm a surfer! The Ultimate one, by the way," Hana replied happily. "We can be, like, water buddies!"

"Hehe! We could!" Rumi replied with a grin as she gave Hana a very hard handshake. "You know, I've actually heard a lot about your skills on a surfboard, Hana, I'd love to hear more about some of your competitions!"

"Well isn't this a nice bonding experience?" the other girl said with a somewhat mocking tone, her brown eyes narrowed with disapproval. She was about as tall as Hana, her black hair cut short in a pixie cut, and she wore a clean white lab coat over a black shirt along with gray pants. "So, just woke up, did you? Well, congrats on being the last one to know about everything, 'Water Buddy'."

"...Well it's not like I could control when I woke up..." Hana muttered to herself, frowning.

"Ah, don't worry about her," Mikio said to Hana reassuringly. "I know she seems pretty prickly, but Shiori Sauchi over here is actually a really skilled doctor. She's worked hundreds of surgeries, and has never lost a single patient!"

"Of course I haven't lost a patient- I wouldn't be the Ultimate Surgeon with anything less," Shiori sharply replied to Mikio, crossing her arms. "At any rate, you ladies have fun, I'm gonna check out the stairs."

As the surgeon walked off, Rumi spoke up, "I'm gonna look around some more- but, Hana, I'd still like to talk more! Maybe I can also tell you about some of my underwater excursions too!"

With that, the scuba diver walked away as well, though much more cheerfully than Shiori.

"So, where to next?" Hana asked once she and Mikio were alone again. "I mean, you're basically my navigator, so..."

"Ah, I'm just trying to be helpful is all," Mikio replied, chuckling as he put a hand behind his head. "Though, there's a dining hall down that hall over there- I'm a little hungry anyways, and the others might be there too."

Nodding in understanding, Hana proceeded to follow the game designer to the hall in question.

* * *

The hallway leading to the dining hall was across the main chamber from the hall to the dorms. There were two entrances that Hana could see, a large doorway closer to the duo, and a second set of metallic doors farther down the hall. And of course, there was a camera and a monitor in this hall as well- the surfer was starting to become unsettled by the amount of cameras here...

"Through here is the dining hall- and most importantly, the food!" Mikio proclaimed, before heading inside. "Haven't tried the stuff yet, but I'm sure it's great! Though, I'm starving, so I don't really care if it's good or bad!"

"Well, hey, don't just eat everything!" Hana called as she ran in after him. However, just before she entered the room in question, she heard a distressed cry from inside. Concern forming, the girl quickly poked her head into the dining hall. It was certainly a grand room, large and a crimson carpet covering the tiled floor. Another chandelier hung above a large banquet table, with sixteen chairs set up in total. On the far side of the room, Hana saw another series of large metal plates bolted to the wall in place of windows. Were these meant to block out the outside or something...?

"H-Hana? We've got a bit of a situation here..." Mikio whimpered, stumbling about. It didn't take Hana long to figure out what the problem was: his glasses were missing.

"Hana? Hana is that you? Please say something, I can't see without my glasses!" Mikio pleaded as he started fumbling around with someone...although that someone was not Hana. The person in question was a young man with neat and tidy short black hair with blue-green eyes. His outfit consisted of a black button-up vest over a clean white shirt, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and a pair of white gloves on his hands.

"...Nakamura, was it?" the well-dressed young man began, removing Mikio's hands from his body. "I believe this Hana person is that idiot-haired girl over there, correct? Now please, quit groping me lest I have to use force."

Hana would have been more offended by the 'idiot-haired' comment if she wasn't worried about Mikio. Thus, she immediately headed over to the game designer's side while commenting to the stranger, "It's Hana Amari, by the way. Hello!"

"Ah, well then, pleased to make your acquaintance Amari," the stranger replied, before doing a little bow. "I am Tadao Shimaru. I am known as the Ultimate Waiter, so I believe I will be in the service of you and the rest of our classmates in the near future."

"Y-Yeah, Ultimate Waiter! He's great at hospitality and can carry tons of dishes without dropping a single one!" Mikio blurted, feeling around to be certain Hana was still there. Although, the surfer thought to herself, _You know, I would be lying if I said I didn't like being this close to Mikio like this-_

"You better not be enjoying this!" Mikio said to Hana, as if reading her thoughts.

"...Okay but seriously, what happened to Mikio's glasses?" the surfer asked as the boy in question tugged on her ahoge- as if to confirm this was, in fact, Hana.

"Well, it would seem Nakamura here was the victim of a certain buffoon," Tadao explained with a shake of his head. "A thieving, criminal buffoon..."

"Excuse me? That's a little harsh, wouldn't you say?" a new voice asked with mock offense. Hana turned to the source, only to find another young man leaning against the wall with a smirk. His gold eyes were filled with amusement, his hair a dark purple color and spiked upwards, his outfit being a simple black hoodie, a dark red scarf, and a pair of gray jeans. The purple-haired man strode over, adding, "I'm just being me is all, can't fault me for that. But whatever, I'll bite."

With that, he pulled something out of his pocket and handed them to Mikio- his glasses, which the game designer graciously took and put back. He then said, "Thanks...but you realize I wouldn't have had that problem if you hadn't taken my glasses in the first place, right?"

"Ah, details," the guy replied before turning his attention to Hana. "You said your name was...Hana, right?"

"That's right," the girl replied. "Who are you?"

"Heh...you could say I'm a student by day, shadow by night," the young man replied, brushing some purple hair out of his face. "Maybe you've heard of me- Hinata Yonade?"

"Hinata Yonade...yeah, I've seen you on the news before," Hana replied, nodding. "Hey, are some of those crazier stories about you true? Like, being able to steal from the likes of the Togami Corporation and whatnot?"

"Well, let's just say I'm the Ultimate Thief for a reason," Hinata replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry though, I only steal from the truly privileged...unless I'm feeling bored, in which case watch out."

"Why Hope's Peak would ever accept a criminal scum like you is beyond me..." Tadao muttered, narrowing his blue-green eyes in disapproval.

"Well, in his defense, I guess it counts as a talent..." Hana pointed out sheepishly.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one he keeps taking glasses from..." Mikio replied with a pointed glare at Hinata.

"Hey, you just made it too easy, not my fault I found it tempting," the thief replied, putting his hands up innocently.

"Yes, because that would hold up wonderfully in court," came a new voice from the other end of the room. "Now quit this foolishness for one minute, would you?"

The group turned, to see a young woman walking over to them. Immediately, Hana could sense this cold aura of refinement and professionalism emanating off of her. She had bright red hair that went down to her knees, with eyes of a matching color behind a pair of glasses. She wore a dark red suit with dress pants of a dark gray color, as well as a black tie.

"Hey, great timing!" Mikio said as the red-haired girl approached. "Hana, say hello to our ace attorney friend here-"

"I told you not to call me that," the 'ace attorney' sharply interrupted, before turning her attention to Hana. "Just who are you supposed to be?"

"Oh, uh- hi, I'm Hana Amari," Hana introduced. "Ultimate Surfer, and...last to wake up, apparently. Mikio's showing me around."

"Last to wake up?" the other young woman asked, before shaking her head. "Tsk- couldn't have even been here for more than a day and already people are slacking. I hope your work ethic is better in the future, Amari, otherwise I dread to think about having to work alongside you."

Hana frowned, indignant. _She...She's aware I couldn't control when I woke up, right...?_

"At any rate- you may call me Akira Rimutsu, prosecutor at law," Akira replied, crossing her arms. "The _Ultimate_ Prosecutor, in fact. I have worked dozens and dozens of cases, from petty theft to homicide. No matter the people or the crime, so long as I am on the case- the truth will _never_ be able to hide itself from me."

Akira continued, "And you know what? You two actually came at a good time, as I need you to run an errand for me. Consider this a way to redeem yourself, Amari. And you, Nakamura...a chance to be useful."

"W-Wait, can't I eat first?" Mikio asked, his eyes pleading.

"No," Akira bluntly replied. She then explained, "You see, we need to discuss this...situation we're in, and to do so everyone has to be here. Shimaru and Yonade are already here, so that means you two need to go gather everyone else and tell them to come here. And be quick about it."

"Um...why do _we_ have to do it, though?" Hana asked...only for Akira to respond with a rather intense glare, as if saying 'Don't you dare question me'. Either way, it chilled both Hana and Mikio, and so they simply nodded in agreement to the prosecutor and walked out of the dining hall.

"...Did we really just agree to this?" Hana asked Mikio as they exited the room.

"Hey, did _you_ want to say no to that glare?" Mikio responded with a little glare. He then asked, "So...I guess we should probably split up the workload- you know, divide and conquer. You can go look for the people I already introduced you to- you know, Hiroshi, Azami-"

"Ooh! Or, you could go look for the students you already introduced to me, and I'll go look for everyone else!" Hana suggested. "I was hoping to meet everyone else anyways, so..."

"Oh- well alright then!" Mikio replied with a nod. "You remember where everything is, right? Don't need me to show you where everything is again, right?"

"Nah, I got it!" Hana reassured him...before eagerly asking, "Why, did you want to come with me?"

"Good luck Hana!" Mikio called as he quickly made his way down the hall and into the main chamber, leaving Hana by herself.

* * *

The first place Hana decided to look for other students was the second room, farther down from the dining hall to the left. A pair of metallic doors greeted her, their silvery color oddly beckoning. Shrugging, she pushed open the doors and poked her head inside. It seemed to be some kind of...fitness room? Odd choice of room for a castle, but the surfer chose not to question it. The floor was made from mint green tiles with several blue mats lying around. The room was full of various kinds of exercise equipment, as well as a shelf full of dumbbells and weights of various sizes. On the wall opposite to the entrance was some kind of square door, like a hatch, almost camouflaged into the wall.

A young man was currently using one of the machines, a treadmill. He wore a white tracksuit with a black and white checkered pattern on the shoulders and a yellow lightning bolt across the chest, as well as an electric blue cape draped over his back down to his knees. The boy's mane of hair, which reached down to his shoulders, seemed to be dyed a bright yellow color with electric blue streaks in it.

"Uh...hello?" Hana began, fully stepping into the room. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Huh?" the young man said, turning to look at the girl with his bright blue eyes as he continued to run on the treadmill. "Oh! Hello there, I didn't hear you come in!"

"Yeah, hi," Hana greeted, walking over to him before frowning. "...Uh- look, I know we literally just met and all and I probably have no right to tell you how to do things, but do you really think it's a good idea to be wearing such a long cape while using a treadmill?"

"What, this?" the yellow-haired boy asked, flicking his blue cape. "No worries! I exercise with this on all the time- as long as I'm careful and diligant, nothing bad comes out of it!"

Seconds after he said that, the boy let out a cry of terror as his cape became caught and pulled into the machine by the tread of the treadmill, dragging him to the ground with it. While he flailed about in a panic to try and free himself, Hana quickly ran over in an attempt to turn off the machine. A few moments of frantically pressing buttons later, she successfully turned off the treadmill, allowing the stranger to free himself and his cape from it.

"..." The two teens simply stared at each other as they tried to calm down from the adrenaline of the situation. Finally, Hana spoke up and said, "...My name is Hana Amari, by the way."

"Ah...pleased to meet you, Hana," the tracksuit-wearing boy replied, before taking a calming breath and puffing his chest out proudly. "You, ah...you can call me: Ryoto Miura, Ultimate Race Car Driver and the lightning hero of the racing lanes!"

"You drive in races?" Hana asked in interest. "I guess that explains the checker pattern on your suit there."

"This? Ahahaha, this is nothing! You ought to see my racing outfit, it's truly fitting for one as fast as lightning like me, Ryoto Miura!" Ryoto boasted, pumping a fist into the air with a grin. "Would you care to see some of the pictures I have of it? They're a close enough representation to the sheer radiance of my prized suit!"

"I'm...sure they are- but, um, listen, I didn't exactly come here for pictures or stories or anything like that," Hana replied, putting her hands up as she explained, "See, we're gonna be having this...meeting, in the dining hall further up the hall. Everyone needs to be there I guess, and, well, I'm trying to help gather everyone. So, can you head down there please?"

"...Do you promise to never speak of this treadmill incident to anyone ever?" Ryoto asked, looking around as if to make sure nobody was eavesdropping.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," Hana replied with a reassuring nod.

"Great! Then I'll be off!" Ryoto responded with a laugh. "I'll see you there, Hana Amari! And thank you for your service, once again!"

With that, the racer sped out of the room, his now somewhat torn cape trailing behind. Hana stared off in the direction he had ran off in- certainly had a flair for the dramatic, that one...

* * *

Hana stepped back out into the spacious main chamber once again, looking around for any sign of any unfamiliar students. Though she didn't immediately see anybody, the surfer sudden had the feeling that she was being watched by...something. Not the security cameras, no- something else. Hana looked around, furrowing her brow as she examined her surroundings- wait. For a split second, the girl could have sworn she saw something behind one of the pillars. She took a few steps forward to get a better look...and Hana could immediately tell that it was a person behind that pillar. Though, she could only see a bit of the person's leg and arm, and it seemed like they were...trembling?

"Um- you know I can see you, right?" Hana called out, causing the person to freeze in place. "You don't have to hide, you know, I'm not gonna bite or anything."

"..." Moments later, Hana's observer slowly moved away from the pillar. The student in question was a girl, rather short for her age and a little on the scrawny side, wearing a regular high school uniform- a white button-up blouse, a blue skirt, and a red tie; in addition, she had rose-colored stockings and a flower pin in her blonde hair that reached just below her shoulders. The girl also wore a pair of circular glasses over her gray-green eyes- eyes that, at that time, were filled with anxiety.

"...Well hi!" Hana greeted, deciding to make the first move. "My name is Hana Amari, better known as the Ultimate Surfer. Not really sure why you were hiding from me, but I'm not gonna do anything-"

"O-Oh! N-No, I wasn't hiding from you!" the girl with the flower pin quickly explained, putting her hands defensively. "I-I mean, I was, but only because you looked busy a-and I wasn't sure if now would be a good time to introduce myself, and, and..."

She shook her head, before shakily approaching Hana and holding out her hand. "M-My name is...Asuna Izumi. I-I'm the Ultimate Gardener, so I know a lot about flowers and plants and such...s-so if you ever have questions about those, d-don't be afraid to ask!"

Hana chuckled, shaking Asuna's hand. "I'll keep that in mind. But, I am glad I found you, because I've got an important message. All of us are supposed to meet in the dining room down that hall right there- it's for an important meeting, see-"

"I-Important meeting!? Oh geez, if it's important, I can't be late! I-I don't want everyone to think I'm irresponsible!" Asuna responded in terror, before quickly doing a little bow. "Thank you thank you thank you for letting me know! I-I'll head over right away!"

Without waiting for a response from Hana, the gardener quickly rushed away to the dining hall. The surfer frowned, but shrugged as she thought, _She...s_ _eems pretty nervous. Oh well, I'm sure this whole 'suddenly waking up in a castle' thing is freaking everyone out to an extent...besides, she seems nice enough anyways!_

Nodding in satisfaction, Hana made her way to the other end of the room- to the doors that seemed to lead outside, based on the light shining through the little windows. However, as she passed by the furnace room, the surfer could have sworn she heard something coming from the other side of the doors. Believing someone was inside, Hana approached the doors...

 _BANG!_

...And was promptly hit in the face when one of the doors suddenly swung open, sending Hana onto her back in a daze. The surfer's vision went dark, though she wasn't certain if she had simply been knocked out or not. All she knew was that everything went dark for a few moments, and as she came to her vision cleared enough for her to be able to see someone looking down at her with visible concern.

The person in question was a girl wearing a brown fedora, with dark brown hair tied into a single braid draped over her right shoulder, and a splash of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The girl seemed to be looking over Hana with hazel eyes, before she noticed the surfer waking up. "Hey! Hey, are you okay? I'm really sorry about that, I didn't think anyone would be standing right outside the door! You're not hurt, are you?"

"Mmph- no, but I think I'm gonna be sore for a bit..." Hana replied, groggily sitting up as she rubbed her nose with a wince- before yelping in surprise as the fedora girl quickly pulled Hana to her feet with strength that was surprising for someone so skinny. This allowed Hana to get a better look at the person who had hit her with the door; firstly, she was very tall, about 6'0" if the surfer had to guess. In addition to the fedora, she wore a brown button-up vest with a pocket on the right side of the chest over a white short-sleeved shirt, as well as a pair of beige cargo shorts and a pair of boots. Not to mention, there was something attached to her side...wait was that a bullwhip?

"Again, I'm really sorry about that, I tend to not really look when I swing open doors," the taller girl said to Hana apologetically. "Or when I do anything, really, I don't really look for other people...it's a problem, I know, you're not the first person I've hit with a door-"

"It's fine, it's fine, let's just forget about it," Hana interrupted, the pain in her face having subsided. "I was just looking for other students, actually. My name's Hana Amari, Ultimate Surfer."

"Oh sweet, introductions!" the other student responded eagerly. "I'm Kaneki Tenmaru, but you may know me better as the Ultimate Explorer!"

"Nice to meet you Kaneki, now I-" Hana began, before stopping. "Wait, 'explorer'?"

"Well yeah. I've been all over the world, climbed all kinds of mountains, navigated all kinds of deep dark ruins..." Kaneki explained, adjusting her hat as she spoke. "I've even helped out a lot in archaeology fields and stuff. Cool, right?"

"Yeah, that does seem neat!" Hana replied with a smile, before she added, "But, ah- sorry, but that's not exactly why I came here. I'm helping to gather up the other people here, and we're all supposed to meet in the dining hall."

"Ooh, a secret meeting, eh?" Kaneki replied with a little grin. "Alright, I'm in! Plus, it would be really rude of me to refuse someone I almost knocked out."

The explorer then turned to head off, but not before tipping her hat to Hana in farewell and saying, "Well then, I'll see you there Hana!"

And with that, she ran off to the dining hall. Hana had hoped to explain to the Kaneki that the meeting wasn't exactly 'secret', but she just sighed. Whatever made the other student go to the meeting, she supposed.

With that, Hana figured it was finally time to head out through the windowed doors- what was on the other side, Hana had no idea.

* * *

Hana stepped into, to her surprise, sunlight. She stood on a platform made of clean gray stone, with a set of stone stairs leading down into an open area. Said area was a grassy spot, with many kinds of plants and flowers growing from the short grass. Cutting through the plants and grass were four stone paths in a plus shape, the three other paths each leading to a respective set of stairs identical to the one Hana currently stood in front of. The stone platform Hana stood on seemed to run all around the perimeter of the square area, attached to four tall stone walls that seemed to touch the sky above, making this area an enclosed space. On the other three walls were a set of doors similar to the one the surfer had entered the area from, these ones likely leading to other wings of the castle. Finally, in the center of all this, there stood a massive fountain made from clean white stone, clear water sprouting forth from it. And yet, even out here, Hana could spot another camera and monitor attached to one of the walls. Honestly, how many of these things were there?

 _Huh...I guess this is the courtyard?_ Hana pondered as she stepped down the stairs onto a path leading to the fountain. At least this place was outside- the surfer was surprised by this, honestly, considering all the metal plates in place of windows on the inside. However, as Hana looked towards the fountain, she remembered she had a job to do. That was because she saw another student, sitting on the stone edge of the fountain as if meditating. The young man was quite large and muscular, wearing nothing but a black tank top and a pair of blue and white athletic shorts, as well as a pair of white sneakers. His eyes were closed, and his dark brown hair was tied into a short ponytail reminiscent of the kind a samurai would have.

"Oh! Hey there, almost didn't see you!" Hana called, running up to the meditating teen. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Hm?" the burly young man muttered, looking up towards Hana (despite his eyes still being closed), before giving her a friendly smile and replying, "Oh, no, it's quite alright. I don't believe we've met, in fact- what is your name?"

"I'm Hana Amari!" Hana introduced, nodding.

"Ah, I've heard of you," the young man stated. "You're a champion surfer, aren't you? Won that competition in Kujukuri a few weeks ago, yes?"

"Yeah, that's me," Hana confirmed with a chuckle. "You know, you look kind of familiar to me too...have I seen you on TV or something?"

"Perhaps, if you follow combat sports," the young man explained. "I am Saku Yamamoto, the Ultimate Kickboxer."

"Ooh, that's where I know you! I've seen ads for your fights before," Hana remarked. Indeed, she had heard quite a bit about Saku's feats from his televised matches and online discussions talking about him, how he had yet to lose a single match in his kickboxing career. The surfer then asked, "But, 'Yamamoto'...isn't that the name of one of the largest Shinto shrine networks in Japan?"

"Ah, indeed it is," Saku replied with a nod, continuing, "Indeed, my family is the head of the Yamamoto shrine system, and although I focus on my career as a fighter, I still try my best to uphold our beliefs. Though, I would prefer not to go into too much detail about it, I hope you understand..."

"Oh, no, I get it," Hana quickly assured him upon realizing the topic may be a touchy topic for him. Deciding it would be best to change the subject, the surfer remarked, "There's something I needed to tell you, anyways. Everyone is supposed to meet in the dining hall ASAP, important matters and such."

"Well, considering we've been thrust into a...strange situation, I am not surprised this would come up," Saku remarked, standing. "And so, I will make my way to the dining area presently. Farewell Hana- may the spirits smile down upon our meeting this day."

Hana nodded in thanks to the kickboxer as he turned to leave...before he added, "Oh, and you should probably let those two over there know about the meeting as well."

Blinking in surprise, the girl immediately looked around for the 'two' Saku mentioned. A few moments of walking around the courtyard later, the girl found who he meant: a pair of young men were near the the north set of stairs, and thus had been blocked from Hana's vision by the prominent fountain.

The first was a boy wearing a sky blue jacket over a light gray waistcoat, which was worn over a white shirt; in addition to this, he also wore a pair of whitish-gray dress pants and brown dress shoes. The boy was somewhat short, and had short, feathery silver hair along with silver-gray eyes- at the moment, he seemed to be writing something in a composition notebook. The second, standing atop the stairs in an almost brooding fashion, was a young man wearing a black longcoat, closely resembling the type of robes a samurai would wear, over a shirt with a forest camouflage design on it, back pants, and dark brown hunting boots. Like Kaneki and Saku, he was pretty tall, with short black hair styled into three short spikes combed to the left. The lower half of his face was covered by a forest green bandanna, causing only his ice-colored eyes to be visible.

The silver-haired boy saw Hana approaching, then smiled and waved at the girl. "Hi there! Come to see the courtyard too, huh?"

"Well, sort of," Hana replied, stopping in front of him. "Who are you guys?"

"Oh! Well, my name is Shiro Koichi, the Ultimate Poet!" Shiro replied cheerfully. "Let's do our best to learn and work hard this year! ...Even though we're not at Hope's Peak right now, I imagine we'll still be learning!"

Hana nodded, returning the smile. She remembered reading some of Shiro's works online, and in her opinion he was well deserving of the title of 'Ultimate Poet'. He was a true wordsmith, able to craft poems of all types- from short and simple to symbolic ballads, he didn't seem to have a real preference for any kind of style.

"Unless there is something more malicious happening," the other young man spoke up, his voice rather deep. "Personally, I see no reason for us to have been brought to such a strange location rather than just keeping us at the Academy."

He then jumped down from the stone platform, landing next to Hana. "Allow me to introduce myself as well: I am Itachi Kunata, owner of the title of Ultimate Weapons Expert."

"'Weapons Expert'?" Hana asked, frowning in confusion. "That's...oddly specific."

"It simply means I am an expert in all things arms and such," Itachi explained. "Any weapon, be it a blade or firearm or anything in between, I can properly identify, maintain, or even use personally should the need ever arise. I am truly, what one would call, a 'Weapons Expert'."

"Oh, I see," Hana replied, nodding in understanding...before remembering something she had seen online. At that moment, the surfer simply had to know, "Hey...wasn't there a guy with a last name like 'Kunata' involved in some kind of arms dealing scandal a few years back...? Do you know anything about that?"

At that moment, though his face was partially covered by the bandanna, Hana could tell Itachi was cringing. "Ah...it seems my family's reputation precedes me again..."

Shiro grimaced next to him, turning to Hana and making a 'Stop' gesture. The girl's eyes widened and she quickly responded, "O-Oh! Oh geez, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, I'm just a curious person! I'm sure you're wonderful, scandal or none!"

"Hah- do not apologize," Itachi replied, seeming to regain his composure. "No matter what you have heard, I simply hope it will not affect our time here together. Make no mistake, though my family name is 'Kunata', I am Itachi above all else."

Hana sighed, relieved that she hadn't screwed up meeting some new classmates...before realizing she hadn't introduced herself yet. "Oh! Gotta introduce myself too, sorry- I'm Hana Amari, Ultimate Surfer! And I have a message for you two!"

"A message?" Shiro asked, closing the notebook he had been writing in and standing. "From who?"

"Akira Rimutsu- uh, red-haired lady in a suit," Hana explained. "She wants everyone to meet up in the dining hall, you two included."

"Hm- intriguing," Itachi remarked. "It must be important if someone wants everyone to meet up at once. I don't think it would be good to skip out on this, therefore I shall be on my way, then. Thank you for letting us know, Hana."

"Yup! We'll see you there!" Shiro said, waving goodbye to the surfer with a smile on his face as he followed Itachi into the main chamber.

Hana looked around a little bit more, before heading for the door herself. She wondered if anyone was left...surely not, right? When she thought of all the students she had met, herself included, it added up to fifteen. And didn't Mikio say there were fifteen students in their class? In this castle?

As she reentered the main hall, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Hey, Hana! Over here!"

She looked up, seeing Mikio waving and running over to her. "Woo! Found you! Okay, I gathered up everyone I needed to, and I just saw a few others go into the dining hall, so does that mean you're done too?"

"I think so, yeah," Hana replied, nodding. "Are they waiting on us, then?"

"I think so, yeah..." Mikio said, frowning. "And unless we want Akira to give us that glare of hers again, we should get going _now."_

Nodding, the duo began to quickly make their way to the dining hall...but not before Mikio pointed out, "Hey, uh- are you okay? You've got a bit of bruising on your face there..."

"Wha-? Oh- yeah, I got hit with a door," Hana explained. "Long story."

With that, the two ran off to meet with the others. However, Hana's curiosity was piqued...just why did Akira want to suddenly gather up everyone for a meeting? She could think of a few theories...but she wouldn't know for sure until she and Mikio made it to the dining hall.

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 **A/N: Aha...ahahaha...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I DID IT, IT'S COMPLETE!** _ **8,823**_ ** _WORDS_ , BUT I DID IT! Woooo boy, that's a lotta words...I think this may be the longest thing I've written for any of my works, ever. I mean, can you blame me? That was a lotta characters I had to introduce, while also implementing plot!**

 **So...yeah, there you go! That's Class 80, all fifteen of them! Plaaace your bets folks, place your bets! Who do you think will be the first to die? Who will survive? Who's your favorite(s)? Least favorite(s)? General first impressions? ...You don't have to actually answer these questions, this is just me talking and in need of reviews and validation. But if you want to talk about the characters, by all means do so!**

 **And next chapter...hoo boy! Next chapter will mark the end of the prologue, and the point in which the plot will really start going! ...No deaths, no, but the start of the plot proper! Hope you'll stick around to see it! See ya then!**


	3. Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 3)

**A/N: Well here we are, it's time for another chapter of Remember Hope! After recovering from the marathon that was the previous chapter, it's time to get back to work! And here we are, the third and final part of the Prologue! Wooooo.**

 **So, last time we became acquainted with Class 80 and all its quirky students (most of which will be murderized, as par for the course in DR)- so what's next? What did Akira want to meet with them about? And will a certain black and white someone finally make an appearance? Find out...now!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _Imagination is king:_ A bet you say? I accept this challenge! ...I mean I'm not gonna confirm or deny your prediction, but I accept regardless. And yeah, no, everyone's talents are known, sorry to break tradition. And as for the bear, you'll find out about him...right now!**

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 **Prologue: Despair's Luxury (Part 3)**

Even before Hana and Mikio entered the dining hall, they could hear the chattering of the various students emanating from the room. Stepping inside, they could see their classmates scattered about and interacting with one another. Only a handful of the students stood by themselves- Hiroshi, Azami, Itachi, and Akira (which didn't surprise Hana too much)- while everyone else was talking with somebody.

"Hey Hana, Mikio," greeted a calm voice. Hiroshi, who had been casually standing by the wall alone, walked over to them with a little smile. "Looks like you two are the last to arrive. Maybe now we can get this 'meeting' you guys told us about underway."

"Um, Akira didn't happen to say anything about what she actually wanted us all here to talk about, did she?" Hana asked Hiroshi. However, the coroner simply shrugged and turned his gray eyes to the prosecutor in question before replying, "No idea. But my curiosity is certainly at a high point, I'll say. This should _definitely_ be interesting."

"Whatever it's for, I hope it doesn't take too long," Mikio remarked, frowning. "I still didn't get to eat anything!"

A few moments later, Hana saw Akira make her way towards the front of the banquet table. Then, the prosecutor spoke up, "Alright, everyone! Everyone, quiet now!"

Her commanding tone was enough to get the attention of the fourteen other students, who all turned their attention to the red-haired young woman. Once she knew everyone was paying attention, Akira continued, "Thank you. Now, I had you all gather here for an important discussion. I think it goes without saying that we've been thrust into a rather...odd situation, to say the least."

"I agree! This is, without a doubt, _not_ Hope's Peak Academy!" Ryoto loudly declared, pointing dramatically as he spoke.

"Well thanks for the input Captain Obvious," Shiori deadpanned, rolling her eyes at the race car driver's words. "I don't suppose anyone has anything on where we _actually_ are?"

"Sorry- I looked all over this place as much as I could," Kaneki replied. "If there is something that gives us a clue as to where we are, I couldn't find it."

"Yes, even with my incredible powers, any answers hidden within the print-clad halls of knowledge continue to elude me..." Azami added in that dramatic tone of hers.

"You can just call it a 'library'," Itachi stated to the illusionist, who glared at him in response.

"Regardless...I believe there's one important question we've all been ignoring- which I shall address now," Akira spoke, before asking, "Does anyone recall how we actually arrived here?"

The room fell silent. Hana closed her eyes, trying to rack her brain for any memory as to how she ended up in this castle with the others. However, her last memories were...fuzzy, to say the least. Despite this, she still tried her hardest to think. _C'mon Hana, think, you have to have remembered something. Let's see...I arrived at Hope's Peak with my parents, talked with them for a bit before they left, I walked towards the school, I was about to head inside, and then...and then..._

"...I'm...not sure if this is at all useful..." Rumi began, breaking the silence. "But...all I can remember is that I was at Hope's Peak, and just as I was about to walk into the building itself...I blacked out. That's the last thing I remember before I woke up in my bedroom here."

Hana gasped in shock before she blurted, "Hey, that's exactly what happened to me!"

"Yeah...yeah, now that you mention it, me too!" Mikio added, his eyes widening with surprise.

One by one, the rest of the students spoke up in various forms of agreement. Finally, Akira herself responded, "Hm...then it seems we have a connection. Everyone, myself included, had the same experience: We were all just about to go enter Hope's Peak, when we suddenly blacked out and awoke here."

"But isn't it strange?" Saku asked, frowning. "To take one or two of us would be one thing, but...all of us? At once, in such a crowded area?"

"D-Did they knock us out...? Drug us...?" Asuna suggested, trembling. "Oh, I-I don't want to be a kidnapping victim!"

"Hold on, I don't think it was something that direct," Hiroshi explained, his calm demeanor unflinching from the discussion at hand. "I think we would have been able to feel if someone knocked us out or drugged us. Based on our experiences, it just simply seems like we just...passed out. I'm not saying it makes any sense, and it still raises a lot of questions, but it's the best explanation so far."

"Well, I say that's a good thing! It means we weren't harmed at all, at the very least!" Shiro added with a smile. Well, Hana supposed _someone_ had to be the optimist in this confusing time.

"Even still, it doesn't seem to add up," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses in thought. "The thought of someone taking all of us almost at once in such a location, whether we were drugged or knocked out or some other method, is strange in of itself. Not to mention, due to the blacking out, we don't have any knowledge of how exactly we came here, or even where we are..."

"Well if that's the case, I don't see what exactly talking is gonna do for us," Hinata remarked with a shrug. "Man, things would be so much easier if the answer just, I dunno, popped up somewhere."

As if tempted by the thief's words, a new sound suddenly rang out in the dining hall. Everyone turned to the source of the sound, and Hana was surprised by what she was seeing: The strange TV monitor planted on the wall, which had been off and silent since she woke up, was now suddenly displaying static. Seconds later, the static cleared up slightly, enough to reveal a strange silhouette on the screen. Hana could tell it vaguely resembled a...teddy bear of some kind? Strange indeed...

"Uhh, testing, testing, 1, 2, 3! Is this thing working? Can everyone hear me?" a high-pitched, almost playful and childish voice spoke from the monitor. "Ahem- this is a special school broadcast! To all students, you are to report to the main hall for a very important announcement at your earliest convenience! That's all- I'll be waiting!~"

With that, the monitor went dark again, leaving the teens in a state of shock and confusion.

After a few moments, Tadao broke the silence with a chuckle. "My, my- what an intriguing turn of events..."

"Uh...are we...actually going...?" Asuna asked, turning to the others with fright.

"I get the feeling we don't have much of a choice..." Hana replied, gulping.

"And even if we did, we'd still be going," Akira added. "Because this may very well be an opportunity to find some answers."

One by one, the students stood up and made their way out of the dining hall. Hana glanced at Mikio, who looked just as clueless as she was before he followed them. The surfer soon followed suit, still visibly uncertain.

Not to mention- though the voice of the one on the monitor sounded childish and innocent enough...somehow, just thinking about it filled Hana with an almost overwhelming sense of dread.

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As soon as Hana entered the main hall with the others, she immediately noticed something was different. Specifically- the room had was completely black, the only light in the room coming from the courtyard doors' windows on the other side of the room.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" she heard Shiro ask.

"If this is a joke, I don't find it funny!" Ryoto shouted from another part of the room. "Whoever did this, reveal yourself now!"

Suddenly, a new sound rang out through the hall...a drum roll?

"Ladies and gentlemen! If everyone is here, then let's begin!" a voice called out. Hana immediately recognized the voice as the one that had spoken on the monitor earlier.

Moments later, the drum roll cut off as light filled the massive chamber again, but now something else was new. Namely, the large red podium placed in the center of the room. Upon it, a microphone and a bottle of water, as well as a logo resembling the Hope's Peak Academy crest having been emblazoned on the front. And then, something else popped up and landed on the podium...something Hana could not have expected.

It wasn't very tall at all, and closely resembled a teddy bear. Its body seemed to split, in a way- the left side was a pure white color, with its face appearing to be the kind you'd see on a teddy bear as well. The right side of its body was completely different- a pure black color, a jagged red eye, and a wide toothy grin that had a sinister edge to it. But the part that shocked Hana the most: it spoke, in that same childish voice. "Welcome, students!"

"...What. Is. That," Itachi stated, his stoic demeanor shaken by this sudden turn of events.

"I ask again: Is this a joke?" Ryoto demanded. "I still don't find it funny!"

"Nope! I'm the real deal alright!" the bear responded with a wave. "I'm smarter than the average bear, more advanced than some random stuffed animal...I am Monokuma!"

Hana couldn't do anything but just...stare, dumbfounded, at the display in front of her. As if this situation couldn't get any stranger, now this 'Monokuma' being appears, talking and being completely carefree. To the surfer, it all felt so...out of place, so fundamentally _wrong._ She couldn't put her finger on it, but Monokuma's presence brought about some kind of...darkness, despite his voice and mannerisms.

"I dunno, you look like a stuffed animal to me," Hinata remarked, tilting his head a bit. "Unless you're some kind of robot or something like that..."

"I can assure you, I am not a stuffed animal," Monokuma repeated, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. "You kids should show a little respect! After all, you're looking at the gracious headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy! In fact, I have-"

"H-Headmaster!?" Hana yelped, incredulous. In her confused mind, she thought, _No way...that thing is the school's headmaster!? How does that even work!?_

"Wait, the headmaster of Hope's Peak is...a bear!?" Shiro cried, also shocked.

"That...explains a lot, actually," Shiori noted to herself.

"In fact, this year I decided to try a little something new!" Monokuma went on, ignoring the interruptions. "You see, your class was lucky enough to be chosen to spend your school life here, in this amazingly luxurious castle! Isn't it neat? Breathtaking? Come on, you love it, admit it!"

As Hana tried to make sense of what was going on, Akira spoke up, "So then, _you_ chose us...am I correct to assume that you're the one responsible for bringing us here to begin with?"

"Puhuhu...maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Monokuma replied, as if amused by the question. "But, continuing on now..."

"This is so weird..." Mikio muttered next to Hana, presumably saying what everyone else was thinking.

"As I said, you all will be spending your school time completely within the walls of this castle," Monokuma explained. "It is here that you will live a communal life with one another, nourishing the hope that you young and talented teens bring to the world with your potential!"

"You know, this...doesn't actually sound _too_ bad..." Kaneki remarked with a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah! We can all handle having to live together here for a little while!" Shiro cheerfully added with a nod. "Even if it's all in this one castle, I'm sure we can all manage, and plus we'll get to bond with one another!"

"Well look at that! Already, such hopeful words!" Monokuma remarked. Hana glanced at the cheerful poet, pondering his words. _Is Shiro right...? Is all this...really okay? I mean, I've still got a lot of questions, and I'm doubting the ethics of all this, but-_

Then, Monokuma added, "Oh, there's one tiny detail about your school life here that I almost forgot to mention! This communal life of yours is meant to last... _indefinitely!_ That means 'forever' for all you slower ones out there."

"See guys, we're just gonna be here for..." Shiro began...before the information seemed to click in his mind. "...F...Forever...?"

"Forever!? As in, until we die forever!?" Rumi cried, covering her mouth in horror.

"That's what it means, so yes!" Monokuma replied, his grin only growing. "And don't think of trying to call for help or anything- as of now, you're all completely cut off from the outside world!"

"Cut off...!?" Saku said to himself, the news enough to make the kickboxer open his green eyes in total shock.

"Okay, forget what I said, this is sounding really bad now!" Kaneki yelped, her own eyes wide with a growing fear.

"S-So you're saying we're on our own here? Forever!?" Hana asked, panic rapidly growing in her gut. Surely...Surely this had to be fake. A joke! To be kidnapped and trapped in this castle for the rest of their lives...that couldn't be possible!

"Geez, am I going to have to explain things twice to you guys all the time?" Monokuma asked in mock exasperation. "Honestly, I don't see what the problem is! There are some people out there who would _kill_ to live in a castle, you know! Teens these days, so hard to please..."

"Th-That's not the problem here!" Mikio cried out, flustered. "We have lives, families! I-I myself promised my mother I would call her as soon as I finished my first day of classes, she's probably waiting for me right now!"

"M-Me too! My parents, they...they're probably going to be worried out of their minds once they find out my class and I are missing!" Hana shouted at the bear.

"Oh please- you all should just forget about all that stuff from the outside world. _This_ is your home now!" Monokuma replied with a sinister edge to his voice. Then, he added, "Although...if you really want out of this place that badly...there is one thing that could help with that!"

"Wait, seriously?" Hinata asked, surprised. "It's not something complicated, is it?"

"Rest assured, Mr. Yonade, it's not hard to understand at all!" Monokuma responded gleefully. "I call it the Graduation Clause!"

"Y-Yeah? Don't leave us in suspense, what is it?" Hana asked, stepping forward a little bit as she spoke.

"You see, you're to live in a communal lifestyle during your time here in order to maintain an environment of order and harmony," Monokuma began, gesturing to the group of fifteen before him. "However, if someone were to say...break that order and harmony and get away with it, they alone would be allowed to graduate and leave this castle!"

"That is certainly...vague," Tadao noted, stroking his chin in thought.

"It certainly is..." Akira said in response to the waiter. "Tell us, what do you mean by 'disrupt the order and harmony'?"

"Puhuhu...well, I guess I have no choice but to come out and say it, don't I?" Monokuma responded, though part of him appeared to be more eager than Hana thought was appropriate for this situation. "If you want to graduate...you must commit a murder! _You must kill one of your classmates!_ See, I told you it was easy to understand!"

This information seemed to hit everyone like a sledgehammer. Hana's blood went cold as ice as she tried to comprehend what she had heard. _He's...He's not serious, is he? Kill each other? That's...no, that's crazy, completely crazy!_

Azami laughed from behind the group. Then she spoke up in her dramatic voice, "Hahaha- quite the absurd tale you've spun, fiend. You almost had me, Azami Kurobe, for a fool. But now I see this is nothing but a farce- I mean, kill to graduate? What a foolish trick. Foolish I say! It would be best to renounce your lies now."

Monokuma, however, remained silent...all with a sinister grin on his face.

"...Why...Why aren't you saying...?" Azami asked, her voice returning to normal as her face went pale.

"Mmm, probably because there's nothing to renounce! I'm being completely, one hundred percent honest with you all!" Momokuma replied. "Stabbing, bludgeoning, strangling, burning, poisoning, crushing, impaling- it doesn't matter how you murder someone, you just have to kill!"

"You're...You're serious!?" Mikio cried, his face blue with terror.

"Forget what I said before! This is bad, _really really bad!"_ Kaneki shouted, her face also going pale.

"You _fiend!_ Forcing us here to kill one another..." Itachi growled at Monokuma. "You bring nothing but dishonor unto the name of Hope's Peak!"

"Heh- well to be honest with ya, there's only one thing I want out of all this..." Monokuma explained. "You see, you all are the hope of the nation! And when hope is broken, murdered, burned at the stake, the result is a lingering wave of despair. And that despair, well..."

The bear then looked up, his red eye almost glowing as he finished in a low tone, "That despair is all I want."

He then quickly returned to his regular cheery demeanor as he concluded, "So that's why you all need to do your very best to achieve the very worst!"

Hana's head ached as all this information came out. None of it made any sense, it was like Monokuma was speaking in some foreign language. The surfer wanted desperately for this all to be some kind of fever dream, or an elaborate prank...and yet, something in her mind told her otherwise, that this was real, too real.

Then, without warning, a black blur suddenly shot across the room like a bullet. In an instant, Monokuma was lifted into the air by a certain Ultimate Thief...

"Okay everyone, it's been fun and all, but I think it's time we winded down a bit, eh?" Hinata said as he held up Monokuma with a triumphant smirk. "I don't know whose twisted idea this was, but I'm pretty it's gotten old by now."

"Wh-Whaaat?" Monokuma exclaimed. "For your information, violence against the headmaster is prohibited by the school's rules and regulations!"

"Yeah yeah, and I'm a monkey's uncle," Hinata replied as he turned back to the others. "Look, guys, it's a fucking teddy bear with some fancy tech to make it walk and talk. _It can't do a thing to us,_ let alone force us into killing each other! Look at it, it's completely dead now!"

Hana looked towards Monokuma- sure enough, the black and white bear had gone completely still and silent. Well...not completely silent, based on the beeping sound emanating from his body.

"W...Why is it beeping like that...?" Asuna softly asked, fearful.

Nobody had an answer...but soon, the beeping grew faster, and faster...

"Hinata!? Hinata, throw it!" Ryoto shouted, seeming to realize what the beeping was. "Get rid of it, NOW!"

"Wh-What!?" Hinata yelped, frozen and not throwing the bear. In an instant, Saku sped towards the thief with the speed of a cheetah. The kickboxer proceeded to tear Monokuma away from Hinata's grasp, then chucked the bear into the air with a shout. Seconds later...

 _BOOM!_

The room shook as Monokuma violently exploded, causing the chandelier above to rock back and forth from the force. Hana stumbled a bit from the blast, her ears ringing and her nostrils stinging from the strong scent of gunpowder. As the chandelier stopped moving and the smoke cleared, one thing was for certain- that explosion was the real deal. Hinata, his face as white as a ghost, collapsed onto his rear due to the shock of just how close he had come to death.

"I...believe the explosion destroyed that evil being completely," Saku surmised, panting.

"I'm not surprised..." Akira responded, frowning. "And yet, we're still left with many unanswered questions..."

"Well...at least he's gone now!" Rumi pointed out. "We don't have to deal with him anymore!"

"Yeah, you totally don't have to deal with that guy anymore!" Monokuma replied, having popped up right next to the scuba diver...wait, Monokuma!?

"W-What!? There's more of you!?" Hana cried. "B-But you just-! We saw you-!"

"What, you think you can get rid of me that easily?" Monokuma asked with a twisted grin. "Now then, Hinata Yonade...I'll let you off with a warning this time. But if you try to violate the rules again, well...my punishment to you may not be so lax."

"L-Lax!? You tried to kill him!" Mikio yelled, his voice uncharacteristically furious.

"Such a deplorable display...headmaster or not, you are a menace, and I will stand to let you leave this room alive!" Itachi called. At that moment, he reached down and pulled up his pants legs...revealing a pair of sheaths hidden by the fabric, each one holding an identical survivalist hunting knife. Grasping one knife in each hand, the weapons expert growled, "Do your worst, fiend, your skin shall make a fine trophy."

"Yeah! I'm not letting you kill anyone here, I can guarantee that!" Kaneki shouted, pulling out her bullwhip and cracking it on the ground in preparation. "I hope you're ready, because this baby can hit like a truck _and_ it's completely indestructible!"

"Now, I tend to stick by my Hippocratic Oath to a T..." Shiori said...before pulling out a trio a scalpels like they were throwing knives (at this point, Hana had to wonder why these people had random weapons on them). "But for you, 'Headmaster', I may just make an exception."

"Ooh? Already testing your luck? What makes you think I won't try to punish you like I did to the thief over there?" Monokuma asked, punctuating that statement by extending his bear claws. "But if you want to try, then go ahead- _I dare ya."_

Hana's heart was racing as she watched the three Ultimates stare down the bear, teeth clenched and fire in their eyes. For a second, the surfer thought one of them might actually try to strike Monokuma...but after a few seconds, the three of them stood down and stepped away, putting away their weapons.

"Puhuhuhu- it's refreshing to see some of you actually have functioning brains!" Monokuma remarked, before laughing again. It had only been a few minutes, but Hana was already starting to despise that laugh... Monokuma then added, "Besides, it's not like destroying me right there would have done anything- there are dozens of me all over the castle, not to mention the nifty security cameras set up everywhere! So I'll know if you're breaking the rules, and when I catch you...well, I'm sure you know the rest!"

"You are being remarkably chipper about all this..." Tadao remarked to himself, seemingly disturbed.

"Now then, before I wrap up this little assembly, I have something very special for all of you!" the 'headmaster' added, before holding up a small tablet of some kind with the same crest as before displayed on the gray screen.

"This is your official student handbook! Since it's completely digital, we call it the e-Handbook!" Monokuma explained as each student was handed one. By this point, however, Hana had gone too mentally numb to really acknowledge it. The bear went on, "Now, these handbooks have each been assigned to a specific student each, which you can tell by simply turning it on and seeing the owner's name being displayed! Make sure you check to ensure you don't have the wrong one!"

Nobody really said anything in response- everyone else probably felt just as spent as Hana did.

"Now, this little handbook is a necessity to your school life here, so take good care of it! In addition, the e-Handbook comes with a whole plethora of great functions, such as a map of the castle and a guide to the rules and regulations of Hope's Peak Academy, among other things!" Monokuma went on. "And before any of you ask, these are completely indestructible! Waterproof, fireproof, bulletproof, you name it, the e-Handbook can survive it!"

"Well then...I suppose that wraps up this exciting assembly!" Monokuma concluded. "I'll see you all soon! And enjoy your new school life together!~"

With another loud laugh, Monokuma jumped behind the red podium and disappeared without a trace. With the 'headmaster' gone, Hana and the rest of her classmates were left with nothing but more questions than when they had arrived.

"...Well then. That was quite the experience, to say the least," Hiroshi spoke up, having been completely quiet throughout the entire presentation.

"'Experience'...? Just what the hell was that!?" Ryoto demanded, clenching his fists in frustration. "Live here forever, or kill someone to escape!? This isn't even a joke anymore, it's just...it's fucking sick, that's what!"

"Well, regardless...it seems for all our questions answered, we've now found several new ones in their place..." Akira noted with a sigh.

"Well, hey, no need to panic just yet!" Hana said, trying to sound calm. "I mean, let's be real for a second- nobody's _actually_ considering the whole 'kill someone to escape' thing, right?"

However, contrary to what Hana expected...nobody answered. The room fell silent, as a chilling sense of fear and suspicion fell onto the room like a blanket. The students all glanced at one another, as if trying to figure out who, if anyone, was considering the idea of murder...of betraying everyone. Even some of the more level-headed and stoic of the Ultimates looked visibly uncomfortable as tension became palpable.

In that moment, Hana realized the true horror of Monokuma's Graduation Clause: "You must kill someone if you want to graduate." The surfer realized, with a wave of darkness threatening to suffocate her, just how vulnerable they all truly were in this castle- no, this cage.

Hana realized the true nature of why they had brought here. Not to nurture a growing hope for the nation, no...but to cultivate an absolute, ultimate despair.

 **Prologue: Despair's Luxury- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 15**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

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 **A/N: Whooooo boy, lookit that! Prologue over, and you know what that means? It's time for the start of the story proper! ...Not that it hadn't started already, but you know all this Prologue stuff is exposition and whatnot. And I know what you're all here for- you're here for teenagers in murder mysteries and a zany bear mascot trying to spread despair all over! Well fret not, you won't have to wait much longer, the normal chapters will be starting up next time! And you know what else is starting up? That's right- I'm taking a nod from Despair's Last Resort and implementing in the ever-popular and character-developing Free Time Events!**

 **If you've played the games, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, consider this my tutorial: In the games, Free Time Events are opportunities the player can interact with and spend time with the other characters, in order to learn more about them and strengthen their bond. In this story, they'll basically work the same way- Hana going and interacting with her fellow classmates, resulting in her (and you, the readers) learning more about them, their backstories, deep dark secrets, etc...minus being able to give them presents and earning Skills to be used during trials and such. Also, these FTEs won't affect the main story too much- though the FTEs don't really affect the plot in the actual games either, so no that's not just me being lazy.**

 **As for how the Free Time Events work here, as in who will be picked...that will be up to you guys! Yup, I'll let you guys vote in your reviews which character(s) you want to see have a Free Time Event with, and the character(s) with the most votes will be chosen! Now, don't worry- I'll be sure to let you guys know whenever there will be Free Time Events in the following chapter, as well as if any (living) students are unavailable for FTEs in that chapter.**

 **So, bottom line: Free Time Events are gonna be a thing starting next chapter, say which character you want to see with your review, and the one(s) with the most votes will be featured! So, since next chapter will include two Free Time Events, that means you can vote for...two _DIFFERENT_ characters! ...Oh, and even if no one votes, there will still be FTEs, I'll just pick the characters myself in that case. **

**So with that, I'll see you all in the next chapter- bye!**


	4. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 1)

**A/N: Welcome one and all back to Remember Hope! Now that the Prologue's over, we can get started on the "first" chapter of the story! So, last time- Monokuma, everyone! He's finally here, and set into motion the killing game! I dunno, as wary of myself as I am when it comes to writing canon characters from...anything, I thought I did pretty good with Monokuma. I guess I just enjoy playing crazy, zany characters like him. So anyways, what's next? Well, everyone's suspicious and scared and confused...what could go wrong? Also, the first set of Free Time Events! Thank you to those who voted...and by that I'm referring to one person, but hey it makes my life easier!**

 **Also! We've officially reached the double digits in views, so give it up for double digits! Whooo!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Little late there bud- but even though this review is for Part 2 of the Prologue, I'll reply to it here! First- man, poor Hiroshi, everyone thinking he's gonna die or something. ...Now you may very well be right with that prediction, but it's not like I'm gonna tell. As for Itachi and Shiori- well, the former's "Ultimate Weapons Expert" talent, I can see you thinking would be useful. Shiori, though...I mean she's useful, I'm just not sure she'd be any better with investigating than the others. Well, I mean, _do_ know, I'm the author- ah, you'll see. And at any rate, I like your predictions and feedback about your favorite character, so thanks for that!**

 **Now, as for your review from last chapter: Well, to be fair, Hope's Peak is a pretty...let's say _unique_ school, so having a wild animal as headmaster would kinda explain a few things, no (at least, it would to Shiori)? Also, thank you for the votes! The only votes- but that means your characters automatically win, so yaaaay!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Daily Life (Part 1)**

Hana didn't know how long everyone had been frozen in place by Monokuma's words. What was probably only a minute or two felt like hours as everyone stared at one another in a mass standoff. Finally, someone spoke up.

"W-Well...if we really think about this..." Shiro said, trying to sound hopeful. "He never said we had to kill, right? It's just an option, we don't have to listen to it at all! S-So, if we just keep calm and not murder anyone, we'll all be fine!"

"So...what, we're just supposed to be content living in this damn place forever?" Shiori demanded, her face going red with frustration. "Well speak for yourself, some of us have lives outside of here!"

"B-But it's still better than murder!" Shiro insisted, stepping back a bit from her.

"Perhaps...but at the same time, this 'Graduation Clause' has already planted seeds of doubt and darkness in all of us..." Tadao remarked. "There is no telling what some of us are capable of, wouldn't you agree?"

"S-Stop that! The Queen of the Dark Arts commands it!" Azami shouted at Tadao, trying to sound fearless despite the opposite being visible in her eyes. "I...do not fear the idea of someone murdering another, it's just...Azami Kurobe may or may not be a very paranoid person! S-So if you would kindly _shut it-!"_

"I-I... _I don't want die!_ " Asuna cried before breaking down into terrified sobbing.

From there, the situation only devolved further. Hana watched the various teens either panic or devolve into arguing, among others. Asuna was on her knees, crying, while Kaneki tried to calm her down; Shiori was still yelling at Shiro, while Itachi tried to defuse the situation (though he seemed to be struggling to keep his own anger in check); Ryoto and Hinata were arguing with each other, while Saku and Rumi tried to calm _them_ down; Azami was off by herself, although judging by her trembling and shifting eyes she seemed to be on the verge of snapping herself. Hana glanced at Mikio, who looked totally helpless and panicked in this situation. Meanwhile, Tadao stood by himself as well, although he looked almost amused seeing everyone fly off the handle so quickly; at the same time, Hiroshi was also by himself, but he didn't look amused or afraid...he just had that aura of eerie calmness about him. Hana was honestly amazed- did nothing faze this guy?

"Alright! That's enough, all of you!" Akira shouted above all the chaos. Hana didn't know if it was the shock of hearing someone suddenly yell out like that or the sheer commanding tone of her voice, but within moments everyone went silent as they looked to the prosecutor.

"Do you honestly think panicking and shrieking at one another will make this situation any better?" Akira asked, glaring. "I'll be honest- at this point, my trust in you all has been dropped considerably due to Monokuma's murder option. However, I also realize that acting like a bunch of maniacs will only make things worse. What we need is stability and order- only then will we be able to find more answers."

Hana looked around again, and saw that everyone had considerably calmed down indeed. Then, before Akira could say anything else, a new sound was heard by the class.

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The monitor in the main hall turned on once more, and Monokuma was fully visible on the screen. The bear was sitting on some kind of golden throne within a throne room of some kind, wearing a little crown on his head and holding a glass of wine in one of his hands. "Ahem- this is a school announcement! It is now 10 P.M.! As such, is it officially nighttime! Soon the doors to the dining hall and courtyard will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited."

He went on, "Well then, sweet dreams everyone! May the walls of this castle help you feel secure as you sleep!"

With that, the monitor went black again. Rumi asked, "What was that...?"

"It's probably explained in the e-Handbook somewhere..." Akira guessed, looking down at her own handbook.

"But still, ten o'clock already?" Tadao observed. "Time certainly flies, I suppose."

Akira sighed and went on, "At any rate...it seems it's late, and we're all exhausted I'm sure. Therefore, it would be beneficial if we all went to sleep. We can talk more about what we've learned tomorrow."

Nobody had any objections. One by one, the students all filed into the hall containing the dorms, and they each went into their respective rooms without another word. Hana herself kept silent as she went to her room- there were quite a few things she wanted to say, but she just couldn't find it in herself to speak after what just happened. Monokuma's appearance, what he had to say, the resulting panic...it was enough to leave the surfer numb.

As she quietly entered the room, closing the door behind her, Hana looked around once more. This mysterious room had already felt strange, but now it was starting to feel more like a prison cell. Then, Hana realized she never actually unpacked her stuff. The surfer sighed- even though her stuff was right there on the desk, she didn't want to bother with it at that moment. Still, she figured she'd at least take a look at her stuff so she could refresh her memory as to what she'd be needing to unpack tomorrow. Hana zipped open the bag- clothes, a few throw pillows, a little model surfboard (Hana didn't know why she bought that- maybe because it looked kind of cute?), a few school supplies (which she figured she wouldn't actually be using at this point), and in one of the other pockets...a certain photo.

Hana stopped and held up the picture. The picture her father had taken, the one that showed her and her parents smiling in front of Hope's Peak Academy. The girl stopped looking through her stuff and sat down on the bed as she continued to stare down at the picture. A wave of sorrow washed over her the more she thought about her family, the more she stared at this photo- suddenly, she didn't feel like looking through her stuff anymore. Hana placed the photo under her pillow before lying down, not even bothering to put her pajamas on.

Despite how tired she was, the surfer couldn't help but wonder about home, about her dear parents. Surely, news that her and her class were missing had spread by now, hadn't it? Her parents had to have found out that they were missing...what were they thinking? Hana shook her head- that was a dumb question, of course they would be worried. The surfer wanted to do something, anything to ease whatever fears they may have- but she knew that was impossible, seeing as how they were completely cut off from the outside world. Then there was Monokuma's Graduation Clause- 'You must kill someone if you want to leave.' Hana realized nobody was truly safe with that rule in place...not even her.

 _What if...what if someone considers it? What if someone tries to commit murder?_ Hana wondered, her eyes starting to sting. _What if...I get murdered? If I die here, then my parents...they might never know what happened to me...I'd never see them again, hear their voices again, I'd never...never..._

Hana couldn't even finish her thoughts as she grew more tired. Right then, the surfer turned over and buried her face in her pillow...that way, no one would be able to hear her sobbing as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

Monokuma, still on his throne, appeared on the monitors all over the castle again. "Good morning everyone! It is now 7 A.M., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another luxurious day!"

Hana groggily sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Another announcement? At this hour? The surfer surmised it was probably something explained in the e-Handbook too, but she was still in no mood to look at it. Standing up, she figured it was too early to really go out and about, so the girl decided she'd might as well get started unpacking her things.

After a few minutes of organizing and such, Hana heard a knock at her door. Curious, the girl walked over and opened it. Who could this be...?

"Ah, hey Hana," Mikio greeted once the door was opened. "I was wondering if you were awake- it's so early and all, I wasn't sure if the announcement woke you or not."

"Oh! Well, uh, no need to worry, I'm fully awake!" Hana assured Mikio with a smile. After everything that had happened yesterday, seeing Mikio here in front of her was enough to lift her spirits. "It's really nice of you to check up on me, though."

"Well, truth be told, that's not entirely it..." Mikio admitted with a hand behind his head. "You see, I'm going around gathering or waking up everyone and telling them to go to the dining hall."

"Oh- is that it?" Hana asked. Well, so much for being special...

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint- Akira's orders," Mikio explained with a sigh. "Guess I'm just her errand boy now or something..."

"Well- alright, I'll be down there in a few," Hana replied to him. The game designer nodded and walked off, presumably to go find the other students. Hana sighed and went off to go wash up, slightly disappointed she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Mikio more. Oh well, hopefully she'd get another chance at the dining hall.

* * *

After washing up, Hana made her way to the dining room. As she entered, she could already see quite a few of the others already sitting at the large table, chatting in pairs or in little groups.

"Well, look who's here," a certain thief stated, walking over to her. He was holding something in his hand- a fedora? "Morning, Hana."

"Oh, hey Hinata!" Hana replied with a nod of greeting, not really noting the object Hinata had. "Hey, are you feeling okay after yesterday? You know, with the whole 'almost being blown up' thing?"

"Ah-ah-ah, let's not talk about that, I am fine," Hinata quickly responded, seeming eager to not bring up his near-death experience. "That's why I'm saying hi to people, to bring my mood up!"

He then held up the hat, which Hana thought looked familiar, and added, "Another thing that lifts my spirits...doing what I love best, being the Ultimate Thief!"

"Wait, you stole that?" Hana asked, frowning. "You know, maybe you shouldn't do that so much..."

"Ah calm down, I'm gonna give it back!" Hinata assured her with a shrug. "Just gotta scratch that itch sometimes, you know? Besides, I wanna see how long I can keep this 'loot' of mine under the radar before someone-"

"So it was _you_ who took my hat, Hinata!" Kaneki, who was suddenly behind the thief in question, yelled in anger. She then yanked the hat out of his grasp and put it back on with a 'hmph!', before glaring at Hinata and walking back to her conversation with Asuna.

"...Ah, it would have been hard to hide it on me anyways," Hinata conceded with a sigh before walking off. Hana couldn't help but chuckle a little- antics like that made her almost forget the dire situation they were in.

"Hey, found the rest!" Mikio declared as he entered the room with Azami, Shiori, and Ryoto in tow.

"I would hope this is important, the Queen of the Dark Arts was busy at work with-" Azami began...only to notice how much the room smelled like breakfast and quickly ask, "Wait is that turkey bacon?"

"For the record, I would have come down soon, I was just making sure my room was in order," Shiori explained, crossing her arms with a huff.

"I understand breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but so is an early-morning workout!" Ryoto declared with a little glare at Mikio before he went to find his seat.

"Everyone...?" Hana wondered, looking around the room. "But...I don't see Tadao, Saku, or Rumi anywhere."

"Oh, they're making the food," Mikio explained. "Apparently Saku and Rumi are...decent at cooking, and Tadao's just doing his waiter thing."

Hana nodded in understanding, turning to the rest of the room to see what the others were up to. Shiro was sitting at one seat, happily writing away in his notebook; Itachi was sitting near him, cross-legged on the seat as if meditating and with a cup of tea in front of him, only glancing up to either drink or to see what Shiro was writing; Kaneki was back to talking with Asuna, who surprisingly didn't look too nervous (or at least not as nervous as she had been when Hana first met the gardener); Ryoto seemed to be doing some stretches to the side, while Shiori seemed to be trying to focus on her own thoughts; Hinata, Azami, and Akira were off by themselves, casually leaning on one of the walls, reading some kind of book with a weird symbol on the cover, and examining one of the metal plates respectively. Lastly, there was Hiroshi, who _had_ been sitting by himself, but was now approaching Hana and Mikio.

"Hey there, you two," Hiroshi greeted. "Nice little gathering I'd say, isn't it?"

"I'd hope it's nice, I'm the one Akira forced into gathering everyone," Mikio replied with a frown. "I just want some breakfast man, then I'll be happy..."

"I'm just wondering why Akira wants us gathered...again," Hana pondered. "I mean, I know there's a lot to talk about, but..."

"Hm...we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose," Hiroshi replied coolly, turning towards some empty seats. "At any rate, I'm sure you don't want to stay standing this whole time, so why don't we take a seat?"

Mikio graciously accepted, with Hana following and sitting down with the two herself.

"Alright guys, food's ready!" Rumi announced as she poked her head into the room from what Hana could assume was the kitchen. Tadao soon exited himself, carrying several plates of food with both arms. He moved around swiftly, setting the plates down one by one without so much as dropping or spilling a single crumb, with a kind of grace and speed Hana would have expected from the Ultimate Waiter. Among the food items were toast, bacon, and eggs- nothing too fancy, but it wasn't like they had an Ultimate Cook in their class, so Hana wasn't expecting something fancy. Soon, Rumi, Saku, and Tadao took their own seats as well.

"So- any reason in particular we're all gathered again like this?" Shiori asked, raising an eyebrow at Akira. "Since I assume this is your doing."

"It is," Akira confirmed. "And I think the reason we're gathered here again is obvoius."

"You're...talking about what that bear- er, Monokuma, told us last night?" Hana guessed. She was wondering when they would all discuss what had happened in more detail, but so soon?

"Of course- I believe it left quite a few elephants in the room," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses. "But first, regarding these e-Handbooks...did anyone besides me actually take a few moments to look through the rules and regulations listed in it?"

"..." Everyone fell into awkward silence, not wanting to admit they hadn't thought to do so...well, everyone except for Tadao, who responded, "Well, I did. Always good to be prepared, as it were. Though it would appear that, unfortunately, most of our classmates are more simple-minded than that."

Hana grimaced slightly- how could someone look and sound so friendly while saying something so condescending?

"Well I wouldn't have chosen those words," Akira remarked. "But, since I planned to discuss these rules anyways, we'd might as well go over them."

With that, the others took out their e-Handbooks and turned them on, Hana included. Like Monokuma said the night before, the handbook prominently displayed her name as it turned on. In the top right corner of the screen, the time could be seen; towards the left of the screen, a menu with several colored options being displayed.

"The rules are in the bottom option," Akira explained. "Just press it with your finger like you would on a phone or something."

Hana followed along with the other students, selecting the option in question. Soon, a list of numbered items appeared, with text boxes explaining the rules being imposed on them.

 **1.) Students will only reside in the castle. Leaving the castle grounds will result in severe consequences.**

"Well that's a no-brainer, since Monokuma made such a big deal about us being cut off from the outside world," Mikio remarked.

"I don't even know how we'd be able to escape, considering the size of the walls...and the metal plates...and the big locked door..." Shiro said, starting to talk more to himself than the others.

 **2.) "Nighttime" is from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.**

"Huh- so that explains those two announcements," Rumi noted, nodding. "Though I'm not sure I want to keep listening to Monokuma's voice every morning and night like that..."

 **3.) Sleeping anywhere other than the bedrooms is strictly prohibited, and students will be punished accordingly.**

"Huh? That's kind of random..." Mikio said, furrowing his brow. "What if you get locked out of your room or something? Or lose your keys?"

"If you do something so stupid as to lock yourself out of your room, you deserve to be 'punished accordingly'," Shiori muttered dryly.

 **4.) With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the castle grounds at your discretion.**

"Well that would be great and all..." Kaneki began, before finishing with a hint of frustration in her usually cheery voice, "If it wasn't for the fact that half this castle is blocked off by gates and locked doors!"

 **5.) Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.**

"Well, we uh...figured that first part out the hard way, didn't we?" Saku said, frowning. Hana noticed Hinata go visibly rigid, most likely remembering the explosion Monokuma caused.

"A shame- few things would bring me greater joy than wiping that smirk off that creature's face," Itachi responded with a low growl.

"Still, I was unaware destroying those cameras was an option..." Azami muttered to herself.

"Well, not anymore, I guess," Hana replied, shrugging as she continued to read.

 **6.) Lending your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited.**

"Now why in the world would we ever do that?" Ryoto asked himself. "If these are so important, as Monokuma said, to lose them in any way would be _disastrous!"_

 **7.) Attempting to break into locked rooms is strictly prohibited.**

"W-What!?" Hinata yelped. "Strictly prohibited...!? N-Now, I'm usually more of the rebel type, but if the punishments Monokuma dolls out are as severe as that explosion, then I can't afford to...aaaagh!"

Hana grimaced. First Kaneki, now Hinata- so many spirits were being crushed right now...

 **8.) Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.**

At this rule, everyone fell silent and solemn again.

"Needless to say, this is the Graduation Clause that Monokuma described last night," Akira clarified.

"But...I don't remember him using the term 'blackened' during his speech last night," Itachi remarked.

"And look at this- 'unless they are discovered'," Rumi pointed out. "That's new, too. And I don't really like the sound of it..."

"..." Hana shook her head, not wanting to think too hard about it, then read the last rule listed.

 **9.) Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.**

"And so, you'll find that many of these are very self-explanatory," Akira explained as she put away her handbook. "Strict, too, but not so strict as to completely debilitate us."

"Speak for yourself!" Hinata blurted in dismay. "'No breaking into locked rooms'!? I'm the Ultimate Thief, that's literally my thing! It's like they're suppressing my talent!"

"You're telling me!" Kaneki added, sounding just as distraught. "We're supposed to be able to go anywhere, but most of the castle is blocked off! And exploring is _my_ thing! It's like they're taunting me!"

"Yeah, because your guys' inability to steal and explore is our biggest issue right now, _without a doubt,"_ Shiori responded, sarcasm dripping from her words. The two Ultimates, still distressed, simply set their heads on the table and buried their faces in their arms. As a result, Asuna looked at Kaneki in concern, proceeding to attempt to comfort her; meanwhile, Ryoto awkwardly shifted away from Hinata, as if embarrassed to be sitting by him, leaving Rumi to have to comfort the thief.

"Yes, such a tragedy, now moving on..." Akira responded, glaring at the two who had disrupted her. "Now that we're all caught up and reminded of the Graduation Clause, allow me to explain the meaning of this meeting."

The prosecutor went on, "Now, I'll be honest. I've seen cases where people kill others for dozens upon dozens of reasons- this Graduation Clause, I'm sure, will tempt many of you...whether you want to admit or not."

"Is...this supposed to make us feel better about what's happened...?" Hana asked, frowning at Akira's words.

The red-haired Ultimate ignored Hana as she went on, "I'll be honest- I don't trust the lot of you not to kill someone. Just because we're young doesn't mean we're incapable of committing some heinous crimes. However...that doesn't mean I want such a crime to occur. So that's why we do, in fact, need order to keep this situation from getting worse while we try to find a way to escape. And so, as of now, I will guide us to that goal."

"Hey, who decided you could be leader?" Ryoto asked, raising an eyebrow. "You just got done talking about how much you don't trust us, and you're always looking at us with those cold and disapproving eyes!"

"Well, the rest of you weren't exactly the most cool under pressure, as proven with your panicking last night," Akira replied. "And just because I may act as leader doesn't mean I have to like any of you. I'm simply going to maintain order and peace to ensure we don't end up murdering each other like something out of a battle royale."

"Well, I say Rimutsu makes a good point," Tadao remarked. "You all don't seem like the most stable of youths, so keeping order is the best way to ensure our safety."

"'Y-Youths'...? B-But you're the same age as us..." Asuna timidly pointed out to the waiter.

"I gotta say, I do like the idea of keeping order and harmony..." Hiroshi finally spoke up. "But...I think there's more to keeping peace than just that. Rules and guidance are fine, but what we really need...is a bond."

"A bond?" Hana asked.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to preach some kind of 'power of friendship' crap..." Shiori murmured, cringing.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds lame- but yes, that is what I'm talking about," Hiroshi replied, smiling confidently. "Say what you want about temptations and such- I believe we're all good people at heart. We just need to...realize that fact, spend time with each other, form relationships and bonds. When we do that, we won't _want_ to kill each other. We won't want to kill our friends, no matter what Monokuma throws at us."

"Yeah, I like the sound of that!" Shiro added eagerly. "If we all form a tight bond and work together, we can find a way out for sure!"

"Hmph- a nice sentiment, but even the best of friends can be driven to murder, you know," Akira pointed out. "It may not be what you want to hear, but that's the hard truth of it."

"And besides- can you really say for certain that, even if some of us do become friends, we'll be immune to murderous thoughts?" Tadao asked. "Personally, no matter how much I'd like to believe the contrary, I don't believe that kind of sentimentalism will have any place here."

"...Maybe. Call it foolish, stupid of me to believe like that," Hiroshi responded with a knowing smile. "But I still do."

"Hmph- fine, I won't force you to think any differently," Akira replied, sighing. "At any rate, I believe we can draw this meeting to a close. Now then, I think we should continue to investigate the grounds, maybe find some new information. We should meet back here again tonight, quarter to nine. We'll eat, and discuss anything we've found then. Any objections?"

Presumably because nobody had any other ideas, the other students said nothing. Although Hana didn't like Akira's cold attitude towards the others, she had to give the young woman credit- at least she knew how to take charge. Maybe it was all those times in a courtroom that made the Ultimate Prosecutor so good at taking charge and persuasion?

With that, the breakfast meeting came to a close. Tadao stayed behind to handle the cleanup while Hana and her classmates went off to do their own things.

"I gotta say, I'm glad we've got some semblance of stability with everything going on," Mikio remarked as he walked into the main hall with Hana. "Still, I'm kinda worried about what Tadao was going on about..."

"I mean...I don't want to think anyone here would go so far as to kill someone..." Hana replied, frowning in concern. "But, still...ugh, after everything that's happened so far, I don't even know what to think..."

"Heh, so we're in the same boat there..." Mikio responded with a nervous chuckle. "I think I just need some time to myself, fresh air...I'll go to the courtyard. See you later, Hana."

Normally, Hana would have insisted on going with the game designer- but even now, she was still feeling slightly distressed, despite the current stability. The surfer figured she'd might as well finish organizing her room.

* * *

After returning to her room, Hana spent some time unpacking the last of her things. Soon enough, things seemed to be in order; her clothes were in the closet, her supplies in the desk drawers, and her mini surfboard sitting on its stand on the desk. All in all, the blue room was starting to actually look welcoming! Somewhat.

"..." Hana sat down on the bed. She thought about the meeting...specifically, what Hiroshi had said. _'_ _I believe we're all good people at heart. We just need to...realize that fact, spend time with each other, form relationships and bonds. When we do that, we won't_ want _to kill each other. We won't want to kill our friends, no matter what Monokuma throws at us.' That's what Hiroshi thinks..._

 _...Maybe he's right. Maybe I should give it a try._ Hana pondered. _I mean, I was hoping to make friends during my time at Hope's Peak anyways...why should that be different now that we've been thrown into this murder thing?_

With that resolution, the girl stood up and exited the room, looking around the hall. There was nobody in the hall, so Hana figured she'd check the main hall. She walked into the large chamber, looking around as she did.

Hana then noticed Hinata sitting towards the top of the stairs, sulking and muttering to himself- most likely still upset about the 'no breaking into locked rooms' rule.

 _You know...I bet he could use some cheering up._ Hana concluded, walking over to the thief.

"Ah man, I'm already feeling the urge to just... _take_ something," Hinata said, more to himself than Hana as he looked upwards. "Hell, I'll take that whole chandelier if I have to, I bet it's worth something."

Hana almost hesitated for a moment, before deciding to speak up. "Hey, Hinata. You look kinda...down. You wanna talk or something?"

"Hm...? Oh, taking Hiroshi's advice, huh?" Hinata remarked, glancing at the surfer. "Alright, fine, I'll humor ya."

With that, Hana sat down next to Hinata on the stairs, conversing with him in an attempt to lift his spirits.

"Man, you'd think in something like a damn castle, they'd have at least something valuable here..." Hinata muttered. "But it's all just really old...stuff, I guess. Nothing that would be worth big money, that's for sure."

"I'm not sure if you should talk about stealing from Monokuma so openly like that..." Hana pointed out, glancing around. "It's easier to get caught in here than it is outside, you know?"

"Well hey, sorry, sometimes I just can't help it," Hinata responded pointedly. "You know, I've been doing this for years now, thieving is kinda all I know."

"Years?" Hana asked, surprised.

"Well yeah! What, do you think I became the Ultimate Thief overnight?" Hinata asked with a grin. "Nah- pulled off my first perfect heist when I was nine, stole a few pounds of apples and bread from a supermarket. And the older I get, the better I become with my stealing."

"I'm...not sure whether to congratulate your skills, or to remind you stealing is very illegal," Hana replied nervously.

"Hah...I know I'm breaking the law," Hinata noted, chuckling slightly. "But hey, that's my other claim to fame- the fact that I've never been caught, and I don't plan to be."

"Well, you're certainly confident," Hana said with a little smile.

"Damn straight. Maybe one of these days I'll tell you about some of my other heists- they're real nail-biters!" Hinata offered with a grin.

"I'll...look forward to it," Hana replied with a nod, trying to sound more sure of her decision than she actually was.

"Eh, I'll take it!" Hinata responded as he cheerfully stood up. "Besides, I'm sure the kitchen's not locked. Maybe I can snag a snack from in there while it's empty..."

The thief walked off, in a better mood than before- so, it would seem Hana's plan had worked. With mixed feelings regarding Hinata's thieving ways, the surfer returned to her room.

* * *

After resting in her room for a bit, Hana went back out to look for other students. After all, she still had some time left in the day, and so the surfer wasn't willing to just waste her time. She stepped back out into the main chamber, walking around as she tried to find someone to talk to. It wasn't long before she spotted Hiroshi, casually leaning against one of the marble pillars by the furnace room.

"Hi, Hiroshi!" Hana greeted the coroner, who turned his gaze towards the girl. He responded, "Well hi there, Hana. Did you need something?"

"Not exactly, I just wanted to talk," the surfer replied, smiling in a friendly manner.

"Heh- well, the company is certainly welcome," Hiroshi responded, his smile growing slightly. "I was just thinking of going out to the courtyard. Why don't you join me?"

Thus, Hana spent some time talking to Hiroshi out in the courtyard after following him out.

"You know, I was a little surprised you decided to spend some time with me," Hiroshi admitted almost sheepishly. "I figured you were a little weirded out by me being a coroner and such."

"What? Me, weirded out by that?" Hana responded, trying to play it cool. "Pfft, nah, I'v seen stranger."

"Haha- well, even if you were, I wouldn't mind," Hiroshi assured his companion. "I've grown used to people feeling a little strange around me because of my talent."

"Wha-!? N-No, I mean, I didn't mean to offend you!" Hana quickly apologized in a flustered state.

"No, no, it's fine, I'm not offended or anything," Hiroshi responded, looking slightly flustered himself as a result of Hana's panic. "It's natural. Being a coroner is a bit of an odd job to most outsiders looking in. After all, it's working with human corpses- morbid to the eyes of many."

The young man went on, "But, I'm not ashamed of my title as Ultimate Coroner at all. And, as long as people are willing to look beyond my talent and know me for who I am, then I don't hold any ill towards them."

"Wow- sounds like you've got things all figured out, huh?" Hana remarked with a chuckle, then she asked, "Though, I have to ask...how did you end up working as a coroner in the first place, anyways?"

"Hm- well, long story short, I got into this profession through my aunt," Hiroshi explained, turning to the side with a knowing look in his gray eyes. "Long story...ah, I'll tell you another time. That is, if you're willing to listen."

"Well, yeah I'm willing, I'm the one who asked," Hana pointed out, frowning."

"Heh- I look forward to next time, then," Hiroshi concluded with another smile before he turned to head back into the castle.

 _Wait- that's it...? He's just gonna leave with that cryptic summary?_ Hana wondered, before a lump of frustration formed in her mind. _Well that just makes me want to know even more!_

After wondering about Hiroshi's history with being a coroner for a bit, the girl returned to her room yet again.

* * *

Sitting on the bed with a huff, Hana pulled out her e-Handbook to check the time. She was surprised to discover it already night, 8:40 P.M. to be exact- time really did fly when one was having fun interacting with others, huh?

 _Wait, when did Akira say she wanted everyone to meet up again?_ Hana asked herself, suddenly worried. _Quarter to nine, right...? Uh-oh, I gotta get going!_

With that, the surfer jumped to her feet and took off out of the bedroom and down the hall, quickly making her way to the dining hall. The last thing she wanted was to be late for something again, and suffer the wrath of Akira's icy glare...

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's all for the first part of this 'chapter''s Daily Life! For the record, I'm not sure about how to format each Daily Life section- I'm currently planning to make it so each Daily Life has three parts, but...we'll see how things progress, especially in later chapters. Heck, these chapters are already getting longer than I usually write, over 4,000 words each- though I highly doubt I'll have to write a chapter as long as Part 2 of the Prologue again, so there's that.**

 **But anyways! I hope you guys enjoyed the first round of Free Time Events, I know I did because I like Hinata and Hiroshi as well, though they're not my** _favorite_ **characters- then again, I do love the vast majority of the cast, since they're basically my children- okay never mind that sounds weird. Anyways! As for next chapter, there will be _no_ FTEs, especially since that chapter's gonna have enough going on in it as is. So, don't bother voting again, just save it for next time please and review as normal! Thank you for reading and I'll see you next time! **


	5. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 2)

**A/N: Heya, it's me X, and I'm here with the newest part of Remember Hope! So, funny story- while I was in the process of posting the last chapter, I found out Fanfiction apparently has a limit on how long you can make chapter titles (despite the text box where you type in the chapter title being very long). So, needless to say, I was not happy to figure that out. Now I gotta figure out how I'm gonna title the chapters from here on out, because either way the titles displayed by FF notifications and the titles I write in the chapters themselves are gonna be different and I don't wanna mislead people and dang it Fanfiction first you make me compress the story summary now this? Are you trying to get me to love you less?**

 **...Okay, rant over, sorry about that. Anyways, back to the story! Last time we got some FTEs with the purple-haired thief and the eerily calm coroner, and now we got dinner meetings! What will happen? Did anyone actually do any investigating? Are Hinata and Kaneki still salty about their talents being squandered? Find out...today!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Huh? Well no, I'm not saying Shiori's completely useless- she's the Ultimate Surgeon, so who knows (me, I know)? She might be able to help out in other ways besides the obvious! And...well, I wouldn't call Hiroshi "impatient", but I'm not about to confirm or deny any predictions beyond that. You guys will just have to wait and see!~**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Daily Life (Part 2)**

Hana practically sprinted into the dining room, looking around as she did. Fortunately for her, she noticed several other students who weren't there, so it would seem she wasn't _completely_ late.

"Hey there, Hana," Hiroshi called out, sitting next to Mikio at the table. "I was starting to wonder when you'd show up."

"Oh, hi guys!" the surfer responded, waving as she walked over. "Yeah, almost lost track of time for a bit."

"Well, no worries," Hiroshi assured her. "Come on, sit. That is, if you don't mind listening to Mikio here complain about the lack of dinner."

"Hey, I'm not used to eating so late!" Mikio replied, defensive. "Quarter to nine, what's Akira thinking making us eat so late..."

"You know, you could have just grabbed a snack from the kitchen if you were hungry, I'm sure that's allowed," Hana pointed out to the game designer.

"Yeah, but we've probably only got so much food here, and with fifteen of us, I don't want to be selfish..." Mikio explained, before sighing. "But still, this game maker needs fuel too..."

As a few more minutes passed, the last handful of students trickled into the room. Then, as if they timed it, Rumi and Saku stepped back out from the kitchen. Saku declared, "Okay, no need to worry anymore, everyone! I hope you enjoy- I prepared an old family recipe of mine!"

"And I...helped!" Rumi added with a smile. Tadao soon exited himself, carrying the different plates of steaming food. Without breaking a sweat, he passed out each plate to everyone before taking a seat himself.

"Oh finally, you guys are life savers!" Mikio blurted, immediately digging in. While Hiroshi looked on in amusement, Hana furrowed her brow at the surprisingly sloppy manner that the game designer was eating...

"I'm just grateful to be able to put my skills to use, even here in these circumstances," Tadao responded as everyone else began to eat. As Hana herself ate, she had to give credit to Saku- whatever this family recipe of his was, it was without a doubt delicious.

"...You're seriously writing? Now, with all this food?" Hana heard Hinata ask Shiro.

"Why not? It's a great moment, we're all together here as friends...I can't help but feel inspired!" the poet replied, his silver eyes eagerly focused on his notebook as he scribbled away.

"Save your poetry for a moment, Koichi," Akira interrupted, grabbing the group's attention. "Anyways, while we have this meeting underway, I have a question for you all. Did anyone here do any actual investigating to find out more about our situation?"

"..." Many students fell into awkward silence, Hana included- during her socializing, she had completely forgotten that she could have been looking for clues of some kind.

"Well- I didn't find anything about how to escape, but I learned something else," Tadao spoke up. "Apparently, we needn't worry about food while we're here- the kitchen is restocked regularly. At least, that's what the bear told me after he so rudely appeared out of nowhere."

"Wait, we've got infinite food...?" Mikio replied, shocked. "So you're saying I could have gotten a snack this whole time- and we'd be fine!? I've gone hungry all day for nothing!?"

"Okay, honestly, you guys need to get your priorities straight," Shiori remarked, clearly not amused.

"Hey, er, if we're talking about things we learned from Monokuma in general..." Rumi began. "Well, I found out some things about the bedrooms. Apparently, the bedrooms are completely soundproof- well, _all_ the rooms in the castle are completely soundproof, I guess. Also, the water in the castle shuts off when nighttime starts, so the showers won't work."

"I tried examining the locked doors and gates around the grounds," Saku explained with a worried frown. "Unfortunately, the doors out in the courtyard are very much locked, and the gates blocking off the rest of the second floor would be difficult to get rid of, to say the least."

"And those metal plates!" Ryoto exclaimed. "They're impossible as well! Try as we may to remove, even the strength of me _and_ Saku couldn't make them budge!"

"The walls surrounding the courtyard don't look very promising either," Kaneki added with a frown. "They're too tall and the bricks are too smooth and slippery, so unless someone has climbing gear or a grappling hook on them, those walls are impossible to climb."

"Well, did anyone examine the largest door? The front door?" Akira asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"It's no use- the material, as well as the door itself, seem far too thick for any of us to just break through it," Itachi replied. "And there's no telling what's on the other side, whether it's the outside, more castle, or something else entirely."

"So then...sounds to me like even after what we've learned, we're no closer to finding a way out..." Akira observed, frowning in thought.

"Well, I'd be surprised if Monokuma made it easy for us to escape," Shiori noted. "He wants to keep us here forever, so it's only obvious he'd make this place as secure as he could."

Hana kept silent through the conversation, being unable to contribute anything. She glanced over at her companions; Mikio still looked slightly upset, while Hiroshi kept silent as he listened on with interest.

"Anyways, moving on..." Akira continued. "Seeing as how nighttime will be upon us soon, I thought it would be a good idea to make a little...rule of our own."

"Rule of our own? Can we do that?" Hana asked, surprised at the suggestion. The current rules already seemed rather restricting, what would a new one accomplish?

"It involves the nighttime rule," the prosecutor explained, ignoring Hana.

 **2.)** **"Nighttime" is from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.**

"I propose we prohibit all activity during nighttime," Akira went on. "And before anyone objects, this is to act as a kind of...protective measure. To give everyone peace of mind, in a sense- with this rule in place, we won't have to worry about anyone sneaking around at night in attempt to pull off some kind of plot."

"But...that's not an official rule, right?" Hinata asked. "So we don't actually have to follow it?"

"No, but it _is_ an honor-bound rule, one that we must promise to follow regardless," Itachi replied, his ice-blue gaze becoming a glare towards the thief. "And if that is the case, then I shall do my best to uphold this new rule."

"I-I guess...it can't really hurt us, right?" Asuna added, seemingly also in agreement. Hana herself thought for a moment, _I mean...seems kinda strict, but if it's meant to keep everyone safe then I guess there's no harm. Besides, not like there's too much to do out during nighttime anyways._

With Hana included, the rest of the class seemed to agree to Akira's honorary regulation.

"One more thing- these meetings we've been having, the breakfast and late night meetings," the Ultimate Prosecutor went on. "We should make them a regular thing. We'll meet up here every day, right at the start of the day and right before nighttime. That way we can more effectively exchange information and discuss anything new we've found."

"Not to mention, it'll be a nice way in general to spend time and socialize with everyone, which I can certainly get behind," Hiroshi spoke, nodding in approval.

"Yeah! I'm already loving these first two we've had, so why not?" Shiro added happily.

"...Well, whatever makes the idea appealing, I suppose," Akira murmured. "Once again, this will be an honorary rule, so we must agree to abide by it."

Hana and the remaining students nodded in agreement. Since there was nothing to add from anyone else, the class finished their food rather quickly. Once the night meeting was done with, the students filed out of the dining room once more and scattered about to spend the rest of their time before nighttime.

"Yeesh, Akira sure does like being in control, huh?" Hana asked, putting a hand on her hip in skepticism.

"I think it's reassuring," Hiroshi countered nonchalantly. "I mean, I'd prefer it if she didn't act so cold-hearted towards everyone, but I think someone taking charge is just what we need at a time like this."

"Gotta agree with the coroner on this one," Mikio responded, looking towards Hana. "Honestly, I can't really think of anyone else who could act as leader, except maybe Tadao. But, if I have to keep on being Akira's slave, I might just be better off hiding in the library with Azami..."

"Maybe you just keep getting unlucky, and Akira just keeps picking you because you're convenient?" Hana suggested, shrugging.

"...That just brings me back to my library comment," Mikio replied, frowning as if actually considering it.

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The monitors switched on once again, showing Monokuma in the exact same throne and room as the last two announcement. "Ahem- this is a school announcement! It is now 10 P.M.! As such, is it officially nighttime! Soon the doors to the dining hall and courtyard will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited."

Just like before, he ended with, "Well then, sweet dreams everyone! May the walls of this castle help you feel secure as you sleep!"

Hana blinked- at the very least, these meetings made it so now she knew what those announcements were for.

"Hm- ten already? A shame, I would have liked to talk more- but, I guess it can't be helped," Hiroshi said, more to himself than Hana or Mikio. "Well then, we'd best make good on Akira's rule."

"Yeah, I don't want to know what Akira would do to someone who broke her rule, that glare of hers is terrifying enough..." Mikio responded with a grimace.

"Well then, goodnight you two," Hiroshi said, calmly waving as he made his way to the dorm hallway.

"See you tomorrow, Hana- don't forget about the breakfast meeting, got it?" Mikio reminded Hana before following Hiroshi to the bedrooms.

"I got it, no need to worry!" Hana called as the game designer ran off, before sighing with a frown. _Come on, of course I'd remember something like that! Geez, you're almost late for_ one _thing...and technically a few others..._

With that in mind, the girl made her way to her room to turn in for the night.

* * *

The next day, Hana awoke to Monokuma's morning announcement once again. She groggily sat up, still trying to get used to having to wake up at seven in the morning, before proceeding to get dressed for the day. Despite how tired she was, Hana still remembered the breakfast meeting was now daily, and so she took off towards the dining room as soon as she was ready.

"Good morning, Hana," a voice suddenly spoke from next to the girl as soon as she entered the main hall.

Hana yelped in fright, swiftly turning to see who it was- Hiroshi, who was leaning against the wall right next to the hallway entrance. The surfer sighed and said, "Oh, it's you Hiroshi. Um, how long have you been standing there...?"

"Mm, a few minutes," Hiroshi replied, glancing away for a moment. "I didn't want to be too early to the breakfast meeting, so I figured I'd wait for a bit."

"Well...I hope you don't plan on waiting too long, Akira might get mad otherwise..." Hana warned the coroner, furrowing her brow.

"Hah, no need to worry, I'll be fine," Hiroshi assured her, before gesturing ahead. "You should just get going. I'll catch up."

Hana nodded before heading off. It wasn't long before she found herself in the dining hall. Seeing as how it was still relatively early, there was only a handful of students at the table: Akira, Itachi, Saku, and Shiori. Hana assumed Tadao and possibly Rumi were in the kitchen, as she could hear sounds of kitchen work coming from inside.

"Well, look's who's decided to be on time for once," Akira remarked upon seeing Hana enter.

"Heh, yeah, shocking I know," Hana jokingly responded before taking a seat near Saku. "Rumi and Tadao are working in the kitchen, aren't they?"

"Yeah- Tadao's trying some fancy dish of his and said he only needed Rumi's help, so Saku here got out of cooking today," Shiori explained, gesturing to the Ultimate Kickboxer.

"Of course, I offered to help, but the Tadao insisted," Saku added. "Regardless, I look forward to whatever they have planned for us to eat."

A few minutes passed, and soon more students filed in. Shiro and Asuna were among some of the first, closely followed by Hiroshi. Kaneki was next, followed a few minutes later by Mikio, Azami, and Hinata.

"Heh- and you were telling me about being late!" Hana remarked playfully as Mikio sat down.

"I know, ironic- trying to get used to this sleep schedule is harder than I thought..." the Ultimate Game Designer responded, adjusting his glasses. "Especially since, you know, I tend to not have a sleep schedule."

"Hey...has anyone seen Ryoto?" Saku asked, looking around for the racecar driver.

"Did he oversleep?" Akira asked, annoyed. "If he doesn't show up soon, I may just drag him here myself."

Hana frowned and thought, _Ryoto, if you value your life at all, you'd better be here soon..._

Then, as if summoned, the yellow-haired young man burst into the room at full speed. "I'm sorry, sorry everyone! I was doing some early morning exercise and I completely forgot about the meeting!"

"Exercise? This early?" Hana asked, tilting her head a bit in confusion.

"Of course! I'm _Ryoto Miura,_ champion of the racing lanes!" Ryoto shouted with gusto. "I may be trapped in some fortress in some strange location, but I still need to keep my body in top shape!"

"Still, I imagine it's not the best idea to work out so much on an empty stomach," Hiroshi advised.

"Indeed, energy is vital when it comes to keeping fit," Saku added, turning to face the racer with his closed eyes. "If you are that concerned about fitness, Ryoto, then you could continue to train after we eat. In fact, I would like to exercise with you, if you do not mind."

"Sure! The more the merrier, as they say!" Ryoto agreed with a hearty laugh as he sat.

Hana glanced at Mikio, who seemed to be deep in thought...that is, until Rumi emerged from the kitchen. The Ultimate Scuba Diver announced, "Okay guys, food's ready! It's Tadao's own recipe, so as you magic people like Azami say, 'prepare to be amazed!'"

"You dare speak in an illusionist's language...?" Azami asked, visibly offended.

Moments later, Tadao came up carrying platters of some strange food. "Before anyone asks, this is a traditional French meal, so chances are none of you have ever tried it. Still, I would hope you all would give it a try, for it truly is an exquisite taste."

With that, Hana and the others proceeded to dig into the breakfast prepared- which, though the surfer herself knew little about whatever dish Tadao had prepared, she had to agree the taste was incredible, and thus she chose to simply enjoy the food.

* * *

Some time later, Hana found herself back in the dining hall- mostly to grab some water. As she drank from the glass, the girl decided to take a closer look at her e-Handbook to see its functions. There was the school regulations section, a map of the castle- things Monokuma had described, as well as other functions such as a list of all the students in her class and some kind of application for taking notes...

"...Must you continue with that incessant tapping?" Azami, who had been sitting at the table by herself while reading some kind of book with a rune on the cover, growled. "You are driving my dark self up the wall! Azami Kurobe commands you stop that at once!"

Hana was momentarily confused, only to realize she had been tapping her fingers against the table absentmindedly. The surfer gave Azami a quick apology before going to put her glass in the sink. The kitchen itself was just as nice as the rest of the castle- a large fridge and freezer for storing the food; some crates containing more food; a stainless steel sink; quartz counters with a metallic island in the middle of the room; drawers and cabinets containing utensils, cooking tools, plates, glasses, and bowls; an oven and electric stove; and several different types of knives being kept in a knife block. Of course, even in here there was a camera and monitor, reminding Hana that they were still under the watchful eye of Monokuma...how creepy.

Once the glass was in the sink, Hana made her way back to the door and reentered the dining room-

"Hello!"

Hana jumped back with a frightened cry at the sudden greeting, coupled by a certain Ultimate Explorer having suddenly appeared almost right in Hana's face. Indeed, it was none other than Kaneki Tenmaru, who grimaced and said, "Sorry, Hana, didn't mean to scare you..."

"But hey, we found you after all!" another voice chimed in- Rumi, who walked over from behind Kaneki.

"F-Found me?" Hana asked, trying to get her heart to stop pounding so quickly.

"Yeah, we've been looking all over for you," Rumi explained, gesturing towards the banquet table. It would seem that, in addition to her and Kaneki, Asuna and Shiori had also tagged along. Once spotted by Hana, Asuna gave her a nervous wave, while Shiori looked as though she would rather be anywhere else but there.

"Uh, I'm flattered, but- why?" Hana asked, fully stepping out into the room.

"Well, it was basically Rumi's idea," Kaneki began, jabbing a thumb towards the scuba diver.

"You see, I thought about what Hiroshi said yesterday, how we need to bond if we want to survive..." Rumi explained, absentmindedly playing with a lock of her hair as she spoke. "So I thought of an idea- us girls of the 80th Class should get to know each other! Spend the day together, learn about each other- it'll be fun!"

"Oh, I see- a girl's day, huh?" Hana responded, looking around. "Shouldn't Akira be with you guys too?"

"We already tried asking her, but she...turned us down," Rumi explained.

"Sh-She said we were 'wasting our time with bonding exercises when we could be looking for a way out'," Asuna clarified, using air quotes as she did.

"...Well she's still missing out!" Kaneki insisted.

"And for the record, I only agreed to come because, in the event one of you does something really stupid, you may need medical help," Shiori explained, crossing her arms with a frown.

"But you're still here, so that's a win!" Rumi replied cheerfully. "So, what do you say Hana? Are you in?"

"Well...hm...sure, why not?" Hana replied, smiling. This seemed like it would be a good opportunity to get to know her classmates a little better- what could go wrong?

"Great to hear! That means the only one left to ask is..." Rumi responded, her gaze drifting for a moment...before settling on Azami. The Ultimate Illusionist was still at the table, although now she had pulled up her cloak's hood over her head, as if trying to hide from the conversation as she read her book.

"..." Azami looked up to see the five girls looking towards her expectantly. After a few moments of silence, she asked, "Can I help you?"

"You heard us, right? About the whole girl's day thing?" Rumi asked. Hana furrowed her brow in skepticism- somehow, as much as the surfer wanted to know her better, Azami didn't strike Hana as the socializing type... Despite this, Rumi asked her as well, "You wanna come with?"

Azami immediately laughed. "Spare me your request- the Queen of the Dark Arts hasn't the time for such lies!"

"...So that's a no...?" Asuna wondered, visibly put off by Azami's mannerisms.

"Hey, yes or no, are you in or not?" Shiori repeated, though more bluntly than when Rumi had asked.

"..." Suddenly, Azami's facial expression changed from irritation and suspicion to...surprised. Her voice returned to normal as she asked, "You...You guys are serious...?"

"Yeah! What, did you think we were tricking you or something?" Rumi asked as the illusionist stood.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time..." Azami muttered softly as she pocketed her arcane book. She then went on, "But...if you're serious, then...I guess I could...go with, if you want..."

"Great! Six out of seven, that's not too bad!" Rumi responded cheerfully. Though Hana was still unsure about the indifferent Shiori and the surprisingly nervous Azami, the girl was still glad to be able to hang out with her classmates like this. Then again, it wasn't like they were your average high school students, so Hana wasn't too sure just what would happen...

* * *

"...The courtyard?" Shiori asked as the girls stepped out into the open area. "You thought the best place to bond and shit would be the courtyard?"

"Well, honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd get this far..." Rumi admitted sheepishly. "But hey, it is pretty out here, isn't it?"

"I-I mean, I like it here!" Asuna added, nodding. "The plants out here are really pretty...l-like that lavender! Oh, and that hydrangea!"

"...I don't suppose you planned to have us listen to Asuna ramble about plants for the next few hours?" Shiori asked Rumi, crossing her arms.

"No- come on, let's go sit down," Rumi replied, walking over to the fountain. Hana followed her, as did the other four students. The Ultimate Scuba Diver gestured for them to sit down upon the stone path, and so they did.

"Okay, so, I thought of a nice way to get to know each other a bit better," Rumi began. "It's a little game, my friends from my old school and I would play it a lot whenever we had sleepovers or get-togethers..."

"It's not Truth or Dare, is it?" Azami asked warily. "Because that game is as evil as the darkest demons of the deep..."

"...Well no," Rumi assured the illusionist (with a bit of concern at her statement). "But it's kinda close- we're gonna play 'Never Have I Ever'."

"Seriously? What are we, tweens?" Shiori asked, narrowing her eyes at Rumi.

"Well, I don't know, it could lead to some kind of bonding experience!" Rumi insisted, before turning to the others. "You guys agree, right?"

"..." At first, Hana was silent, but then she relented and responded, "I mean, it's not _so_ bad. I'm down for it, Rumi!"

"I-I wouldn't mind playing..." Asuna agreed, somewhat quietly.

"I mean, I've never played, but it sounds interesting!" Kaneki added, nodding in agreement.

"...Fine, I can think of worse things to play anyways," Azami stated with a sigh.

Shiori grumbled a bit to herself before responding, "Well, majority rules I suppose. Let's just do this."

"Great! So in case some of you don't know how to play- you hold up five fingers, and we take turns asking everyone if they've done a certain thing," Rumi explained. "If they haven't, you lower one finger. If you end up lowering all five fingers, you're out."

"Here, I'll go first to give you guys an example," the scuba diver went on as everyone raised a hand. "Never have I ever...uh...never have I ever, uh...um...never have I ever...swam through the wreckage of over a dozen sunken ships!"

Everyone's eyes widened, before they each lowered one finger. Rumi, looking a little disheartened, gestured for Shiori to go next. The surgeon sighed an stated dryly, "Okay, uh...never have I ever...performed a triple bypass heart surgery."

Once again, shocked looks were had as more fingers were lowered. Hana frowned- if this wasn't a sign of things to come, she didn't know what was...

* * *

"Oh come on!" Kaneki exclaimed. "None of you have ever discovered an ancient Mayan temple buried underground?"

Hana, who was long out of the game by this point, brushed some hair out of her face as the players lowered more fingers. They had been playing this for...the surfer had lost track, but this had to be at least the fourth round of this disastrous game...

"Guess it's my turn..." Azami murmured, clearing her throat. "Azami Kurobe declares: Never have I ever participated in a seance!"

"Oh! Man, I could have agreed with that one!" Hana blurted, disappointed.

"W-Wait, you could?" Asuna asked, surprised.

"Long story," Hana responded as the only explanation, shuddering at the memory- worst three minutes of her life, that had been...

Shiori let out an exasperated sigh before turning to Rumi. "Rumi, this game isn't working. We can't ask any good questions, our talents are kind of all we really know."

"B-But me and my old friends, we'd..." Rumi began, clearly disappointed.

"Well, your friends may have been average high school students, but we're...not," Shiori replied, frowning as she looked down. "We're the opposite. We're _Ultimates-_ stuff like this just...doesn't come so naturally to us. Sorry to disappoint, but this plan of yours is a bust."

"But...come on, we can't just give up like this!" Rumi insisted. "Come on, there has to be something we can do! We're still classmates, we should be able to get to know each other _some_ how!"

"Maybe if more parts of the castle were open, we could figure out something..." Kaneki said to herself, frowning.

"..." Azami was silent. Hana glanced at the illusionist, who seemed to be...thinking, rather than her usual brooding. Finally, Azami spoke up, "There's, uh...one place you guys might like. I mean, I think it's cool, but I don't know if you guys would like that kind of thing..."

"...Hey, don't worry," Hana replied, deciding to reassure her. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be cool."

"It's sure to be better than all this, that's a certainty," Shiori added, narrowing her eyes at Rumi.

"...Okay," Azami replied, standing. "I'll show you. Follow me."

* * *

Thus, Hana and the four others followed Azami back inside. As it would turn out, they wouldn't need to travel far- because the place Azami wanted to show them was almost right next to the doors to the courtyard.

"Hehehe...I hope you're all prepared..." the illusionist began as the group stood in front of the doors, slipping back into her dramatic voice as she spoke. "Prepared to step into the domain of none other than the Queen of the Dark Arts!"

"Hey, isn't this the library?" Kaneki asked, ignoring Azami's speaking manner.

"...Yeah, it's the library, I...wanted to make it sound cool..." Azami muttered, turning away with embarrassment.

"Actually, I don't think I was able to get a look at the place when we initially came here," Hana responded, staring at the doors with interest.

"I don't think anyone really has," Shiori added, before glaring at Azami. "Which I'm pretty sure was your doing, what with those smoke traps at the door and you practically chasing everyone away with your drama and 'darkness' talk."

Azami seemed to become only more embarrassed by the second, before she asked, "W-Well, do you guys wanna see it _now?"_

"Well, I would! A new area is always interesting!" Hana replied, hoping to provide some encouragement to the flustered illusionist.

"And a new place to explore is just what I've been hoping for! _Especially_ a library in a castle!" Kaneki added, clearly eager. With that, the Ultimate Explorer became the first to make her way into the library; after that, Hana quickly followed her in, as did Asuna, Rumi, and finally Shiori.

The library itself was very expansive, more than Hana would have expected. The walls had a mahogany wood look to it, while the floor was covered in a deep red carpeting. The left, right, and back walls were lined with tall bookshelves that chock full of books. Running down the middle of the room were two columns of six bookshelves, also filled with numerous books. Lamps on the walls and a large light on the ceiling illuminated the large room, while the columns were split in half by an open area in the middle of the library consisting of four tables with four chairs each.

"Wow- now _this_ is a library," Hana said to herself, looking around with interest.

"Yeah! It's got all kinds of books- fiction novels, nonfiction, history books, encyclopedias..." Azami explained, smiling a bit. "You guys should be able to find something in here you like."

"Wow...I mean, I always found libraries to be a little boring, but this place seems neat!" Rumi replied, looking at the books on the shelf nearest to her. Kaneki took a different approach, heading for one of the bookshelves along the wall. Asuna and Shiori did the same, also trying to see what kind of books the library held.

Hana wandered, watching the three of them examine the books. She then noticed Kaneki wasn't exactly...looking. Rather, the explorer seemed to be taking the books and...just taking them off the shelves, either putting them back immediately or dropping them to the ground.

"Uh...Kaneki?" Hana began, walking over. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? Bookshelves? Old castle?" Kaneki stated, gesturing to the room. When it was clear Hana didn't understand, the taller girl explained, "Libraries in castles always have secret rooms or passages hidden behind a bookshelf, activated when you pull a lever disguised as a book!"

"Oh that's ridiculous- this is real life, not some kind of movie or story," Shiori scolded as she approached, before picking up each of the books Kaneki had left on the ground. "At the very least, could you try _not_ to leave a mess?"

"...W-Well, I think finding a secret room would be cool," Asuna stated sheepishly. Hana watched as Kaneki continued to almost tear apart the bookshelves in search of this hidden room, while Shiori continued to pick up and put back the stray books with increasing irritation.

"Uh...hey! They've got medical books here, Shiori! I bet you'd love those!" Rumi called, attempting to help Asuna keep the peace between the explorer and the surgeon.

"...I'll leave you guys to that..." Hana murmured as she walked away from the four Ultimates to another part of the library. As she looked, she couldn't find any books that piqued her interest...but she did notice something else. Towards the back of the room, there was a part of the wall not covered by a bookshelf- and in that space was a wood door. Raising an eyebrow, the surfer walked over and tried the gold doorknob- to her surprise, the door was unlocked.

 _Huh...now this seems suspicious..._ Hana thought to herself as she poked her head into the room. It was a small room, with a hardwood floor and shelves lining the wooded walls. The space was somewhat dark, lit only by a few lamps on the back wall. Lining the shelves were various books, but these ones looked different. As the girl got a closer look, the books had odd symbols on them- some were written in an odd language, almost runic. To Hana, these books seemed like the type that would interest-

"What are you doing in here?" Azami asked, as if summoned by Hana's thoughts. The surfer jumped in fright, whipping around to face the cloaked student standing in the doorway. What was _with_ people sneaking up on her today?

"Ah- not really doing anything, I just saw the door and got curious," Hana explained as she relaxed. "I can't really make heads or tails of these books, though- but they do seem like something you'd be into."

"I know, I've been in here before," Azami explained, pulling out the book she had been reading in the dining hall earlier. "These books in here all talk about arcane or occult topics...which not a lot of people here would get, I guess. There's really nothing for you here- you'd be better off heading back into the regular library."

"I...guess you're right," Hana replied, stepping away from the shelves. "Still, I guess now I can see why you spend so much time in this library, with all the books in this room."

"H-Hey! I may be fascinated by the darkness of the unknown, but I read other stuff too!" Azami insisted pointedly. "Rest assured, the books in this library will not go to waste while I'm here, that's for sure!"

Hana nodded, turning to make her way to the exit of the room. _Huh- didn't really peg Azami to be the bookworm type. Hey, maybe Rumi's outing idea is working after-_

At that moment, Hana's thinking was interrupted when her foot caught on something on the floor. With a cry, the surfer found herself falling straight onto the floor, landing on her back and almost hitting her head on one of the shelves.

"Oh! Crap, hey, are you alright?" Azami asked, making her way towards her fallen classmate.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering what I tripped on..." Hana replied, sitting up- before noticing something out of the floor. She hadn't seen it before, and it was very well camouflaged into the wood, but...it looked like a handle of some kind. Hana made her way over to it, on her knees as to get a closer look. 'Hey, what's...?"

"Huh...?" Azami began, before realizing what Hana was looking at. "O-Oh! No no, don't touch that! I-I _command_ you to-"

Too late, Hana tried pulling on the handle-like object...and to her surprise, a small section of the floor suddenly lifted up, like a hatch or a door of some kind. With a grunt, she opened the section completely, revealing a set of stone stairs that seemed to lead down into another small room.

"Whoa...! Hey, it actually is a secret room! That's so cool!" Hana exclaimed in surprise. "Hey Azami, did you know this was here?"

"...Ah...yeah, yeah I did..." Azami admitted, looking rather...disappointed. "I found it the day we arrived here. I think it used to be some kind of storage room- not that there was anything down there when I found it, just walls, a light, and a table. But, you know, I thought it would be cool if I could...I dunno, make it into my own little hideaway or workshop. A place to practice my tricks and dark arts in privacy- I mean, the bedroom is fine, but this place has a more...mysterious and dark feel to it, something I can really get into."

She sighed and gave the stone steps a sad glance. "I guess that doesn't really matter, now that the secret's out. I should have known this was too good to last..."

"Wh-Wha...? Hey, hold on a second, why do you assume I'm gonna tell anyone?" Hana asked, quickly standing and closing the camouflaged hatch. "Look, you really want this to stay a secret, right? And nobody else knows about it, right?"

"Yes and yes," Azami responded.

"Well then, I'll just keep your secret, simple as that!" Hana assured the Ultimate Illusionist with a smile. "I won't even bother you about it or ask to use it myself- I'll just make sure you can have it all to yourself."

"Y-You'd...really do that...?" Azami asked, visibly shocked. Then, with a somewhat threatening tone, she went on, "If you're serious, you'd better to commit to your promise, got it? You _cannot_ tell anyone about the secret storage. If you do, I swear I'll...I'll...I'll put a curse on you or something!"

"N-No need for that, no one will find out," Hana responded, stepping back a bit. "You can trust me, okay? It'll stay between us."

"..." Azami seemed to calm down, before smiling with a little chuckle. "Weird...I never thought I'd be able to find someone here I'd be able to tell a secret of mine to."

"Technically I found it out by accident, but I'm glad you're feeling better," Hana replied, before coughing. "Can we get out of here now? This place is dustier than it looks..."

Azami nodded, before she and Hana exited the back room. Before they closed the door behind them, the two girls would walk back into the library and be greeted to the sound of...shouting? In addition to that, a book flew over their heads, causing Hana and Azami to have to duck.

"I warned you over and over again to knock it off! I may be a doctor, but I can still kick your ass!"

"Bring it on, I've seen bugs more threatening than you!"

"You know what!? I've been trying to keep you two calm all day, well now I'm getting sick of it! You wanna know what happens when I get mad!? _This is what happens when I get mad!"_

Hana and Azami immediately exchanged a fearful look before running over to the source of the yelling. Before they got there, however, the three people seem to shout in what could only be described as battle cries, and then books started flying everywhere. When Hana looked towards the center of the room, the area with the tables, she and Azami would be greeted to an...odd sight.

Shiori, Kaneki, and Rumi seemed to be locked in some kind of book battle...as in, they were grabbing whatever books were nearby and throwing them at each other. Kaneki stood on top of one of the tables with a pile of books at her feet, hurling them at her two opponents on the ground while using her whip to deflect any counterattacks. Shiori seemed to have flipped one of the tables onto its side and was using it for cover, all the while chucking books at the other girls. Rumi seemed to be going for a more direct approach and was staying on the move as she attacked, being a surprisingly good dodger.

"Wh-What in the world...!?" was all Hana could muster, being blown away by what she was witnessing. _M-Me and Azami were only in there for...what, three minutes? What's going on!?_

The surfer soon noticed Asuna, cowering behind one of the bookshelves as the book battle raged in the center. She and Azami quickly ran over before Hana asked her, "Asuna! What's going on? What happened?"

"I-I don't even know!" Asuna replied, shaking her head in fear. "Shiori was y-yelling at Kaneki for messing up the books, and they kept going back and forth, a-and Rumi was trying to calm them down but they wouldn't listen, s-so she was getting mad, a-a-and the next thing I know it's- it's chaos! It's a book fight! M-Make it stop, please!"

Hana glanced back at the fight with terror. _M-Make it stop!? How are we supposed to stop something as bizarre as this!?_

Still, the surfer felt she had to at least _try_ to quell the dueling students. Thus, with an apprehensive gulp, Hana stepped forward. "Guys? H-Hey, guys! Look, guys, this is getting out of- _whoa!"_

She ducked to avoid a stray encyclopedia flying at her face before continuing, "This is getting out of hand, you guys really need to calm down! Someone could get hurt, or something could get broken, what if Monokuma shows up!?"

Neither Shiori, Kaneki, nor Rumi acknowledged Hana's pleas as they continued their battle, more and more books being taken off the shelves and flying all over.

Hana yelled out with a louder voice, "Guys, just stop it! I don't think any of this is even remotely allowed in a library!"

Azami, presumably unable to watch Hana handle this by herself, ran out herself and shouted in her dramatic voice, "That's enough! This is supposed to be a room of knowledge, not combat! The Queen of the Dark Arts demands you stop this immediately!"

The three Ultimates in question did not stop, nor did it seem like they heard amidst their own shouts. The illusionist growled and shouted, "I said...I demand that you _stop this immediately!"_

She raised her arm as if to make a dramatic gesture...but at that moment something flew out of Azami's sleeve as she moved her arm. It was a small grayish sphere that flew into the air and rolled along the floor with barely a sound before stopping in the center of the makeshift battlefield. As it landed, the sphere started to...blink?

"...Uh oh," Azami said softly, her eyes widening as the sphere started blinking. That was all the illusionist was able to say before the ball suddenly exploded in a huge cloud of white fog, covering the entire center of the room in a matter of seconds.

"Wha-!? You have smoke bombs in your sleeves!?" Hana exclaimed in surprise.

"M-Maybe!" Azami responded in a panic. "How else do you think I make my dramatic entrances on stage!?"

"G-Guys!? Where'd this smoke come from!?" Asuna asked as she ran over in worry. "Where are the others!?"

As if to answer her question, several shouts rang out from the smoke cloud.

"H-Hey! Why can't I see anything!?" Kaneki yelled.

"My sight! Is this some kind of joke!?" Shiori shouted.

"Aah! I can't see where I'm going!" Rumi cried. "Wh-Where are the- GAH!"

A hard _thump_ was heard as Rumi barreled into something, followed by Kaneki shouting in a panic, "Whoa whoa whoa, I'm gonna- AGH!"

A loud _thud_ was audible alongside a pair of pained shouts courtesy of Kaneki and Rumi. Shiori's voice was heard calling out, "Guys!? What happened, where did- AH!"

Another _thud_ could be heard alongside more surprised and pained shouts. It wasn't long before the smoke finally cleared- when it did, Hana and her companions could see that Kaneki, Shiori, and Rumi were all in the center of the room, practically tangled together in a pile, all three of them in a dazed state.

"...You know what, that might have been a good thing," Hana remarked as she, Azami, and Asuna ran over. They each grabbed a person and proceeded to drag them free from the pile as they came back to their senses.

Kaneki groaned, rubbing her head. "I should have gotten down from that table..."

"I should have stopped running..." Rumi said, shaking her head as if to clear herself of her stupor.

"I should have-" Shiori began...before she looked around at the mess of flipped tables and scattered books around the library, then noticed the state of some of the girls. At that moment, the Ultimate Surgeon let out a horrified gasp as her face went pale, and she cried put, "Oh my god...oh my god, what did I do!? I can't believe I let myself act like that, look at this mess! This mayhem! What did I do, what did I trigger, how could I let this happen!?"

Hana's eyes widened as the group watched Shiori slip into a borderline nervous breakdown. She quickly tried to remedy the situation and said, "Whoa, whoa, uh, Shiori, calm down..."

"Calm down!? How can I calm down when I acted like a fool, I broke so many library rules, and..." Shiori grasped her head as if having a migraine as she shouted, "And look at those two! I was fighting them with books, I harmed them, I broke my oath as a physician! How can I still call myself a doctor if I did something like this!? I'm supposed to be- to be- to be-!"

"I command you to snap out of it!" Azami yelled...before suddenly giving the surgeon a hard slap to the face. Right afterwards, the illusionist gasped and immediately apologized, "I am so so sorry! I panicked!"

Regardless, Shiori had gone completely silent, her face indicating that she was trying to process what just happened.

"...I-I mean, nobody _really_ got hurt, s-so technically you didn't actually break the Hippocratic Oath, right?" Asuna pointed out, trying to reassure her. Of course, she was met with deafening quietness.

"...B-Besides, if anything, it's my fault," Kaneki spoke up after some silence. "I was being waaay too stubborn- I have a problem with that, it runs in my family..."

"Hey, I'm the one who did a lousy job at keeping things under control," Rumi countered, looking down in shame. "Ugh, I don't know what I was thinking to begin with..."

"Hey...coming to the library was my idea..." Azami spoke up, looking away from the group with a wince. "I'm sorry, I just...thought it would be something you guys could enjoy, I didn't think this would happen."

"..." Hana kept silent, simply listening to the girls apologizing to one another. Still she couldn't help but think to herself, _Honestly, I don't think anyone expected things to turn out like this. But...still, a book fight? They were just...throwing books at each other, how does that...how does that even happen? It's so ridiculous, it's almost funny..._

The more she thought about it, the harder it was to hold back a laugh, and soon the surfer couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.

The other girls immediately took notice. Rumi asked, "Why are you laughing?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry- just..." Hana began, giggling again. "I'm sorry, but the idea of you guys getting into a book fight- like, literally just throwing books at each other, it's...weirdly funny."

"...Pfft- yeah, it kinda was, if you think about it," Kaneki replied, grinning and chuckling herself.

"Hehe, y-you guys did get really into it, yeah," Asuna added, smiling a little in amusement herself. "I-I could barely believe what I was watching!"

"Haha, I still can't believe that happened," Rumi replied, joining in the amused laughs. "Who would have guessed things would get so crazy in a _library,_ of all places?"

"G-Guys, this is _not_ something to laugh about," Shiori spoke up. "We just, we-"

"Shiori, Shiori, _relax,"_ Hana said to the surgeon, walking over to her. "Nobody got hurt, nobody here is gonna think any less of you, it's clearly been long enough that we can joke about it, so it's fine."

"I never relax, I..." Shiori muttered in response...before furrowing her brow and turning to Azami, "I'm sorry, but, you just happened to have a smoke bomb on you?"

"Th-They're _supposed_ to be-" Azami began, clearly flustered...before Kaneki interrupted her with, "That was actually pretty cool! I don't know how you came up with the idea to use a smoke bomb, but I guess it worked, heh!"

"Ah...yes! All according to Azami Kurobe's master plan to stop the conflict!" the illusionist replied, crossing her arms with a confident grin. "Never should you doubt the skills of the Ultimate Illusionist! Ahahahahah!"

"Alright, no need to do the voice," Shiori flatly replied...before smiling a little and adding, "But still, I gotta admit it was actually kinda nice to loosen up like that...but don't expect me to do it again."

"Haha, we'll see," Hana responded jokingly.

"H-Hey, guys, sorry to change the subject, but..." Asuna spoke up. "Shouldn't we clean this place up? Tables are flipped, books are everywhere...w-we can't just leave the library like this..."

"I agree with the gardener," Shiori replied, standing. "Come on, who knows how long this is going to take..."

With that, Hana worked alongside the other five girls to fix the mess they had made in the library. Though it took longer than any of them had anticipated, the work was made better by the fact that the six students happily conversed with one another and joked about the book fight that had gotten them into this mess to begin with. Due to that, in Hana's mind, the work seemed less tedious. Thus, the library was put back in proper order- even the books were perfectly placed on the right shelves, courtesy of Shiori's surprisingly great organization skills. With the cleanup done, Hana and her classmates stepped back to admire their good work.

"Well...I think our work is done here," Shiori stated, before adding in a low voice, "Now let's never speak of this again."

"It'll make for some nice inside jokes though!" Rumi said cheerfully.

"Really? I've never been a part of an inside joke before!" Azami remarked happily.

"Well, we do have you to thank for the experience," Hana told the illusionist, smiling and adding in a whisper, "We might still be playing that game in the courtyard otherwise. So, you kinda saved us there."

Azami seemed surprised for a moment, but then she looked almost like she was about to start crying from joy. Hana looked back at the rest of the group, who were happily chatting- even Shiori had a small smile on her face as the others spoke. At this point, the Ultimate Surfer thought to herself, _That's funny...technically, Rumi's plan to have us bond went_ horribly _wrong. And yet...I think it worked better than it ever would have otherwise. We may be Ultimate students, but it's nice to know we can still be as crazy as we want_ and _be friends, especially considering the situation we're in. Maybe Hiroshi was right- if we keep getting closer to one another as friends like this, Monokuma's plan won't work at all!_

At that moment, however, the monitor in the library turned on, showing Monokuma in his usual spot once more. "Ahem- this is a message from your headmaster! All students are to meet in the main hall for a special announcement! Attendance is mandatory, so all of you better be there ASAP!"

With that, the monitor went dark again, leaving the six girls bewildered. Asuna spoke first, worriedly asking, "Wh-Wha...? Wh-What does Monokuma want...?"

"I...guess there's only one way to find out," Shiori replied.

With a feeling of dread starting to overtake the joy Hana had been feeling just seconds before, she and her companions exited the library and entered the central chamber.

* * *

Despite the fact that the message had been played mere moments ago, the same red podium from Monokuma's first assembly was completely set up in the main hall. Hana could already see several of the other students walking into the room, seeming just as confused as she was. Spotting Mikio amongst the group, Hana made her way over to him.

"Hm? Oh, hey Hana, haven't seen you all day," Mikio greeted the girl.

"Yeah, I was hanging out with the other girls...except Akira, she didn't come," Hana explained, adding with a little grin, "It was pretty nice- though it did devolve into book warfare towards the end."

"Hehe, well it's good to hear- wait, 'book warfare'?" Mikio asked, looking somewhat concerned.

"Ah...you had to be there," Hana responded with a smirk. The boy still seemed confused...only to simply shrug and turn his attention back to the podium. Seconds later, a drum roll was heard from...somewhere that Hana couldn't discern. Then, _he_ appeared- the same monochrome bear as seen on the monitors, Monokuma popped up from behind the podium as he had the first time, landing in a sitting position atop of it. "Goooood evening, class! It's me, your lovely headmaster Monokuma!"

"Oh great, so he was serious about another assembly..." Hinata muttered in irritation.

"Now then, you're all probably wondering why I've gathered you all here on such short notice," Monokuma began. "Well first of all, I want to give you all my congratulations! You're all adjusting to life here so well, and you haven't even tried breaking any rules at all! Though it leaves me with no one to brutally punish, I must say I'm shocked to see how well you're all treating life here now!"

"..." Hana furrowed her brow in visible skepticism. _He sounds almost...pleased with us. Somehow, that seems wrong. There's got to be a catch to this..._

"Aaah, look at you all- so busy making friends, so full of hope in spite of hardship, it's all so...so..." Monokuma went on, sounding almost joyful...before he threw his arms into the air and finished with frustration, "So _boooooooring!"_

 _Aaaand there it is._ Hana thought with a sigh.

"Come on now, what's with all the mushy friendship crap? You're all trapped here forever, and I've given you an easy ticket out!" Monokuma yelled, his black and white face turning red. "Aren't you teens supposed to be hormonal as hell and unable to think your decisions through? This is supposed to be a manor of murder, but you guys are boring the readers with your fluffy stuffy nonsense!"

"Did he just say 'readers'...?" Mikio asked himself.

"Well, maybe you just underestimated us," Hiroshi called out with that calm smile of his. "We're not just a bunch of dumb, ruthless teens. We've got good hearts and minds, hearts and minds that would never dream of killing those we call our friends. So, no matter how long it takes, we won't stop looking for a different way out of here. We will _not_ kill our classmates."

"Hmph- I must say, you make a good point, Mr. Ashi," Monokuma replied with a gleeful giggle. "You're absolutely right- as of right now, none of you have any reason to kill each other! So that's why I'm gonna give you all a little gift- the always classic gift of a motive!"

"Did he say 'motive'?" Ryoto asked.

"Yes- you know, motivation. In law terms, a motive refers to why a criminal commits an illegal act- often times used in the context of murders, incidentally," Akira explained, narrowing her bright red eyes. "Is that why you've called us here, Monokuma? To give us a motive to kill each other?"

"Puhuhu! So the Ultimate Prosecutor is a perceptive one indeed!" Monokuma responded with a fanged grin. "That's right, today I'm gonna give you all a motive to get this Killing Game started!"

"Oh come on, whatever silly thing you come up with, it won't work," Hiroshi said, sounding almost amused.

"Is that what you think? Well, I'll let you judge for yourself..." Monokuma replied ominously. "So, the motive is simple. If a murder doesn't happen very soon...I'm gonna kill one of you brats myself!"

"Hahaha, that's..." Azami began dramatically...before her face went pale with fear as she asked in her normal voice, "W-Wait, did you say you're gonna kill us!? That's not allowed, that can't be allowed, right!?"

"Hey, check the rules! They don't say I _can't_ kill you all- normally, I just choose not to unless someone breaks the rules!" Monokuma explained. "But since nobody has the drive to kill, I'll just have to make an exception!"

"Y-You're joking...! You must be!" Saku implored, his eyes having opened wide with fear.

"I may have the face of an angel, but I don't joke when it comes to this stuff!" Monokuma responded, sounding almost offended. "Look, I'm gonna level with you all- I want to see your guys' hope be crumpled up like old paper and thrown into an incinerator! And the best way to do that is through the brutal deaths of you classmates! But if none of you have the drive to kill, then I'll just take matters into my own claws...literally!"

To punctuate his point, Monokuma raised his paws as three claws extended out from his stubby fingers. "Now then- I'll give you all a certain amount of time. If a murder doesn't happen in that period, I'm going to choose one of you at random and just axe you myself! And it could be anyone, really; it could be the flashy one, the tiny chick, or the so-called Queen of the Dark Arts...anyone!"

"Flashy!? I spent weeks making this outfit!" Ryoto shouted.

"I-I'm not that small compared to everyone, am I?" Asuna asked, stepping back from fear.

"M-Me!? What did I do!?" Azami cried in terror.

Monokuma let out a gleeful laugh as the students panicked. "So, I'm gonna give you all until...tomorrow night, midnight. If a murder hasn't happened by then, someone's gonna get a nasty surprise while they sleep! And I'm gonna keep killing you all one by one every midnight after that until someone becomes the blackened!"

"Th-That's a terrible choice!" Kaneki yelled, sounding mortified that they would be given such a choice.

"Puhuhu, it makes no difference to me! Whatever you choose, I still get to see you all lose some of that hope of yours!" Monokuma responded with a sick grin. "The question is...do you want someone to die, or do you want someone to die with the possibility of you getting to graduate? I'll leave it up to you guys! And that concludes this school assembly- take care now!"

With a wave and another sinister laugh, the bear jumped behind the podium and disappeared without a trace. The students just stood where they were, paralyzed by the weight of Monokuma's ultimatum.

Hana simply couldn't believe what had happened. Her previous happiness, the good mood she had found herself in...and Monokuma shattered all of it in a matter of minutes.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so, longer chapter than I anticipated, but I guess that's what I get for deciding to put the nighttime rule discussion, the bonding experience, and the motive reveal in the same chapter. That, and I guess I kinda jinxed myself because this chapter turned out to be _longer_ than Part 2 of the Prologue, and I didn't think I'd be writing something longer than that so soon.**

 **But still, that's a lotta words...I may have to get used to big chapters like these, heh. Anyways, while it seems like Hana has found friends in her fellow female students (except for Akira, but she's a mean), Monokuma decides to be Monokuma and ruin it all by revealing the motive! Yeah, the motives...truth be told, I had a hard time coming up with motives that fit what I wanted to have happen in each case. So, if you don't like the motives seen in this story- sorry, ya gotta deal with it.**

 **But anyways, things are surely gonna get interesting now that the motive's been shown! But before that stuff happens...next chapter, it'll be time for more Free Time Events! Two more, to be exact, which means you can vote for two different characters again! Now, if you want, you can actually vote for the same two characters you did previously- you won't get the same FTEs, the new ones will be like continuations of the previous ones, just like how they work in the games. Or you could vote for two totally different characters, either way.**

 **Anyways, hope you guys didn't die from the length of the chapter, and hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon! I hope to see you there!**


	6. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 3)

**A/N: Yaahoo! I'm feeling great about this chapter! And it didn't take too long to write at all! Anyways- hello everyone it's X, resident sadist author, back with yet another part of Remember Hope! So last time, our protagonist was feeling good but then she wasn't because of Monokuma (isn't that how it always is in DR?), and now we have a motive! So now it may just be a matter of time until the first murder happens...but before that, we've got talking and FTEs! So let's go!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Aah, predictions, they give me joy. At any rate, as I sorta talked about before, coming up with motives was...difficult, because I didn't want to copy any I had seen in the games. I did my best, but...I guess time will tell how people feel about the motives. And lastly, thanks for voting, once again! (Though I wish more people would...I dunno, your contribution is appreciated regardless!)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Daily Life (Part 3)**

To say that the dinner meeting that night was tense would be an understatement. Even as everyone ate, Hana could still feel the apprehension in the air as thick as oil.

"...Well, since no one else will speak up, I will," Akira said with an exasperated sigh. "So then, it seems Monokuma is taking some drastic measures already. This motive of his...it's not what I would have expected, to say the least."

"It's a terrible choice, that's what it is..." Rumi responded, looking down in despair. "Either we wait and let Monokuma kill one of us at random, or somebody commits a murder..."

"Yes, it seems to be a classic case of Morton's Fork," Tadao remarked thoughtfully.

"Look, I know you're a first-class waiter and all, but this isn't the time for silverware analogies!" Hinata yelled, frustrated.

"...No, Morton's Fork is a type of dilemma," Shiori explained to the thief. "It basically means 'damned if you do, damned if you don't.'"

"Indeed. It refers to being offered two choices, both of which lead to almost identically bad outcomes, except one happens for a different reason," Akira went on. "In our case, the choices are to commit a murder or not commit a murder, but allow Monokuma to kill one of us. In both cases, a student dies, so it's simply a matter of _how_ they die."

"I suppose, by doing this, Monokuma is trying to make the murder option look favorable...after all, there's the matter of the Graduation Clause," Saku hypothesized, frowning. "But still, to force such a sadistic choice upon us...what evil would bring that upon someone...?"

"Honestly...I wouldn't be too worried," Hiroshi replied as calm as ever, "Because it's obviously a bluff."

"A...bluff?" Hana asked, surprised at the suggestion. "You think Monokuma's lying?"

"Well, yeah. Think about it- I know we haven't been here long enough to see much of him, but somehow Monokuma strikes me as a...dramatic type," Hiroshi explained, closing his eyes in thought. "I don't know I just...get that feeling from him. Killing us himself just like that would seem pretty anticlimactic, you know? That's why, when push comes to shove, he won't do that. He'll count on us to give in to our fear first and commit murder, just like he wants."

"That's a bold theory...but can you say any of that for certain!?" Azami demanded, narrowing her eyes at the coroner.

"Well...no, I can't," Hiroshi admitted. "It's just what I think, is all."

"So you're gonna risk our lives just because of some complicated guess!?" Hinata shouted, glaring at Hiroshi.

"I'll admit, it seems a little far-fetched..." Akira spoke. "But considering the alternative, it's better than nothing. Unless any of you would rather kill one of your classmates?"

"..." Various sounds of 'no' were heard at Akira's last statement, and the mood turned solemn again. Hana looked down, trying to find solace in these circumstances with Hiroshi's words.

"Hey...Mikio," Hana said to the game designer. "Do you think Hiroshi's right? Is Monokuma just...trying to mess with us?"

"...I hope so, Hana," Mikio responded with an uncertain look on his face. "I really do."

From there, the meeting finished without much fanfare, and all the students went off on their own. It wasn't long until Monokuma's nighttime announcement played, signalling everyone to go to their bedrooms. Hana and the rest of the class did just that...all the while a cloud of anxiety hung over them all.

* * *

Once again, Hana found herself jerked out of sleep by the morning announcement. Mikio was right- getting used to this sleep schedule would be harder than it looked. Regardless, the surfer still got ready for the day as usual before exiting her room and making her way to the dining room.

However, the moment she walked into the room, Hana would feel someone grabbing her arm and yanking her to the side. In that moment, the girl would find herself staring into the bright green eyes of Azami Kurobe.

"H-Hana, you haven't seen anything suspicious today, have you?" the cloaked girl blurted, visibly anxious. "Anyone missing? Acting strange? Corpses lying around?"

"Wha-? No," Hana replied, visibly worried. "Wait- are you freaking out because of the motive?"

"O-Obviously! Everyone's on edge, can't you tell? It could only be a matter time until someone snaps!" Azami rambled, shaking as she spoke. "And even if no one does, Monokuma will still kill someone tonight! It could be me, or you, or- I don't know! No amount of my dark talents can predict what will happen! I can barely stand it!"

"Okay, Azami, you're spiraling, calm down," Hana replied, trying to soothe the illusionist. "Look, it's early- maybe if you just get some food, you'll feel better?"

"Y-Yeah- food, that's good," Azami responded, gulping and nodding. "I-I, Azami Kurobe, shall eat my fear away! That's the best option!"

With a sense of determination, she released Hana's arm (for someone so scrawny, she sure had a strong grip...) and ran off. With a little relieved breath, the surfer took a seat of her own. Hiroshi had sat down not too far from her, though he was more quiet than usual today- arms crossed, eyes closed, he didn't even have that little calm smile on his face he usually had.

"Heeey Hana!" Mikio greeted the girl as he took a seat, an almost forced grin on his face. "I'm still feeling afraid of the motive but I'm gonna fight it by trying to be happy! Happy thoughts, come on, help me think happy thoughts!"

"...Mikio, I don't think it'll work if you keep blurting out that you're worried," Hana pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Mmph...still, it was worth a shot..." the game designer replied, his grin fading to a frown as he sat.

Akira looked around the room, scowling and saying, "Damn it, is Miura late again? That man had better get his head out of the storm clouds, even Yonade has better attendance than him!"

"Uh...thanks?" Hinata responded, seeming confused at to whether that was a compliment towards him or not.

It wasn't long until the bright-haired Ultimate Racecar Driver sprinted in, looking sweaty. "My apologies for being late- again! But in light of what's happened, the only way to calm my nerves was an early exercise! Therefore, I did just that! Exercise soothes the mind and burns the body, you know!"

"Maybe you should exercise your ability to remember your commitments," Shiori replied with a disapproving frown as Ryoto sat down.

"Hm...you know, I've been thinking- maybe I should start doing some working out in the fitness room," Mikio pondered, looking down at his arms.

"Really? But you look fine right now," Hana replied.

"Yes, but I could look... _more_ fine!" Mikio countered, gesturing to himself. "I mean, you're a surfer, aren't you? Which is kinda like an athlete? You of all people should want to stay in shape."

"Well...you've got a point there. I guess it wouldn't hurt to exercise a bit," Hana responded. "Hey, maybe we could work out together!"

"Only if you promise not to go completely fangirl on me again," Mikio replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, I'm trying to lay off on that. I think I've been doing a _great_ job at accomplishing that, as a matter of fact!" Hana replied indignantly, earning a chuckle from the Ultimate Game Designer.

Soon, Tadao served the food Saku and Rumi helped to make, and the group was silently eating. Hana looked around at the silent students, wondering what was going through their minds...

"...So. It begins tonight," Itachi spoke. "Tonight, we see what Monokuma has in store for us. Whether he was simply toying with our minds...or if he truly intends to end us one by one."

"Personally, although I wish it weren't the case, I feel Monokuma's threat has some truth to it," Tadao responded. "He's already proven to be deadly, given his...demonstration of what happens when one breaks the rules."

"I...personally, want to side with Hiroshi on this one," Mikio said, glancing at the silent coroner. "It may seem idealistic, but...I dunno, maybe we need some idealism right now?"

"I mean, it can't hurt anyone," Hana added, shrugging. "If something bad is gonna happen, I'd rather spend my remaining time being an optimist than thinking of doom and gloom."

"B-But even still, what if he's wrong...?" Asuna asked. "I-I'd love if he was right, but...I don't know, it seems almost...too good to be true..."

"Well, it's okay to have doubts. After all, my words are just hypotheses, so I may very well be wrong," Hiroshi responded. "But still, it's something to grasp onto, isn't it? Something at least somewhat comforting?"

"It is! You know what? I'm gonna write all of you a great and encouraging poem to help us get through this!" Shiro promised, already taking out his notebook. "It only takes a few words for someone's heart to be full of hope and joy- and for your guys' sake, I'll find them!"

"Aw, that's sweet of you, Shiro!" Rumi said cheerfully.

As they spoke, Hana remained...uncertain. She honestly didn't know what to make of the two sides here...but she knew one thing for certain. If everyone fell and started to lose faith in one another, then a murder would happen for sure. If believing in Hiroshi's theory created enough comfort to prevent that, then what could the harm be?

"Well, whatever the outcome, we'll know tonight," Akira said curtly.

With that eerie reminder of the limited time they had, the group finished up their food. Hana realized just how much she agreed with Mikio's stance from last night- she really, _really_ hoped Hiroshi would be right.

* * *

After returning to her room and taking a quick shower, Hana found herself still thinking about the situation with Monokuma's motive. _No matter how I look at it, there's really no positives to any of this. In the end, all we can do is wait, unless someone commits a murder, and nobody wants that..._

With a little grunt, shook her head. _Aah, this is probably what Monokuma wants! He wants us all to drown in our worry or something like so we'll lose trust and snap! We I'm not gonna let that happen! I won't hide all day, I'm gonna go do...something! Yeah, that bear won't get the best of me, Hana Amari! ...Aaaand now I'm starting to sound like Azami._

The surfer briskly left her room and took off down the hall, desperate for someone to talk to. She didn't really see anyone in the main hall, so she made her way across the central chamber and looked down the hall leading to the dining and fitness rooms. There, she saw Hinata strolling down the hall by himself. _Huh- maybe I should try chatting with him for a bit._

Hana approached the Ultimate Thief, greeting him, "Hey, Hinata!"

"Hm? Oh, hey Hana," Hinata responded. "You know, I was looking around, and I was wondering...aren't castles supposed to have random portraits of art hung on the walls? You know, valuable art? Now I've never been an art thief, but no time like the present, eh?"

Deciding against questioning why Hinata thought stealing art from Monokuma was a good idea, Hana asked, "Say, you want to hang out for a bit?"

"Sure, why not? I'll kill some time with ya!" Hinata replied with a grin. With that, Hana proceeded to spent some time wandering around with Hinata.

"So, you interested in hearing one of my heist stories?" Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow. "I guarantee you'll be on the edge of your seat by the end of it!"

"Um- alright!" Hana said with curiosity.

"So, I was about...fourteen. By that time, I had already made quite the name for myself as the most elusive thief in Japan," Hinata spoke, crossing his arms as he told his story. "One night, I had heard of this truck that was transporting several cases of gold to a nearby vault, so of course I had to get some of that! But I guess the authorities got tipped off that I was coming, so they decided they'd try and trick me with a few cases of fool's gold."

"Fool's gold?" Hana asked, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah- fool's gold? It's a type of rock? Looks like gold, but...it's not?" Hinata tried to explain. "It's got a proper name, but...ah, it's slipped my mind..."

 _A mineral that looks like gold, but isn't, and is nicknamed 'fool's gold' for this reason...he must be talking about..._ Hana pondered, before answering, "You're talking about pyrite, right?"

"Yeah! They tried to trick me with cases of pyrite!" Hinata went on. "Of course, I'm not an idiot, I know the difference- so in the end, I made off with a few cases of gold. Gave a lot of it to some of the people in my neighborhood."

"You did? Huh, I never would have pegged you as the giving type," Hana remarked.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Hinata asked, sounding somewhat offended. "Listen, I come from a pretty poor neighborhood, you know? And I figured I'd do something good with my talent. So, I kinda donate some of what I take to neighbors so they can afford decent stuff."

"Wow, that's...actually pretty nice of you, Hinata!" Hana responded. "It must be a big help to your family too. I mean, granted, stealing valuable stuff isn't really the most morally sound ways of making money, but..."

"Ah, I know..." Hinata replied, looking away for a bit. "But you know, can't really be helped. Thieving...is kinda in my blood. Nothing I can do about that."

With that, Hinata started to walk away- only to whisper to Hana, "Oh, and one little thing...if anyone complains about missing silverware- you never saw me by the dining room."

Winking, the thief walked off. Hana furrowed her brow, before sighing and shaking her head. Still, she wondered to herself, _That was odd_ _...I wonder what Hinata meant by 'thieving is in my blood'..._

Confused and curious, Hana made her way back to her room.

* * *

After checking her e-Handbook for the time, Hana figured she had plenty more time to spare and left her room once again. The surfer decided she wanted to spend some time in a quieter place- and what better place for that than the library? Besides, she hadn't gotten a chance to really look at the books when she had initially went there with the girls before, so Hana hoped to make up for that now.

Pushing open the doors to the library, the girl initially didn't see anyone around. However, as she made her way to the center of the room, Hana immediately saw a familiar figure- Azami Kurobe, sitting at one of the tables intently reading a book.

 _Hm- I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I said hi to her, right?_ Hana thought as she approached the illusionist. "Hey, Aza-"

"NOPLEASEIDON'TWANTTODIEYET-!" Azami shrieked, nearly falling out of her chair in her terror before calming down upon realizing it was Hana. "O-Oh...it's you, Hana...h-how _dare_ you sneak up someone like that! I should banish you to the void for that!"

Now, Hana seemed hesitant. _Geez...can I really hang out with Azami when she's like this...?_

However, the girl looked at Azami and spoke, "Sorry, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out or something."

"Huh...? You want to hang out with _me?"_ Azami asked in shock, before chuckling in a sinister tone. "Very well then, Hana Amari- the Queen of the Dark Arts accepts your offer!"

With that, Hana spent some time with Azami in the library.

"..." For a few moments, the Ultimate Illusionist looked almost...nervous. Like she was trying to figure out what to say to her companion.

"...Hey, Azami? Is something wrong?" Hana asked, frowning in concern.

"Mm-! N-No! Everything is fine!" Azami quickly responded, before asking, "Would you, ah... Ahem- do you wish to take a minor dip, to get a mere taste of the sinister arts of the unknown that I, Queen of the Dark Arts, have mastered?"

"...Come again?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow.

"..." Azami cringed, blushing with embarrassment before translating, "I'm asking if you want to look at one of my arcane books..."

"Oh! Sure, I've never seen a book like that before," Hana replied. Azami, looking relieved, reached into her cloak and pulled out a small book with a blue cover and a strange symbol on the front. Curious, the surfer flipped through a few pages...only to realize she couldn't understand any of the words at all. Hana looked up and asked, "Um, Azami? What language is this book in?"

"You don't know it? It's Latin," Azami explained. "That book and the majority like it are written in Latin."

"Latin? And you can understand it?" Hana asked, surprised.

"Yeah- pain in the ass to learn all of it, but _so_ worth it," Azami went on, smiling proudly. "Saying something in Latin makes it ten times cooler, and it creates a great effect during my performances. It makes me sound like I'm casting an actual spell! Here, here, I'll prove it."

Azami cleared her throat, before gesturing with her hands as if about to cast a spell and shouting, _"A_ _ureum Fragosus Flammae!"_

"...You know what? That does sound cool with Latin!" Hana admitted, nodding in agreement with Azami's earlier claim. "I mean I have no idea what you said, but it sounded cool!"

"W-Wait, you actually agree?" Azami asked, taken aback. "Wow- most people get weirded out whenever I break out my Latin talk. You really are nice, Hana!"

"Heh, I'm just being honest is all," Hana explained.

"Hey- I've got some reorganizing I need to take care of," Azami then said. "But, maybe if you...wanna hang out again or something, I could show you a trick of mine or something."

"Sure! I'd be interested!" Hana assured the illusionist, who looked like she was about to burst with anticipation.

Azami nodded and responded, "Well then, Hana Amari...the Queen of the Dark Arts shall make ready the preparations for our next meeting!"

With future plans with the Ultimate Illusionist made, Hana made her way back to her bedroom.

* * *

At around 8:40 that night, Hana made her way to the dining room, as was becoming usual as of late. She didn't pass by too many of her fellow students as she went, though she saw a few of them as she entered. Akira was there of course, Hana assumed Tadao was with Saku and Rumi in the kitchen, and Hiroshi and Mikio were seated and talking to each other.

"Hi Mikio! Hi Hiroshi!" Hana greeted the two boys.

"Hana! Just in time, I need your help," Mikio quickly said, gesturing Hana over to them. "Could you help me convince Hiroshi over here to do some nighttime workouts with me?"

"I'd rather you help me convince Mr. Nakamura over here that, if I'm going to do anything at night, it will be sleep," Hiroshi replied- though he looked more amused than annoyed.

"H-Hey, what's the 'Mr.' talk?" Mikio asked, confused. "What, are you that mad at the suggestion?"

"Mikio? I know you talked about working out more, but so soon?" Hana asked. "Besides, there's usually not a lot of time left after the dinner meetings before nighttime starts, and now we have Akira's nighttime rule..."

"Yeah, which is why I was thinking of _maybe_ slipping out early- though Akira would probably never let me hear the end of it..." Mikio went on with a sigh. "I should have gone earlier, honestly...but hey, if I do manage to leave early, you wanna come, Hana?"

"I think I'll pass on night workouts- but I'd be willing tomorrow!" Hana assured the game designer.

"And you already know my stance, so..." Hiroshi added with a chuckle.

"Ah...well, it's better than nothing," Mikio replied, choosing to simply give up.

Pretty soon, the dining room was filled with the other students once more. Aside from the trio in the kitchen, Hana could see all the students were present- which was a relief, as it meant everyone was alive still. However, not much conversation was had before the food came out and Tadao, Rumi, and Saku joined them.

"Welp- we've got about three hours left before you-know-what," Hinata finally said, leaning back in his chair casually.

"I...I'm scared," Asuna whimpered. "If Monokuma was being serious, th-then he's gonna kill someone tonight...I-I don't want to think about that..."

"The alternative, however, is nothing less than disgraceful..." Itachi responded, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "Should Monokuma decide to try and end any of us, however, I will not hesitate to fight back, tooth and nail."

"Ditto to that- if he tries anything on me, he's gonna find out how a whip feels!" Kaneki yelled, putting a hand on her bullwhip for emphasis.

"Let's not get too crazy- Hiroshi could be right, after all," Shiori pointed out. "I'd prefer to believe him than the bear. Stress is bad for your health, after all."

"I pray that tonight, the good spirits shall watch over and protect us all..." Saku said, grimacing. "I do not wish to see harm brought upon anyone here."

"Hey! Maybe I could read that poem I was talking about earlier!" Shiro suggested with a bright smile. "It should help you guys feel a bit better- I wrote it to give everyone some hope, after all!"

"I agree that this poem will serve its purpose well- and I say that because he showed it to me earlier as a sort of preview," Itachi added- though it was hard to tell because of the bandanna, Hana thought he was smiling. "I assure you all, Shiro's work shall very much brighten your moods in this dark time."

"Well then, Shiro, by all means read it!" Ryoto encouraged with a grin. Hana nodded in agreement- she may have read some of Shiro's works online in the past, but now she would be hearing the work of the Ultimate Poet straight from the source- it was kind of exciting!

"Will do!" Shiro replied, clearing his throat. "It's called 'Beyond the Lost Skies'-"

"Wowzers, that sounds like a great read!" a certain childlike voice said from the end of the banquet table...before Monokuma popped up and stood on the surface. "Well, what are you waiting for? We're all dying to hear!"

"M-M-Monokuma!?" Hana cried in terror.

"Hey! Nobody invited you! Beat it!" Hinata shouted at the bear.

"Whaaat? Can't a teacher come and say hi to his dear students?" Monokuma asked, looking down in mock sorrow. "Wow, teens can be so cruel..."

"Somehow, I doubt anything you do is as simple as that," Akira responded, unamused. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, since you asked..." Monokuma answered, walking forward on the bale. "Well, you see, I've been bored waiting for a murder to occur, so I figured I'd drop in and bug ya!"

"I...feel unsettled," Azami remarked, gulping in fear.

"If you must be here, could you get your paws of the table?" Tadao asked, glaring at Monokuma. "This is a fine tablecloth, and who knows where your colorless paws have been."

"Hey hey hey! I'll have you know I take my hygiene very seriously! I may be a bear, but I'm not an animal!" Monokuma yelled in response. "But anyways...you know, I honestly thought one of you would have snapped by now, that something interesting would have happened. But nope, you're all still trying to be a bunch of goody-two-shoes, huh?"

"Heh, it's like I said- you keep thinking it'll be as simple as just making us turn on each other, but we're better than that," Hiroshi triumphantly said to the bear. "Face it, Monokuma- you won't break us that easily."

"Ah, phooey...maybe you're right..." Monokuma replied, looking down with his face blue with sadness. "I guess that means I'll just have to...uphold my end of the deal early!"

"Ahahaha! Yeah, you have no choice but to-" Ryoto shouted in boisterous triumph...before his expression fell. "...Come again?"

"You heard me! I'm gonna uphold my end of the choice and kill one of you right here, right now!" Monokuma yelled, extending his claws with a monstrous grin.

"W-WHAT!?" Hana cried, nearly falling out of her seat.

"N-No! You said that wouldn't happen until midnight!" Rumi reminded him, shaking from fear. "A-And it's only, uh...oh, I don't have my e-Handbook on me..."

"It's five to nine!" Hinata said for her, jumping up out of his seat. "You can't just break your word like that!"

"Too bad! I'm bored and nobody's killed anyone yet, so I'm taking matters into my own claws!" Monokuma shouted, looking increasingly vicious. "So then, who's it gonna be!? Who's gonna be my lucky victim!?"

Hana's heart was racing. On one hand, she wanted to fly out of her chair and take down the bear before he could harm anyone...but that would most likely count as violence against the headmaster, which would result in punishment- in short, nothing less than suicide.

Finally, someone spoke up. It was Asuna, who screamed, "N-No...I...I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Screaming in terror, the short girl sprinted out of the dining room.

"A-Asuna! W-W-Wait for me!" Kaneki yelled, also bolting from the room.

"NO! DON'T KILL ME PLEEEEASE!" Azami pleaded as she made a mad dash for the exit as well.

"AAAAAH! I need to write my fear awaaaay!" Shiro screamed as he too ran out of the room, leaving his poem behind.

"I-I'M NOT READY TO BE KILLED!" Rumi shrieked as she ran out as well.

"I'M NOT GONNA BE THE FIRST TO DIE, I'LL TELL YA THAT!" Hinata shouted as he fled with the others.

"I-I'm gonna make like lightning...AND BOLT!" Ryoto declared as he followed them out of the room as well.

Hana would have ran out with them, but she was frozen in terror- in the end, only she, Mikio, Hiroshi, Akira, Itachi, Tadao, Saku, and Shiori were left.

"..." Monokuma lowered his claws and started laughing hysterically. "Ahahahaha! Did you see the looks on their faces? I should have taken pictures!"

"Y-You're...not...huh...?" Hana murmured, feeling numb in her whole body.

"You were just messing with everyone?" Akira asked, her gaze towards Monokuma fiery.

"Yup! Nothing like a good scare, right? I mean, that's why horror movies were invented!" the bear replied matter-of-factly.

"That was...you're just the worst, aren't you?" Hiroshi asked- this was the first time Hana had ever seen the coroner's calm exterior crack at the edges.

"You are truly an embodiment of evil! To try to bring our friends lower..." Saku growled, looking like he was ready to kick the stuffing out of Monokuma.

"Puhuhu! What are you kids gonna do, attack me? Have you forgotten the rules already?" Monokuma asked, before laughing again.

"Mark my words, fiend- on my honor, I will personally see to it that that smirk on your face is wiped off!" Itachi vowed, his ice blue eyes burning.

"Oh, you guys can try- in your dreams!" Monokuma replied. "Anyways, don't think this little joke of mine means you're off the hook- you kids still have until midnight to commit murder, or else I _won't_ be joking next time!"

With that, Monokuma jumped down from the table and went away from the dining room, presumably to spread the news to the students who fled.

"...You know what, I...think this may be a good time to do that late-night exercise, I've lost my appetite," Mikio said, standing.

"Have...fun with that," Hana replied, still feeling dazed.

"...Hey, we're still good for tomorrow, right?" Mikio asked, giving Hana a reassuring smile. "...You know, unless Monokuma kills one of us?"

"Y-Yeah! Wish you had said it differently, but yeah!" Hana confirmed with an eager nod. "Just try not to wear yourself out too much today, alright?"

"I'll do my best," Mikio replied, exiting the dining room.

"Hm- well, it's nice to see Monokuma's little joke didn't totally break all of us," Hiroshi remarked, smiling at the interaction.

Hana noticed Shiro's poem on the ground, which Itachi bent down to pick up with a sigh. "So much for sharing this...I'll have to give this back to Shiro next time I see him."

"At any rate...I'd prefer if we didn't let this food go to waste," Tadao said with a disappointed sigh. Thus, the seven remaining students finished their meals. None of the eight students who had fled returned to the room, leaving the dining area quieter than before and with eight unfinished plates. Once Hana and the others were done with their food, she decided she'd might as well assist Tadao, Saku, and Itachi with disposing of the leftover plates and glasses. By the time the cleanup was done, Hana checked her e-Handbook to see that it was 9:45.

"Well everyone," Akira spoke up. "Best prepare yourselves- tonight, we'll see if Monokuma's threat truly was genuine after all."

"Keep your chins up, everyone," Hiroshi said with encouragement in his voice. "By tomorrow morning, I'm sure all the seats in the dining hall will be as full as ever."

"Or someone will be missing- be it from murder or Monokuma..." Tadao said grimly. "Either way, realistically speaking, someone may die tonight."

"Well no need to be a buzzkill, geez..." Shiori responded to the waiter.

Hana remained silent as she exited the dining room. Part of her was tempted to head to the fitness room to see how Mikio was doing, but...she was feeling too tired at that point. Monokuma's little 'joke', coupled with the fear the motive brought in general had worn Hana out more than she realized. Thus, she decided to turn in for the night earlier than usual.

As the girl changed into her pajamas and laid down on her bed, she could only worry about what tomorrow would bring. At best, Monokuma had been bluffing about killing someone at midnight. At worst...someone dies, one way or another. And as she lay, concerned thoughts pounding in her skull...Hana drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Hana was once again awoken by Monokuma's morning announcement, which had essentially become her alarm clock by this point. The surfer yawned as she sat up...before being struck with panic and immediately feeling herself. She let out a sigh of relief as she confirmed she was alive and unharmed, having not been brutally killed by Monokuma in the night and remaining as an intangible ghost. However, that didn't stop Hana from worrying about the rest of her classmates...would there be an empty seat at the breakfast meeting today? The girl almost didn't want to know...but she knew she couldn't just not go to the meeting. With that, Hana got dressed and made her way out of her room.

Hana didn't pass by any students as she entered the hallway containing the dining room. As she approached the room, she could get a glimpse of a few students already inside: Hiroshi, Kaneki, Asuna, Hinata (much to Hana's surprise, as he usually showed up later), Ryoto (also a surprise, he would probably be exercising right now), and of course Akira.

 _Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to exercise with Mikio today._ Hana reminded herself. _Hm...I actually haven't been to the fitness room in a while...maybe I should take a look there real fast, so I remember what I'm getting myself into?_

Figuring she still had some time to spare, Hana passed the dining room and went further down the hallway to the fitness room's doors. She walked over, pushing the doors open-

 _Clank!_

"Huh...?" Hana wondered aloud as the doors refused to open. She pushed on them a few more times, but the doors could only open a tiny bit before they became stuck with the sound of metal upon metal. Frowning, Hana tried to take a peek inside the room through the opening. She could see some kind of metal bar placed upon the handles on the inside, most likely to bar the doors from the inside. As for the room itself, Hana couldn't make out anything out of the ordinary- of course, she could only see a small portion of the room on the other side. There was one odd thing she could see, however; on the floor of the fitness room was some kind of stain. It looked somewhat recent, and had a distinct crimson color to it.

 _Is that...Is that blood...!?_ Hana thought to herself with growing apprehension. She couldn't be too sure at first, but the more looked at the small stain, the more she realized it looked a little too much like blood. _Oh no...is someone hurt in there? Did Monokuma-!?_

Hana considered going to the dining room to find help- but realized that if someone was hurt in there, she might not be able to afford leaving the area. With that, the surfer pushed on the doors again, but the metal bar made it impossible to open them any further. Growling with frustration, Hana realized she might be able to fit her hand through the opening in the doors enough to be able to slide the bar out. Thus, she made sure the doors were open as wide as they could go before she squeezed her hand in. She was unable to really maneuver her hand well in the small opening, but she was able to so enough to be able to make contact with the metal bar and start to slide it out. It was a little slow going, but inch by inch Hana moved the bar to the side, before she saw it fall to the side and hit the ground with a metallic _clang._

For a second, Hana hesitated as she moved to fully open the doors, but then she shook her head.

 _No, don't be afraid. If someone's in there and they need help, then you have to go in!_ the Ultimate Surfer told herself. With that newfound determination, Hana pushed open the metallic doors to the fitness room...

...What she saw at that moment would shatter that determination, and burn itself into the girl's memory forever.

The right side of the room, where the treadmills were, was what caught Hana's attention. Lying on the tiled floor was a dumbbell, one side of it nearly coated with crimson blood. From the shelf with the dumbbells and weights to the treadmills themselves, the floor was marred with bloodstains, the dark red color of the liquid a sharp contrast to the mint green of the tiles. From there, Hana's eyes were drawn along the ground as the splattered blood seemed to create a kind of trail, ultimately leading to something else on the floor; the source of the blood, no doubt...there, lying on the ground in front of the treadmills...

...It was Mikio Nakamura, facedown and splayed out on the ground with a puddle of blood splattered beneath his head. His glasses were shattered not too far from where he lay, his dark blue hair matted with blood...and he wasn't moving at all, his skin pale with lifelessness. Once she saw the unmoving game designer, Hana froze completely. She just...stared at the gruesome scene in front of her, unable to process what she was looking at. She almost felt like she was in a dream...that any moment, she would wake up in her room, she would go down to the dining hall, and Mikio wouldn't be lying on the ground with blood splattered around him. But after what felt like hours...reality struck Hana like lightning.

This was no dream. Mikio wasn't injured. He was dead.

As all this dawned on the shocked girl, Hana's breathing started to speed up rapidly as panic set in. Her breathing grew faster and faster, her heart pounding as if it was trying to burst out of her chest...before a piercing, horrified scream tore its way out of her throat.

 _"AAAAAAAAGH!"_

She wasted no time bolting out of the room, pressing herself against the hallway wall as she faced the fitness room's doors. The right door had closed somewhat, obscuring Mikio's corpse from view, but the bloodstains were still very much visible. As much as Hana wanted to run, to scream again...she found herself unable to. She was shaking, but was otherwise paralyzed as she continued to practically hyperventilate.

After a few seconds, Hana felt her legs give out, the feeling of falling...and her vision went black.

* * *

 **A/N: Heh...hehehe...AHAHAHAHAHA! Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all probably been waiting for- the first murder victim has been revealed! And it's none other than Mikio Nakamura, Ultimate Game Designer! I, uh...probably should have put a warning at the beginning of the story to those who are squeamish around blood and gore and such. So if you _are_ someone who's squeamish and you had to read...that, sorry! I'll probably go back and edit the first chapter and put in a blood/gore warning after I post this chapter.**

 **But next time...the investigation begins! Ooh how I've waited for this mystery stuff. That means, needless to say, no more Free Time Events for the rest of Chapter 1! But they'll start up again later on, so no need to worry! Anyways, I hope you'll join me for some murder mystery action next time! See you there, hehehe! ...Huh, I wonder if Monokuma is starting to rub off on me already...**


	7. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 4)

**A/N: Hah...welcome back everyone, to your weekly dose of teen murder mystery! Unless you do murder mystery stuff all the time, in which case this is probably just par for the course. Anyways, hi everyone! Are you all ready for the first murder case of Remember Hope? So, last time: Hana found a dead body! And as one does when that happens, she fainted. Now, the investigation begins! ...Okay it may not start right away, but you know what I mean. Let's begin!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Ahahaha, yes! Feel the sting of the characters you love dying, for it was my plan all along! ...Goshdangit, now _I'm_ starting to sound like Azami. Anyways, though my confidence with the motives may not be too high (the games took all the good ones, so I didn't have much to work with), I'm very proud of myself for formulating the actual murders themselves, this first one included! **

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**Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

"Hana...?"

"Hana! Hey, can you hear me?"

"C'mon, say something, open your eyes! Hana!"

At first, her vision was dark. As her eyes adjusted, things began to brighten and become less blurry. The first thing Hana saw was the ceiling, and quickly after that she noticed the young man with wavy black hair looking down at her...Hiroshi.

"Oh thank goodness- for a split second I though something had happened to you too," the boy replied, his steel gray eyes full of worry as he stepped back a bit. "Looks like you just passed out, though."

 _Passed...out?_ Hana wondered, sitting up with a little groan. _Why would I have-_

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pair of metal doors on the other side of the hallway that was slightly open. Through the crack in the doors, Hana saw something on the floor on the other side. It was crimson, a liquid...

Blood.

Hana let out a horrified shout as she scrambled away, the memory of what she had seen quickly returning. She heard Hiroshi talking, but tuned him out as she clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut. No matter how hard she tried to block out the image of... _that,_ she couldn't. She couldn't. Honestly, Hana didn't think she ever would. As of that moment, as more people ran down the hall towards her, all she could do was sit on the ground in a somewhat fetal position.

 _How...How did it come to this...?_ Hana thought as she clutched her head more tightly. _And why...why..._

 _Someone...please tell me...why...!?_

"Hey! Guys! What's with all the shouting?" Hinata called as he ran down the hall towards Hana and Hiroshi.

"Wha-!? Hana! Are you okay? What happened?" Kaneki, who was with Hinata, asked when she saw the surfer almost curled up on the ground. Hana, however, couldn't look up to face either of them, still trying to comprehend what she had seen in that fitness room.

"Guys...you need to see this," Hiroshi said to the thief and explorer. Hana glanced up to see them walking over, before Hiroshi opened the door to reveal the body on the other side. Mikio's body.

"What the-!?" Hinata cried, he and Kaneki being visibly taken aback by the bloody scene. The Ultimate Thief, shaking, said, "H-Holy shit...! That...That can't be real, right...? This is a nightmare...this _has_ to be a nightmare! Someone...Someone wake me up! Wake me up, _please!"_

"Gh-!? A-Ah...!" Kaneki stepped back, looking even more horrified at the room than Hinata...before she turned on her heel and bolted back to the dining room, screaming, "GYAAAAAAAAH!"

Hiroshi grimaced and closed the doors. At that moment, a new sound echoed through the halls...

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

Hana could hear the monitors being turned on as Monokuma appeared onscreen, stating, "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

As the monitors went silent, Hana's horror was replaced with confusion. _What...was that...?_

"Seriously, am I dreaming or something...?" Hinata asked, more towards himself. "Things are getting weird, I don't like it..."

"If you're dreaming, then I think we're dreaming with you," Hiroshi responded, walking over to Hana, who still hadn't gotten up from her spot on the hallway floor.

"Noooope! I can assure you all that this is really real, for real!" Monokuma, who suddenly appeared right next to Hinata, replied.

"GAH!" Hana cried, immediately jumping to her feet in fright as the bear showed up so suddenly.

"Hm...I should have known you'd show up..." Hiroshi said to Monokuma, his normally stoic gaze narrowed into a glare.

"Well, truth be told, I'm only here to gather you three stragglers," Monokuma explained, ignoring the angry gaze. "You are to head to the dining room...right now! I've got some very important information that I'm sure will be beneficial to you all! So go on, chop to it, don't keep everyone waiting!"

With that, Monokuma ran off as quickly as he had arrived, leaving the three Ultimates even more baffled.

"...I...I'm gonna do what the damn bear said..." Hinata stated before he made his to the dining room, his face still pale from the gruesome sight in the fitness room.

"Yeah...we should do the same," Hiroshi agreed, having regained his composure...for the most part. He turned to Hana and asked, "Hey, you're not still wobbly from passing out, are you? I don't think you were out too long at all, but..."

"N-No...I'm fine..." Hana responded, leaning on the wall as her heart continued to race. "Go, I'll...be right there."

"..." Hiroshi didn't look too convinced, but sighed and nodded in agreement before heading down the hall as well.

Once she was sure Hiroshi was far enough away to not see her, Hana proceeded to give herself a hard slap to the face- on the off chance that this was all a big nightmare, the surfer had to be sure. Of course, that sliver of hope was quickly crushed upon seeing that nothing had changed; everyone was still in the dining room, Mikio was most likely still dead behind those metal doors.

 _I...I don't understand a thing..._ Hana thought to herself solemnly. Glancing upwards, she saw the doorway to the dining room. The girl sighed and trudged forward; if she wanted an understanding of this madness, she'd have to listen to what Monokuma had to say.

* * *

The moment Hana walked into the dining room, she could see everyone was anxiously sitting at a chair, and it wasn't long before she heard someone calling out to her.

"Hana! There you are!" Rumi yelled as she ran over to the surfer, concern in her eyes. "Kaneki ran in and told us what happened, then we heard that weird announcement, and Hiroshi and Hinata came in and confirmed...oh god, this is all so crazy, and me and the other girls we were worried about you and-"

"Rumi, give the girl some space and sit back down," Shiori scolded the scuba diver from the table. "If what Hiroshi told us is true, then Monokuma should be here any second to tell us something important-"

"-And here he is! Monokuma appears!" Speak of the devil- Monokuma himself popped out of the kitchen door, turning to Hana and Rumi. "Well, you heard the doctor! Take your seats, get comfortable, I've got quite the info dump for you all!"

Rumi was the first to sit back down in her seat; Hana hesitated momentarily, but soon walked over to a free seat next to Hiroshi. However, with everyone sitting down at once like this...it only made the one empty chair at the banquet table stick out like a red dot on white paper.

"Now then- it seems my little motive worked like a charm after all!" Monokuma began, striding over to the table and jumping on top of it like he had last night. "It's finally happened, and let me tell you it's about time! Someone has decided to become the blackened, and boy did they go all out! I mean, some of you saw the crime scene, right? Whoever did it must have really hated that guy, am I right?"

"..." Hearing Monokuma talk so gleefully about the brutal murder of her friend...never in Hana's life had she felt such an overwhelming urge to punch someone's teeth out.

"Why are you talking like that...? I-In fact, you're probably the one who did it!" Azami shouted, clenching her fists. "What you did last night, the motive thing you mentioned- you probably decided to make good on it, didn't you!?"

"Hey, if you're going to believe anything I say while you're here, believe that I would never commit a murder myself!" Monokuma responded, sending a glare in the illusionist's direction. "I will only interfere if someone breaks school regulations- that is the condition of your school life in this castle. No, the one who offed Mikio Nakamura..."

He pointed at the group before finishing dramatically, "Was one of you! Right here in this very room!"

A lump of cold confusion and horror formed in Hana's gut as she looked at the other students. Upon their faces were various looks of fear, suspicion, and shock. It seemed that the vast majority of the class could not believe this either. One of them? One of them killed one of their classmates, one of their friends? It just couldn't be true...could it?

"What? You kids surprised? Well you shouldn't be!" Monokuma said in response to the students' reactions. "It's right there in the rules! If someone commits a murder and becomes blackened, they can graduate!"

 **8.) Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.**

"Ah, yes, the Graduation Clause...I suppose with that in place, it was only a matter of time until someone snapped indeed," Tadao remarked thoughtfully. "The motive simply sped up the inevitable, if anything."

"Give the doom and gloom the day off, would you?" Shiori said to the waiter with a glare.

"..." At first, Akira had a contemplative look on her face, then her eyes widened with realization. "Tell me, Monokuma...this last part of the rule, 'unless they are discovered'. This wouldn't be connected to this 'class trial' you mentioned in the announcement just now, would it?"

"Ding-ding-ding! Prosecutor Rimutsu got it right on the money!" Monokuma replied, jumping up as he waddled back to the center of the table. "That's what I brought you all here for, to dump some exposition into your minds! So, let me start by adding some new regulations to your e-Handbooks!"

With a flourish of his paws, the e-Handbooks let out little notification noises as something was uploaded to them. Hana, alongside the rest of the Ultimates, pulled out the handbook and opened it to see what had been changed.

 **9.)** **The Body Discovery Announcement will play as soon as three or more people discover a body for the first time.**

 **10.)** **Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.**

 **11.)** **If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.**

 **12.)** **If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed.**

Of course, Hana had more than a few questions about what she was reading; fortunately, it would seem Monokuma was willing to provide.

"Now, let me get the least complicated out of the way first," Monokuma began. "The Body Discovery Announcement is what you heard earlier, and I do believe it's rather self-explanatory. However! Since I feel like you guys will get confused by this at some point, let me clear something up now before that happens- the 'three or more people' does _not,_ and I mean does _not_ include the killer! I know it sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how many times that would be confused."

"Now then, onto the main event..." Monokuma continued, his grin growing with anticipation. "Miss Rimutsu is correct- it's simply not enough to commit a murder, you have to actually get away with it too! And in order to figure out if a crime is gotten away with or not, we hold the thrilling, the exciting class trial!"

Despite Monokuma's enthusiasm, Hana felt a rush of anxiety as the bear started to explain.

"A few hours after the body is discovered, all students, including the blackened, will participate in a class trial! What is a class trial, you ask? Well, it's exactly what it says on the package! A heated debate showdown with the blackened against the surviving spotless students!" Monokuma went on. "Here, the students will present their arguments as to who they believe the murderer is. At the end, we will put it to a popular vote! If the majority of the students are correct, then the blackened student alone will be executed, and the rest of the students can continue their communal life here! However, if the majority of the students are wrong..."

At this part, Monokuma let out a dark chuckle. "Then you get the opposite! The blackened will be allowed to graduate and leave the castle, while everyone else is executed in their place! And that's basically all there is to know about class trials!"

"Y-You keep throwing the word 'executed' around a lot," Ryoto remarked, looking more nervous by the minute. "By that, do you mean...you know, electric chair? Lethal injection?"

"Electric chair, lethal injection, poison gas, beheading, slaughtered like a goldfish surrounded by sharks..." Monokuma explained, his red eye practically glowing. "That's execution! Ex-e-cu-tion!"

"W-Wait, slow down, this is insane!" Rumi cried in terror.

"There is much on the line, then...namely, our own lives," Itachi remarked, closing his eyes in thought.

"That's right! So that's why, if I were you, I'd use the time before the trial wisely!" Monokuma responded. "Or don't, I don't care either way- it's not my life on the line, it's yours. As for everything else...well, I'll let you guys figure it out yourselves, you seem like clever plucky teens after all! But, I suppose I can give you all one thing to kickstart any investigating you want to do."

"It's...the Monokuma File! Now uploaded to your e-Handbooks!" Monokuma announced, making another flourishing motion as another notification sounded. "The Monokuma File is filled with all kinds of helpful information about the crime in question, so it would behoove of you to take a peek!"

"How would you know about what happened during the murder?" Ryoto asked.

"Well duh, I have eyes and ears everywhere! The surveillance cameras picked up the whole thing! But of course, I won't tell you anything, because that's what we have the class trial for!" the monochrome bear finished. "And speaking of the trial...I'll see you all there! I'll be looking forward to it! Ahahahaha!"

Just like that, Monokuma jumped off the table and vanished behind the sole empty chair.

Hana looked down at the table, her eyes wide with fear and shock. _Mikio's killer...is sitting in this room...if we don't find them, we all die...this...what is this, this is...!_

"Th-This is fucking insane!" Hinata cried, one hand going to his head in exasperation. "They honestly expect us to be able to investigate a goddamn murder!?"

"W-We can't find a killer...I-I don't think any of us have any experience with this kind of stuff, except m-maybe Hiroshi and Akira..." Asuna said, fiddling with her fingers in fear.

"You heard the bear, didn't you? This is a matter of life and death," Akira said to them, crossing her arms. "If we don't find the true guilty party, the rest of us die- that's what the rules say. So, the rest of you need to forget about your convictions for a bit so you can investigate. That's how we're going to survive."

The Ultimate Prosecutor stood up and continued, "But before that...I think we need to post some guards at the crime scene."

"How come we need guards?" Shiro asked.

"Obviously, we can't just leave the scene by itself- it would be way too easy for the killer to come back and tamper with evidence that way," Shiori explained.

"Exactly," Akira agreed, before looking around. "As for who would be fit for guard duty...Yamamoto. You're the biggest and strongest out of everyone here, so you'd be the best candidate."

"Very well. I will do my best to ensure nobody tries to desecrate the area in which our friend lost his life," Saku replied with a determined nod.

"Hey, wait! What if Saku's the killer? We can't just leave him at the crime scene by himself if that's the case," Azami pointed out, glaring at the kickboxer.

"I...can assure you, I am not..." Saku replied, looking a little disheartened.

"Even so, she makes a good point," Itachi said, looking down as he thought. "To have just one person guarding the crime scene would be too risky."

"Noted...okay, so the other guard will be..." Akira began as she looked around the room once more. "Hm...Tenmaru-"

"NO!" Kaneki cried before she dove underneath the table, as if to hide from the prosecutor.

"...I'll just...ignore that," Akira muttered to herself, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll be the second guard," Tadao offered, giving Akira a little bow. "I have some knowledge of self defense fighting, so rest assured getting past me will be no easy task."

"Alright then- Yamamoto and Shimaru are to guard the crime scene," Akira concluded. "The rest of us are to investigate. And let make one thing clear right now...whoever this blackened student is- you won't be able to hide from me. The truth will always reveal itself to me, one way or another."

With that declaration, it was clear the meeting was over. The students, many of them still seeming uncertain, all stood (or in Kaneki's case, climbed out from under the table) and exited the dining room. Well...everyone except for Hana. As she stood, the surfer felt as is her feet were cemented to the ground, a chill going down her spine as she stood. _What...? Why...Why can't I go...? I heard what Akira said, I should...I need to..._

Hiroshi, who was just about to exit himself, noticed Hana just standing in place. "Hana? What's the matter?"

The surfer looked at him, wanting to tell him that she didn't know...but deep down, she knew that wasn't true. Hana had to be honest with Hiroshi and herself, and replied, "I...I can't...I can't do this..."

Hiroshi kept silent as he walked over to the distraught girl, then nodded as if telling her to continue.

"Hiroshi, I...I can't do this. I can't...I can't look at his body again, I can't face that bloody room again, I..." Hana went on...before messing with her hair in frustration and adding, "I can't solve a murder! I'm just a surfer girl, I'm no investigator! I don't have any skills that could possibly be useful, I'm totally average outside of my talent, I-I might puke if I have to see Mikio's dead body again! And...And the idea that it was one of us who killed him, it's just...I don't want to be a part of this..."

"..." Hiroshi seemed to be thinking, his facial expression completely blank. Then, he looked Hana right in the eye and asked her, "You want to know the truth behind Mikio's death, don't you?"

Hana fell silent for a moment, before responding, "W-Well, of course, but..."

"Well then, how will you know if you don't investigate?" Hiroshi asked. "Indeed, we need to solve this crime if we're to survive...but more than that, our friend deserves to see justice done for him."

At that moment, Hiroshi pulled out a pair of the latex gloves that were always sticking out of his pocket before donning them, a look of steely determination in his usually calm and collected eyes. "Personally, I don't like that we have to suspect our friends of such a terrible act. And I certainly never expected I'd have to use my talent like this. But even so...Mikio was my friend, and for his sake I'm going to uncover the truth of all this."

He turned his attention back to Hana and continued, "I know you cared about him, too. And I know you want answers too. You're not the only one with doubts, but if there's one thing I agree with Akira on, it's that you have to put those doubts aside in order to solve the mystery."

"But...I-I'm still not..." Hana attempted to respond.

"Hana, whatever you may be feeling, I know you won't be useless," Hiroshi said to her with an encouraging smile. "You've probably got more skill than you realize. That's why I trust you'll be able to help solve this crime- I believe in you, Hana. Whether you or everyone else doubt you, I still believe. And I know you'll be able to fight to find the truth. I just...get that feeling from you, from the moment we met."

It was then that Hana realized something- not once had she seen the slightest hint of doubt of fear in Hiroshi's eyes this whole time. Even if he was shaken by the murder, by the idea that one of their friends was the blackened...in the end, the Ultimate Coroner was able to bounce right back with his calm confidence and a strong determination that Hana didn't know he had. The surfer was taken aback, to say the least, as she thought, _He's...exaggerating, right? That confidence to find the truth, the unwavering ability to unravel the mystery...there's no way Hiroshi actually thinks_ I _have those qualities, does he?_

Despite this, the trusting look in the young man's gray eyes seemed to confirm that idea- even if it was just because of a 'feeling' he had. Somehow, the more Hana thought about his words, and the fact that there was someone among her classmates who truly believed in her...some of her doubt started to melt away.

Presumably realizing his words had somewhat gotten through to Hana, Hiroshi turned and said, "Well, I've got a job to do. If you think you're ready to see the crime scene again, then I'll be there doing my coroner thing."

With another calm smile and a wave of a gloved hand, Hiroshi walked away. Hana looked downwards, still trying to process the boy's words.

 _...Hiroshi's right about one thing. I do want to see justice done for Mikio. Even if I went about it wrong initially, I still considered him my friend, and I feel like he was starting to see me as a real friend too._ Hana thought to herself as she remembered the plans the two had made last night, the plan to exercise in the fitness room that morning. Clenching her fists in an attempt to keep her emotions in check, she thought, _That's why, for his sake...no, not just his, but for all of us who are still alive...I want to find the truth. I_ need _to find the truth._

 _I need to know...I need to know why Mikio had to die!_

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 **A/N: Ooooh, there we go, kinda got chills writing that last part. But yeah, the mystery begins! Now that Hana has some confidence in her, the time has come for her to be a protagonist and solve her friend's brutal murder! But what are the details of the case, and how do they all fit together? You'll have to find out...next time! Yeah, I was going to put the investigation in this chapter, but it turns out with Monokuma's exposition and Hiroshi's pep talk and everything in between, this part ended up longer than I thought. And, since the investigation itself is long enough, I decided to split them!**

 **But, I kinda feel bad for doing that...so that's why you guys are gonna get a treat today! Thaaaat's right, it's a double update! Two chapters for the price of one day, yaaay! So, I won't keep you cooped up here too long- go on, get going to the next part!**


	8. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 5)

**A/N: Heeeey, say hello to a double update! I already explained why I ended up cutting the last chapter into two and making the investigation separate, so I won't go into it here. As for the investigation itself, well it'll be long enough for its own chapter, but I don't think it'll be that long, honestly, compared to other chapters. After all, this is only the first murder case, so things won't get too crazy right away (but at the same time, don't expect things to be too simple either).**

 **So, I'm sure you're raring for some mystery action, so let's get started!**

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 **Review Replies**

 **...Well no, since this was uploaded right after the last chapter. Next time, though, next time.**

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 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Deadly Life (Part 2)**

As Hana stepped out into the hallway, she realized she should take a look at this 'Monokuma File' thing before anything. The surfer pulled out her e-Handbook and turned it on, and immediately she could see a new icon on the screen. Clicking on it brought up a new screen, a white one with the words 'Monokuma File' appearing in black text with a red '#1' at the end. Scrolling down, Hana saw a new page- a black one, with a full body picture of Mikio to the left and some kind of profile to the right. Reading it, the surfer could see it described all kinds of physical information about the victim: name, age, gender, height, blood type, etc. Hana scrolled down further to a second page, this one being some kind of autopsy report.

 **The victim was Mikio Nakamura. Time of death was 9:20 P.M. The body was found in the first floor fitness room. The victim died after receiving multiple blows to the head with a blunt object. Bruising was also found on the victim's hands and forearms.**

Hana couldn't help but cringe as she read over the details of Mikio's death. She closed out of the Monokuma File and put away the e-Handbook...but not before remembering the writing application on the handbook. Perhaps she could use it to take notes on what clues she had found? ...Well first, the girl needed to actually find clues. Looking around to think of where to go first, Hana immediately spotted Akira standing in the hall, looking down at her e-Handbook- most likely scrutinizing over the Monokuma File herself.

 _Maybe I should talk to Akira...she might be able to point me in the direction of where I should start._ Hana thought to herself as she walked over to the prosecutor. "Hey- Akira?"

"..." Akira ignored the surfer for a moment, before glancing upwards. "What do you want?"

"Well...I was gonna investigate, and I was hoping you could give me some advice on where to start," Hana explained, trying not to sound nervous.

"Hmph- it's not rocket science. Look at the crime scene, talk to other students, it's not overly complicated," Akira replied, visibly annoyed. "Now, move- you're not even a suspect, so I have no business with you. It would be beneficial if you stayed out of the way of my investigation, thank you."

"Oh, I'm not a suspect? That's great!" Hana responded...but then asked, "Uh...wait, why do you say that?"

Akira pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation before replying, "Amari, did you look at the Monokuma File? _See_ the time of death?"

"W-Well, yeah- 9:20 P.M., it said," Hana replied, shifting awkwardly as she looked away from Akira's angered gaze.

"Exactly. Now, at 8:55 last night, Monokuma appeared and did his little scaring trick, chasing about half of the others out of the dining room- with Nakamura leaving separately shortly after. When all was said and done, there were seven of us left: me, you, Hiroshi Ashi, Itachi Kunata, Tadao Shimaru, Saku Yamamoto, and Shiori Sauchi," Akira explained. "We were in the dining room until about 9:45- after the murder would have taken place. Therefore, since nobody who had left the dining room returned that night, us seven are the only ones with clear alibis for the time of the murder at the moment."

"Oh...yeah, that makes sense," Hana responded sheepishly.

"Of course. Now, goodbye, and don't ask me any more questions that you can't solve with your own investigating," Akira said with a cold finality as she walked away.

 _Well...I guess that wasn't completely dumb of me. I did find some useful info from what Akira said, after all._ Hana reassured herself. She pulled out her e-Handbook, opened the writing app, and made a note of what Akira had told her regarding the alibis. Once that was done, she turned her attention back to a certain pair of metal doors- the doors to the fitness room, to the crime scene.

"..." As she stepped towards the doors, Hana felt her legs shaking from anxiety. _I...I don't have a choice. If I want to help investigate, I have to go back in there._

Taking a deep breath, Hana pushed open the doors and stepped back into the fitness room.

She immediately saw Hiroshi, his hands still gloved, kneeling down next to Mikio's corpse- Hana couldn't help but shudder upon seeing the body again- while Saku and Tadao stood guard not too far away.

"Ah, Amari- here to look over the crime scene as well?" Tadao asked as Hana entered. "Well, just mind all the blood- it would be a nightmare to try and wash out at any rate."

"Er, thanks for the advice," Hana replied as she stepped in a bit more. Immediately, something else caught her attention- the room's scent. She hadn't noticed before, but now, the coppery smell of blood was indeed strong- it made Hana want to wretch.

Hiroshi glanced over to see the surfer and remarked, "Never been in a crime scene before? Well, no worries- you'll get used to it."

For a moment, Hana wanted to ask him how that was possible- but then she remembered Hiroshi was the Ultimate Coroner, so being around blood and murder and death was probably a normality for him. Still, the girl couldn't help but admire the young man's ability to do his job, even though it he was examining the body of someone he considered a friend.

Though, speaking of his job, Hana couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Hiroshi- you looked over the Monokuma File, right? Seems like it kinda does your job for you, with determining time and cause of death and other things..."

"That's true- in fact, I'm kind of grateful for the File. After all, I don't have my proper forensics equipment here, just my gloves and my knowledge- so, the Monokuma File evens the odds in a sense," Hiroshi replied, glancing down at his e-Handbook. "Even so, I can't just ignore the body. In a crime like this, the body is the most important piece of evidence of all- it's the center of the crime almost, and it can allow the victim to tell their story from beyond the grave. That's why I'm here."

He glanced around the room before adding, "And while the Monokuma File talks about the details behind the death, it's up to us to make our own conclusions. So far, from what I can see...this murder seems very unplanned. As if it just...happened. The killer didn't even bother trying to hide any physical evidence, after all."

Hana nodded before responding, "And...Mikio has bruising on his arms and hands, right? And if he was hit a bunch of times, that all means he wasn't killed instantly, right? He was alive for a bit before he actually died?"

"See? Drawing your own conclusions from the evidence isn't too hard," Hiroshi told her with a small smile. He then looked back at the body and raised his eyebrows, as if surprised. "And besides...it seems the Monokuma File doesn't give all the details. Come here, take a look at this."

Hana reluctantly approached the body of her friend, confused as to what the coroner wanted to show her. Hiroshi pointed a gloved finger towards Mikio's left leg, his ankle to be exact. The boy moved the game designer's pants leg away a bit to show the skin underneath, and Hana could see some bruising along the ankle. The girl immediately asked, "Huh? Did...Mikio hurt his ankle or something?"

"Seems that way. I'm not sure how, but I'll be sure to remember it," Hiroshi replied thoughtfully. Hana decided to do the same, and made a note about Mikio's ankle in the e-Handbook. She then turned her attention to the rest of the crime scene- more specifically, the blood-soaked dumbbell lying on the ground not too far from the body.

"Hey, Hiroshi? That dumbbell right there- do you think that's the murder weapon?" she asked the young man in question as she pointed to the item.

"Hm...well, it very well could be. Only one way to find out," Hiroshi responded, standing and walking over to the shelf containing the other dumbbells and weights. He picked up a dumbbell that looked identical to the one on the ground, then walked back and knelt down next to Mikio once again. As he did, he held up the dumbbell close to his head, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Um, what are you doing?" Hana asked as she watched.

"I'm comparing this dumbbell to the wounds on Mikio's head to see if they match. If they do then, since this dumbbell is exactly the same as the bloody one, then the bloody dumbbell over there is our murder weapon," Hiroshi explained, not even looking up from his work. Seconds later, he nodded and stood, saying, "And they do. Therefore, you were right Hana- that dumbbell is the murder weapon."

Hana nodded as she turned to look at the dumbbell itself again. Aside from the blood, nothing about it stood out...well, aside from a somewhat small black smudge on the handle, though the surfer couldn't begin to tell what that was. Other than that, it was just a regular, metal dumbbell that appeared to weigh seven pounds (based on the imprint stating so). Still, since it was the murder weapon, Hana made a note about all these things anyways. From there, Hana continued her search through the crime scene. She decided to look at the treadmills that Mikio was found in front of; at first, the surfer couldn't see anything too out of the ordinary. However, upon closer inspection...she noticed something sticking out of the middle treadmill.

 _What the...? Well that's suspicious._ Hana thought to herself as she went to get a closer look. It seemed to be a piece of black fabric, stuck between the tread and the machine itself. Not to mention, the fabric looked...torn, almost, as if ripped from something. _Hm...this had to be left by the killer, right? But how in the world did it end up there?_

Shrugging, Hana made a note of the black fabric before walking away from the treadmills. The surfer saw something on the ground by the door- a metal bar of some kind, the same bar that was blocking the door before.

"Ah, so you saw that too?" Saku asked, also looking at the metal bar.

"Saw it? I'm the one who removed it," Hana told the kickboxer.

"I see- so then, that bar was keeping the door from opening..." Saku said. "You see, early in the morning, Ryoto came into the dining room very annoyed. I heard him complaining about how he had wanted to do more early-morning exercises, but he was unable to get into the fitness room. I suppose that bar was the reason."

Hana nodded, turning her attention back to the bar. _So the door was barred even when Ryoto was up, huh...? I'm pretty sure the killer was the one who put that bar there, no doubt there._

The girl frowned as she continued to think. _But at the same time, that creates a bit of a problem...as far as I can see, these doors are the only way in or out of this room, and I highly doubt you can block the door like that from the outside. So then, if the killer did block the door...how did they get out of the room?_

With that, Hana took one last look around the room. She didn't spot anything else odd, and the three people in the room weren't even suspects because of their alibis so there was no point in questioning them. Figuring that there was nothing else to find at the crime scene, Hana turned to Hiroshi and told him, "Hey, I'm gonna go see if I can find some clues outside the crime scene, alright?"

"Do what you think will get you your answers- it's your investigation, after all," Hiroshi responded, still very much focused on the body.

Hana nodded, then turned and exited the fitness room.

* * *

As Hana stepped out into the hall, she thought about what to do from here. _Well, more than anything, I need to figure out everyone else's alibis for the time of the murder. That means I need to at least talk to Shiro, Asuna, Kaneki, Hinata, Ryoto, Rumi, and Azami. I've never interrogated anyone before...I should have watched more crime shows before all this..._

The surfer made her way into the dining room to see if anyone had returned. Sure enough, she noticed Shiro sitting at the table, scribbling away in his notebook.

"Hey, Shiro! Can I talk to you real fast?" Hana called, walking over to the poet. However, once she made it to the boy, she couldn't help but ask, "Um- aren't you going to help investigate?"

"Oh- hey Hana. Um...I don't know, I'm not the best in these situations. When I get all stressed out like this, I really can't help but write- stress writing, you know?" Shiro explained as he looked up at Hana.

"Stress writing? That's a thing?" Hana asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"For me it is. When I'm scared or nervous, I just write my feelings- and even then, I'm still able to form prose. Must be poetic instinct or something," Shiro responded. "Besides, maybe I'll be able to write something great to make up for not being able to show you guys my poem last night!"

As happy as she was that Shiro was able to stay in high spirits despite the circumstances, she still had a question. "Hey, Shiro...I need to ask you something- last night, when Mikio was...you know...anyways, where did you go after Monokuma showed up in the dining room?"

"Oh, that? Well, let me see..." Shiro began, thinking. "Well, after Monokuma's 'prank', I went to the stairs between the dorm hallway and the library. I just...sat there for a bit, writing. I was there until...about 9:18. That's when I went back to my room, and I stayed there for the rest of the night."

Hana nodded, taking a note of Shiro's account. "Thanks Shiro- I'll let you get back to your writing now. If I have any more questions for you, I'll come find you, alright?"

"Alright! Glad I could help you out, Hana- good luck with the investigating!" Shiro replied, waving goodbye to Hana as the girl walked away. Upon entering the hallway once more, she caught sight of Shiori heading her way. The Ultimate Surgeon stopped for a moment and said, "Oh, hi Hana. I see you're hard at work investigating too."

"Hey Shiori. You must be on your way to the crime scene, right? To see if Hiroshi needs help investigating the body?" Hana guessed upon being greeted.

"What? No, I'm going to see if one of the people who left the dining room last night is in there," Shiori replied, gesturing to the dining hall. "What, did you assume I'd investigate the body because I have my own medical knowledge?"

"Well...yeah," Hana admitted.

Shiori sighed in exasperation before responding, "Hiroshi handles the dead people, I handle the living ones. Our roles are similar, but very different, therefore I'll leave Hiroshi to his. Now, can you move out of the doorway please, I think I see Shiro in there."

"Actually, speaking of the others..." Hana said. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find some of the others with missing alibis, would you?"

"Hm...well, I know Kaneki is in the furnace room, and Hinata was trying to get into Mikio's room- that spike-headed nimrod is probably gonna try to loot what he can instead of looking for evidence..." Shiori explained, frowning. "As for everyone else, well, Rumi's in the courtyard I think. That's about all I can say for certain."

"Okay- thanks, Shiori," Hana replied before quickly making her way down the hallway into the main chamber.

* * *

Immediately upon entry, Hana heard a certain racecar driver call out to her...

"Hana! Perfect timing, come here and give me a hand!" Ryoto shouted as he stood in front of Itachi.

"Give you a hand? With what?" Hana asked as she walked over to the two young men.

"Well, I was gonna go help with the investigation like the upstanding citizen I am," Ryoto explained, before glaring at Itachi and adding, "But Samurai Jack over here won't stop interrogating me!"

Itachi sighed before explaining, "I was merely trying to figure out his alibi for the time of the murder."

"And I told you I went straight to the safety of my room after the Monokuma fiasco!" Ryoto yelled angrily. "I know I don't have anyone to confirm it, but that doesn't make it any less true!"

"Okay, okay, Itachi- how about you just let Ryoto go for now? If he wants to investigate too, then it would be good to let him," Hana said to the Ultimate Weapons Expert. Itachi seemed to mull this over for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Hah! Much appreciated, Hana Amari!" Ryoto boasted happily. "Fear not, my deduction skills will help lead us to the one who both killed our friend AND defiled the wonderful fitness room! Count on it!"

With that, the young man ran off, his cape flowing behind him. Hana remarked, "Well, he certainly has his priorities figured out."

"Indeed," Itachi replied. "So then, am I to assume your investigation is going well, Hana?"

"Well, I've found stuff, if that counts," Hana responded. "I'm still trying to figure out everyone's alibis, and maybe finding some extra clues too."

"Hm- well, if you want to talk to anyone, talk to that hooligan Hinata," Itachi told her, glancing towards the dorms. "He's probably searching through the deceased Mikio's room as we speak. I would give him the tongue lashing of his life myself, but I must talk to Shiro. I was also thinking of perhaps speaking to Hiroshi regarding the murder weapon."

"Oh, in that case, Shiro's down in the dining room, and Hiroshi's probably still at the crime scene," Hana said to Itachi, pointing at the hallway in question. The tall young man nodded in thanks, presumably smiling beneath his bandanna before heading to the room in question. As he left, the surfer thought to herself, _Well, at the very least, even if I'm not the best detective, it's s relief to know the others are also trying to find the truth of this case._

Hana made her way across the main chamber to the dorm hallway, where she immediately saw a certain purple-haired thief slip out of a bedroom door- Mikio's door. The surfer shouted, "Hinata!"

The young man yelped in shock, quickly turning towards the girl. "Oh! Hana! Hey, just uh...searching for evidence, nothing to see here!"

At that moment, several electronics fell out of the pocket of Hinata's hoodie, earning the thief an angry glare from Hana. He then looked down and said, "...It's a lot harder to get away with stealing in a closed space like this."

Hana sighed before walking over. "Look, I just came here to ask you a question. Where'd you go after Monokuma chased you guys out of the dining room?"

"Oh, you want an alibi, huh?" Hinata responded. "Well, you see, I went out into the courtyard. Thought some night air would do me some good, you know? Anyways, I was out there until about...9:30? Somethin' like that."

Then, the thief quickly added, "Oh, but if you want some real good info...I did see something weird while I was out there."

"Huh? Weird? Weird how?" Hana asked, immediately curious.

"Well, it was at about...I think a little after 9:20, maybe a bit before 9:25..." Hinata explained. "I was standing near the fountain, looking up at the sky...when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. Through the windows on the doors leading to the main hall, I saw...someone run past. Couldn't make out who, since the lighting through the windows wasn't too good, but it kinda looked like they had something...trailing behind them, like a cape or something."

 _Huh...okay, definitely weird. I'd better remember that,_ Hana told herself as she jotted down Hinata's account into the e-Handbook. She then turned back to the thief and said to him with a glare, "...Now go put Mikio's stuff back, please."

"...Oh fine. I didn't find anything useful in there anyways," Hinata responded with a frown, picking up the items he had dropped and returning them to the bedroom, all the while Hana stood by and made certain he returned everything.

* * *

With Hinata interrogated, Hana returned to the main hall to seek out the rest of the students without alibis. She was able to immediately spot the sky blue hair of Rumi on the other side of the room, near the doors to the courtyard. The surfer was quick to run over, shouting, "Hey, Rumi! I need to ask you something!"

"Huh-? Oh, Hana!" Rumi responded, giving Hana a wave as she came over. "You're here to ask about my alibi, right?"

"Hm? How'd you know that?" Hana asked.

"Akira just got done talking to me about it, you just missed her actually," Rumi explained. "But anyways, since you seem to be doing a bunch of investigating yourself, I assumed you're trying to sort out alibis too."

"Well, you'd be right," Hana replied, nodding in confirmation. "So, care to tell me yours?"

"Sure. So, after Monokuma scared the stuffing out of everyone, I ended up just kinda...sitting in the hallway for a bit, just trying to gather my thoughts," Rumi explained. "After a while, I stood up and went into the main chamber. I was gonna go into the courtyard, but then I saw Azami coming out of the library, so of course I had to talk to her. Anyways, we talked and stuff, and then afterwards we went back to our rooms for the night."

"Mm-hm...what time did that happen?" Hana asked, writing Rumi's account into the e-Handbook.

"Um...well, you see, I didn't have my e-Handbook on me, so I had to ask Azami for the time," Rumi added. "By the time we decided to go back to our rooms, she said it was 9:15. Of course, I don't know what time it was when I made it back to my bedroom- I was so tired out from everything that had happened I just crashed on the bed without checking my handbook."

"Well, it's fine, I can estimate the time if I need to, I guess," Hana told the scuba diver as she finished. "But thanks for the help, Rumi!"

"No prob, Hana! If you need anything else, I'll be seeing if Asuna needs any more help in the courtyard!" Rumi cheerfully replied as she walked off.

 _Okay...two to go..._ Hana told herself as she looked around, eventually spotting the door to the furnace room. _Hm...Shiori mentioned that Kaneki was investigating the furnace room. I wonder if she's still in there?_

Figuring there was only one way to find out, the surfer headed for the door and quietly entered the room in question.

* * *

Upon entering the dimmer room, Hana could immediately see the Ultimate Explorer examining something on the wall. However, she stopped once she heard the door opening and turned towards the surfer before greeting, "Hiya Hana- here to investigate this room too? Well, sorry to disappoint, but I've already looked over almost every inch of this place. I thought the killer might have destroyed some evidence with this furnace here, but there was nothing like that."

"Well, thanks for letting me know at least," Hana responded as she walked over to Kaneki. "But I actually came here because I wanted to ask you about last night. Um, you're okay with that, right? I mean, you seemed pretty freaked out after seeing...you know, M-Mikio's body, and-"

"Oh, that...well, don't worry, I'm fine now," Kaneki assured the shorter girl. "I just don't like being around blood like that. What's it called...hemophobia? Yeah, that."

The explorer shook her head before continuing, "Anyways, do you mind if I look at this real fast before you ask me anything?"

Kaneki tapped on the wall, specifically the large metal hatch that Hana had first seen when she initially looked at this room on the first day. The surfer remarked, "Oh, sure- you know, I've wondered just what that thing is supposed to be-"

"Huh? You've never looked at it before?" Kaneki asked, surprised. "Well, here, let me show you."

With that, the taller Ultimate grasped the hatch, and it swung open with a rusty _creeeeak._ Hana looked into what was on the other side, and to her surprise there was some kind of long opening. It was about the size of the hatch, and the sides were metallic; Hana couldn't tell how far back the opening went, but she assumed it was a far distance by the darkness obscuring the other end. It reminded the surfer of an air vent, like the kind people crawl through on TV.

"Yeah- I think this was some kind of...ventilation system? I have no idea," Kaneki explained as Hana looked in. "But it's pretty neat, right? I've actually crawled through this before today, to see if it leads anywhere- I found out it actually connects this room to the fitness room. Isn't that cool?"

Now _that_ caught Hana's attention. The surfer quickly looked back at the explorer and asked, "I'm- I'm sorry, come again?"

"This passage here connects this room to the fitness room," Kaneki repeated, as if this was common knowledge. "You know, it's like a secret tunnel, in a sense."

Thoughts raced through Hana's mind as she processed this information. _Now that she mentions it...I remember seeing a hatch in the fitness room that looked just like this one, so..._

"So...can anyone use this secret passage? At any time?" Hana asked Kaneki, glancing downwards in thought.

"Well, yeah- I mean, it's not like there's a way to lock the hatches, and based on my personal experience there's no rule against going through here," Kaneki replied. "Hell, even someone as burly as Saku could squeeze into here if they wanted to, the opening's big enough."

Hana nodded thoughtfully as she pondered, _So then...there's a big vent here, like a secret passage, that connects the furnace room and the fitness room. Did...Did the killer maybe use this to-_

Suddenly, the Ultimate Surfer's thought process was interrupted when a certain sound rang out.

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The furnace room was filled with the sound of the monitor turning on as Monokuma appeared on the screen again.

"So, ah...this investigation is getting pretty boring. So, I think it's time we get started!" the bear said as he sat in that familiar throne. "That's right, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for- time for the class trial! All students, please make your way to the courtyard as soon as possible! Remember, attendance is mandatory, or it'll be punishment for you!"

With that, the screen went dark and silent once more as Hana was taken aback. _It's t_ _ime already...? Wow, that...went by quick..._

"Oh! Shit, you had a question for me, didn't you?" Kaneki said to Hana, grimacing.

"Ah- you know what, don't worry about it. I think you ended up helping me out after all," the surfer told her reassuringly, glancing at the hatch on the wall.

"You sure...? Well...alright," Kaneki replied. "In that case, we'd better get going to the courtyard. I'll see you there, Hana."

With a tip of her hat, the Ultimate Explorer left the room, leaving Hana alone. The surfer could feel her heart racing and her stomach churning at the anxiety she felt. Still, she knew she had no choice but to answer Monokuma's summons. Thus, she made one last note of the secret passage, and then she too left the furnace room.

* * *

It didn't take long for the courtyard to become filled with the remaining fourteen students, Hana among them. They were softly chatting amongst themselves, but Hana remained silent as she tried to calm her nerves.

"Hana- everything alright?" Hiroshi asked, walking over. "You look like you're about to faint."

"Oh, it's nothing, just, you know- we're about to go into a class trial where all our lives are on the line, no big deal..." Hana responded, gulping in fear.

Hiroshi went silent for a moment, before he responded, "Relax. Stay calm. You're not the only one going into this. We'll all be working together to figure out who the blackened is, so I'd say to just trust in your evidence."

 _Trust in my evidence..._ Hana repeated in her mind. _That...sounds simple enough...but still, I..._

"Hey...where the hell is that bear?" Hinata asked, looking around. "We're in the courtyard, just like he wanted."

"Don't tell me we're having the class trial out here," Shiori said dryly. "Scenic, yes, but in no way a proper place to do something like a trial."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the quaking grew in intensity. For a moment, Hana thought it was an actual earthquake, but then she heard the sound of mechanical clanks and whirring. At that moment, the fountain stopped spouting water- in fact, all the water quickly drained out as the fountain started to shift and almost dismantle itself. Within moments, the fountain had completely transformed into a platform of some kind, with only a few puddles left on the polished surface.

"Wh-What the...!?" Hana blurted, shocked.

"Did I...say the secret word or something?" Shiori said, taken aback by what she had witnessed.

"I...meditated on _that?"_ Saku exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Now _that_ is technology for you," Ryoto remarked, nodding.

"...I suppose we just...step on," Akira said, walking over- it seemed as though even the Ultimate Prosecutor was caught off guard by the transforming fountain. Despite their apprehension/confusion, the rest of the class followed suit and stepped onto the platform. The moment the last person stepped up, another clanking sound was heard as a metallic gate popped up around the perimeter of the platform. Moments after, the platform started to descend into the ground- it seemed this platform was, in actuality, an elevator. For a few moments, the students cried out in shock or fear, but soon enough all went silent again. Hana herself didn't want to speak, or think- she just focused all her attention on the sound of the elevator descending.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the platform stopped, and the fencing lowered. The students stepped off the platform, being met with a long hallway made of gray bricks, lit with torches on the side walls. At the very end of the hallway was a pair of large red doors that had an almost foreboding aura to it.

However, the silence of the hall was interrupted with the sudden appearance of a certain monochrome bear. "There you all are! So, what did you think of your trip here? Were you surprised? Amazing what technology can do, right?"

Nobody answered him, many of the students actually glaring at the bear as if wanting him to get out of their way.

"...Wow, tough crowd," Monokuma remarked. "Whatever! So, just head through those completely normal doors down there, and we can begin the much-anticipated class trial!"

With that, Monokuma ran off through the doors in question without another word to the Ultimates.

"So...the moment of truth is here," Akira said, crossing her arms. "Let's not wait any longer."

The prosecutor walked down the stone hall, soon followed by the others. Hana herself headed for the red doors, but she moved somewhat slower as thought raced around in her mind. Thoughts about the one missing student...about Mikio.

 _Mikio Nakamura...the Ultimate Game Designer. To me, he was a celebrity, a guy I would have given anything to have one conversation with. Meeting him in person, him being the first face I saw when we ended up in this damn castle...it was like a dream come true. But...he wasn't some celebrity, was he? He...was a student, just like the rest of us, someone who wanted to go home just like we do. Even when I was being a fangirl, he was patient, kind, and he even showed me around and introduced me to half the class on our first day._

 _I...I never took the chance to get to know Mikio for who he really was, did I? That's...I'll always regret that, no matter what. But now...we_ have _to find the killer. Mikio, for your sake- no, not just yours, but for the sake of our friends...I will find the truth behind this! We won't die here, I promise I'll make sure the blackened is found!_

With newfound determination, Hana picked up her pace as the group made it to the doors. However, even with her resolute thoughts pounding through her mind, the surfer still felt a sense of unease- the blackened, the one who ended Mikio's life, was among the students. Hana wondered if she could really bring herself to essentially sentence that person to death...but at the same time, what choice did any of them have?

Akira was the first to push open the doors to the room where the class trial would be held. As Hana walked in alongside her classmates, she looked around to get a feel for her surroundings. The room itself resembled a castle, but different from the one the 80th Class was trapped in. The polished walls were an amber color, as was the tiled floor. A series of quartz pillars stood around the room, as well as several banners with the same crest as the e-Handbooks imprinted on them that hung from the ceiling. Above the room hung a chandelier that cast a gold glow on everything.

In the center of the room stood fifteen podiums, all arranged in a circle- most likely to ensure all the students could easily see one another. Positioned in front of the circle of podiums was a large gold and red throne, where Monokuma sat with a grin. "Welcome everyone, to our own little courtroom! Has a nice regal feel to it, don't you agree? Now then, everyone find your assigned seats and we'll get started!"

The students walked over, with Hana following them. _Here we go...the class trial. It all comes down to this, doesn't it...? Trust in my evidence, like Hiroshi said. Trust in my evidence._

And thus, whether the class was ready or not...the curtain rose on their first murder case. A deadly mystery...a deadly betrayal...who was the blackened? The only way to find out was to survive the class trial- a class trial of life...or death.

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaand that's a better spot to conclude on! Okay, so, that was nice, a nice investigation was it not? I'll tell you one thing, I am gonna enjoy writing he investigations for the future chapters...though I may also have to split future investigations into at least two parts. This time, though, not so much since there wasn't too much really- you know, being the first murder case and all. However, it was long enough, so I'm glad I made this separate from the previous part.**

 **So anyways, Hana's got all the clues, so go on and theorize in the reviews about the case, who you think killed Mikio, etc. And I'll see you guys next time for the beginning of the awaited class trial!**


	9. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 6)

**A/N: Hellooooo readers! Are you ready for some debate action? Plucky teens solving mysteries (with some actual criminal investigation guys with Akira and Hiroshi)? A protagonist trying to play detective even though she's just an emotional surfer gal? That's right, it's time for the very first class trial! So, who killed Mikio Nakamura and scarred everyone for life (because most of these guys have never seen an actual murder before)? Let's get started so I can stop asking questions!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Your speculation gives me _STREEEENGTH!_...And I say that because I can't confirm or deny any of your predictions for obvious reasons. Still does my heart well to see someone speculating on a mystery I wrote.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Class Trial (Part 1)**

 _ **Class Trial: START!**_

 _ **ALL RISE!**_

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began as he sat on that gold and red seat. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"I have one question!" Ryoto declared. "...What is _that?"_

He sheepishly pointed to the podium between his and Shiori's- instead of a student, there was some kind of memorial picture on a long stand. The photograph itself was grayscale, depicting a headshot of Mikio...with a large red 'X' painted over it.

"Oh! Well, just because Mr. Nakamura died doesn't mean he should miss out on the proceedings!" Monokuma explained with an innocent tone. "After all, friendship penetrates all barriers, even death! Wouldn't you agree?"

Hana frowned, keeping silent as she listened. The girl glanced about- to her left was Hiroshi, to her right was Rumi; beyond that, the arrangement counterclockwise from Rumi was Ryoto, Mikio's picture, Shiori, Tadao, Kaneki, Saku, Azami, Akira, Itachi, Hinata, Asuna, and then Shiro to the left of Hiroshi.

"...Pictures of the dead aside..." Shiori remarked, putting a hand on her podium. "Where exactly do we begin here?"

"Well, in traditional courtroom proceedings, a case summary is appropriate," Akira began, clearing her throat. "The victim was Mikio Nakamura, the Ultimate Game Designer. He was killed at approximately 9:20 last night, and his body was found in the fitness room of the castle's first floor just after seven this morning."

Hiroshi chimed in, "Mikio died after he was bludgeoned several times in the front and back of the head with a blunt object. He also had bruising along his hands and forearms, consistent with being defensive wounds. And...those are the basics of the case."

"Well, look at you two go. You guys said that so smoothly, it's almost like you rehearsed it," Hinata remarked with a chuckle.

"It's called being professional- something you could stand to do more, Yonade," Akira responded, not even giving the thief a passing glance.

"And...Monokuma, you're telling the truth? The killer is really...one of us?" Hana asked, turning to the bear.

"I'm as sure as Flower Girl over there is tiny!" Monokuma responded, pointing to Asuna.

"W-Was that really necessary...?" Asuna asked, shifting in her spot and looking downwards as if trying to be unnoticed.

"See, I know aaaaaall the details of this case- if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to run a fair trial, now would I?" Monokuma went on. "And I pride myself on giving you all a fair trial! Things wouldn't be very interesting otherwise."

"Uh...now that that's cleared up...where do we go from here?" Shiro asked, glancing around at the others.

"Well, I think what we need to establish most is everyone's alibi on the night of the murder," Akira explained. "Once we do that, we can narrow down our suspects and go from there."

"Well, it's a better plan than just debating aimlessly," Shiori responded. "Alright, let's do this."

Many of the other students seemed to shift uncomfortably in their spots, visibly apprehensive about what they were about to get into; Saku in particular bent down slightly, his hands in a quick gesture of prayer.

Hana herself took a deep breath to steady her anxiety. _Okay, here we go...it's now or never. Be confident Hana, be confident- heart, stop beating so fast, this is serious!_

"Well, for one thing, Monokuma chased about half of us out of the dining hall last night, right?" Shiori recounted.

"Right- that was at about 8:55, if I remember correctly," Saku agreed, nodding.

"Yes. After that, seven of us remained in the room until 9:45," Akira explained. "Me, Amari, Ashi, Kunata, Sauchi, Shimaru, and Yamamoto."

"Meanwhile, the other eight fled the room," Itachi added. "They were Shiro, Azami, Rumi, Hinata, Ryoto, Asuna, Kaneki, and Mikio himself."

"And seeing as how none of them returned after that..." Tadao went on. "It can be assumed none of them have clear alibis, correct?"

At that moment, a memory flashed through Hana's mind, and the girl shouted, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Wrong? How so?" Tadao asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I talked to a few of the people who left the dining room last night, one of them being Shiro," Hana explained. "He told me his alibi plain as day: he was sitting at one of the stairs in the main hall until 9:18."

"That's right! By the time I made it back to my room, it was about 9:21," Shiro added with a nod of confirmation.

"Hm, look at that, seems like you were able to show some initiative after all," Akira said, her crimson eyes trained on Hana. "I suppose you were able to corroborate Koichi's alibi somehow, right?"

"'Corroborate'...? Um...isn't that something metals do...?" Hana asked, a sinking feeling in her gut.

"...Uh, Hana- corroborate means to, you know, verify? Confirm?" Hiroshi told the surfer, glancing in her direction.

"Oh!" Hana responded...before frowning. "Wait- the alibis have to be verified?"

"Oh you stupid, seaweed-brained...!" Akira growled, irate at Hana's response. "It's not enough to just have someone _tell_ you an alibi! Unless they have someone to confirm it, they could very well be lying, making the alibi shaky at best!"

"A-Ah...that makes sense," Hana replied sheepishly, trying not to look too downtrodden.

"Uh...m-me and Kaneki, we could-" Asuna began, albeit quietly.

"But I'm not lying!" Shiro insisted, unaware that the gardener was trying to speak.

"Oh? Then can someone corroborate the alibi you gave to Amari?" Akira asked the poet, crossing her arms.

"I, uh...w-we could..." Asuna repeated, still trying to find her voice evidently.

"Me and Asuna can!" Kaneki spoke up, raising a hand. "We saw Shiro that night too!"

For a moment, it seemed as though Asuna would add to that...but she went silent and simply nodded in agreement, allowing her friend to speak.

"Huh? You did?" Hana asked, immediately turning her attention to the explorer.

"Yeah- sorry Hana, I would have told you when you asked about it if time hadn't run out," Kaneki confirmed apologetically.

"Oh yeah! I did see Kaneki and Asuna that night too!" Shiro added. "I guess it kinda...slipped my mind when I was asked. In my defense, it's been a rough day and my mind was filled with ballads."

"Well, anyways...Kaneki, Asuna. You guys can confirm Shiro's alibi?" Hiroshi asked the two girls.

"Sure can. In fact, me and Asuna are also each other's alibis!" Kaneki explained.

"Y-You see...I was so scared by what Monokuma or s-someone else might do, so..." Asuna began as she explained. "I decided to spend the night in Kaneki's room. S-So, in addition to seeing Shiro, we were also together the whole night."

"Hold on- sharing a room? Don't the rules say a student can only sleep in their own room?" Shiori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, the rules state a student can only sleep in the dorms, but it never specified it had to be their own room," Tadao explained. "Besides, they clearly weren't punished in any way, so wipe that look off your face."

"Let's get to the important part- one of you, Tenmaru or Izumi. Is Koichi telling the truth?" Akira asked the two Ultimates.

"Uh, yeah. Me and Asuna were on our way to the dorm hall when we saw Shiro," Kaneki said, messing with her braid thoughtfully. "The three of us talked for a bit before we went to our rooms. We saw Shiro go into his room, and Asuna and I went into my room at about...9:20? 9:21? Something like that."

"Well, either way, it seems the alibis check out- for now, you three are in the clear," Akira finished, before turning to Hana. "See Amari? Confirming an alibi isn't exactly rocket science. Now why don't you let the adults handle this from here instead of wasting our time with empty evidence?"

 _But...aren't we the same age...?_ Hana wanted to say, before sighing. They weren't even ten minutes into this trial, and the surfer felt as though she had already made a fool of herself...

"Hana, calm down, this trial is just getting started," Hiroshi calmly and softly said to the girl. "Surely you've got more evidence than that, right? Maybe another alibi...that can hopefully be corroborated?"

Hana looked down, putting a finger to the side of her face in thought. _Okay, he's right, I'm not done yet. Someone else's alibi that can be verified by another student...that could only be..._

"Hold on- I know another person's alibi for the night of the murder!" Hana quickly spoke up before looking to her right. "Rumi, you were telling me about this just before the trial, remember? You told me how, after Monokuma's scare, you went into the hallway for a bit before deciding to go into the main chamber."

"Uh-huh!" Rumi confirmed. "That's when I ran into Azami over there!"

"Indeed- I had hidden myself within the confines of the library in order to escape that demon's clutches-" Azami began in her 'Queen of the Dark Arts' voice.

"Oh, chatter off with that voice, would you?" Tadao said to her pointedly. "Some advice, courtesy of me- if you're not going to take this seriously, then perhaps it would be best to keep your mouth shut, wouldn't you agree?"

"S-Sorry! Force of habit!" Azami responded, her face going red as she retreated a bit into her cloak. "Like I was saying...I hid in the library initially, but then I left and ran into Rumi. She had left her e-Handbook in her room, so I had to give her the time- which was 9:15, by the way. Then we went back to our respective bedrooms, and that was that!"

"Well, that sounds like a clear alibi to me," Saku replied with an approving nod. "So who does that leave?"

"It leaves just two people unaccounted for during Mikio's murder," Shiori told the kickboxer. "That would be Hinata and Ryoto."

"Well think again, Doc- like I told Hana there, I was in the courtyard for a while before I went back to my bedroom," Hinata explained with a confident nod.

"And I went directly to my own room after escaping the dining area! I didn't even go to the fitness area, I did all my stress-relieving workouts in the comfort of my bathroom!" Ryoto declared.

"...We didn't need to know that," Shiori dryly stated.

"Interesting- but can anyone verify your claims?" Akira asked the two Ultimates.

"Huh? W-Well, no, it was just me out there," Hinata told her, his earlier confidence gone. "But I'm still telling the truth!"

"Same here! There was no one in my room that night, but I'm still being honest!" Ryoto loudly insisted.

"Though, Ryoto, you seemed like you were in a hurry in get away when I was asking you about your alibi..." Itachi remarked, narrowing his gaze towards the racer.

"Because I wanted to investigate!" Ryoto shouted. "My alibi is true, or my name isn't Ryoto Miura!"

"Calm down, the trial's still going on," Saku reassured the two young men. "Ryoto, Hinata- I'm certain you two have nothing to worry about."

"Hey- seeing as how the alibis are more or less taken care of..." Hiroshi began. "I say we talk about the second most important aspect of a murder- the crime scene."

"Ah, yes, the fitness room itself," Tadao noted.

"Before we go on, I want to make one thing clear," Hiroshi continued. "Specifically, the weapon that was used to kill Mikio."

 _The murder weapon, huh?_ Hana thought to herself. _I saw that while I was looking at the scene myself, didn't I?_

"You're talking about that dumbbell, right?" Hana asked. "The bloody one, weighed seven pounds?"

"That's right. The wounds on Mikio's head were consistent with the dumbbell in question, so it seems clear that that was what the killer used for the murder," Hiroshi explained.

"The Monokuma File said Mikio got hit more than once, right?" Rumi asked.

"Yeah. Hitting someone with a dumbbell of that size wouldn't be enough to kill them instantly, not to mention the bruising on his arms and hands indicate he was trying to defend himself," Hiroshi went on. "So, in short...the killer essentially beat Mikio with the dumbbell until he was dead."

Hana cringed, not wanting to imagine Mikio's final moments were so painful...

"My apologies, but I must pose a question," Itachi spoke up. "You are certain it was this dumbbell that was used in the murder, correct? And it weighed seven pounds?"

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation. "Why? Do you think I'm mistaken?"

"No, I believe you. However, it does confuse me..." Itachi went on. "There were dozens of other, heavier weights and dumbbells in the fitness room. Now, hypothetically speaking- if I were the killer, I would think it would be easier to kill my victim by using one of those heavier weights. So my question is, why didn't the killer do that?"

"Now why does the size of the dumbbell matter?" Hinata asked. "It's still the murder weapon, right?"

"True, but Kunata makes a good point. It would have been easier to kill Mikio if the killer used a bigger dumbbell- and yet, they didn't," Akira replied. "Figuring out why that is could very well help point to a suspect."

 _Itachi and Akira are right- I didn't really think about it before, but it is weird. Why did the killer use such a light dumbbell to kill Mikio?_ Hana pondered. After a few moments of thought, the surfer said aloud, "What if the killer just...physically couldn't use anything heavier than seven pounds?"

"Huh? What do you mean 'physically couldn't'?" Shiro asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Yeah- isn't it more likely that the killer just grabbed the first thing they saw or something?" Azami added, crossing her arms skeptically.

"Well, I think that could have been part of it, yeah," Hana explained in response to the illusionist. "But I think the heart of this issue is that the killer just physically couldn't lift a weight heavier than seven pounds, or they would have had a hard time doing so. Otherwise, like Itachi said, the killer could have easily grabbed a heavier weapon to kill Mikio more easily."

"W-Well, if that's true, that...kind of takes some of the suspicion off Ryoto and Hinata, r-right?" Asuna asked. "They look like...they c-could easily lift something heavier than seven pounds..."

"Yeah- I may not exercise daily, but I can hold something that's ten pounds at _least,"_ Hinata responded, shrugging.

"And I'm able to lift weights over twenty pounds!" Ryoto added. "Therefore, your arguments against us are invalid!"

"Don't celebrate yet, Miura, there's still much to go through in this case," Akira replied, crossing her arms.

"Excuse me- on the subject of the crime scene..." Saku began, raising a hand as he started to speak. "Correct me if I am wrong, but the door to the fitness room was...barred, initially, right?"

"Right! It was completely blocked by something when I went to exercise this morning!" Ryoto explained. "I couldn't get it open at all, no matter how hard I punched and kicked those doors!"

"Well yeah, there was a metal bar stuck through the handles on the other side," Hana told him. "I remember, I had to get the bar out before I was able to get into the fitness room this morning."

"And that was when you stumbled upon the murder scene..." Hiroshi began.

"Which means the killer must have been the one to bar the door in the first place!" Kaneki concluded.

"...But why?" Saku asked. "And perhaps more importantly...I saw the crime scene myself, including the door, and...well, if the killer barred the door with the metal rod, then how did they even get out of the room after the murder?"

"Yes, I would imagine leaving a room you had blocked yourself inside would be...difficult," Tadao remarked thoughtfully.

 _Yeah...seems pretty weird that the killer just blocked themself in the room like that..._ Hana pondered. _But they had to have gotten out of the room_ some _how- if we can figure that out, it might just lead to a break in this case!_

"Well, what if the killer used an air vent?" Rumi suggested. "I've seen people do it on TV tons of times!"

"As someone who's escaped from places tons of times, I can tell you there's no way someone was getting through that vent," Hinata replied. "And besides, you'd need tools to get the grate off anyways."

"Perhaps the killer figured out how to drop the bar onto the door handles from above or below while they were outside?" Azami stated, somewhat slipping into her dramatic voice.

"Not with those door handles- the bar would have had to have been placed there from the side," Akira refuted, adjusting her glasses as she spoke.

"It's so weird...I mean, it's not like there's some kind of second entrance to the fitness room," Shiori remarked with a frown.

Once again, an idea found its way into Hana's mind, and the surfer responded with a rousing, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Huh?" Shiori asked, clearly caught off guard.

"Well, I wouldn't call it an entrance...at least, not in the traditional sense," Hana explained.

"Hold on! I know what you're talking about!" Kaneki chimed in. "You mean that secret passageway between the fitness room and the furnace room that I told you about, right?"

"Wait wait wait- there's a _what_ between the _what?"_ Ryoto asked in surprise.

"A passageway between the fitness and furnace rooms," Hana repeated. "In those rooms, there's a hatch attached to one of the walls- behind those hatches is some kind of tunnel or vent that apparently connects both rooms together."

"As someone who went through that passage before this, I can confirm she's right that the two rooms are connected," Kaneki added. "I can also say that either of the hatches can be traveled through at any time and by anyone."

"So in other words, if the killer did bar the door from the inside, that passage would be their only way to leave then," Shiori summarized.

"Uh-huh," Hana responded. "In fact, using the passage might have actually helped the killer- by going through there, they could bypass the hallway to the dining room completely, and they could avoid being seen by anyone in there."

"That is...an actually reasonable deduction," Akira remarked. "Well then, Amari, it seems you have an actual brain in there after all."

 _A simple 'good job' will do, thanks..._ Hana dejectedly thought to herself.

"B-But if the killer used the passageway, and it let them avoid the hallway..." Asuna said. "Th-Then does that mean nobody saw anything else? A-Are we stuck...?"

"Let's not settle ourselves too short yet, Asuna," Hiroshi replied to the gardener. "Based on the state of the crime scene itself, I feel like the killer was in some kind of...rush, or panic, hence why the left the room in such a state. In that state, the killer must have slipped up somewhere. Maybe someone did see something?"

 _Wait a sec- someone seeing something? I...do remember one of the others telling me about that, when I was asking for alibis,_ Hana reminded herself, before turning her attention to a certain hoodie-clad thief. "Hinata- you were telling me about something you saw while you were in the courtyard. About someone running past the courtyard doors around or a bit after the time of the murder."

"Oh yeah, that," Hinata replied. "Yeah, I saw someone run past the doors. Of course, they were inside and I could only see them through those little windows, so I couldn't tell you who it was. But, it looked like they had something behind them, trailing almost. Like clothing or something- like a cape."

"A cape, huh...?" Azami muttered, giving Ryoto a suspicious glance.

"Oh come on! That was a general example, it might not have been a cape at all!" Ryoto shouted defensively. "Hell, for all he knows, it was someone's hair that was trailing like that! Come on, let's be honest, a lot of you have some really wild hairstyles!"

"Says the man with a neon yellow and blue lion's mane for hair," Shiori deadpanned in response to his claim.

"Hey, guys, we shouldn't be accusing him like this..." Shiro spoke up, frowning in concern. "Come on, let's think this through- there must be something pointing to the real culprit, right?"

"Yeah! Let's go through this one more time, and maybe we'll figure out something," Hana agreed with a nod. She knew their lives were on the line, but...the surfer still wasn't about to make such serious accusations against her friends until she knew for certain.

"Well, the way I see it, things aren't looking too good for Miura thus far..." Akira began. "Not only does he have no clear alibi, but if Yonade is being honest, then the description definitely further incriminates him."

"Not to mention his deflective behavior when I asked him about his alibi," Itachi added.

"But I swear! I swear on my grandmother's grave I'm telling the truth!" Ryoto insisted, sounding somewhat desperate. "I was in my room all night!"

"Spoken like someone who's got something to hide..." Azami muttered, glaring at the racecar driver.

"While I would not want to accuse one of my classmates..." Saku began with a worried frown. "I don't think we have anything to further describe the killer, do we?"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana yelled. "Actually, there's something I noticed on the dumbbell- you know, the murder weapon. There was a...black smudge on the handle."

"Oh, you saw that too?" Hiroshi asked.

"Hm, interesting...Ashi, as the one analyzing the crime scene, were you able to figure out what this 'black smudge' was?" Akira asked the Ultimate Coroner.

"Well, Akira...under normal circumstances, I could tell you in a heartbeat. But without proper equipment, I couldn't do much to identify it," Hiroshi admitted, closing his eyes in thought. "All I can tell you is that the substance had some kind of...oily or waxy feel to it."

"Huh...? Oily, black, smeared on..." Rumi murmured to herself, before speaking up. "Uh, Hiroshi- I'm kind of going with my gut here, but...it kind of sounds like you're describing makeup."

"Makeup?" Hana asked. "Is that it?"

"Well, I didn't see or feel it for myself, but...based on what Hiroshi said, it's the best explanation I can come up with," Rumi explained. "As someone who's used makeup a bunch in the past, I know that lots of makeups are made from oils and stuff, and some are kind of like wax too. Plus, if you get wet, that stuff can get on your hands and smear on things you touch. So, that could have been where the smudge came from."

"...You know, she's right," Hiroshi responded. "I'll never understand some parts of female knowledge, but that sounds reasonable enough to me."

"...Well if that's the case- say what you want about my appearance, but I don't do cosmetics!" Ryoto declared. "And if I did, it wouldn't be black- wouldn't fit my color scheme, you know?"

"Not to mention...it seems like we've got a good description of the killer almost, don't we?" Hana pointed out. "The killer was someone who was too physically weak to pick up a dumbbell heavier than seven pounds, would have been wearing something that would trail behind them as they ran, and would have had black makeup on the night of the murder."

"That's correct...although I was about to explain that, thank you very much," Akira responded with a somewhat icy glance in Hana's direction.

 _Geez, I'm getting the impression she's starting to not like me..._ Hana thought to herself with a frown. _But, anyways..._

Hana closed her eyes as she tried to think. _If I think back to everything we talked about so far, as well as the killer's 'description'...it should be obvious as to who the culprit is, right? The killer's physically weak, uses black makeup, and wears something that would have been trailing behind them as they ran..._

In that moment, the girl realized there was only one person who fit all those characteristics. _It...may be a long shot, and they have an alibi, and yet...I can't think of anyone else who would match those traits._

With a rapidly beating heart, Hana took a deep breath and turned to face the person in question.

"That description...the only one here who fits all aspects of it is...is you, Azami."

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 **A/N: Aaaaaah, boy I feel like that chapter took a while to complete! It didn't though, probably wasn't any slower or quicker than my usual updates. And, uh...don't expect me to get any faster, I've got life stuff to do, not helped by the fact that I start school again soon. I'll try to keep things rolling though, since I don't want to leave you guys hanging too long, especially with an end like that.**

 **So, don't worry too much, know that your author is trying her best over here and will try to at least wrap up the trial by the end of summer! ...Which may happen in the next chapter, we'll see. So until then, stay patient and stay tuned everyone!**


	10. Chapter 1: Mutual Survival (Part 7)

**A/N: Yeah, who's ready for some more debate action!? Last time I left things off on a bit of a cliffhanger, may or may not have been intentional (mwahahaha), but now we're back for part two! The possible conclusion to the first murder case! ...Okay I don't have much to say, let's just go!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Thank you! Makes me feel more confident in my ability to write good mysteries.**

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 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- Class Trial (Part 2)**

"W-Wait, what...?" Azami began, her eyes widening in fright. "You're not accusing _me_ now, are you?"

"I...Azami, I don't want to, but..." Hana began, grimacing as she tried to find the right words to explain.

"But Amari makes a good point," Akira spoke. "You wear that cloak, which would explain what Yonade saw. You have a scrawny physique, which would likely mean you wouldn't be able to properly lift something heavier than seven pounds. And you have that black eyeliner, which may match the smudge on the murder weapon."

"Y-You _are_ accusing me!? But- But that's wrong!" Azami insisted, any hint of dramatics completely gone from her voice. "All that stuff is true, yeah, but that doesn't mean...I-I was never-!"

This was hard for Hana to watch, seeing someone she considered a friend under such serious accusations...but it wasn't like they had a choice, right? To survive the class trial, they needed to say someone was the killer, the blackened...but did that really make it okay...?

"But hold on! Azami has an alibi, remember?" Rumi quickly interjected. "I was there, she came out of the library at 9:15, and we both went back to our rooms. I _saw_ her go into her bedroom- there's no way she could have had time to go to the fitness room and kill Mikio by 9:20!"

 _That's what I was worried about..._ Hana thought with a thoughtful frown. _A lot of things point to Azami, but her alibi screws that up, doesn't it? Oh, what am I saying...? I don't_ want _Azami to be involved in this, but what choice do we have?_

"Ah man...if only me or Asuna o-or Kaneki had seen you guys, we could just clear this up right now..." Shiro noted apologetically.

That caught Hana's attention. _Wait...none of those three saw Rumi or Azami...? But...how is that even possible, Rumi and Azami would have passed through the main chamber on their way to the bedrooms, so at least one of them should have seen...no, no, something's wrong. I may be overthinking this, but I need to go with my gut here...!_

"Hey, Hana...you've gone silent for a bit. Something on your mind?" Hiroshi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er- yeah," Hana responded, not realizing she had become lost in her thoughts. "Shiro- none of you saw Rumi or Azami at all that night, right?"

"Not that I recall," Shiro confirmed.

"I didn't either," Kaneki chimed in.

"Neither did I..." Asuna replied.

"...Yeah. That's the problem," Hana spoke. "If Rumi's being truthful, then that means she and Azami went into their rooms before you three did. That means, Shiro at least would have- no, _should_ have seen them go through the main hall on their way to the bedrooms."

"Huh...? But I'm telling the truth, I swear!" Rumi insisted. "I really did go into the main hall, I met up with Azami, and we went back to our rooms for the night! That's what happened!"

"And yet, the contradictions are clear, so something is wrong there," Akira pointed out. "Perhaps someone isn't being truthful?"

"Or...it could be Rumi's just remembering things wrong," Hana countered. "I _really_ don't think Shiro, Kaneki, and Asuna are lying about their accounts. And Rumi...she just doesn't seem like she'd lie about this."

"What's this? You pointed out the problem with her account, didn't you?" Akira asked, frowning at Hana. "And now you're trying to defend her?"

"N-No, just, mmph..." Hana stammered. "I don't think Rumi's lying. I think she's just mistaken. Specifically, she's wrong about...about the time she encountered Azami. If she had seen her at around 9:15, Shiro would have still been sitting on the stairs by that time, and they would have seen each other. But none of them saw one another, which means Rumi and Azami would have had to have met up _after_ 9:18, when Shiro left."

"But that can't be right...Azami told me it was 9:15, she checked her e-Handbook and everything!" Rumi insisted.

"...Hamasaki. You didn't have your e-Handbook on you, right?" Akira asked.

"Huh? Well, no, I had left it in my room," Rumi explained.

"And you never verified the time when you went into your room, right?" Akira then questioned.

"No, I was really tired..." Rumi replied. "Why are you...?"

"I think what Rimutsu is insinuating is this: that Kurobe gave you the wrong time when you asked her," Tadao clarified.

"W-Wha...!?" Azami squeaked.

"Huh? Azami...lied...n-no, why would she do that?" Rumi asked, visibly shocked.

"Well...if Azami did lie to you about the time..." Hana began. "I'd say she did it in order to create an alibi. If you thought it was earlier than it really was, then Azami could create a fake alibi and you could corroborate it."

"Hey! Don't you think you're jumping the shark a bit?" Azami asked. "That's a big leap in logic!"

"Well, there's an easy way to prove if we're wrong," Hiroshi calmly told the illusionist. "Just tell us what time it was when you saw Rumi. Just be honest, Azami, you'll be fine."

"Th...The time..." Azami said to herself...before yelling, "S-Stop! What does the time even matter!? I was in the library the whole time until I saw Rumi, and that's that! So just...stop accusing me! Please!"

"I believe...some benefit of the doubt is necessary here," Saku spoke up. "I admit, Azami's behavior is a bit...concerning, yet aside from the smudge on the dumbbell, I don't believe what we've discussed thus far is enough to truly confirm any wrongdoing."

"Well then, let's discuss some more and see what we can come up," Akira responded. "I feel the truth is within our grasp- we can't falter now."

Hana gave a soft little sigh, but said nothing. She knew Akira was right, but that truth...the girl didn't know if she was ready for it anymore. _Azami...why aren't you being honest...? Why?_

"Would you all just stop focusing on me!? I'm not the killer!" Azami yelled. "Stop or I'll...curse you all!"

"But I know what I saw- that had to have been your cloak I saw," Hinata stated.

"And I don't use makeup, nor am I incapable of lifting heavier than seven pounds!" Ryoto pointed out, clenching his fists.

"Not to mention lying about your alibi didn't exactly help your case," Hiroshi added with a somewhat worried frown.

"But there could be other reasons why Azami lied!" Kaneki yelled in the illusionist's defense. "It doesn't make her a killer!"

"That's right! There's no real proof against me!" Azami agreed with a growl. "There's nothing else to even tie me to the crime scene!"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted. "There was something in the fitness room, something that I couldn't figure out at first, but I think I can now."

"...Well, don't keep us in suspense, what did you find?" Hinata asked.

"There was something stuck in the treadmill- a piece of black fabric," Hana explained. "If we're assuming that...th-that Azami is the killer, then...that cloth must have come from Azami's cloak."

"Gh-!?' Azami spluttered, stepping back slightly.

"What? How could that have even happened...?" Rumi asked.

"Well...if the treadmill was running around the time of the murder, and someone was wearing something long enough..." Hana replied. "Then that piece of clothing would most likely get caught in the moving tread, and maybe even be torn if the owner were to try and free it."

"But would someone truly be so foolish as to get their clothes caught in a treadmill...?" Itachi wondered aloud.

At that moment, Hana and Ryoto shared a glanced before the former responded, "It's...not so impossible." _Ryoto proved that when I met him and I had to help him get his cape out of one of the treadmills._

"That's illogical!" Shiori suddenly interjected.

"Illogical?" Hana asked. "B-But I just explained..."

"Tch- you didn't explain a thing," Shiori replied, crossing her arms. "You really can't see the holes in your argument? Fine then, leave it to the med school graduate to explain..."

 _Man, I_ thought _that would be too easy..._ Hana thought to herself with a little grimace. _Okay, let's see what Shiori has to say..._

"The main part of your argument is that the black fabric in the treadmill came from Azami's cloak, right? Well, the way I see it, that's just a big assumption," Shiori explained. "There's nothing to prove the cloth came from Azami, nor how or when the fabric even got there. For all you know, it's not related to this case at all!"

"But I'm sure that fabric wasn't in the fitness room before the murder- wouldn't someone have said something about it if it was?" Hana countered.

"Maybe so...but the idea that the fabric came from Azami's cloak specifically is still just an assumption, with nothing to back it up," Shiori went on, narrowing her eyes at the surfer. "And if the fabric _was_ torn off someone's clothes, then the only way that could have happened was if the treadmill was on during the murder, and there's no way to prove that!"

 _"I'll cut through that claim!"_ Hana yelled right back.

"...What was _that?"_ Shiori asked, visibly taken aback.

"...Um...I got caught up in the moment again," Hana sheepishly explained, before continuing in a quieter voice, "Anyways...I _do_ have evidence that the treadmill was on when the attack happened. That proof comes from Mikio himself- specifically, his ankle."

"His ankle? What was wrong with his ankle?" Shiori asked.

"Aah- if I may explain," Hiroshi chimed in. "Mikio's ankle was injured, and I'm fairly certain it wasn't hurt when he went to the fitness room on the night of the murder. Based on the type of injury- specifically, it looked like it had been badly twisted- it would be consistent with Mikio having been tripped by a treadmill that was still running and hurting the ankle as a result. The fact that his body had in fact been found by the treadmills to begin with seems to support this."

"So that's the crux of your theory- the black fabric was torn from someone's clothes at the time of the murder by the treadmill, and the proof that the treadmill was on is Nakamura's injury?" Akira summarized skeptically. "Most interesting- but why would the victim have stepped onto a moving treadmill in the first place, even if he was in the process of being assaulted?"

"There's an easy explanation for that," Hiroshi assured the prosecutor before turning to Hana. "You saw it, didn't you Hana? Mikio's body was missing something, something he really needed- figure out what that 'thing' is, and this should become clear as day."

 _What's he going on about now? And why does he want_ me _to explain?_ Hana asked herself before simply resigning herself to her fate. _Okay...there was something missing from Mikio's body, something I would have seen, something important...and whatever that is, it'll explain why Mikio would have stepped onto a moving treadmill and hurt himself._

It took Hana a few moments to think it through, but soon enough the answer came rushing to her like a bullet. "That's it! Mikio's glasses! They were broken, I saw them on the ground not too far from his body, and they were completely shattered!"

"Hm...a result of the attack, no doubt..." Akira observed.

"And Mikio _did_ need his glasses- he couldn't see very well without them," Hana added. _That's right- I remember seeing him without his glasses the first day we were here..._

"Oh yeah- heh, I remember our first day here, I took his glasses and he couldn't see a thing! He was feeling around and fumbling and everything!" Hinata remarked with a laugh...before receiving some disapproving looks from the other students and adding, "...But it's not that funny anymore because, you know, he's dead."

"Hm...so if that's the case, your theory holds a bit more water after all," Akira remarked.

"A-And...you still think I'm the...?" Azami began, her hands shaking as she gripped her podium.

"Well, your cloak would be long enough to get caught in a moving treadmill," Saku pointed out.

"B-But...Ryoto's cape! That could have gotten caught too!" Azami quickly countered.

"What!? This isn't black!" the racecar driver responded, holding up his cape- his cape that was blue, not black.

"Uh, uh...Hinata! He's got that hoodie, and that scarf!" Azami then yelled, pointing to the Ultimate Thief.

"Excuse you, this scarf is crimson and my hoodie isn't long enough to get caught up in anything," Hinata explained with a frown.

"Then, then...Itachi! He's got that- that- longcoat thing!" Azami shouted, now directing her attention to the weapons expert.

"This is modeled after a _jinbaori,_ and I have an alibi for the time of the crime," Itachi responded, as stoic as ever.

"Th-Then...!" Azami floundered, sweat starting to form on her forehead.

"Azami, please...stop acting like this, it'll only make you look more suspicious!" Hana pleaded. "Just tell us what happened that night, explain-"

 _"There's nothing to explain!"_ the illusionist snapped. "I was in the library! I wasn't anywhere near the crime scene! Why, WHY won't you guys believe me!? I'm innocent, dammit! I didn't even...I wasn't...I had..."

At that moment, a light bulb seemed to go off in Azami's mind, and she seemed to calm down enough to ask, "Why...Why wasn't I bloody?"

"H-Huh?" Hana asked.

"Rumi! When you saw me, did I have any blood on me at all?" Azami asked the scuba diver.

"Well, no, I would have remembered that..." Rumi responded, furrowing her brow in thought.

"Aha...hahaha! See, see!? If I went to the library after killing Mikio, I would have had no time to go to my room and change! There wouldn't have been enough time!" Azami yelled with a grin. "The only explanation is that I never was covered in blood, which means I never went to the fitness room, which means I went right to the library as I've been saying all this time!"

Hana had no idea what to make of the Ultimate Illusionist's behavior, but one thing was for certain- she was getting desperate, and Hana dreaded to find out why that was...

"See!? There's no I could be the blackened! I couldn't have changed and fixed my makeup in the library!" Azami continued. "So how about it!? Is there some way I could have cleaned up in that time!?"

Hana looked around at all the other students, who were all mostly deep in thought. Despite their thinking, nobody said a word, and nobody had an answer to Azami's question. As for Azami herself, she was still grinning with confidence...but Hana could tell that, behind that smile, there was some form of fear, as if Azami herself had no idea what she was doing. The surfer looked down- they had to figure this out. If they didn't, then the blackened would go free, and the rest of them would...!

 _Think, think, think Hana! Was there a way for Azami to have cleaned up so quickly after killing Mikio?_ she asked herself...before a memory wormed its way into the forefront of her mind. _Wait...if Azami went straight to the library, then...then maybe she used the...!_

It was her only shot. Hana cleared her throat and said, "Actually...there is. There is a way you could have cleaned up and maybe even hid the bloody clothing."

"Well tell us! What is it!?" Ryoto demanded, teeth clenched.

"Well...you guys wouldn't really know about it," Hana explained. "Because what I'm about to tell you, only two people in this whole class know about it. Azami...and me."

In an instant, Azami seemed to realize what Hana was about to say, and the color drained from her face accordingly.

 _...I'm sorry, Azami...I'm sorry I have to break my promise like this..._ Hana thought to herself solemnly before continuing, "In the library, there's a back room filled with a bunch of older books. But in that room, on the floor, there's a door or a hatch of some kind, hidden. Open it up, and you'd see another, secret room at the bottom of some stairs."

"A...secret room?" Akira asked- this would be the first time Hana had seen the Ultimate Prosecutor look completely taken aback.

"Wait, so...you mean to tell me there _is_ a secret room in the library!?" Kaneki exclaimed in shock. "And I completely missed it!?"

"Not the point, Kaneki," Shiori stated with a sigh.

"Anyways, Azami told me about how she wanted to turn this room into some kind of hideaway or workshop. She had already taken a good portion of her belongings down there..." Hana went on. "Which included cloaks and, I'd assume, her makeup."

Azami said nothing, having become paralyzed with pure shock and terror in her eyes.

"Is this true...?" Akira said, more to herself than anyone else.

"But..what if she just got rid of the cloak? There's a furnace she could have used to burn it," Shiro pointed out.

"I doubt it...I was in the furnace room a lot, and nobody came in, or at least none that went by the furnace itself," Kaneki responded. "Plus, I didn't find any ashes or anything burned inside, so..."

"There's only one way to know..." Akira declared, before turning to Monokuma himself. "Monokuma!"

The monochrome bear in question...seemed to be sleeping in his seat? Seriously?

"...I got this," Ryoto said, before taking a deep breath and roaring, "MONOKUMAAAAAA!"

The students had to cover their ears against the Ultimate's deafening cry. However, it seemed Ryoto's method worked, as Monokuma quickly jerked awake and asked, "Wuzzat? You guys finally done? Thank god, all that talking put me right to sleep!"

"Not quite yet- there's one thing we need to confirm who the blackened is, and we need you to retrieve it," Akira explained.

"Well now, it was your kids' jobs to investigate, wasn't it?" Monokuma asked. "It's not my fault you weren't thorough enough!"

"...You said you prided yourself on making these trials fair, didn't you? Well, a missing piece of evidence would certainly jeopardize that, and in a real courtroom it would raise some serious red flags," Akira responded, her death glare aimed right at Monokuma. "So, I repeat; without that evidence, we cannot convict a blackened, and therefore we'll be at this back and forth for a while. If you want to avoid that, you'll go to the library and retrieve that evidence for us."

"Hmph! A student bossing _me_ around? How bold!" Monokuma responded. "Buuut you make a compelling argument, so ask and you shall receive! Just this once, though- next time, use your time more wisely everyone!"

With that, Monokuma jumped off his chair and disappeared behind it. It took a few moments, but soon enough the bear returned with a wide grin and holding something behind his back. "Well well, that sure was neat! I must say, Ms. Kurobe, you've got some weird stuff in that little hole of yours! What are they showing on TV these days?"

Azami was trembling, visibly terrified of...something...

"But you wanna know the most interesting thing I found?" Monokuma asked. "Weeeell, take a good look!"

The bear threw something dark into the air, and it landed in the center of the podium circle without much sound. Many of the students leaned down to get a better look...but there was no doubt about what they were looking at. It was a cloak, one of Azami's...but with a few noticeable differences; namely, the front of the clothing was splattered with dried blood, and a chunk of one of the cloak's corners had been torn off.

"..." It seemed that almost nobody had any words for what they were looking down at- emphasis on almost.

"Well, if this isn't damning evidence, I don't know what is," Akira noted. "Unless you have an amazing explanation for this, Kurobe."

"I...I..." Azami stammered, her eyes wide and her pupils shrunk from fear.

"...So...that's it then, right? We know who the killer is, so we're done, right?" Hinata asked.

"Not necessarily," Hiroshi replied. "I think it would be a good idea to review the incident one more time from the beginning, in order to make everything that happened perfectly clear."

"C...Clear...?" Azami asked, sounding like she was barely conscious.

"I...I should do it," Hana stated. "I promised myself...that I would uncover the truth behind Mikio's death. And...I want to see that promise through to the end."

"..." For a moment, Hiroshi looked hesitant...but nodded in agreement, gesturing for the girl to speak.

Hana nodded in thanks, before taking a deep breath to clear the lump in her throat. _Well, it all comes down to this...you asked for this, Hana- you know the truth of what happened, and now you need to reveal it in full!_ "Here's what I think happened!"

"This incident began last night in the dining room, when Monokuma appeared at 8:55 and pulled a trick on us to scare everyone. When he did, about half of the people in the dining room fled- the killer included. As for the victim, Mikio, he didn't leave right away with everyone else, but soon enough he exited the dining room too. Ultimately, it left seven people in the dining hall until 9:45- me, Akira, Hiroshi, Shiori, Itachi, Tadao, and Saku. Everyone else ran to various parts of the castle, with Mikio heading into the fitness room to exercise. At some point, either before he had gotten there or while he was already in the fitness room, the killer ended up in the same room as Mikio. For a time, Mikio most likely kept to his exercising, with the culprit standing by- however, at around 9:20, the killer grabbed a seven pound dumbbell from the shelf and lashed out at him."

"Now...I'm not entirely sure what triggered the attack, although the crime itself felt very unplanned. As the killer assaulted Mikio, his glasses ended up being broken, rendering Mikio practically blind. Despite this, he still tried to flee from his attacker- however, one of the treadmills was still on. As a result, Mikio ended up stepping onto it by mistake, getting tripped up and injuring his ankle. This likely only made it easier for the killer to finish him off- but because the treadmill was still on, a certain piece of the killer's clothing got caught in the tread: their black, knee-length cloak, causing a piece of it to be torn off. Despite this, the culprit was able to continue attacking Mikio, hitting him with the dumbbell until he was dead."

"At this point, I can only imagine how badly the killer must have panicked after Mikio was dead, judging by how the crime scene was practically untouched. The only things the killer did were turn off the treadmill and bar the fitness room doors with a metal rod, most likely to delay the discovery of the body- other than that, the killer tampered with nothing, not even hiding the piece of their cloak stuck in the treadmill or the smudge from their makeup on the dumbbell. But, if the door was blocked, then how did the killer get out of the room? Simple- there's a secret passageway between the fitness room and the furnace room, hidden behind a pair of hatches on the walls of the rooms. Using this passage, the culprit was able to crawl out of the fitness room and into the furnace room without anyone seeing."

"From there, the killer had to get rid of the one thing that could tie them to the crime- their bloodied and torn cloak. However, going to their room would be too risky- luckily for them, the killer had a separate place they could go. They made their way towards the library- but unbeknownst to them, they were partially spotted by Hinata Yonade, who was sitting out in the courtyard at the time of the murder and somewhat saw the killer through the windows on the doors to the main chamber. Anyways, once the culprit was in the library, they headed for a certain room- a _secret_ room, hidden beneath the floor of the library's back room. In that secret room, the killer had several of their belongings stores, including spare cloaks. The killer swapped the bloody cloak with a clean one and fixed their makeup- ultimately, they would leave the bloody clothing in this secret storage, possibly to dispose of it later."

"Cleaned up, the culprit left the library...but as they did, something unexpected happened. Rumi Hamasaki was in the main chamber and saw the killer; unaware that anything was amiss, she went over for a friendly chat with the killer. However, Rumi didn't have her e-Handbook on her at the time, and so asked the culprit for the time- which gave the culprit an opportunity. They told Rumi it was 9:15, earlier than it really was; they did this in order to mess up Rumi's perception of time in order to create a false alibi. From there, the two went back to their rooms for the night- but the killer left behind enough clues in order to point in one single direction, to a single person..."

Hana hesitated at this final part, but she looked straight at the killer and concluded, "I'm sorry Azami, but...you're the killer. There's no one else it could have been but you!"

"..." The silence coming from Azami was almost deafening. She stared ahead, as if her brain had frozen up leaving her with a look of perpetual shock. It wasn't long, however, before the illusionist started to shake again.

"Azami...if I'm wrong, then tell me! Refute me! I don't mind being wrong here, you just have to tell me!" Hana yelled in an almost desperate tone. "I want to believe in you, so please, just...just say _something..."_

"..." At first, the Ultimate Illusionist was still silent. But then, something changed in her face- the shock turned to anguish, and Hana could barely make out tears starting to build in her eyes. The cloaked girl rested her hands on the podium and hung her head low, then responded in a voice cracking with sorrow, "...No...No, you're...you're...right...!"

That was all it took to crush whatever hope Hana had left that her friend was innocent.

"Well, that's a confession if I've ever heard one," Tadao remarked rather cheerfully. "Monokuma, once we've decided on the blackened, what would be next?"

"Puhuhu...well, that would be the always thrilling voting time!" Monokuma explained. "Now, next to each podium is a lever. Use that lever to cast your vote on who you think the blackened student is! And make triple sure you vote for someone, otherwise that's a punishment for you!"

"Now! Time for excitement! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?" the bear continued eagerly. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

Hana hesitated upon grabbing the lever, but steeled her nerves and made her vote alongside everyone else.

* * *

A long and thin opening in the ceiling opened, allowing a massive TV monitor to descend into view with a mechanical humming sound. The screen initially displayed nothing but black, then static, and finally something appeared onscreen. It was some kind of slot machine, the words 'VOTE' in big flashing letters on the top alongside other flashing multicolored lights on the side of the machine. On the slots, instead of the usual pictures you'd find on normal slot machines, there were pictures of the students' heads. Once everyone had voted, the slots started rolling as a drum roll played.

After what felt like an eternity, the slots stopped...showing Azami's face on all three. Applause and cheering was heard as confetti fell, a hundred or so coins flying out from the machine, and the words 'GUILTY!' flashing above. Then, the TV screen went black once more, although it didn't ascend back into the ceiling.

"I don't believe it! You kids got it right on the money!" Monokuma said. "That's right, the blackened student is none other than, ironically enough, the black-clad Azami Kurobe!"

Hana...didn't know what to think anymore. She glanced at the illusionist, whose head hung lower than before, her eyes practically obscured by shadows. Hana tried to keep herself under control, but the rush of emotion was almost too much- anger, confusion, shock, betrayal. There was no doubting it now: Azami killed Mikio. Azami...killed Mikio. No matter how she said it in her mind, that phrase was still awful. However, there was something more...one nagging question Hana needed an answer to above all else.

"Azami...why...?" Hana asked, trying to fight back tears. "Why? Why did you kill Mikio?"

"..." Azami was silent, not looking up an anyone.

"There's no reason for silence- you've already been found out," Akira told her. "Just give her an answer- an answer I'd like to know myself, actually."

"...I..." Azami began, her voice quiet. "I don't know..."

"You...what?" Hana asked, taken by surprise.

"I...I don't know!" Azami cried, looking up at last- allowing Hana to see the tears in her eyes. "I don't know why I killed him! I never meant to hurt him, I just...it just...it just _happened!"_

"So then...that hypothesis was right...?" Hiroshi asked. "Mikio's murder...it wasn't planned? It just...happened in the heat of the moment...?"

"I-I guess, I don't know, it was all a blur!" Azami replied. "When Monokuma showed up in the dining room last night, I-I saw no one went into the fitness room, so I hid in there...but then Mikio showed up, and...and I got scared! I thought he would try and kill me first!"

"Kill you...?" Hana responded. "But Mikio would never-"

"I was scared!" Azami repeated, sounding almost desperate. "I was scared, I was paranoid! I've been scared and paranoid ever since this damn killing game started! And the motive...the motive only made things worse!"

The illusionist clutched her head as if having having a powerful migraine before continuing, "All I could think about was fear and death, fear and death, fear and death, over and over and over and _over!_ I couldn't stop, I was...when me and Mikio were in that room, all I could wonder was whether or not he would make a move to kill me, and...and I was by the shelf with the weights, I felt like I was about to have some kind of breakdown, but then Mikio came up to me, he put a hand on my shoulder...I think he was trying to calm me down, but I was so scared I...that was when I...I grabbed the dumbbell and..."

"You killed him. Simple as that," Akira interrupted coldly.

"I...I'm so sorry, I just...it was all so stressful, especially after..." Azami went on, sniffling and glancing at the other girls. "That day, we spent in the library...you remember that...? I was...I was so happy, I didn't think...I thought I'd actually made some real friends, I didn't want that to end...I wanted more days like that, I didn't want anything to happen to anyone, I...I never wanted any of this to...to..."

Hearing Azami's words...something clicked in Hana's mind. She slowly turned to Monokuma and asked, "You...You knew something like this would happen, didn't you...? You knew most of us were scared from the idea of murdering each other...so you threatened us in order to build on that fear. You were counting on something like this happening, that's...that's the truth behind your motive..."

"Whaaat? I thought that was pretty obvious," Monokuma responded innocently. "Now, I don't know the nuance, I'm no Ultimate Psychologist, so I'll just explain with this little metaphor: Think of sticks and twigs, right? Some are thin and easy to break, others are thicker and tougher. You all probably thought you were the thick and strong sticks, right? Well...with the right amount of pressure applied, even the strongest of sticks can snap right in half. Puhuhu...pretty brilliant, right?"

"So...you _were_ lying...!? You weren't going to kill anyone at midnight?" Hiroshi asked, a hint of uncharacteristic anger in his voice. "It was all just...to get one of us to snap and kill someone...!?"

"Maybe it was a bluff, maybe it wasn't...not that it matters anymore!" Monokuma responded with sickening glee.

Hana felt like she was going to be sick. She glanced at Azami...and the Ultimate Illusionist was looking down, her shoulders trembling with sobs.

"I...I'm the one who screwed everything up, aren't I...? Because...Because of my damn paranoia, I..." Azami choked out. "I...I'm so sorry guys...I'm sorry guys! I'm sorry!"

The illusionist dropped to her knees, lowering her head and resting her forehead against her podium before sobbing, _"Mikio!_ Mikio, I-I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!"

Hana had no idea how to feel, as if this entire ordeal had rendered her catatonic. She had wanted so badly to uncover the truth behind Mikio's death, and that was what she did...so why was this happening? She wanted to be angry with Azami, to hate her for killing one of her own classmates...and yet, it wasn't so simple. All Hana could think about was the time in the library with all the other girls, how Azami was laughing alongside them. And yet, all that emotional pressure and fear she was put through caused her mind to snap...and in the end, that fear caused her to do something she could never take back.

With this in mind...Hana just couldn't find it in herself to feel any real hatred towards her.

"Okay, well it's been fun, but I think it's time we bring this trial to a close, shall we?" Monokuma asked.

"What? But we already figured out who the blackened was," Hinata pointed out.

"Oh my, have you already forgotten? The blackened's penalty for being found guilty..." Monokuma explained. "Is nothing less than execution!"

"E-Execution!?" Asuna cried. "You're going to...!"

The realization struck Hana like a spear to the chest- how could she have forgotten? The punishment for whoever lost the class trial...was essentially a death sentence.

"No, no, you can't!" Kaneki cried. "This wasn't some regular murder, Azami was- it was an-"

"Nope, sorry! Whether it's 'Yeah, I killed him!' or 'Oops, I killed him', a murder is still a murder!" Monokuma responded dismissively. "And as such, the one who disturbed the peace must be punished accordingly!"

Azami looked up slightly...before she simply started to cry again, her sobs slightly more intense than before. It was as if the girl had simply...given up.

"A-Azami...!" Hana said softly, but the illusionist seemed to not hear over the sound of her own sobs. The surfer racked her brain, trying to think of something, anything to say to Azami in these last moments. But no matter how hard she tried, no words would form. What do you say to someone who's about to die?

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Azami Kurobe, the Ultimate Illusionist!" Monokuma declared dramatically.

Hana desperately tried to speak, to give _some_ comfort to the distraught illusionist in her final moments...but it felt as if the words had become clogged up in her own throat, resulting in silence.

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma shouted with a massive grin. "It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

 _I have to...I have to say something!_ Hana told herself, desperately trying to get the words out...but nothing came out of her mouth for Azami to hear.

And nothing ever would.

A metallic cube with a little screen on the front and a red button on the top rose from the ground, stopping in front of Monokuma. The bear pulled out a gavel and raised it high, before bringing it down on the button. With a click, the screen lit up, showing an 8-bit version of Azami standing with a pixellated Monokuma approaching her. The Monokuma then walked offscreen, dragging the Azami sprite with him as text appeared.

 _ **GAME OVER**_

 _ **Azami has been found guilty.**_

 _ **Time for the punishment!**_

* * *

Azami didn't look up from her sobbing...that is, until a long chain with a clamp on the end shot out from a doorway that had opened up behind her. Within seconds, the clamp had tightly closed itself around Azami's neck, prompting the illusionist to look down at it in shock and fear. Before anyone could react further, the chain retracted, forcefully dragging a terrified Azami away with it. The doorway closed itself as soon as the illusionist was dragged through, preventing anyone from following- but then, the large TV monitor from before turned on once more, allowing the remaining students in the trial room to see what was happening.

Azami was being roughly dragged through a hallway, the illusionist struggling somewhat. Suddenly, the chain pulled her into a room with a stage of some kind, a single large chair attached to its floor. In one swift movement, the clamp came off, and Azami was practically hurled into the chair. Before the girl could react, she found herself strapped to the chair by her wrists, ankles, knees, and elbows- the only part of her body she could really move was her head, and Azami was swiftly looking around in panic.

Monokuma then popped up wearing a magician's outfit and holding a thin black wand. With a flick of his wrist, a pair of large stone blocks held up by chains dropped from the ceiling, Azami ending up between them. On one side of the blocks, the sides facing the illusionist, there was a large mirror attached.

 _ **Execution: Smoke and Mirrors**_

With another dramatic gesture from Monokuma, the blocks began to move back, away from Azami, little by little. All the while the girl in the chair was growing increasing terrified and panicked, struggling against the clamps on the chair. After what felt like an eternity, the blocks stopped...then suddenly sped right back towards the trapped Ultimate. Azami squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself to be crushed by the two blocks...but then, just before impact, the blocks suddenly dissolves into a wisp. It was most likely that the blocks were holograms if some kind, but ultimately Azami was completely unharmed. The Ultimate Illusionist looked around, visibly confused...

Then, a section of the floor beneath the chair started to turn, forcing Azami to face the left side of the stage. To her apparent surprise, some kind of wood chipper had been set up on that side, rumbling mechanically and aimed right at her- Monokuma must have set it up while everyone focused on the blocks. In an instant, a dozen...things dropped down from the ceiling, piling up neatly besides Monokuma by the wood chipper. Upon closer inspection, these were a dozen large glass panes- no, mirrors. Monokuma lifted up one of the mirrors and, with a sinister grin, threw it into the machine. With a horrible shredding sound, a piece of broken glass flew out of the mouth of the wood chipper like a bullet from a gun...and it grazed Azami's cheek, leaving behind a bleeding cut.

Moments later, dozens upon dozens of glass shards, big and small, shot out of the machine and sped right towards Azami. The glass had little trouble piercing and slicing into the girl's clothes and flesh, and Azami let several screams of pain as she was practically shredded by the glass. Monokuma would throw in more mirrors and adjust the aim of the wood chipper, creating what was essentially a stream of razor-sharp glass shards that ripped into Azami's arms, legs, torso, and face. As the last mirror was shredded by the machine and the last glass shard was shot out, Monokuma shut down the wood chipper, and the chair turned back so Azami was facing the 'audience'.

The chair itself was splattered in crimson, the area around the seat covered in stray glass shards and dripping blood. As for Azami herself...her clothing was shredded, her whole body torn and bloody, covered in hundreds of puncture wounds, lacerations, and gashes of all sizes. She was still strapped to the chair, but any and all movement had ceased completely. Azami's head hung low, her face almost completely obscured by her hair, but it was still possible to see several trails of blood running down her face and dripping into her lap.

Monokuma turned to the audience himself, doing a bow before a curtain closed on the stage, and the TV monitor the students had watched the execution on turned off once more.

* * *

The remaining students stood, paralyzed in place by what they had just witnessed. Hana felt like she was about to faint right then and there- she didn't want to believe what she had seen, but there could be no doubt...Azami Kurobe was dead.

"A...Azami!" Rumi cried in anguish, her hands flying up to her mouth as tears built up in her eyes.

"That...That wasn't real, was it...?" Hinata asked, horrified. "There's no way...no way...!"

"I...oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick...!" Kaneki choked out, having to physically steady herself on her podium as her face went pale.

"What the fuck...!? What the fuck? What the fuck!? _What the fuck!?"_ Ryoto cried, trembling in place as he tried to process what they just saw.

"Ahahahaha! Wow, nothing like a good execution to get the heart racing!" Monokuma said as he reappeared in the room, his magician's outfit gone. "What did you think? Was it worth the wait? I'd say so! Puhuhuhuhu!"

"But-! Th-That was...that was horrible!" Shiro cried. "How could you do that to her?"

"Well, committing a terrible crime deserves an equally terrible punishment, doesn't it?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head.

Hana didn't acknowledge the conversation, as she was frozen staring at the ground. It took the Ultimate Surfer a moment to realize something: she was crying, evidenced by the tears she felt running down her cheeks.

"No...what Azami did was wrong, but to kill her in such a way..." Hiroshi replied, looking down with gritted teeth- the most emotion he had shown thus far. "You're...You're a monster..."

"Hey, 'monster' is a strong word! I'm just trying to uphold the rules of this castle life," Monokuma explained, unfazed by Hiroshi's words.

The more Hana listened to Monokuma's voice...the more she grew to despise it, and soon her emotionless state was replaced with a feeling of red, burning anger. "Stop..."

"And besides, isn't it all so despairingly ironic?" Monokuma asked, ignoring Hana. "Poor Ms. Kurobe- wanted so badly to survive, but in trying to do so she doomed herself to a most brutal end! So much for _that_ hope!"

"I said _stop!'_ Hana snapped, unable to contain the jumbled mess of emotions in her mind any longer as she turned her furious and tearful gaze at Monokuma. "This is all YOUR fault! If it hadn't been for you and your threat motive, none of this would be happening! Mikio would still be here! Azami wouldn't have killed him! _She'd_ still be alive!"

"Puhuhu, my fault?" Monokuma asked. "Was I Azami Kurobe with the dumbbell in the fitness room? Nope! Besides, you all would have turned on each other eventually- all I did was speed up the inevitable! You can only go so many chapters without a murder, you know!"

"SHUT UP!" Hana shouted, her voice cracking with grief. "I...I won't forgive you! You or whoever's controlling you, I'll never forgive you! _Never!"_

"Wow, you guys just love to shout, don't you?" Monokuma noted. "Oh fine, I know when I'm not wanted! Besides, trial's over anyways- so go on, get out of here before I throw you out myself!"

With that, Monokuma disappeared behind his seat, leaving the class alone.

"...Why are you all so upset?" Akira asked, completely composed despite all that happened. "You have no reason to be."

"Yes, it was either her life or ours- the choice was obvious," Tadao added. "Is that what you mean, Rimutsu?"

"...Good point, but that's not what I was getting at," Akira told him before turning to the others. "I mean, you have no reason to be upset...because killers don't deserve pity."

Hana immediately turned her attention to the prosecutor. "What...?"

"You heard me. The most terrible act one can commit in this world is taking the life of others- it's an irreversible crime that affects many," Akira explained. "It should not, under any circumstances, be forgiven...nor should the one who committed the crime."

Hana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But...it wasn't that simple! Azami, she...I don't think she meant to kill Mikio, it just..."

"Murder is murder. Even if the crime was sudden and unplanned, you cannot deny Kurobe still deceived all of us, even when our lives were on the line," Akira responded coldly. "And yet you'd still defend her actions?"

"We're not condoning what she did," Hiroshi told Akira. "But at the same time...it wasn't like she was plotting against us from the beginning. And the way she died...nobody deserves a death like that."

"I admit, Monokuma's method of executing Kurobe was...unnecessary, to say the least," Akira replied, signifying that even she was unnerved by Azami's death. "However, if you think that girl cared about any of us after her crime, you're sorely mistaken. When a person has the ability to take another's life...well, they stop being anyone's friend in that moment."

"H-How...How can you be so cold about this!?" Hana demanded, furiously wiping the tears from her face.

"Are...you saying that all the good things Azami had done are just invalidated now?" Rumi then asked, frowning.

"Yes," Akira replied bluntly, before making her way towards the hall that led to the elevator. "Now, we're done here. Let's go back."

Nobody had any objections to that, and everyone solemnly walked out of the trial room. As Hana walked, she could feel tears starting to form again- as much as she tried to fight them, she just couldn't. Akira may have a point, in that murder was an awful crime that shouldn't be condoned...but the memory of Azami's remorseful sobs right before the end made Hana unable to do anything but mourn for her on the same level as Mikio.

"...Hana," Hiroshi began, walking next to her. "You, um...whatever you're feeling right now, don't...don't blame yourself, okay? We...We did what we had to do..."

"...I can't...how can I not blame myself...? I...I'm the one who accused her! The one who revealed that secret room, the nail in her coffin, even I told I promised Azami I wouldn't tell anyone!" Hana yelled. She didn't care if the other students could hear her, if she kept these feelings bottled up the surfer thought she might explode.

"Hana, hey, calm down," Hiroshi responded, trying to keep his usual composure himself.

"Calm down!? Mikio and Azami are _dead!_ Mikio was murdered, and I had the evidence that sent Azami to her death! How can I calm down with that!?" Hana cried. "This wasn't justice! This was torture! If that's what these trials are, then why are they dead!? What have we been fighting for all day!?"

Without waiting for Hiroshi to respond, she turned and almost ran onto the elevator. She was certain the others had heard her outburst, but she still didn't care. If someone tried to talk to her during the elevator's ascent, Hana didn't noticed- she tuned out everything, save for the sounds of the fountain elevator itself.

* * *

As soon as the students stepped off the elevator, the star-filled sky above acted as a clear indication of night. Hana was one of the first off the elevator- she still said nothing to the others as she briskly made her way back into the castle. Her body felt like it had been put through a train crash, and as such her fatigue (physical and emotional) got the better of her. Without a word to anyone, Hana made her way to her bedroom; locking the door behind her and setting her e-Handbook on the table, the surfer sat down on her bed and stared down at her feet.

This was all too strange, too horrible- surreal, as if Hana had been taken and dropped into some other reality. Despite this, she knew deep in her heart this was all real. This was real...and so were the friends she had lost. Hana gulped as memories of the two Ultimates flooded her mind. Mikio and Azami...she would never see them again. They would never breathe, speak, walk, smile, or laugh again. She would never get to know Mikio better, or show Azami what hanging out with friends was like...whatever futures those two had, they were gone to oblivion now.

 _Mikio...Azami...you two didn't deserve any of this...why did it come to this...!? WHY!?_ Hana asked herself, clutching her head. At this point, she was glad her room was soundproof- because that way, nobody could hear the sound of her letting out a sad and frustrated scream. And Hana continued to scream in anguish and grief for what seemed like hours, she screamed until her throat hurt and her eyes had run out of tears. Finally exhausted, Hana collapsed onto the bed, ready to sleep...

 _Bleep...bleep...bleep..._

Hana looked up upon hearing a beeping noise. Wiping her eyes, the surfer looked around to try and find the source of the noise. It didn't take long to solve that mystery- her e-Handbook, which was flashing an odd green color. Furrowing her brow, Hana stood up and walked over to the desk; picking up the e-Handbook, she looked it over to try and see if there was something wrong...then, without warning, the handbook went black. Startled, Hana intensified her examination...but a few seconds later, the dark screen lit up with something new- text? Hana couldn't make heads or tails of it- the letters and numbers almost reminded the girl of computer coding. Then, a few seconds later, actual words in green appeared on the black:

 _ **Hello, Hana. If you are reading this message, that means you and the others are still involved in Monokuma's killing game. However, this message has been set to be revealed after only a few days of being in the castle, so there is most likely still time. Therefore, you shouldn't worry. Just keep doing whatever you're doing, investigate to try and escape with everyone. In the meantime, this e-Handbook has been reprogrammed to periodically give you bits of information that will help you put an end to the killing game. However, those files as well as these messages are for you only- only show them to others if absolutely necessary, and don't let Monokuma know your e-Handbook is doing this. Everything will work out, Hana- I trust you and the others. You can put an end to this twisted game.**_

 _ **All you have to do is remember everything.**_

 _ **Remember the class.**_

 _ **Remember your own role.**_

Just like that, the e-Handbook went off again, and soon it was back to its normal state. Hana searched through all the applications on the device, but nothing was out of the ordinary. No hints as to what that message was. Hana set the e-Handbook down, but now her sorrow was replaced with dizzying confusion. What she had just read...it felt like another language. Nothing in that message made sense...and yet, somehow, Hana felt compelled to do what it said and keep it a secret. She didn't know why, but...if there really was a way to put an end to Monokuma's game, then she decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Still, however...it was all so strange. Remember? Remember what? What was there to remember? What did it mean by her 'role'? How did...whoever or whatever sent that message know so much about the situation she and the rest of the class were in? And what did it mean by 'bits of information to help you end this killing game'?

With these questions and more bouncing around in her head, Hana flopped back down onto the bed, grief for her friends and confusion about the message swirling about in her mind.

 **Chapter 1: Mutual Survival- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 13**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

 **A/N: And there you go! That wraps up Chapter 1! Ah, poor Mikio and Azami...sorry you two, but the killing game had to start somehow. Rest in peace, you two- rest in peace.**

 **Also plot twist sudden mystery message on Hana's e-Handbook for the win yay.**

 **Anyways, I had fun with this whole chapter! Makes me really look forward to writing the future chapters! Although, if I can be honest, I really wasn't expecting the Closing Argument to be that long- after all, the murder wasn't that complicated, but wow- five paragraphs...really wasn't expecting that. Sorry about that, everyone- makes me a little worried for future Closing Arguments. Ah well, it gets the job done. Speaking of getting the job done, how 'bout that execution? You know, I was planning on having the first half of the execution being based on some kind of magic trick involving mirrors...but as much as I looked, I couldn't find anything that I could really use, so I just settled on the fake stone mirror blocks.**

 **But hey, it makes for nice trivia- maybe I'll put in some trivia at the end of every chapter (and I mean chapters, not individual parts- like, at the end of each chapter's trial, like I'm doing now). I think that would be cool, trivia and secrets are cool. But, ah, I'm just rambling.**

 **Now, on to more important matters...I can't really say when Chapter 2 will start up. Like, I've got about a week before school, so realistically I could start it. However, I also want to leave the story here for now, because chances are I'll be sucked into school stuff and the story may be on hiatus, and if that happens I wouldn't want to leave Chapter 2 in an odd spot, I'd rather leave it on a cliffhanger here. With that in mind, I may take the latter option, so don't be surprised if you don't see updates for a bit.**

 **But I'll return to torture the rest of the 80th Class, you can count on that! Especially since Chapter 2 is, like, I think my favorite chapter (and I can say that because I've got this all planned out), so look forward to that! And until then, see ya next time!**


	11. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 1)

**A/N: Hellooooooo people of the Internet! It is I, X, and I've returned from my sorta long hiatus! So, I've started school and such because that's what we young people do, and I was gonna work on this a bit later, but you know what I really can't wait anymore. And so, here we are, the second chapter commencing!**

 **So, in the time of my little break, I was able to figure out some little details of the story that I hadn't quite solidified at the time of making my way through Chapter 1- but, I'll go more into those details when we get there. They have nothing to do with Chapter 2 anyways, so no worries! Another thing, you may notice a little change I'm making to this story- nothing too big, or maybe it is depending on your point of view.**

 **So, I was reading through stuff, and I realized I had made a little...error. That error being Hana and her friends being Hope's Peak's 65th Class. Them being the 65th Class, that...that really doesn't work. I won't go into why in order to avoid possible spoilers, but just trust me, there's no way these guys can be a 65th year. Thus, the change: they are no longer the _65th_ Class, they are now the _80th_ Class! Yeah! Again, you may not give two flying effs about this, but I just figured I'd explain in case people get confused as to why all the 65s have changed to 80s. Speaking of which, I'm...gonna have to go back and change those numbers around in the previous parts once this gets posted. Hooray for work and editing!**

 **And now, the moment you've all (probably) been waiting for! Let's give it up for Chapter 2, which happens to be one of my favorite chapters of the story! And I can say that because I've planned out _all_ the chapters.**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well thank you! I was going for executions that would be fitting with the ones from the games- now here's hoping I can keep up that goodness for the rest! And yeah, whoever wrote that message really needs to work on their timing...unless it was some kind of pre-set thing, in which case that's just bad luck.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Daily Life (Part 1)**

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 A.M., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another luxurious day!"

Monokuma's voice was the absolute last thing Hana wanted to hear as of late, but unfortunately the monitors did not have a 'mute' function. The Ultimate groggily opened her eyes and simply stared blankly at the ceiling. With the murder, class trial, execution, and the mysterious e-Handbook message, she had found herself with a severe lack of sleep throughout the night. Nevertheless, though it took her a few minutes, Hana sat up in her bed; she knew she had to get ready, meet everyone down at the breakfast meeting...

"..." At that moment, Hana remembered that, with two classmates dead, there would be two empty seats at the banquet table- a constant reminder of what had transpired just one day before. The girl let out a tired sigh, burying her face in her hands. Hana felt so broken down, like an old engine out of power- she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go to the meeting. She wasn't sure if she was ready to accept a reality where the 80th Class only had thirteen students now- therefore, she simply sat on her bed, completely wrapped in her mind for who knows how long...

 _Thud-thud-thud_

The quick knocking on her door was enough to stir Hana from her thoughts. Curious as to who could be knocking at this hour, the surfer walked over and opened the door; at that moment, she was met by a certain pair of gray eyes beneath wavy black hair.

"Hey there, Hana," Hiroshi greeted. Despite the morning announcement having played...well, Hana had lost track of how long she had isolated herself in her room, but it still had to be early morning at least. Despite this, Hiroshi looked as neat and clean as ever, as if he had been awake for hours.

"Hiroshi...? What are you doing here?" Hana asked, surprised to see the boy.

"Just...thought I'd check up on you. I didn't see you head down to the dining hall like you usually do, so..." Hiroshi explained. "Did you just wake up?"

It was at that moment Hana grew conscious of her unkempt hair and the fact that she was still in her pajamas. "Ah...no, I've actually been awake for a little bit now. I was just...hanging out in my room, I guess."

"Oh- well, you should probably get down to the dining room soon, Akira's gonna be really mad otherwise," Hiroshi advised.

"..." Hana looked down for a moment, before softly sighing and replying, "Hiroshi...to be honest, I...don't know if I want to go to the meeting."

At first, Hiroshi looked taken aback by what the girl said...before his expression softened once again. "...Can I come in? I feel like this is something you'd rather talk about in private."

"Well, your feeling's a good one," Hana responded, stepping back so the coroner could enter her bedroom.

After closing the door behind him, Hiroshi looked at Hana with an unreadable expression, as if beckoning her to speak. "..."

"...Hiroshi, I...I just don't think I can face everyone right now, okay...?" Hana began, sitting back down on her bed. "After yesterday, it just...things just won't feel right. It won't feel right to sit there at that table...Mikio not sitting down with us, talking with us, and..."

Hana felt herself getting choked up again, but she fought down her grief as she continued, "They're gone, Hiroshi. Going down to that meeting would mean...would mean having to face that reality every day. And I don't think I'm ready for that. I can't...I don't want to live in a world where two of my friends are dead!"

She buried her face in her hands again as she choked out, "I'm...Mikio and Azami, they...it's just not fair, Hiroshi...why did this have to happen...? Mikio didn't deserve to die like that, and I might as well have killed Azami myself...I'm gonna carry that with me forever, and to see everyone else would just...it would just...hurt so much more..."

Before she could speak any further, Hana felt something gently touch her wrist. She looked up, moving her hands away- and was surprised to see Hiroshi had seated himself next to her on the bed and had put a hand to her wrist.

The coroner said, "Er, sorry- I know a hug or something would probably be better right now, but I'm not the best with physical contact, so..."

Hana said nothing, simply staring down at the young man's hand. "..."

"...You know...if you're feeling like this...I can only imagine that the others feel the same way," Hiroshi said. "You're not the only one having trouble letting go of what happened. I certainly haven't gotten that far, that's for sure..."

"What? But you look just fine," Hana pointed out, furrowing her brow.

"That's because I had plenty of time to get ready. Truth is, I've been awake for hours now...I'm just coming out of my bedroom now because, you know, I didn't want to break the nighttime rule," Hiroshi explained. "But before that, I was just...lying there, I guess. I could barely sleep at all...all I could think about were our friends."

"Just like me, it sounds like..." Hana noted.

"Not just you, Hana. I'm sure the others are mourning too. You saw how upset a lot of them were when Mikio's body was found, and again when Azami was killed," Hiroshi pointed out. "If you think you're alone in feeling this way, Hana, then you're dead wrong. Which is why...which is why the breakfast meetings are more important than ever."

"You...think so?" Hana asked, frowning.

"Of course- Hana, we need to be together on this more than ever. A murder's already happened- for the sake of who we've lost, we _cannot_ let another one happen," Hiroshi remarked with a small hint of emotion in his usually calm and stoic voice. "The only way we can move on and prevent more death is by working together. ...That makes sense, right? I've been thinking about it for the past few hours, too, and I think it seems like a good line of thinking."

"I-It is, don't worry...though you probably shouldn't waste your pep talk on just one person..." Hana pointed out to the Ultimate Coroner.

"Maybe, but..you seemed like you really needed it," Hiroshi responded. After noticing the surfer didn't look too uplifted, he added, "Hana...I only knew so much about Mikio, and even less about Azami...but I'm sure they were good people at heart. And those two wouldn't want you to just...give up like this. If we give in here- if you give in, then that'll just make their deaths completely meaningless. That's why, no matter how long t takes, you can't let that happen."

With that, Hiroshi removed his hand from Hana's arm and stood. "And...I know you can do it. You're stronger than you think, you know. I still mean what I said just before the investigation yesterday; I believe in you, Hana. Whatever happens, I believe in you."

Letting his words hang there, Hiroshi walked out of the bedroom, leaving Hana by herself once again.

 _I...I still don't think I'll be able to move on from this for a while..._ Hana thought to herself. _And yet...oh, who am I kidding, Hiroshi's right. Hiding in here won't solve anything- I've got to be there for my friends, more than ever now. We have to get out of here- for Mikio and Azami's sakes, we_ have _to escape!_

* * *

Once Hana had cleaned up and gotten dressed, she was quick to make her way down to the dining hall. As she did, Hana didn't see any of the other students...they were probably already there, seeing as how Hana herself was very late. However, there was one person seemingly waiting for her just outside the entrance to the dining room.

"Hiroshi? Have you been...waiting here for me?" Hana asked.

"Mm, maybe. If I was, then at least it would mean you wouldn't be late to the meeting alone," Hiroshi told her, still as calm as ever- although by this point, Hana was getting used to this demeanor, so it didn't seem as creepy anymore.

"Well...thanks," Hana replied. "Alright, let's head in. Shouldn't keep the others waiting."

With Hiroshi beside her, the surfer walked into the dining room. Just as she had thought, it seemed like all the other students were already there (save for Tadao, but he was likely working in the kitchen)...however, true to what Hiroshi had said earlier, many of them didn't look too good. A good portion of the students either looked unkempt or appeared to be half asleep, some even a combination of the two.

"Hm? Oh- Ashi, Amari. You two are very late- especially you, Amari, I'm assuming Ashi had to drag you down here," Akira, who unlike the others seemed to be in perfect condition, stated with annoyance. "This is inexcusable- make certain it doesn't happen again. And that goes for you too, Ashi."

"Hm...?" Rumi muttered, turning to look at the entrance- this allowed Hana to see a slight redness to her eyes, as if she had been crying recently. "O-Oh! Hana!"

"Yeah...hey guys," Hana responded, trying to sound cheerful. She was fairly certain the others hadn't forgotten about her outbursts yesterday, which would explain their shock at seeing her.

"G-Good morning!" Shiro said- he, too, was clearly trying his very best to sound cheerful, though the slight darkness under his eyes indicated he had a difficult time sleeping as well.

"Morning...I'm sorry about being late, by the way," Hana responded.

"Ah, don't worry about it! Just ignore Akira over there," Ryoto said to her- though he didn't look too terrible, his hair was more of a mess than usual, indicating he hadn't bothered to fix it that morning.

"Bah- just because some of us are dead doesn't mean these meetings are no longer valid," Akira stated with a glare at Ryoto. "So I would appreciate it if _some_ of us would put their feelings aside so they can make good on their commitments."

"Hey Akira, there's this great new thing called 'tact'- I think you should give it a try," Shiori pointedly said to the prosecutor. The surgeon also seemed as though she was suffering from a lack of sleep, although she had several mugs of...something scattered around her area of the table.

"Now now, let's settle down," Saku said with a concerned frown. "Hana, Hiroshi, come and sit. Tadao should be done with the food any moment now."

Nodding, the two Ultimates took their seats. Hana chose to sit close to the other girls, with Hiroshi sitting not too far away.

"W-Well, we're still glad to see you're doing okay," Asuna said to the surfer with a weak smile. Like Rumi, her eyes had a ring of red about them, though in addition there were also dark marks beneath them to indicate a lack of sleep.

"Yeah, I was so worried after what happened yesterday..." Rumi added, brushing some of her sky blue locks out of her face.

"Don't worry- I'm feeling better now," Hana reassured the scuba diver. She then looked to Shiori- Hana hadn't noticed before, but now that she was in closer proximity she could see just how jittery the surgeon seemed to be. Thus, the surfer asked, "Uh- Shiori? You okay?"

"What? Me? I'm perfectly fine, just drinking some of this coffee to wake me up, no big deal," Shiori responded, looking down at the mug she was holding.

"Sh-She's had seven cups already..." Asuna told Hana with a concerned frown.

"Make that _eight!"_ Shiori yelled as she seeming finished off yet another mug, still shaking from the caffeine.

"...I, uh...think that's enough now," Hana responded, slowly brushing the mugs away from Shiori's reach with her arm. She then turned back to the table and said, "Hey- Kaneki, you've been really quiet. Is everything o...Kaneki?"

Once Hana had finally turned her attention to the oddly quiet explorer, she realized the reason for the silence. Kaneki, who was between Asuna and an empty seat, was lying facedown on the table, her fedora messily slumped on her head- was she asleep?

"Huh...? O-Oh...she was awake before you got here..." Asuna said as she turned to the sleeping Ultimate with a frown. The gardener cautiously poked her companion in the side, as if trying to wake her-

"GYAAAH!" Kaneki cried, immediately awakening and nearly jumping up from fright.

"AH!" Asuna and Hana yelped simultaneously in response to their friend's shout.

"O-Oh...it was just you, Asuna," Kaneki noted, adjusting her hat with her dark brown hair falling into her face. Hana noticed that, along with the clear lack of sleep, Kaneki's hair was rather messy and lacked its usual braid (allowing Hana to see the hair's full length rivaled that of Akira's- no wonder Kaneki kept it braided). The Ultimate then saw Hana and asked, "Hana? When did you get here?"

Hana simply gave a little sigh of response. It seemed Hiroshi was right- everyone was just as badly affected by the trial as she was. Despite this...seeing her friends in a state of somewhat normalcy made the tragedy a little easier to cope with. Maybe coming to the meeting wasn't such a bad thing after all?

It wasn't long before Tadao brought out the food he had made. Like Akira, he didn't look any worse for wear- his hair and clothes looked just as neat as they usually did. However, there was one difference Hana noticed with the waiter- he was more silent than usual...

"Awesome! Come on guys, food is always a great way to feel better!" Shiro said to the group with a smile. "Come on- you agree with me, right Itachi?"

The taller boy in question, who was sitting next to Shiro, said nothing in response. His eyes were closed, and he seemed very calm- it seemed as though Itachi was meditating.

"Uh- Itachi?" Shiro repeated, tapping him on the shoulder. When he did, the Ultimate lurched forward, faceplanting on the table- as soon as his face met the surface, however, Itachi immediately jolted back up, his eyes wide. So, it was not meditation- it was sleep; even the Ultimate Weapons Expert wasn't immune to being tired, it would seem.

Once all the food was passed out, Hana figured Tadao would sit with the others like he usually did...but to her surprise, the young man actually turned on his heel and began to make his way back towards the kitchen

"Uh- Tadao? Where are you going?" Hiroshi asked just before the Ultimate Waiter could leave. "Aren't you going to sit down with us?"

"...Hm. And why would I do that?" Tadao asked, not looking back towards the others.

"Because this is the breakfast meeting, we're all required to show up," Akira reminded him, crossing her arms.

"Hah- is that it? Well, that's only your rule, Rimutsu," Tadao replied, facing the group once more. "Monokuma himself has not come and said we all must attend these meetings, has he? Therefore, we- and by extension, I- do not have to partake."

"But you have not had a problem with the meetings before," Saku pointed out with a frown.

"Well, Yamamoto- before, there weren't two dead students," Tadao replied. "This killing game of Monokuma's had not yet come into fruition."

"What are you talking about?" Hana asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You see, ever since our 'headmaster' brought up the Graduation Clause, I've had my doubts about you lot," Tadao went on. "But even still, I tried to stay optimistic- after all, fifteen heads were better than one, I reasoned- so why _not_ try to cooperate with everyone?"

"But then Kurobe did Nakamura in. And I realized- this killing game? It's a matter of truth," Tadao added, crossing his arms with a serious frown. "And now I realize what a fool I was, believing we were above giving in. The truth is, we are in a world of distrust, a game of kill or be killed...and I have no intention of mingling with the competition."

"Competition...? Tadao, this isn't some game show or anything, this is real life!" Hana replied, raising her voice. "You're seriously going to stop working with us _now?"_

"Yes, I am," the waiter responded bluntly. "A murder has happened, and the game has been kickstarted. There's no telling what the rest of you are capable of."

"But- But that's wrong!" Shiro insisted. "Come on, we're not gonna let another murder happen!"

"Haha, you say that now, but what about later, hm?" Tadao asked. "As I said, we are not above giving into Monokuma's temptations. And, once again, you all are my competition. And this game...well, let's just say I have no intention of losing."

"No intention of...?" Hiroshi began, seemingly dumbfounded.

"You wouldn't. You're not honestly thinking of committing murder, are you?" Akira asked, her eyes narrowed with anger.

Tadao didn't respond at first, but then he looked up with a smirk. "Oh, Rimutsu, you have better instincts than to ask a question like that."

Hana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "This...Tadao, you can't be serious! We have to work together on this, otherwise-"

"I already said we cannot trust each other. You see, I had big plans for when I graduated Hope's Peak. Just because we're in this killing game doesn't mean I've disregarded those plans, and I refuse to let the likes of you all put my ambition in jeopardy," Tadao responded, crossing his arms. "If that means I have to give one of you an...unorthodox departure, then so be it."

"Wha-? Did you seriously just say that?" Hinata asked, his eyes wide.

"Th-That...you can't be serious...!" Asuna cried. "N-No, this isn't...this isn't right! T-Tadao, you can't just...just turn on everyone l-like this! W-We need to work together! I-If you just abandon us like this, then...then y-you're just hindering yourself!"

Hana was surprised at Asuna's words, but she found herself even more shocked by how Tadao responded. "Hm-hm...bold words, coming from someone like you, Izumi. Though, you really should watch your tongue..."

He then looked straight at Asuna, his blue-green eyes gaining a sinister shine to them as he concluded, "Someone as small and meek as you...would make for a _very_ easy target."

Asuna's face paled from the Ultimate Waiter's words, and she started to tremble in her seat.

"Alright, that's it!" Ryoto shouted, leaping out of his seat as he cracked his knuckles. "It's about to storm, and some ass-kicking's gonna rain _all over you!"_

Before the racecar driver could make good on his threat, Saku put a hand on his shoulder and forced him back into his seat. With a chuckle, Tadao went back into the kitchen without another word.

"What...just happened...?" Rumi asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"I believe...Tadao has deserted us," Itachi remarked, his arms crossed.

Hana grimaced- before she took notice of Asuna. The Ultimate Gardener was still shaking, visibly terrified by what Tadao had said.

"Asuna...?" Hiroshi began, his brow furrowed in concern.

"H-Hey, forget what he said, I'm sure he wasn't-" Kaneki began, trying to sound reassuring...but before she could finish, Asuna jumped up out of her seat and bolted out of the dining room. "Wait! Asuna!"

"...Well- this is a fine clusterfuck of a meeting, isn't it?" Hinata remarked, scratching his head with a sigh.

"Oh really? We hadn't noticed amongst all the threats and betrayal," Shiori deadpanned with a frown.

"I'm...gonna go look for Asuna," Kaneki said, standing up.

"Good idea," Akira responded, sounding eerily calm after Tadao's speech. "Amari, you go and help her."

"Wha- but, what about my breakf-" Hana began in protest, only for Akira to glare right at the surfer with eyes of burning fury and frustration and repeat, "I thought I said- _Amari, go and help her."_

Hana didn't know if it was the power of Akira's piercing death glare or her own desire to not stoke the prosecutor's rage with her protests- but suddenly, Hana felt as though she _really_ should obey the demand. With that, the surfer stammered, "Y-Yes ma'am..."

And that was how Hana found herself following Kaneki out of the dining hall, leaving her breakfast behind.

* * *

"So...where do you think Asuna ran off to?" Hana asked her companion as the two headed down the hall.

"My guess would be she went back to her room," Kaneki replied, putting a thumb to her chin in thought. The explorer then sighed and muttered, "Damn Tadao...I can't believe he'd actually threaten someone to their face like that..."

Hana frowned, rubbing the back of her neck with a grimace. "I was hoping everyone would be more willing to work together after what happened yesterday..."

"Mmph- I'd say we should just ignore him, but...I dunno, I'm worried his bad attitude'll spread to the others..." Kaneki added, shuddering. "Like a virus..."

Hana pursed her lips before responding, "I...feel like we don't have to worry about that. Yeah, I'm worried about Tadao too, but...I think we're better than his mindset."

Kaneki smiled a bit, as if reassured, and said, "You're probably right...I just don't want to go through another class trial."

"Okay, that I can completely agree with," Hana responded as the two entered the bedroom hallway. "Okay, so, Asuna's room should be...right here."

Sure enough, the two Ultimates stood in front of the gardener's door, as evidenced by the nameplate with the corresponding name and sprite picture. Hana walked up and knocked on the door, asking, "Hey, Asuna? Are you there?"

There was no response. Kaneki knocked on the door next, saying, "Asunaaaa? It's Kaneki and Hana, we just wanna talk- are you there?"

For a few moments, the hall was still silent...but then, the sound of a doorknob turning could clearly be heard, and the bedroom door opened just enough for Asuna to timidly poke her head out. "H-Hey...guys..."

"Asuna, are you okay?" Hana asked. "Why'd you just run out like that?"

"W-Why did I...i-it was nothing!" Asuna insisted. "L-Look, I...I don't want to talk about it! S-So just leave me be!"

"Hey, wait!" Kankei yelped, immediately sticking her foot into the doorway to prevent the Ultimate Gardener from closing the door on them. Once Asuna opened the door again, the three girls were silent for a few moments. Then, Kaneki turned to Hana and told her, "Hey...Hana. Think you could let me talk to Asuna, just the two of us? You can go back to the dining hall- don't worry about Akira giving you a hard time, just tell her I sent you back."

"Uh...sure thing," Hana responded, nodding before turning to walk away. As she went back to the dining room, the surfer couldn't help but wonder how Kaneki intended to get through to Asuna by herself...regardless, she decided to trust the Ultimate Explorer's judgement.

True to Kaneki's prediction, the moment Hana reentered the dining room with one less companion, Akira was already on her case. "Wha-? Okay, where's Tenmaru now? Amari, did you honestly lose track of her?"

"I did not," Hana explained, a little annoyed at Akira's questioning. "We found Asuna, but Kaneki wanted to talk to her in private, so she told me to come back here. Not sure when they'll be back here, though."

"Mmph- well, nothing we can do about that, I suppose," Akira concluded to herself as Hana went to sit back down. For a few moments, things seemed to return to peace, and Hana was ready to dig into her breakfast at long last...

...Unfortunately, 'peace' wasn't something that lasted long in this castle. At no point would that be any more true than at that moment- when a certain black and white being seemed to pop up out of nowhere, seating himself in one of the empty seats.

"Well now, would you look at this? Five out of fifteen seats empty, so much for unity!" Monokuma declared as he appeared, putting his paws over his mouth as he giggled in amusement.

 _"Gyah!_ It's him!" Rumi cried in fright.

"Hey, get out of that chair, that's where Kaneki was sitting..." Shiro told the bear with a disapproving frown.

Ryoto growled, his eyes filled with hatred as he saw the bear. He reached for his fork, and looked as though he was about to throw it at Monokuma- but once again, Saku had to intervene and forced the Ultimate's arm back down.

"Forget the seats- what the hell do you want?" Hinata asked the bear with a glare of his own.

"Yeah, don't you have a puppy to dissect or something?" Shiori asked with her own narrowed eyes. "Seems like the kind of thing you'd do..."

"What's this? Can't a headmaster come in and say hi to his loooovely students?" Monokuma asked, his tone of voice suggesting the opposite of the word 'lovely'.

"State your business. Now," Itachi demanded in a growl.

"I'm certain you wouldn't be here for nothing, at any rate," Hiroshi added, skeptical.

"Puhuhuhu- well, you'd be correct!" Monokuma responded with a nod. "Truth be told, I actually come with some good news for you all!"

"The only good news you could give us is telling us that we can leave..." Hana murmured to herself.

"Quiet, Cowlick! Didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt when someone's talking?" Monokuma shouted at the surfer, his face going red with rage.

 _This...isn't even a cowlick, though..._ Hana thought to herself indignantly, one hand going up to her ahoge. Regardless, it would seem her muttering had been louder than she had intended- Hana made a note to herself to be mindful of that in the future...

"Anyways...I just thought I'd drop in and tell you guys something that I'm sure will pique your little minds' curiosities!" Monokua continued. "As a...reward for your _stunning_ performances during the trial yesterday, I have given you all a whole new world to explore!"

"...Come again?" Ryoto asked.

"Oh come on, read between the lines!" Monokuma replied, somewhat exasperated. "I mean that a whole new part of the castle has opened up for your exploring pleasure! You now have access to the entirety of the 2nd floor of the South Wing! That's where we are right now, by the way."

"The entirety of the second floor...?" Saku pondered aloud. "You mean the parts that were blocked by the gates?"

"Exact-a-mundo!" Monokuma confirmed with a widened grin. "And...who knows? Maybe if you survive more class trials, more parts of the castle will open up too? Something to think about, for all of you who hate being cooped up in one place too-"

"Get out please," Hiroshi said to the bear, his brow subtly furrowed.

"Grr- you brats really like interruptions, don't you?" Monokuma asked, his face going red again. "Fine! I said what I needed to anyways, so have a nice damn day! Ciao!"

With that, Monokuma slipped beneath the table and vanished yet again.

"...So. What Monokuma said..." Rumi began. "Do you guys think he was...telling the truth?"

"Why wouldn't he be? Seems like an odd thing to lie about," Shiro pointed out.

"I have to agree with Koichi on this one. I doubt Monokuma would lie about something so small- plus, a reward system such as that would probably help to fuel more hostilities," Akira responded. "Alright. Once we're done here, we will go and investigate the second floor. ...But first, I expect you all to go and get cleaned up- most of you look terrible- and one of you should let Tenmaru and Izumi know about Monokuma's news."

Nobody protested Akira's orders, and so breakfast continued on with no further interruptions. Hana breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally eat her breakfast...only to look down at her plate and see the food that had once been upon it was now...gone? Blinking in shock, Hana scrutinized the plate, looking around and under it- but there was no sign of her breakfast.

"Wh-What the...? Wh-Where'd my food go!?" Hana asked, frantically looking around. "I-It was right here on the plate when I left!"

"Mm- yeah, seems like a mystery," Hinata responded, wiping some crumbs off his face...suspicious crumbs. As if to confirm Hana's thoughts, Shiori looked towards the thief and gave him a disapproving shake of the head.

With a dismayed groan, Hana proceeded to rest her head against the table with a _thud._ So much for breakfast, then.

* * *

Seeing as how Hana had already cleaned up prior to arriving to the meeting, there was no reason for her to go back to the bedrooms with everyone else. Thus, she ended up having to help Hiroshi, Akira, and Tadao clean up from breakfast. The waiter said nothing, and neither Akira nor Hiroshi told him about Monokuma's announcement (although, seeing as how Tadao was right in the kitchen, Hana figured he still knew about it).

Once that was taken care of, the four Ultimates exited the dining room and made their way into the main hall. Akira and Tadao split off, heading up the stairs that led to the South Wing's second floor.

"Well then- I think it's time we do some exploring of our own, yeah?" Hiroshi suggested, looking up at the doorways that led to the second floor's hallways. "I can see from down here that those gates that were blocking the hallways are gone..."

"Then, it looks like Monokuma was telling the truth?" Hana responded.

"Looks like it. Well, let's go see what this second floor is all about," Hiroshi stated, making his way towards the left stairwell. Hana followed suit, ascending the ornate steps to the upper level. The duo made their way to the far side of the upper level- Hana hadn't noticed before when she initially investigated this area, but now she could tell that from up here, one could get a very good view of the ground level of the main chamber.

Hana could also see that there were already a few students up here. She and Hiroshi saw Hinata in the east hallway, just beyond the point where the gate once stood. The Ultimate Thief seemed to be examining something on the wall- once the two approached, they saw he was looking out a tall window.

"Mm? Oh, hey guys," Hinata greeted them. "So- looks like we got some windows. That's...something, I guess."

"It's not bolted with a metal plate like the ones in the dining hall?" Hana asked, going over to look for herself. Sure enough, Hana could get a clear view of the courtyard through the glass.

"Nope, and neither is the one over there," Hinata replied, pointing to the west hallway, which had an identical window in the same spot.

"Probably because you can only see the courtyard and the walls around it from here," Hiroshi surmised.

Speaking of the west hallway, Hana could see two figures at the very end of it- Shiori, who seemed to be examining something on the left wall, and Ryoto who was looking at something further down on the right. Figuring there was nothing else Hinata could offer, the surfer and her companion decided to head down to the opposite hallway and see what they were up to.

Hiroshi was the first to speak up, walking over to Ryoto and asking him, "Ryoto? Something wrong?"

"Yeah! See this? Another fucking gate!" Ryoto yelled. "Can you believe Monokuma only opened up this one little area? Sheesh, talk about a tease."

While the two boys continued to converse, Hana turned her attention to Shiori. "Hey, Shiori-"

"Hana. I need a second opinion on this," the surgeon told her, before gesturing to the door she was standing in front of. "Look at this door. Doesn't something seem...off about it?"

Hana furrowed her brow, examining the door. At first glance, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary- the door looked as though it was made of a simple mahogany material, with a gold-colored doorknob with a cylindrical lock on it. "Uh...I don't really see what you mean..."

"What? Come on, don't you think there's...something wrong with it?" Shiori insisted, gesturing to the door. "It can't just be me who's seeing it..."

"And you'd be correct!" a certain high-pitched voice confirmed, accompanied by Monokuma suddenly appearing behind the two girls. "Nice to see some of you so-called 'Ultimates' are actually astute!"

"Aah! You again!?" Hana yelped.

"We really need to put a bell on you or something," Shiori remarked.

"Take a good look you two, it may just save a life! Or end one, if that's what you prefer," Monokuma explained, gesturing to the door. "Now, I don't know who built this castle of ours, but whoever they were made a little...oopsie with this door."

"What kind of 'oopsie'?" Hana asked.

"I'm sure Dr. Sauchi noticed, didn't she?" Monokuma responded. "This door isn't installed properly- it's backwards!"

"Backwards...? Oh! I get it now!" Shiori exclaimed. "That's what was bothering me- the lock on the doorknob, it's outside instead of inside!"

"Ding-ding-ding, cooooorrect!" Monokuma declared. "Yup, because the door is backwards, is locks from the outside instead of the inside like it's supposed to! Kind of counterproductive to what the lock is supposed to do, but it would be great for pulling a prank on your friends, wouldn't you say? Just stick someone in here and lock the door, and they wouldn't be able to get out at all! Puhuhuhu, that would be hilarious!"

"..." Hana and Shiori kept silent, clearly not as amused as Monokuma.

"...Well whatever. Hope you found my little PSA to be helpful to your school life!" Monokuma concluded with a little wave as he ran off and disappeared around the corner.

"Hm...a backwards door...interesting," Shiori said, more to herself than Hana, before turning to walk away. "Well, I won't dwell too much on it anymore. I'm going to find Rumi- she's down in the courtyard checking those other doors, just in case any of them opened. But anyways- see you, Hana."

The surgeon walked off. As Hana watched her go, she noticed Ryoto breaking off from Hiroshi and heading towards the stairs too. "Ryoto? Where are you going?"

"Hm? Ah...well, everyone else is handling the situation up here pretty well," the racecar driver began. "Plus, there's...something I've been meaning to check out back on the ground floor, and I figured now would be a good time. So, I leave the rest to you guys! Ryoto Miura- away!"

With that declaration, the young man took off, his cape flowing behind him. Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, before turning back to Hana. "So, what's in that room, anyways?"

"No idea," Hana responded, looking towards the inverted door. "We should probably check, though."

* * *

Hana and Hiroshi quietly entered the room, the surfer scanning her eyes around the vicinity. The room wasn't too big, the walls having a wood design to them, and the place generally having an office-like feel to it. To the left was a set of bookshelves, lined with books and binders of some kind; to the right was a desk and a chair, a pile of clean white paper neatly stacked on one side, a cup of pens tidily placed on the other side of the desk's surface, and a lamp that was plugged in and stood on the upper left corner of the desktop. On the opposite end of the room was a metallic door of some kind- though Hana wasn't focusing on that at the moment. She turned her attention to the two students who were already investigating the room- Itachi Kunata, who was looking at the bookshelves, and Shiro Koichi, who was investigating the desk.

"Hi Itachi. Hi Shiro," Hiroshi greeted the two young men as he and Hana entered.

Itachi simply glanced at the two and nodded in acknowledgement. Shiro waved and responded, "Hey guys! Isn't this room neat?"

"It definitely seems...homey," Hana remarked. "What is it, though?"

"It's a study," Itachi stated, fully turning towards her. "The desk and bookshelves make that clear."

"I think it's great!" Shiro said happily. "This is the perfect place for me to work on my poetry, and they've got all these writing utensils and extra paper..."

If Hana was honest, she didn't think the study was anything to write home about compared to other rooms in the castle- however, she kept silent, since this room was probably paradise for the Ultimate Poet.

"Say, what's in there?" Hiroshi asked, walking across the study towards the metallic door. Hana followed, where she was able to get a better look at the door itself. It was made of a clean metal, with the doorknob having a little keyhole on it. Adjacent to the door, a hook was sticking out of the wall, similar to the kind you'd hang some keys or a coat from.

"That...I'm unsure of," Itachi replied. "However, we saw Akira go in there. She is likely investigating it herself. It may be best not to disturb her."

"...But I'm so curious..." Hana responded sadly.

Hiroshi shrugged. "I'm sure Akira won't mind an extra hand or two, right?"

With that, the coroner turned the handle and pushed open the door. He and a slightly apprehensive Hana entered, leaving Itachi and Shiro to the study room.

Once inside, Hana could get a better look at just what was behind the door. The room i question had a much more industrial feel to it than the rest of the castle. The floor was made of a gray tile, and the walls and ceiling seemed to be just as metallic as the door itself. In the front two corners of the room, several boxes were stacked up in a pair of piles, one in each corner. Along each side of the room, tall metal shelves lined the walls, with smaller boxes and crates stacked upon them. All in all, the room wasn't too big- and yet, Hana saw the red-haired prosecutor Akira Rimutsu examining the boxes and shelves intently.

However, it would seem her concentration was broken when Hana and Hiroshi entered the room. Adjusting her glasses, the young woman turned to the two and asked, "What do you two want?"

"Uh...just doing some investigation..." Hana responded, still very much intimidated by the Ultimate Prosecutor. The glare she was giving them (though it seemed more directed at Hana specifically than Hiroshi) wasn't exactly helping calm the surfer's nerves...

Hiroshi, who seemed to be much more collected, looked around the room casually. "Is this...a storage room?"

"Hmph- no need to ask questions you can easily figure out on your own," Akira responded, turning away with a huff. "At any rate, I'm already handling the investigation here."

"Well, nothing wrong with help, right? I imagine you just started, and it's not like we'll be in here long," Hiroshi responded. Hana, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but in the presence of a clearly irritated Akira...

'This room is spacious, but it's not so large that we need three people in here," Akira responded, crossing her arms with a glare.

"Y-You know what, you make a great point, which is why, um..." Hana began, backing away towards the door. "I'll leave you two alone to look around! Yeah, two's all you need, really!"

"Well- alright, fair enough. I'll catch up to you a bit later then, Hana," Hiroshi responded, not seeming the least bit worried or upset about being left alone with Akira. Akira, meanwhile, continued to glare daggers at Hana, sending a continuous chill up the surfer's spine that lasted until she exited the room and reentered the study.

Once Hana was back in the study room, she became aware of Shiro and Itachi looking at her strangely.

Raising an eyebrow, Itachi asked, "Something wrong? You look as though you've seen a demon."

Hana sighed and replied, "I think I would have _preferred_ a demon..."

* * *

After that terrifying encounter, Hana left the study and looked towards the east hallway- she hadn't fully explored it before, so she figured now would be a good time to fix that. She made her way across the platform and towards the opposing hallway; Hinata was no longer at the window, most likely having moved on to another location, and Hana could see no other students in the halls, so they were probably in the remaining rooms.

In the east hallway, she could see two doors to the right. The closer one was another wood door, and the ones on the far end of the hall were a pair of clean white doors. Opposite of the white doors, Hana could see another doorway, but that one seemed blocked by a gate as well. The surfer decided she would investigate the room closest to her, and so she quietly opened the wood door.

The room on the other side seemed to be some kind of lounge- overall, it had a distinct baroque design to it; a red and gold carpet covered much of the wooded floor, the walls were a dark blue color, an ornate fireplace sat in the left of the room, and several red cushioned seats were arranged around a fancy coffee table of some kind. Hana saw Tadao and Saku looking around the room, though only the latter looked up to acknowledge Hana.

"Ah, hello there, Hana," the large young man greeted. "Come to see the room as well?"

"Yeah- this place actually looks pretty comfortable," Hana remarked as she looked around.

"Yes, I have to admit, whoever designed this damned castle certainly has good taste," Tadao added, rubbing his chin contemplatively as his eyes scanned the room. "I would have preferred some windows, but I suppose it's the fault of the room's location."

"Well, windows or none, I still believe this room will make an excellent new meditation spot for me," Saku said with a smile.

"Huh? But don't you usually meditate down by the fountain? In the courtyard?" Hana asked, tilting her head a bit.

"Not anymore. After seeing that... _evil_ location that lies underneath the fountain, I've chosen not to go near such a death-ridden thing," Saku explained, his face paling a bit as he shuddered slightly.

 _Evil location...? Oh, wait- he must be talking about the trial room._ Hana concluded to herself. Once she figured that out, she found she couldn't blame the Ultimate Kickboxer for despising that spot so much...

"Oh? The big strong kickboxer afraid of a fountain?" Tadao asked, a mocking tone creeping into his voice. "With an attitude like that, you won't last long at all here. Well...with your physique, at least, you may last longer than some of the _more_ emotional people here."

Tadao then gave Hana a calm enough look...but it wouldn't take a genius to see the darkness hidden in that statement. Saku simply sighed and shook his head, clearly exasperated.

 _Aaaaand that's my cue to leave._ Hana told herself as she started making her way back towards the door. "Well, it was nice seeing you guys but I've got places to go and investigate so I'll be doing that bye!"

Saku gave Hana an apologetic look, as if to apologize for Tadao's behavior, and gave her a wave of farewell as the surfer quickly exited the lounge.

Hana sighed as she closed the door, closing her eyes to calm herself. _Ugh_ _, what's with me and being freaked out by everyone today? First Akira, now Tadao- what's next, is someone gonna sneak up on-_

"Hana!" a cheerful voice suddenly yelled from behind the surfer, followed by someone putting a hand on her shoulder. Hana, however, cried out in fear and shock; she quickly whipped around, firmly acquainting the back of her hand with the unknown person's face.

A familiar, female voice yelped in pain, the tall person stumbling back and clutching their jaw with a wince- it took Hana a moment to realize it was not some kind of assailant, but in actuality her friend Kaneki Tenmaru. "Ugh, where'd you learn to slap so hard...?"

Hana gasped in shock, then quickly stammered, "Oh my god, Kaneki I'm so sorry, I panicked and I've been a bit jumpy today and-"

"See, I was worried that would happen..." a new voice chimed in, cluing Hana in to the fact that Kaneki was not alone. Rumi and Asuna quickly came over, the former being the one who had spoken up. "Told you, it's dangerous to sneak up on someone!"

"H-Hey, are you okay?" Asuna asked the explorer, concerned.

"Ah, yeah...let's just call this karmic retribution for that time I hit you with that door, Hana," Kaneki responded with a little chuckle.

"Aha- if you say so," Hana replied, relieved she hadn't caused any real damage. She noticed that, like the rest of the class, the three girls did look better than they had at breakfast- Kaneki's hair was even back in its usual braid. She then asked, "Hey...Kaneki, Asuna. How'd you know about the second floor being opened up? You weren't in the dining room when Monokuma made his announcement, so..."

"Rumi told us," Asuna stated.

"Hey, Hana- we haven't missed out on the investigating, right? Anywhere that hasn't been seen yet?" Kaneki asked, her hazel eyes shining- Hana supposed she should have expected nothing less from the Ultimate Explorer.

"Well, I personally have seen every room up here- except that one at the end of the hall," Hana explained, pointing to the white double doors in question.

"Then that's where we're going! ...Unless this gate here can be removed!" Kaneki declared, running over to the blocked off doorway. Rumi giggled and followed her, telling her that she wouldn't be able to remove the gate no matter how hard she pulled on it. Asuna, meanwhile, drifted away from the two of them to look at the double doors in curiosity.

As Hana watched her friends, the surfer couldn't help but feel a little relieved. _Looks like things are starting to get back to normal a bit. I'm just really glad to see_ _Asuna's doing better after Tadao's threat before- whatever Kaneki said to her, it looks like it worked._

Then, Asuna opened the doors slightly, as if to peek inside...and then the girl gasped in shock, swiftly bolting into the room.

"Wha-!? Hey! Asuna, wait up!" Hana yelled, running over to the doors herself. Kaneki and Rumi heard the surfer's shout and quickly followed her; soon enough, all three of them went into the last room together.

* * *

Hana and her two companions practically burst into the room simultaneously; the first thing Hana felt upon entry was a warmth upon her face. It didn't take long for her to realize this was sunlight- and when she took a good look around the room, the surfer could not hide her surprise.

The walls were of a clean, silver color; the ceiling was made of shining glass, with the sky clearly visible, and crisscrossed with pipes connected to dozens of sprinklers. The room itself seemed to be split into four quadrants, separated by stone paths in a plus shape. The front two sections consisted of several smaller plants and flowers, organized neatly and in colorful arrangements. The back two quadrants were comprised of larger types of flora, including actual trees (which provided some shade for the back).

"What the...? They've got a greenhouse?" Rumi wondered aloud. "It's so pretty! I'm glad to see some actual greenery in here."

"'Pretty'? This place is amazing!" Asuna called out from farther back in the room, running back to the three girls. "Look at all this! There are so many plants here, some of these aren't even native to Japan! It's so great, I wonder if I'm allowed to take some of these for my room?"

As she spoke, the short teen had a happy gleam in her eyes, and her stutter was completely gone. Hana supposed she couldn't blame Asuna for being so enthusiastic- as the Ultimate Gardener, she probably felt right at home surrounded by all the flora.

"Well, I'm glad that this castle has a place you can enjoy, Asuna," Rumi told her with a smile. "If only this place had a pool or something, then it would be perfect."

"Hey- did you say there were foreign plants here?" Kaneki asked Asuna. "Can I see? Maybe they're from some of the places I've visited!"

"Yeah! I'll show you!" Asuna replied. She and the explorer then eagerly took off towards the back of the greenhouse, leaving Hana and Rumi behind.

"...Well now I kinda feel left out," Hana muttered as the two left.

"Oh, it's fine- I'm just glad we're starting to get back into high spirits!" Rumi replied. "Especially now, we have to stay positive!"

"Heh- sounds kinda like something Hiroshi would say," Hana responded with a little smile.

"Well he's right! Actually, you know what?" Rumi said. "I'm gonna plan another hangout with us girls! Maybe we can get Akira to come with this time! Maybe we can-"

At that point, Rumi was talking more to herself than Hana, making her way out of the greenhouse while pondering to herself. Hana herself looked towards the door, then back at the greenhouse, where she could see and somewhat hear Asuna and Kaneki near the back quadrants. Figuring there was nothing left for her in here, the surfer exited a few moments after Rumi.

* * *

Hana walked out into the hallway, stopping just outside the entrance to the east hallway. She didn't see anyone at first- but then, she saw a certain young man making his way towards her.

"Hey, Hana- sorry about going missing, me and Akira ended going through the storage room longer than I thought we would," Hiroshi explained. "I guess she thought there might be something in there leading to a clue- turns out, it's just a bunch of office supplies, some extra plates and glasses and silverware...miscellaneous stuff, really."

"Well, while you were playing with boxes, I looked around the rest of the floor," Hana began to explain.

However, Hiroshi interrupted her and said, "Actually, you should probably put a pin in that. Akira wants us all to go down to the dining room so we can talk about what we found. She...actually told me to go spread the word."

"Hm? So she's making you run all the errands now?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh, I guess with Mikio gone, she needs a new errand guy? Well, I won't argue," Hiroshi responded, still smiling contently. "I'd just say to go down to the dining hall soon. Also, ah, if you could tell me where the others are, that would be helpful."

"Oh- well, Kaneki and Asuna are in the greenhouse, and I saw Saku and Tadao in the lounge- but I'm not sure if they're still there," Hana explained, pointing down the hallway she had just come from.

"Gotcha, thanks- I'll meet you down there soon," Hiroshi responded, before making his way down the hall. Seeing as how there was nothing left to see on the second floor, Hana decided to obey Akira's summons and head down to the dining room.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright! New area, Tadao being a jerk- nice way to kick off the new chapter, right? Anyways, I apologize for this chapter taking a bit longer to be uploaded, but to be fair I have school now and liiiiife stuff. But seeing as how eager I am to write this chapter as well as the rest of the story, I'll do my best to push through it! ...Also it didn't help that the site went down when I was in the middle of writing, taking out a chunk of my progress and forcing me to rewrite it, which I haaaate.**

 **But anyways, complaints aside, next time...we get the next set of Free Time Events! However...I'm going to do the FTE voting a bit differently this time. A bit of an experiment, if you will. I know there are a lot of people at least looking at the story, yet there are little reviews. And seeing as how FTE voting comes from the reviews...yeah, seems like an issue to rely on one person voting over and over again (not that I don't appreciate it). So, I'm gonna see how this new method works, and if I deem it a good, then it'll be the new voting method!**

 **So, what's this method I keep mentioning? Well, it's the age-old polling solution: Strawpoll! Yes, I made a Strawpoll, and here's the link:**

 **https: straw poll. com** **/ dp1 c7y4b (remove the spaces and add the two slashes after the "https:"** **, because apparently FF also loves cutting off parts of links and I can't make it not do that without adding the spaces/removing those slashes entirely. Trust me, I tried to make it not do that, but nothing else worked. Can you believe this chapter got pushed back another day because of that?)**

 **There will be two FTEs next time, so be sure to pick two characters! And that means no voting in the reviews this time! Just leave the reviews to speculation, criticism, and whatnot. And I'll see you guys next time, while I go change all the 65s to 80s! Bye!**


	12. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 2)

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Remember Hope, where favorite characters go to die and despair is everywhere- just like the source material! Sorry for taking so long to get this out- school has been a butt and I've just been generally busy. But today, I've finally found time to work, and now here we are!**

 **So, when last we left off, a new area had opened up- which means new rooms, new ways for a killer to do their...killing thing, etc. And now, time to observe as the Ultimates reconvene to see what they found...although it'll mostly be stuff seen in the previous chapter, but maybe some info will surface, who knows?**

 **Oh! Also, thank you to everyone who voted on the Strawpoll! ...And by everyone I mean one person. Hmph...so, maybe I was mistaken in thinking using a Strawpoll would bring in more voters. Despite this, I think I'll keep using polls for deciding FTEs- seems more professional, in my opinion. So, yeah! That's a thing now! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Yeah, if Tadao were to do something like that, he'd basically be putting a sign on his head saying "I'M THE KILLER". And yeah, you'll just have to see how the news areas fit into the murder...so GO! LET THE SPECULATION FLOW THROUGH YOUR VEINS! **

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**Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Daily Life (Part 2)**

Hana didn't have to wait too long for the others to arrive back in the dining room. It seemed she wasn't the only one who felt the investigation was complete, and thus the room was filled up with the Ultimates once more. Even Tadao was taking part- though Hana suspected this was less because he wanted to and more because he just didn't want to miss out on any vital information.

"Well, since we're all here, let's get right down to business," Akira began, crossing her arms. "I'll leave the floor open to you all first before I give my two cents."

At first, no one spoke, as if the others were trying to gather their thoughts.

"...We have windows!" Hinata began with a grin. "...Of the courtyard. Nice view though- too bad I didn't find anything valuable up there."

"There is a lounge room, with a fireplace," Saku added in. "I believe it would make a good place for us to relax at any time- I hope to use it as a new meditation spot."

"Th-There's, ah- a greenhouse," Asuna said, seeming a little nervous about speaking aloud. "The plants are healthy enough, b-but I'm not sure about how they'll be watered..."

"Well, I saw sprinklers in there," Rumi pointed out. "Those are probably what they use to water the plants. They'd probably do it night, too- I don't know, maybe you could ask Monokuma later."

"Hey, there's not just a greenhouse- they've got a study too!" Shiro chimed in, beaming. "It's so neat and organized, the paper is so clean, the pens look brand new...it's wonderful!"

"Oh! How...exciting...?" Kaneki responded, attempting to sound as enthusiastic as the poet.

"It should be noted that there's a storage room connected to the study, too," Hiroshi added. "Me and Akira searched that place. Nothing too out of the ordinary, though- just boxes, shelves, boxes _on_ shelves..."

"I had assumed the storage room of all places may hold a clue to our situation, or the identity of the mastermind..." Akira stated. "Unfortunately, that was not the case."

"Um- mastermind?" Hana asked.

"Yes, mastermind- please try to keep up, Amari," Akira replied. "Obviously, someone has to be controlling Monokuma, or at least monitoring us through the cameras- I refuse to believe that cartoonish bear is an intelligent entity- ergo, there must be a mastermind doing one or both of these things."

"Who our age says 'ergo'...?" Hinata muttered to himself.

"Oh- well, I guess that makes sense," Hana responded- not like she had any better ideas regarding who was responsible for this killing game anyways, so she figured she'd agree with Akira.

"Hmph- Rimutsu speaks with logic. Her reasoning is pretty obvious if you stop and think about it," Tadao asked Hana with condescension. "Honestly, how did you make it through the class trial?"

 _H-Hey, when did this turn into a session of attacking me with words?_ Hana wondered to herself, cringing slightly.

"So...a greenhouse, a lounge, a study, and a storage room...is that all?" Saku asked, furrowing his brow a bit.

"Well, those gates in front of the other hallways don't seem to be budging at all- I tried the one in the west hall, and I couldn't open it," Ryoto responded.

"I didn't have much luck with the gate in the east hallway either," Kaneki added.

"And you know those doors down in the courtyard? Me and Shiori looked at those, and they were as locked as ever," Rumi explained.

"So then...looks like that's it, then," Hana replied, frowning a bit.

"Well- nice to know the horrible deaths of our friends gets us some extra damn rooms," Shiori said, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice.

"Forget that- the important thing is making sure it doesn't happen again," Akira replied, crossing her arms.

"Hm, easier said than done, in my opinion," Tadao remarked, looking around at the others. "Staying in this one wing for too long will get to us eventually, I'd say. ...Looking at you, Tenmaru, just saying."

"H-Huh? Why her?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah, why me?" Kaneki asked as well, just as confused.

"Well, you're the Ultimate Explorer, and I recall you being rather upset about not being able to fully use your talent when we first arrived here," Tadao pointed out. "Even if you don't become a blackened, perhaps you'd benefit from a trial opening up some new areas...?"

"Wha-? Oh, forget that! I'll gladly take the places we've got now if it means we don't have to go through another trial!" Kaneki responded, raising her voice in anger.

"Okay, okay, settle down- Tadao, this is not the time to create needless discord," Saku responded with a stern voice.

"I'm just trying to point out every possibility," Tadao responded casually, though Hana could tell it wasn't quite genuine.

"Oh yeah? Well I'll point out your _face_ you don't shut up!" Ryoto shouted at the Ultimate Waiter.

"...Is it possible the more hair dye you use, the more brain cells it kills?" Shiori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh for- allow me to change the subject," Akira responded, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Regarding the storage room. It would seem the room is not simply an area we can just walk in and out of as we please. My proof- the fact that I found a key hung on the wall next to the door."

The prosecutor then held up the proof in question: a small silver key, like the kind you would use to lock your own front door. Hana remembered seeing a hook sticking out of the wall adjacent to the storage room door- could that have been for the key?

"I suppose it makes sense- after all, we wouldn't want someone sneaking into the storage at night to find materials to plot a murder," Akira explained. "Therefore, I propose we have the storage room door locked up every night after the dinner meeting, just before nighttime, and unlocked after the breakfast meetings. That way, no one can sneak in and try to steal supplies for their own agenda."

"And I suppose you'll be the one to take care of that?" Itachi guessed.

"I would, but I'll be busy with my own investigating around here, not to mention I'm the one who organizes these meetings anyways," Akira responded. "So, someone else will have to be in charge of the key. Any volunteers?"

At first, no one said anything- Hana certainly wasn't going to volunteer, she had enough on her mind without having to worry about remembering to lock a door upstairs.

"...U-Uh...if no one else will, I'lll..." Asuna began meekly. "I...I could take care of the storage room door."

"Hm? _You_ want to be the one to lock and unlock the door?" Akira asked the gardener, seeming surprised that she would be the one to volunteer for the job.

"Y-Yeah, I mean...I'd like to be useful to everyone somehow, so..." Asuna explained, looking down a bit as she spoke.

"I dunno, are we really gonna let Asuna be in charge of the key?" Hinata asked, frowning in skepticism. "She's so short, she might not even reach the lock."

"F-Four foot five isn't _that_ short!" Asuna responded indignantly.

"And I suppose _you'd_ be a better choice, Mr. Ultimate Thief?" Shiori asked, narrowing her eyes at Hinata.

Hinata went silent at that, though Akira still seemed a little unsure...

"Come on guys, give Asuna a chance- she can handle it!" Kaneki implored the others, giving Asuna a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "What have we got to lose?"

"The key, that's what," Akira responded. "Still...I suppose Izumi hasn't given me any reason to not trust her, so...Izumi, if you think you can handle it, then fine. Remember- lock it after the dinner meeting, and unlock it after breakfast."

With that, the prosecutor tossed the silver key to Asuna, who yelped and caught the small item.

"Hey, speaking of locks and doors and whatnot..." Shiori chimed in. "I've been meaning to bring this up- anyone else know about the issue with the study room door?"

"Huh? What's wrong with the study's door?" Shiro asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Oh, right!" Hana interjected. "Monokuma showed up and told me and Shiori that there was something wrong with the door- something about it being put on backwards, and how it locks from the outside instead of the inside? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Is that so...?" Tadao asked, a little smirk making its way onto his face.

"Don't...look at us like that please," Rumi asked the waiter, shifting in her seat a bit in discomfort.

"It sounds a little...concerning," Saku said. "What if someone decided to lock one of us inside the study? It may be a funny prank, or it could turn into something more malicious..."

"Well, I doubt it would ever go that far," Hiroshi stated, breaking out of his usual eerie silence once again.

"Still, I'd prefer we didn't take chances..." Akira noted, furrowing her brow in thought. "Therefore, I propose a new rule. An unofficial one, much like the nighttime rule- one that we all agree to follow."

"Huh? Another one? Wasn't making us go to sleep at ten enough?" Hinata asked with a frown.

"Quiet. If we are honor-bound to follow this rule, then so be it," Itachi responded. "What is this new rule of yours?"

"The new rule is this: Under no circumstances is the study room door to be locked. It will remain unlocked, and nobody is to mess with that doorknob," Akira explained. "Understand?"

"Oh- well that sounds simple enough," Hana remarked. She also thought to herself, _Just keeping the door unlocked should be an easy rule to follow. Besides, even if someone did break the rule and lock it, it would be easy for someone else on the outside to unlock it again, so I doubt there's much worry there. ...And I_ really _hope I didn't just jinx anything..._

"So then- if we're all in agreement of the rule, I'd say this meeting has come to a close," Akira declared.

However, Hiroshi spoke up once more, "Not yet. There's still one thing."

He turned his calm gray gaze towards Ryoto and said, "Ryoto, earlier you told me and Hana that there was something you wanted to investigate down here on the first floor. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Oh- uh, that," Ryoto responded, nearly jumping from surprise. "Well...I mean, it wasn't too important, but...okay, I guess it is kinda important- but I'll only tell you guys if you promise not to get the wrong idea!"

"...Well that just sounds suspicious, but we're listening," Hana assured the racecar driver.

"Okay. Well, see, the thing is...I wanted to check out the fitness room," Ryoto explained. "I didn't get a chance to do it this morning, so I thought I'd might as well do it during the investigation."

"Huh? You weren't trying to sneak in some exercising while we were out looking around, were you?" Rumi asked, frowning slightly.

"No, no, not that," Ryoto responded. "You see, I was in the fitness room because...well..."

He spiky-haired boy sighed. "...I wanted to see if Mikio's body was still there."

The whole room fell silent in that instant. The reminder of what had transpired just down the hallway from the dining room was enough to generate a cloud of unease and sadness over them. At the very least, nobody seemed to question Ryoto's motive for checking the former crime scene.

"...Did, uh...did you find anything?" Hinata asked, grimacing slightly.

"Well...actually, no. When I went in there, I thought there'd still be blood and a body like yesterday, but...the room was completely clean," Ryoto explained. "Monokuma showed up, and he told me that he cleaned up the place once the trial was done. He didn't tell me what he did with Mikio's body, though...all he told me was that it was 'in a nice, safe place'."

"So, the fitness room is completely clean? Nothing from the crime scene remained at all?" Tadao asked with genuine shock.

"Nope, nothing. No blood, no mess- even the dumbbells and that bar Azami used to block the door, everything was just like it was before," Ryoto went on, closing his eyes with a sigh. "It was like...the murder never even happened."

No one needed to say anything after that. The knowledge that the remnants of the crime had been removed, even Mikio's corpse, was both a bit of a relief...but also a source of great melancholy. Hana soon realized two things based on what Ryoto had told them; one, whatever Monokuma had done with Mikio's body, he had most likely done the same with Azami's following her execution. Two, the so-called headmaster most likely erased all traces of the murder in order to give the students no chance to truly mourn for their fallen friend.

"...Aah, shit...sorry, guys, I didn't want to end the meeting on a depressing note like this..." Ryoto said to everyone, frowning apologetically.

"No, I'm the one who asked, I didn't realize..." Hiroshi responded, his stoic countenance shifting to one of sorrow.

"Oh knock it off- they're gone. There's nothing we can do about it, so there's no point dwelling on it," Tadao replied sharply, looking at the two young men with a disapproving frown.

"B-But...Mikio and Azami, they were-" Hana began.

However, Akira interrupted her and replied, "Shimaru is right. I already told you all about how I feel about grieving for Kurobe, and whatever you feel for Nakamura, he's gone too. So there's no point in dwelling on it."

She then stood up and concluded, "Now, unless anyone else has some shocking revelations to declare, I think we're done here."

As to be expected, nobody had anything to add- and with a newly renewed sense of gloom, the thirteen students were disbanded.

* * *

Hana chose to return to her room before anything. She sat down on her bed, closing her eyes and letting out a little sigh. _Is this going to be my life now? Me feeling somewhat good despite the circumstances, and then something coming up to just...just throw it out the window?_

She looked at her e-Handbook to check the time- to her surprise, it wasn't too late, she still had quite a bit of time before the dinner meeting.

 _Well...there's still a lot of time left in the day, I guess...I shouldn't be sitting around doing nothing._ Hana resolved, standing. _Maybe I should try to go talk to some of the others- maybe see if I can lift anyone's spirits. Maybe that'll make me feel a bit better at the same time, too._

Hana left the bedroom behind and made her way down the hall into the main chamber. She didn't see too much activity, so she decided to check the courtyard next. Walking towards the end of the chamber and through the doors to the courtyard, the surfer examined her surroundings once again. There, by the fountain, was a certain Ultimate Coroner. Hana quickly walked over to him, though he seemed to be staring at the fountain blankly.

"Hiroshi?" Hana began, stepping in front of the boy to get his attention.

"Hm-? Oh, hello Hana," Hiroshi greeted. "Sorry. I got wrapped up in my thoughts- did you need something."

"Nah, just looking for someone to talk to!" Hana told him, hopping a bit. "You didn't seem busy, so..."

"Hm- well, I'm not busy, so sure, let's talk," Hiroshi replied, giving her his almost trademark calm smile. With that, the two of them spent some time sitting down in the grass, simply looking up the sky for a bit.

"So...before, you said there was a 'long story' to how you became a coroner," Hana said. "Care to tell me a bit more about that?"

"Depends- are you willing to listen?" Hiroshi asked, raising an eyebrow with a tiny smile.

"Well...yeah, that's why I asked," Hana stated, frowning.

"Okay then, I'll tell you," Hiroshi responded, looking away a bit as he began to speak. "Well, ever since I was little, I'd mainly end up spending time with my aunt rather than my actual parents- you could say she somewhat raised. And she would always have her medical and forensics textbooks and such lying around, which I'd read whenever I was bored. They had all kinds of info and diagrams in them- I couldn't tell you how many times I read through them each."

"Seriously? You were reading through medical textbooks and diagrams ever since you were a kid?" Hana asked, shocked.

"Well, in the beginning my aunt would help me read them of course," Hiroshi clarified. "And all the other stuff, the diagrams and graphic descriptions...they never bothered or grossed me out. And when I was older and my aunt would show me the morgue and autopsies, I was never freaked out. I always found it so...fascinating, honestly. Maybe being related to a coroner myself contributed to that, who knows."

"So...you just knew you wanted to be a coroner, then?" Hana asked.

"Well, sort of. Being a coroner was my ambition when I was young, that much you're right about," Hiroshi responded. "Though, becoming an Ultimate...I wasn't planning on that. I would have been content being a normal run-of-the-mill medical examiner, honestly."

"Huh? Then how'd you become the _Ultimate_ Coroner?" Hana questioned, leaning in a bit in curiosity.

"Well...long story short, I helped solve a homicide," Hiroshi explained. "That was my beginning. Long story...well, it happened when I was fourteen. There was this one person who had died that my aunt was in charge of doing the autopsy for. Trouble was, his death was...very, very odd to say the least. I'll spare you the details, because I don't want to be squeamish, but in the end my aunt planned to rule it as a suicide. Then, I got curious and decided to examine the body myself. While I did that, I found something- a small detail, but it was a major development in proving that the man didn't commit suicide- he was murdered."

Hana simply listened to Hiroshi's story, visibly impressed by what she was hearing.

"Even though my aunt was the one who made the official ruling, she still made it clear that I was the one who had figured out the truth behind the man's death," Hiroshi concluded. "People thought I was some kind of boy coroner- from there, I started doing my own autopsies, helping solve more cases with my skills- even very complicated deaths, I could solve. And...well, eventually, I was invited to Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Coroner."

"Wow- that's pretty cool, Hiroshi," Hana responded with a grin. "Being able to solve crimes with science like that...that's awesome!"

Hana gave Hiroshi a pat on the shoulder- but the moment her hand met his shoulder, the boy visibly tensed up and seemed to almost jump from fright. It was a type of reaction that Hana had never seen from him- she didn't even know he was capable of reacting like that. "Er- Hiroshi? You...okay?"

"Aha...sorry, I'm...not the best with physical contact," Hiroshi responded, brushing Hana's hand away. He then stood up and replied, "Well- I'm glad the story was worth the wait. I'll- be heading off now. See ya later, Hana."

With that, the coroner briskly walked away as Hana stood herself, watching him practically run away with confusion. _Did...I do something...? What was that...?_

Mentally calling herself 'stupid' for chasing Hiroshi away, Hana returned to her room.

* * *

Hana checked her e-Handbook again- the day was still young, based on the time. Hana groaned and thought to herself, _No way I'm wasting my time in here all day- I need to interact with someone. Otherwise, I might get caught up thinking about what Ryoto found out...no, no, don't think about that! Think about who to go talk to!_

Commanding herself to focus on the task in question, the surfer practically sprinted out of her room and back into the main chamber. She decided to head up to the second floor- surely, some of the others would be up there, right? Hana quickly made her way up the stairs to the South Wing's upper floor. She didn't see anyone in the hallways, so Hana decided to search the other rooms. Her first stop- the greenhouse.

Once she went inside, Hana wasn't too surprised to see Asuna examining the plants, as checking to make sure they were healthy. Deciding she would be good to spend time with, the girl approached the Ultimate Gardener and greeted, "Hi, Asuna!"

"Huh? O-Oh! Hi Hana!" Asuna responded, scrambling to stand up. "Don't mind me, I-I was just trying to see just what kinds of plants are in here. I've counted about 15 species so far- I-I'm not sure how Monokuma got such a variety, honestly..."

 _Hm...she seems busy, but should I still try to spend time with her?_ Hana asked herself, before shaking her head and asking, "Well, would you be able to take a break? I've been looking for someone to hang out with."

"Oh! S-Sure, I can take a break!" Asuna responded, half surprised and half eager. "Y-You know, Kaneki actually showed me how to climb those trees over there earlier- i-if you want, I can show you too! Come on!"

Without being given a chance to protest, Hana spent time seeing what Asuna learned about tree climbing. Still, she figured she could use the exercise, and it seemed that she and Asuna grew a little closer, so what was the harm?

"..." Asuna was...strangely quiet. She looked towards Hana, then quickly looked away again, as if afraid to draw her attention.

"...Hey, uh, Asuna, you can talk you know- I'm not gonna bite or anything," Hana told the gardener.

"S-Sorry, I know, I'm just...not the best at starting conversations..." Asuna explained, fiddling with her thumbs for a bit.

"Well, I know we haven't known each other that long, but I'm easy to talk to! I think," Hana replied, trying to sound friendly. "Just talk to me like you would someone from school."

"Uh...I don't really...talk to people at school," Asuna responded, cringing. "I-I'm not too social...th-that's kinda why I was hiding behind a pillar on the first day here."

"Well, uh...there's gotta be someone, uh..." Hana racked her brain, trying to thing of a good way to get Asuna more comfortable talking to her. "Wait, family! Just talk to me like you would your family!"

"B-But, I only really talk to my mother, and I don't think I can compare her to one of my classmates..." Asuna pointed out.

"What about your dad? Siblings?" Hana suggested.

"I'm an only child," Asuna told her. "A-And...well, I-I've never met my dad."

 _Shit, I'm delving into deeply personal stuff, I can't do that!_ Hana told herself as she desperately searched for a way to change the subject. "Uh, uh- oh! Something we have in common- neither of us have siblings! How's _that?"_

"..." Asuna seemed unsure still...but then she giggled a bit. "Y-You're really trying here, aren't you?"

"Of course I am! We're classmates- not at Hope's Peak, but classmates still- and we should be comfortable spending time around each other!" Hana insisted- though unintentionally raised her voice as she did.

"G-Gah-!? I-I'm sorry! I-I'm not trying to be difficult!" Asuna responded timidly, her somewhat (and briefly) happy countenance swiftly replaced with shock and fear.

"W-What? Why are you..." Hana began to ask- only to realize she had been almost yelling before. "Oh! Sorry, I wasn't mad at you or anything, sometimes I just get super passionate or emotional and I can't control my volume at that point!"

"Th-That's, uh, I-I..." Asuna stuttered, as if trying to figure out how to respond. "I-I'm sorry for freaking out..."

"Aah, please don't be upset..." Hana asked, cringing. "I'm sorry, it's just that- if we're classmates, and we're gonna be trapped in this castle for who knows how long, we ought to be able to have a conversation without you being so scared of me."

"I-I understand, b-but...I'm not _scared_ of you, it's just...I'm not used to this is all..." Asuna explained. "I...I should b-be going now, anyways...s-sorry for ruining things, I know you were trying, Hana..."

Seeming upset with herself, Asuna walked away before Hana had a chance to respond. _Why is she feeling bad? I'm the one who made her upset- stupid stupid unconsciously loud voice...I gotta make it up to her somehow. I still want her to be able to talk to me without being so scared- I'll just have to, you know, do it better next time._

Feeling determined ti do better the next time, Hana made her way back to the bedroom hallway.

* * *

Hana once again returned to her room, checking the time once again. It was later now, without a doubt, but there was still a bit of time before the dinner meeting. Hana frowned and thought to herself, _Sheesh, and here I thought time flew when you were having fun...there must be someone else I can spend time with. Just to get my mind off what Ryoto talked about at the end of the last meeting. Anything, I need_ anything _to distract me!_

Exiting her room yet again, Hana briskly made her way down the hall into the main chamber, quickly looking around for anyone to talk to. Luck seemed to be on her side at that point, fortunately, for the surfer almost immediately saw Hiroshi coming down the stairs from the second floor of the South Wing.

"Hiroshi!" Hana called out, running over to the young man. "Hiroshi, come here, come interact with me!"

"Ah- hello to you too, Hana," Hiroshi greeted the girl, seeming a bit surprised by the rather loud greeting. "Something the matter?"

"What? No! Does there have to be something wrong with me to want to spend with a friend?" Hana asked. "Anything you wanna talk about? Anywhere you wanna see, investigate to solve the mysteries of the castle?"

Hiroshi furrowed his brow somewhat. "...Yeah, you seem more...hyperactive than usual. Seriously, is everything alright?"

"Of course! I'm my usual hyperactive self wanting to spend with my usual eerily calm friend!" Hana insisted.

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. "Did you know you tend to raise your voice whenever you're anxious? Something I noticed about you while we've been here. You're doing it right now, actually."

"What!? I am _not_ raising my voice!" Hana yelped, raising her voice as she responded. "And I am not worried about anything! I'm as cool as a cucumber in a freezer in a _bigger_ freezer on Pluto!"

Hiroshi blinked, as if perturbed by Hana's behavior. "...Also you have a bit of a motor mouth issue in addition to the raised voice. Now, can you please just tell me what's going on with you? You seemed upset this morning, but during the investigation you didn't seem much worse for wear than the rest of us. So, what's wrong?"

"..." Hana sighed, grimacing before responding, "Aah, why do you have to be so perceptive...? Okay, I'm just...I guess I'm just trying to distract myself a bit, you know? Trying to focus my mind on other things."

"Distract yourself? From what?" Hiroshi asked.

"Oh, you know! The...thing!" Hana 'explained', not wanting to say it out loud. Once she figured out Hiroshi had no idea what she meant, she elaborated, "I'm talking about what Ryoto told us- about Monokuma getting rid of Mikio's and Azami's bodies and all. It's...been bothering me all day. And I know we couldn't just leave a dead body in the fitness room and all, and it's not like we would have been able to get to Azami's anyways, and yet...it bothers me that Monokuma just got rid of them like that. Like, we couldn't even properly mourn or do anything for them, and..."

She shook her head. "Come on, I know you're good at looking all cool and collected, but you can't say you're not bothered by it either!"

"...Well, you're pretty perceptive yourself, Hana," Hiroshi replied with a little sigh. "You're right about that- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset about it myself. I'm just trying my best to keep my mind off it too..."

"...And, uh, me bringing it up just now probably didn't help, did it?" Hana realized. "Sorry, Hiroshi, I wasn't-"

"Don't worry about it- I think everyone's trying to move past it in their own way," Hiroshi responded, looking away for a moment. "Still, though, it's not so easy- even I'm still thinking about it, I'll admit..."

"...If I may be of service," a deep voice suddenly said from behind them.

Hana nearly jumped out of her skin from fright, turning on her heel to face the source of the voice. Hiroshi also turned around, as it seemed that even he had been surprised by the newcomer.

"...Did I frighten you two?" Itachi Kunata, who was standing on the bottom step of the stairwell and looking down towards Hana and Hiroshi, asked.

"Ah-? N-No, no, I've been a little jumpy all day," Hana replied, immediately calming down.

"Were you...eavesdropping on us?" Hiroshi asked the weapons expert, subtly raising an eyebrow.

"Not exactly. I was on my way to grab something from the kitchen, and I couldn't help but overhear your plight," Itachi explained, his expression unchanging (not that Hana could tell, with that bandanna covering half his face). "As I said- if I may of assistance, I may have a solution for you two."

"A solution? What do you mean?" Hana asked, interested.

"You see, me and Shiro were going to be relaxing in the lounge on the second floor," Itachi went on. "If you two need a way to uplift yourselves after...certain events that you described, then you are more than welcome to join us."

"Really?" Hiroshi asked, visibly interested as well.

"Are you sure Shiro wouldn't mind?" Hana inquired.

Itachi raised an eyebrow and responded, "This is Shiro you're talking about, I'm certain he won't mind you joining in."

"Oh! Well, we'll take you up on your offer then!" Hana eagerly replied before glancing at Hiroshi. "You coming too, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi chuckled and replied, "Of course."

"Hm- good to hear," Itachi replied before adding, "Now, my apologies, but I'll have to meet you two there- I still need to grab some things from the kitchen. Shiro should be up in the lounge, as I said. I will join you all shortly."

With that, the Ultimate moved past Hana and Hiroshi and made his way towards the dining room. Hana, curious as to what he and Shiro were planning to do, ascended the stairs with Hiroshi following close behind.

* * *

Slowly opening the door to the lounge and poking her head inside, Hana looked around the room in question. She quickly noticed Shiro sitting in one of the seat, his notebook resting in his lap and his pen fluidly moving across the paper.

Of course, it didn't take long for the silver-haired poet to notice the two newcomers- once he did, he looked and happily greeted the two, "Well hi guys! What brings you two in here?"

"Hey, Shiro- Hana here's been a bit down after the last meeting, and Itachi told us you two were going to be doing...something in here that could take her mind off it for a bit," Hiroshi explained, gesturing to the Ultimate Surfer.

"Excuse me? You said you wanted to see what he was talking about too," Hana pointed out to the coroner with a minor pout.

"...And maybe I could use the distraction too," Hiroshi added, with a small hint of amusement in his expression.

"Well, whoever needs it, you're more than welcome!" Shiro cheerfully responded. "Come on, sit down! These seats are great!"

Hana and Hiroshi obliged, taking a seat together on the larger of the seats. Hana almost immediately realized Shiro was right- the seats were, in fact, very comfortable. As a result, the girl couldn't help but slump down in the seat, content.

"So, what _are_ you guys doing, anyways?" Hiroshi asked Shiro.

"Well, I was gonna share some of my poems, and Itachi was going to make some tea," the Ultimate Poet explained. "I wrote a bunch of good ones, and I'm finishing up another. Anyways, Itachi should be back with the tea stuff pretty soon-"

As if summoned, the Ultimate Weapons Expert entered the lounge, carrying what Hana assumed were tea-making supplies. Itachi looked around for a moment before stating, "Seems to me like you're all well-situated. Shall I get started?"

Hana nodded, glancing at the others...though it was at that point she realized that, out of the four people in the room, she was the only girl. Under normal circumstances, Hana would have felt ten times more awkward...and yet, here, she didn't. The surfer furrowed her brow somewhat, wondering why that was...could it be the near-death experience that was the class trial?

Meanwhile, Shiro also nodded, and with that Itachi got started. He set up some kind of water heater on the table, and set down the other items he had brought- a pitcher of water, some tea cups, and a box of, presumably, tea bags.

"I didn't know the kitchen had stuff to make tea," Hana remarked.

"The kitchen has everything," Itachi stated in response.

"And I also didn't know you knew how to make tea," Hana added as she watched him work.

"Did you think knowledge of various kinds of weaponry was all I had?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-No! I'm sure you know lots of other things!" Hana quickly responded, hoping she hadn't offended the Ultimate. Luckily, Itachi didn't seem upset at all- if anything, it seemed as though he was somewhat amused.

It took a few moments, but soon enough the tea was all ready, not to mention Shiro had likely finished up that new poem of his. Itachi handed out a cup to each teen in the room, and soon enough all four of them settled in with their drinks in hand.

"Hm- can't remember the last time I drank tea," Hiroshi remarked, looking down at the cup. "I'm looking forward to seeing how yours tastes, Itachi."

"Ah- I've never really had tea before, so I don't have anything to compare it to," Hana admitted.

"Well then, give it a try," Itachi suggested, gesturing to the cup she was holding. "I'm unsure of what you usually drink, Hana, but drinking tea is a good way to soothe your body and mind."

Hana looked down at the cup again, before deciding not to let the drink go to waste and taking a sip. The surfer wasn't quite sure what she was expecting, but the drink tasted great- Itachi was right, she was already starting to feel more relaxed. "Heh, wow- your tea is amazing, Itachi! ...I mean I still have nothing to compare it to, but if I did, yours would still be great!"

Itachi chuckled and replied, "Thank you, Hana. I'm glad to see my tea skills are still as sharp as ever."

"Alright- you guys ready for my first poem?" Shiro asked. "It's called 'Ghost in the Night'."

"Oh, hey- speaking of poems..." Hiroshi spoke up, turning to Itachi. "Remember two nights ago when Shiro tried to read that one poem to everyone, but then Monokuma showed up and he ended up dropping it? I noticed you picked it up- did you ever give it back to him?"

"Ah, that. Well, I tried to," Itachi began to explain.

"I told him to keep it," Shiro said. "I wanna write an even better poem that I can read out loud to everyone- one that even Akira and Tadao will love! And besides- if Itachi ever needs some positivity, he can just reach into his pocket and read that poem!"

"Which I appreciate," Itachi added, his eyes crinkling in a way that indicated he was smiling underneath the bandanna.

Thus, Shiro read through the first poem. As he did, Hana realized that his title of 'Ultimate Poet' was fitting indeed. It appeared that he was not only good at writing poetry, but reading it as well. His timing and voice fluctuations were perfect, and the words did bring some peace to Hana's mind, especially helped by Itachi's tea.

Once Shiro finished up, Hiroshi remarked, "That was great, Shiro- I can see why you're the Ultimate Poet."

"Indeed, your mastery of words has been proven yet again," Itachi added. Judging by the look on his face, Hana guessed that the weapons expert was also enjoying himself.

"Hehe- thanks, guys," Shiro replied. "Okay, so, next one is called 'Stasis'. It may seem kind of odd in the first few lines, but trust me you guys will end up loving it too."

Hana chuckled a bit, feeling much better than she had in a while since this killing game began. It was at that moment that the girl came to a realization. "...Hey, guys. Can I say something real fast?"

"Well, no one's stopping you," Itachi responded, turning to the surfer.

"Well, it's just- okay, don't take this the wrong way, but I when I realized I was in a room full of guys, I thought I'd feel a lot weirder," Hana admitted.

"I mean, I know we're teens and all, but I like to think we're pretty decent to be around," Shiro responded.

"That's what I'm saying- see, a lot of the guys at my old school were kinda...idiots," Hana explained. "But you and Hiroshi and Itachi- you're actually pretty nice to be around. I mean, I'm feeling a lot better than I was before thanks to you and Itachi."

"Well, I suppose we're not exactly your average teen men," Itachi remarked.

"Besides, I don't see it as a bad thing," Hiroshi added. "When we help each other out like this, the easier it'll be to resist whatever Monokuma throws at us."

"Yeah- I just want everyone to be happy, I don't want to kill anyone," Shiro said, looking down at his notebook. "That's what I'm trying to do with my poems- maybe, with my writing, I can give everyone enough hope to make it through all of this."

"I, too, have no intentions of letting anyone else die," Itachi responded. "On my honor, I refuse to let that demon Monokuma have the last laugh!"

"Well Shiro, your poems are already working on us, so I'm sure you'll be able to help out the others too," Hiroshi said to the poet. "A bit of optimism like that is always welcome at a time like this."

Hana herself turned towards Itachi and remarked with a playful nudge, "And you- just keep doing what you're doing. You may look all dark and brooding, but you're quite the gentleman, you know that?"

Itachi's eyes widened momentarily, before he looked back to his teacup with a barely noticeable blush on his face. "Well, I wouldn't go that far...but thank you, Hana."

He then added, more to himself than anyone else, "I just wish more people thought like you all do."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"Well, remember- the Kunata family was involved in some kind of incident a few years back," Hiroshi explained. "I don't recall all the details, but I do know that, as a result, Kunata family aren't really too...trusted."

"Hiroshi is correct," Itachi confirmed. "My family's reputation tends to precede me. People tend to focus more on our disgrace than my actions, consider me to be just as bad."

"Pfft, that's stupid," Hana responded candidly. "I may not know the details of this scandal or whatever, but anyone should be able to see you're a decent guy, Itachi- if not a little intimidating."

"..." Itachi seemed to chuckle a bit before he replied, "Once again- thank you. It gives me some relief to know some people see me beyond my family name."

"And you know another way to make you feel better?" Shiro asked, holding up his notebook with a grin. "Poetry!"

Hiroshi chuckled. "Alright you two, let's not keep Shiro waiting any more."

With that, Hana and Itachi went quiet again as Shiro went through his poems. Listening to poems while drinking tea- in a regular situation, this would all seem rather boring or mundane, but Hana realized this was exactly what she needed. Shiro's poems and Itachi's did calm her down give her mind some peace- the most peace it had felt all day. It felt like a huge relief to not feel stressed out for jumpy- Hana could only hope they could have more moments like this while they were trapped in this castle.

* * *

When the poetry reading was done and it was almost time for the dinner meeting, Itachi and Shiro told Hana and Hiroshi to head down to the dining hall without them- they'd clean up the tea-making stuff. Hana and Hiroshi obliged and made their way down to the dining hall, in a better mood than they had been before.

The dinner meeting itself...actually went off without much incident. There was nothing too new to report, as all the information and news had been given at the previous meeting. Despite this, everything seemed to proceed pretty well- it gave Hana a further sense of relief to see that, at least to some extent, things were returning to normal.

Thus, the meeting ended, and because nighttime would be coming soon, most of the students turned in to their rooms for the night. Hana was among them, saying goodnight to Hiroshi before she went to get ready for bed. Once the nighttime announcement played, she didn't waste much more time and went to bed. And that night, for the first time in a while, Hana was able to fall asleep in a somewhat content manner- something she very much welcomed.

* * *

 **A/N: Huh- you know, that chapter was shorter than I thought it would be. Ah well, we got some new info, a new unofficial rule (two if you count Asuna's job of taking care of the storage room key), and Hana got to feel better over some tea and poetry! ...Well it sounds boring when I say it like that, but anyways! So, we are now officially halfway through Chapter 2's Daily Life..and you know what that means for next time, right? ...Well, maybe you don't, but still predictions are predictions!**

 **So, also for next time: two more FTEs! Vote now on Strawpoll- same link, but a different code, and here it is!:** **65dc5xk9**

 **Hopefully it won't take me forever to get the next chapter out, because things are gonna get interesting there! Tune in next time to see what I mean!**


	13. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 3)

**A/N: Welcome back! It's part three of Daily Life- no there won't be a murder, because this Daily Life will be a teensy bit longer than Chapter 1's. However, that's not to say there won't be** ** _anything_** **happening in this chapter! That assumption is...very, very wrong. I also wanted to get this chapter up last weekend, but I'm a procrastinating moron. So I tried to get it up yesterday- but I was just slow and couldn't finish before I had to sleep. But today! Today is the day, at last!**

 **Hehehe...I hope you readers are ready!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Oh no, it's not bad! I can't say if your prediction is right or wrong, but as I've said many times before, there ain't nothing wrong with some speculating.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Daily Life (Part 3)**

When Hana woke up that morning, she realized she had gotten a better sleep than she had in a while- she actually felt refreshed and not anxious for a change! Hoping her friends had been able to get just as good a rest last night, the surfer quickly got ready and exited her room.

She didn't see too many people making their way to the dining room, which meant either some of the others were still waking up or already at the dining hall. Speaking of which, Hana quickly noticed a certain black-haired coroner standing by the doorway, casually leaning against it as he spotted her.

"G'morning, Hana," Hiroshi greeted the Ultimate. "You're looking chipper this morning. Had a good sleep, I'm assuming?"

"Heh- for once, yeah," Hana responded with a smile. "But, uh, what are you standing by the doorway for? Is you casually waiting for me every morning gonna be a regular thing now?"

Hiroshi chuckled and explained, "No offense, but I wasn't waiting on you this time. I'm just observing- you know, people watching. Something I like to do sometimes. Anyways, I'll be in there in a bit, so don't wait up for me."

Hana nodded, heading into the dining room and leaving Hiroshi to his observing. Almost immediately upon entry, however, she was greeted by yet another student.

"Hana! There you are!" Rumi blurted, having practically materialized next to the surfer as she walked in.

"Ah- morning, Rumi!" Hana responded, surprised by the scuba diver's sudden appearance.

"Come here come here come here, I need your opinion on some things," Rumi quickly responded, practically dragging Hana over to the table, where they sat down alongside Shiori, Kaneki, and Asuna.

"Oh, there you are Hana!" Kaneki remarked.

"G-Good morning," Asuna greeted.

"In case you're wondering what's got Rumi all excited..." Shiori began. "She's planning another hangout with all of us again- she's been waiting for you to wake up so she could get all of our input, including you."

"Of course! I don't to plan something that nobody would be interested in like last time," Rumi added. "So that's why we'll be talking about it together! Plus, I've already got a _bunch_ of ideas."

As Rumi spoke, the remaining students filed into the dining room and sat down, Hiroshi joining the stragglers after a minute. As was almost routine at this point, Tadao brought out the food he had made. He didn't say a word to anybody (some of the students (mainly Ryoto) were even giving him suspicious looks) and, as quickly as he had worked, returned to the isolation of the kitchen.

"...I guess he lives in the kitchen now," Hana noted as she watched Tadao return to the room in question.

Kaneki scoffed. "Ah, forget about him. The last thing we need is him being all 'ooh look at me I'm gonna kill somebody hahaha' and shit."

"Well, I wouldn't have worded it that way, but I agree," Shiori responded with a shrug.

"Weeeell, then let's do that and focus on planning!" Rumi said eagerly. "For one thing, we should have our hangout on the second floor- you know, new area, new places, it would be cool, right?"

Kaneki opened her mouth as if to eagerly add something, only for Shiori to snap, "Don't you _dare_ say anything about looking for secret rooms and passages."

"..." The Ultimate Explorer went silent, looking down at the table with a dejected look in her eyes as Asuna gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Well, in Shiori's defense, it was looking for secret stuff that caused that whole book fight between you three in the library, wasn't it?" Hana pointed out, gesturing to Rumi, Shiori, and Kaneki.

"H-Hey! We said we'd never speak of that again!" Shiori yelped indignantly, earning a few laughs from the other girls.

From there, Hana and the others listened to Rumi's ramblings about her many ideas for what to do for their hangout. In the end, Hana and Kaneki were the only two who gave actual feedback; Asuna seemed too nervous half the time to really give her opinion, despite Kaneki encouraging her a few times, and Shiori seemed surprisingly indecisive. Ultimately, by the end of breakfast, not much headway had been made in Rumi's plans.

As breakfast ended and the other students exited the dining room, Rumi did not seem at all discouraged by the lack of progress in her planning, as she was still talking as they walked out.

"Well, maybe I could ask Shiro or Saku for advice, those two are always up on the second floor so maybe they'd know where the best spot would be?" Rumi asked, more to herself than the others.

"Sheesh, and I thought Hana was the one with the motor mouth issue," Shiori quipped as she walked ahead a bit.

"...You know, I'd be more offended if you weren't the second person to point that out to me," Hana remarked, frowning slightly.

"It's not my fault I've got all these ideas in my head!" Rumi insisted, turning to face the others. "In fact, I _will_ go see if I can ask Shiro and/or Saku for advice! Next time you see me-"

"You'll know what the hell you're doing?" Shiori finished with a little smirk.

"Y-Yes! Yes I will!" Rumi declared, turning on her heel and walking away from the others.

As the Ultimate Scuba Diver walked away, Hana spoke up, "Well, you gotta admire her dedication."

"Ah, I trust Rumi- I'm sure she's gonna come up with something great!" Kaneki responded with an eager grin.

"I-I just hope it doesn't devolve into you guys at each other's throats again," Asuna added in concern.

"Never. Speak. Of it," Shiori growled, her face going red from what was most likely a combination of shame and anger while the others chuckled.

"Don't worry Asuna, I think they learned their lesson from last time," Hana reassured the gardener.

"Yeah- at the very least, I'm not gonna be so stubborn," Kaneki vowed. "...No matter how much my talent is squandered..."

"I-I know," Asuna responded with a small smile. "A-And besides, if nothing else, we could see what's in the storage room. I-I've got the keys, so we could always-"

At that moment, the girl's face paled, and she cried out, "AAH!"

"AGH!" Hana yelped. "Why are you screaming!?"

"Th-The storage room! I-I was supposed to unlock it before the breakfast meeting a-a-and I totally forgot!" Asuna yelped, her eyes wide. "O-Oh my god, Akira's gonna be so mad, s-so are the others, I-I-I-"

"H-Hey, Asuna, calm down," Kaneki said to her with a small grimace on her face.

"W-What was I thinking!? I-I-I should never have volunteered to be in charge of the door, I-I'm already forgetting stuff, aaaah why can't I be more reliable!?" Asuna cried, spiraling into her anxiety.

"Q-Quit it! If you start yelling, _I'm_ gonna start yelling!" Hana cried, her eyes wide with worry of her own.

"Please, she screams enough as it is," Shiori implored Asuna, glancing at the surfer in question.

"B-But I, I-" Asuna stuttered.

"Asuna, it's fine, you're fine," Kaneki told the shorter girl, putting her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. "Look, you're still getting used to having to remember the storage room door- forgetting one time isn't gonna be the end of the world. So no need to worry, okay?"

It took a few seconds, but soon enough Asuna seemed to calm down, at least somewhat.

"Hey- I think Akira's still helping with clean-up in the kitchen," Shiori remarked, glancing down the hallway. "I think if you go now and unlock that door, no one would know you forgot."

"O-Oh! That's a great idea!" Asuna responded in relief.

"Heh- see? Told you there was nothing to worry about!" Kaneki said to Asuna. She then proceeded to pull the gardener in a bit and affectionately ruffle her blonde hair, causing Asuna to smile and seemingly calm down.

"Uh, you might want to go now, I don't think Akira'll be preoccupied much longer," Hana warned, glancing back at the dining room as well.

"Oh- y-yeah, you're right," Asuna responded, turning away to head for the main hall. "I-I'll see you guys later!"

Hana and her two other companions waved goodbye to the Ultimate Gardener as she ran off for the stairs.

"...You realize you guys were panicking over a door, right?" Shiori asked, putting a hand on her hip with a frown.

"Hey, I don't blame her for being worried- Akira's scary," Kaneki pointed out. "Have you _seen_ her glare?"

"I'm just surprised you were able to calm Asuna down so quickly," Hana said to the explorer. "Heh- guess that just goes to show how much she trusts you, huh?"

"Yeah- the two of you do seem pretty close now," Shiori observed. "Though, I suppose people do bond more easily when it's a life-or-death, so..."

Kaneki was silent for a moment, then responded, "Well...I dunno- things are calm now, but we're still in a killing game, you know? I'm just trying be someone Asuna can trust, even with the risk of death- you know, like a big sister."

"Aww," Hana responded with a smile...before asking with confusion, "Er- wait, aren't you guys the same age?"

"Pfft- semantics," Kaneki stated in response. "I dunno- Asuna's a lot stronger than she gives herself credit for, but at the same time...she could use someone to rely on."

"Well, seems to me like you're doing a good job of that," Hana assured her, nodding with a little smile.

"Hehe, I would hope so," Kaneki replied with an appreciative smile. "Hell, I've got an actual little sister, so I guess some of those 'big sister instincts' kinda carried over-"

At that moment, Kaneki went silent, her eyes widening as if she had just revealed some big secret. Shiori then replied, "Huh? I didn't know you had any siblings."

"Ah- just the one," the Ultimate Explorer explained. "Her name was Yuna- Yuna Tenmaru. Cute little kid, energetic- oh, when I was younger, I'd love to explore the area around our neighborhood, and Yuna would _love_ to tag along-"

"Yup, definitely sounds like someone who would be related to you," Shiori commented in response to the mention of exploring.

"..." Kaneki went silent again, seeming to be thinking...

"You're...probably wondering about your sister now, huh?" Hana asked, frowning and looking down herself. "Our...families probably still don't really know what's happened to us...I wonder what they're thinking right now?"

"Probably just as worried about us as we are about them," Kaneki responded, adjusting her fedora.

"Hmph...speak for yourselves. I don't even know what my family would think of me vanishing like this," Shiori stated, sighing. "I mean, they might be, but not for the reasons you'd think."

Pretty soon, the three girls went silent again...before Kaneki let out a little grunt and shaking her head. "Guys, chin up! We can't really do anything for our families until we get out of here- so let's not get too down, okay?"

"Here here," Shiori responded with an approving nod.

"You're right- but I just can't help but worry, you know?" Hana replied, shrugging.

"Anyways- you know what I'm gonna do?" Kaneki said, gripping the rim of her fedora with a gleam in her eyes. "I'm gonna put my talent to use and look around the castle again! Maybe I can find something that can help us get put of here, or maybe lead into one of the blocked areas! Nothing's gonna get past this explorer!"

She tipped her hat to her friends before running off down the hall, her energy apparently being renewed. Hana chuckled and thought, _Heh- nothing keeps her down, huh?_

"I'd better get going too- I think I'll see if the storage room needs cleaning," Shiori told Hana, turning to walk away as well. "It'll be a nice distraction."

"Well, I can understand that," Hana replied, nodding. "Okay! See you!"

With a wave of goodbye, the Ultimate Surgeon walked away as well, leaving Hana to head back to her room for now.

* * *

Once returning to her room, Hana sat for a moment to figure out what she was going to do to pass the time. _Well...mmph, I still can't stop thinking about..._

The surfer reached under the pillows, pulling out the photo of her and her parents standing and smiling outside of Hope's Peak Academy. Hana looked down at it, a lump of sorrow forming in her throat. She sighed, then put it back in its spot as she thought, _I mean...Kaneki's right. Until we escape from this stupid castle, we can't really do anything for our families... Why do I keep worrying about things I have no control over...?_

Hana stood, heading for the door as she decided, _Well- I'm with Shiori, I need a distraction. Maybe not cleaning the storage room, but something. I'll...spend time with some of the others! That always cheers me up!_

With renewed vigor, Hana strolled down the hallway and turned towards the stairs to the second floor. Even if she wouldn't be doing something like cleaning or extreme exploration, she was still interested in looking around the top floor. The first place she decided to look was the study- maybe she would run into Asuna or Shiori there? Shrugging, the Ultimate opened up the door and poked her head inside. She was half-expecting to see Shiro inside, but her surprise he was not there at that moment; who _was_ there, however, was Hiroshi. He seemed to be focusing his attention on the bookshelf, filing through all the items it contained.

"Hm?" Hiroshi murmured, glancing towards the door and smiling once he saw Hana. "Ah, good to see you, Hana. Don't mind me, just looking through all this stuff on the bookshelf."

"You are? Need some help?" Hana asked, walking over to the coroner.

Hiroshi moved aside a bit to allow the Ultimate Surfer to get closer to the shelf and its contents. "Go right ahead. I was thinking there may be a clue to our situation in one of these, so that's what I've been searching for."

Thus, Hana and Hiroshi searched through the various books and files- and there were _quite_ a few of them- for what was most likely a few hours. The two didn't talk too much throughout their search, yet Hana still felt like she and Hiroshi grew a bit closer.

"Hey...Hiroshi," Hana began. "I wanted to apologize about last time. I didn't know you weren't good with physical contact and all, and-"

"Don't worry about it- like you said, you didn't know, so you're not really at fault," Hiroshi responded calmly. "If anything, I kind of overreacted by running off like that, so that was on me."

"If you don't mind, why are you so weird about that?" Hana asked, raising her eyebrows a bit.

"..." Hiroshi looked down, as if trying to think of a response, before stating, "I don't really know. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. It's strange- I can deal with contact with dead bodies just fine, but live people? Not so much."

"Well, you are a coroner- I would hope you're good with corpses," Hana pointed out.

Hirohi chuckled and replied, "Fair point. Though, probably not too surprising, for a lot of people it's hard to disconnect emotionally from a cadaver. Not that it's not understandable- after all, most people don't see a dead body every day."

"You say as we're in the middle of a game of murder," Hana muttered to herself. "So how do you do it?"

"Well, I told you before that I've been around forensic stuff almost my whole life," Hiroshi explained. "I guess it's almost like second nature to me, being around the dead as much as the living. Of course, sometimes it gets hard, especially if the bodies belonged to people even younger than us. But still, I can keep my emotions in check."

"Wish I could say the same- you know, sometimes people say I'm 'as sensitive as a landmine'," Hana admitted. "You know, the say I can be too emotional. But...that's not a problem, is it? I mean, there's nothing wrong with being in touch with your emotions, right?"

"Nah- in my opinion, it helps you feel empathy better," Hiroshi responded reassuringly. "Heh- thing is, I kind of have the opposite problem."

"Opposite problem?" Hana asked.

"Yeah- a lot of the students at my old school tended to think I can't empathize at all. They said that I'm, you know, 'dead inside'," Hiroshi clarified. "To some extent, I can see where they're coming from. I don't know if you've noticed, but I tend to not really emote that much."

"Whaaat? Didn't notice at all!" Hana responded, hoping she sounded convincing enough.

"No need to spare my feelings," Hiroshi told her. "I've accepted that part of myself- though, I'll admit, I needed the help of someone really smart to help me get there."

Hana nodded in acknowledgement. "Well- if nothing else, I at least know you can feel for others pretty well, so that's something, right?"

"Yeah, you're right about that- nice to know there's at least one person," Hiroshi confirmed with a little smile.

Thus, the two teens continued to converse for a bit, before Hana and Hiroshi went their separate ways. As she went back to her room, Hana could not help but think about what she had learned about her coroner friend. It was hard to imagine that there was ever a time when Hiroshi wasn't the calm and collected young man she knew- but at least she got to know him a bit better.

* * *

Once back in her room, Hana didn't feel like resting at all. _Well, this won't do- come on, there's still enough time left in the day, I should go spend time with some of the others!_

Thus, the surfer left her room yet again, looking around the ground floor of the South Wing for anyone. It was then she decided she wanted to get some actual fresh air, so she headed out into the courtyard. She didn't see anyone at first glance, but soon enough she spotted Asuna looking around at the grassy grounds of the courtyard.

"Hi there, Asuna!" Hana greeted her friend as she walked over.

"O-Oh, hey Hana," the Ultimate Gardener replied. "I-I was just looking around at these paths...I was wondering if I could maybe transfer some of the flowers from the greenhouse to here, t-to make the courtyard look prettier, you know? I-I don't know if I'm allowed to do that, though, b-but I'm too scared to ask Monokuma..."

"Well, how about talking with me for a bit? Maybe that'll calm your nerves for a bit," Hana suggested with a friendly smile.

"Uh...sure! Y-Yeah, I wouldn't mind spending some time with you!" Asuna responded with a nod.

And so, Hana and Asuna spent some time together in the fresh air of the courtyard.

"Y-You know, I'm...a-a bit surprised you decided to spend time with me again..." Asuna confessed, looking down towards her feet. "Y-You know, since I was so difficult before..."

"Hey, it was my own fault for practically yelling," Hana responded firmly. "And don't think you can get rid of me that easily! I'm gonna make you comfortable with talking to me, and you can't do a thing to stop me!"

"I-I...I'm assuming that wasn't supposed to sound threatening...?" Asuna asked, shifting away from the surfer somewhat.

"Uh...sorry, I got caught up in the moment," Hana stated sheepishly. "Hm...hey, I know what'll get you to talk! You're the Ultimate Gardener, right?"

"Y-Yeah...?" Asuna replied, surprised for a moment before adding eagerly, "Oh! W-Wait, have you done gardening before?"

"...Uh...I mean, my mom tried in the past," Hana replied, frowning. "Twice, actually."

"Only twice...?" Asuna asked.

"Well, the first time she tried to make her own garden, a big storm hit and drowned all the plants," Hana explained. "The second time, her garden actually lasted a few days! ...Before some animals got in and ate them all."

"O-Oh, I'm sorry..." Asuna responded, as if Hana had just talked about the death of a loved one rather than a garden.

"Eh- I guess Mom just didn't have 'green thumb' or whatever the metaphor is," Hana stated with a shrug.

"W-Well, gardening _is_ a lot harder than it looks," Asuna told the surfer. "There are lot of different types of plants out there, a lot of them with different needs and conditions in which they grow best, and you need to know the right amount of sunlight to give them..."

"W-Wow, you're right, that's a looot of things to think about," Hana responded in shock. "And you know the best way to care of a bunch of plants?"

"Well yeah- I've studied all kinds of flowers and such, and I know the proper ways of caring for all of them," Asuna explained with a little smile.

"Whoa- that's so cool, Asuna! How'd you manage to learn about all that?" Hana inquired with interest.

"W-Well, I didn't figure this all out off the top of my head," Asuna answered, seeming somewhat embarrassed by the praise. "A lot of what I know today I learned from my mother. She's a botanist, so..."

"Ooh- well, it's still cool!" Hana commented. "Though, considering my mom's luck, I don't think I'll be taking up gardening myself any time soon."

"W-What? Don't worry, once you know the basics, it's not that bad!" Asuna insisted. "In fact- maybe I could show some things! I-If you ever want to know, just ask me, and i will!"

"Uh- alright! I might just take you up on that!" Hana replied with a grin.

"Hehe- great!" Asuna replied with a smile.

Thus, the two of them continued to talk for a bit longer, before eventually Hana returned to her room. She felt happy that she was able to get Asuna to actually talk to her- not to mention, the surfer noticed how Asuna's manner of speaking had changed drastically as she talked about gardening. Perhaps the short Ultimate found confidence in the world of plants rather than people, for the most part.

Still pondering this, Hana found herself back in her room once more.

* * *

After cleaning up a bit from the day, Hana saw that it was almost time for the dinner meeting. Whistling casually to herself, the Ultimate strolled down to the dining room as she usually did. She passed by a few of the other students as she went, though she didn't hold too much conversation with them as she entered the room.

"Hello again, Hana," Hiroshi greeted her as she entered. "Hope the day's been treating you well enough."

"Oh, it's been fine! Thanks for asking!" Hana replied with a cheerful smile. "Are you just going to stand there and watch everyone again?"

"Probably. I'm not late for the meeting or anything, so I'm no rush to sit," Hiroshi answered her, looking back at the others.

The girl nodded, about to find her seat...then she looked out at all the others and decided, "Hey- think I could give it a try?"

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow slightly, before gesturing for Hana to join him with a nod. Thus, the surfer walked over to stand next to the coroner, looking out at the group of students. She saw Rumi eagerly talking to Shiori, Asuna, and Kaneki- most likely about those plans of hers. Shiori only seemed to be half paying attention, occasionally responding with a comment or two or an eyeroll. Kaneki and Asuna seemed to be more invested, though at times those two would break off into their own conversation before going back to listening to Rumi. As for the others; Hinata was leaning back in his chair with his feet casually up on the table, causing Akira to snap at him to sit normally. Meanwhile, Ryoto seemed to be telling some kind of story to the rest of the guys- and a pretty fantastical one too, judging by the wild gestures he was making. Saku seemed to be politely listening to the racer, while Shiro seemed rather excited by the story, and Itachi- well, he seemed as stoic as ever, though it seemed he was at least listening. Of course, Tadao was nowhere to be seen, for he had most likely holed himself up in the kitchen with cooking...not that the waiter would join them anyways.

"...You know, everything seems pretty...normal," Hana remarked as she watched the group.

"Well, I don't think that's a bad thing," Hiroshi responded, a small smile on his face. "Personally, I'm glad. As long as we keep growing closer like this, I'm sure we'll be able to better resist whatever else Monokuma throws at us."

"I hope so..." Hana murmured, continuing to observe her friends. "...Hiroshi?"

"Hm?" the coroner grunted in response, giving the surfer a side glance to show he was listening.

Hana lowered her voice somewhat before asking, "...Is it...bad that I'm still thinking about Mikio and Azami a bit? I know the trial was a little while ago, and I know I can't let what happened affect me too much, but...I-I can't help but-"

"You can't help thinking about them when you see everyone?" Hiroshi guessed.

"Mmph- still good at reading people, I guess," Hana commented with a dry chuckle.

"It's not that. It's just that I'm sure you're not the only one still affected- I mean, I certainly am, if no one else," Hiroshoi responded, his smile fading a bit. "It's not something easily forgotten, after all."

"That's an understatement..." Hana stated with a small grimace.

"But I still stand by what I told you before- we have to keep going for their sake. If we just die here, then their deaths will have been for nothing as well," Hiroshi reminded her.

"I know- but I just can't help it, you know?" Hana replied, looking back at the rest of the class. _...I know there's nothing I can do for them now. But I still really miss them both...I wonder how they'd be interacting now, if they had lived longer...?_

Suddenly, a new voice joined in, belonging to a certain purple-haired thief who called out, "Heeeeey! Are you two gonna steal Itachi's thing and brood over there all night, or are you gonna actually sit?"

"...I have a 'thing' now?" Itachi quipped, raising an eyebrow before returning to his silence with a 'hmph'. Still, the message was clear, and Hana and Hiroshi took their seats as they awaited the food. Luckily, they didn't have to wait too long, as Tadao came out and brought them their food.

"Hey, Tadao! Why don't you eat with us this time?" Shiro suggested with a friendly smile. "There's an open seat right here, and we wouldn't mind-"

However, the Ultimate Waiter didn't even acknowledge the poet's suggestion as he finished handing out the food and swiftly returning to the isolation of the kitchen.

"...O-Okay! Uh...maybe tomorrow then!" Shiro called as Tadao disappeared, slouching a bit in disappointment.

"...Is it safe to say Tadao is a bit of an outlier in that whole 'growing closer' thing?" Hana asked Hiroshi as she bit into her food.

"Ah, he'll come around I'm sure," Hiroshi answered with another knowing smile. "...Probably. Yeah."

From there, dinner seemed to be casual affair as well. The students socialized with one another as they normally would; Rumi was still trying to plan as she ate, Shiori suggested to Asuna that she eat more in order to try and counter her height (which resulted in Asuna indignantly responding that her height had nothing to do with diet, which _then_ resulted in Kaneki trying to make the gardener feel less inadequate), Hinata stole a spoon from Ryoto (causing the Ultimate Racecar Driver to flare up with anger, and Saku ultimately had to break both young men up before Hinata returned the silverware), Shiro seemed to be trying to come up with more stuff to write as Itachi offered suggestions, and Akira just seemed irritated by the antics of the 80th Class.

Overall- about what one would expect from a room full of Ultimates.

Ultimately, as the meeting seemed to draw to a close and thing seemed to wind down, Hana was already feeling somewhat tired from the day. The surfer spoke a bit more with Hiroshi, ready to chalk this up to another normal night...

...At least, it _could have_ been a normal night, if not for one thing...

The room was quickly silenced by the familiar sound of a monitor turning on. Hana furrowed her brow in confusion- it wasn't nighttime yet, so what was going on?

Seconds later, the static cleared away to reveal Monokuma in his usual spot, with his same split face and wide grin. "Ahem- attention, students! I have a special announcement for you all! Everyone is to meet down in the main chamber at your earliest convenience! Don't keep me waiting!~"

Just like that, the monitor went dark again, leaving everyone just as baffled as Hana.

"A...Another special announcement...?" Hana asked herself, concern swelling in her mind.

"W-What could he want with us this time?" Rumi wondered, putting her hands together in worry.

"Considering Monokuma's previous track record, I highly doubt he'll be handing out puppies and kittens," Shiori responded, standing alongside the others.

"Well, brace yourselves everyone- who knows what that damn bear will have up his sleeve this time..." Akira warned the others as she stood. As others started to follow, Hana saw the kitchen door open and Tadao walked out join them.

"Hey! How'd you know about to come out here just now?" Ryoto shouted at the waiter in accusation.

Tadao raised an eyebrow before answering, "I'm sorry, but have you forgotten that there's a monitor in the kitchen too?"

"Uh-huh, likely story!" Ryoto growled at him, seeming ready to fight him.

"Uh...no, there really is," Hana reminded the racecar driver with a frown. "They're everywhere, remember?"

Ryoto looked at though he was going to try and respond...but, clearly not having a rebuttal, he went silent as they followed the rest of the class out.

* * *

It wasn't long before the 80th Class filed into the main chamber. Hana immediately saw that same red podium mysteriously set up in the middle of the room- how Monokuma kept setting it up every time so inconspicuously was beyond her. At any rate, the group stood together before the podium, waiting and dreading the arrival of their 'headmaster'.

Once everyone had settled in, they would not have to wait too long. Within seconds, the black and white bear in the flesh (or rather, metal plating?) popped up from behind the podium just like the previous times, then landed in a sitting position on the top of the podium.

"Good evening, students!" Monokuma greeted the class with a flourish. "How's everyone doing this fine night? Did you like the reward you got for surviving the last trial? If I were you, I'd definitely appreciate it!"

"...I mean, the study was nice!" Shiro spoke with a nervous chuckle.

"Don't encourage him," Shiori chastised the poet. "He'll never shut up then."

"Uwaaah? Sheesh, you guys really are a bunch of sourpusses, aren't ya?" Monokuma responded with what _almost_ seemed like genuine disappointment. "I go out of my way to give you all a whole new world to explore, and you all just keep whining and whining! There really is no pleasing you brats, is there?"

"Well maybe if you hadn't, I dunno, gotten two of our friends killed we'd be a bit less bitter?" Hinata suggested with a shrug. "Just sayin'."

"Aaah, I've already debated that enough with you people already," Monokuma muttered with irritation.

"So...what did you call us here for, exactly?" Saku asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

"Surely it wasn't so you could ask our opinions on the new floor," Akira inferred with a skeptical glare.

"Hmph- fine, fine! Let's cut to the chase," Monokuma obliged, standing up on the podium. "Look here- I've been continuing to watch you all for the past few days now..."

"Th-That's still creepy..." Asuna murmured as she looked downward.

"And it seems to me you all are becoming a bit too chummy again- and that doesn't make for good entertainment at all!" Monokuma yelled at the teens with a growl.

"Sooo, in short, I've been itching to watch some more death..." Monokuma went on, leaning forward a bit in anticipation. "And I know just what you all need to make that happen! You know what that means?"

"What that means...?" Hana wondered...before a dreadful thought struck her like a bullet. "N-No. You're not gonna...!"

"Puhuhu..." Monokuma cackled. "It's time for...!"

"Don't say it," Hana said with soft fear.

"It's _time for...!"_ Monokuma repeated, his grin growing.

"Don't say it!" Rumi pleaded.

 _"It's time for-!"_ Monokuma repeated yet again with sickening joy.

 _"Don't say it!"_ Ryoto shouted angrily.

"Your brand new...motive!" Monokuma finally concluded with gusto.

"...He said it," Itachi stated, still keeping his serious demeanor.

"A-Another motive? Like the threat thing from before?" Shiro asked, his face paling from fear.

"But- But the trial was only, like, two days ago or something!" Kaneki pointed out, her eyes wide.

"Which felt like weeks to me!" Monokuma responded with a red face. "And since I'm the headmaster, my opinion is law!"

"But- oh _come on,_ can't you give us a break or something?" Hinata asked, sounding more annoyed than scared like the others.

"Nope! Despair waits for nobody!" Monokuma declared. "Now, as for that motive..."

"Will it be the same as before?" Akira asked, also remaining composed as she questioned the bear.

"No way, I don't use the same motive twice!" Monokuma explained, sounding rather offended. "How uncreative do you think I am?"

"Well then- get on with it," Tadao ordered the bear, narrowing his eyes.

"Will do, Fancypants!" Monokuma responded. "So- I ask you all a question. What's the one thing people know best about Hope's Peak Academy?"

"...Huh?" Hana asked, tilting her head.

"Come on, don't leave me hanging!" Monokuma implored. "Answer the question!"

"...HAH! I got it!" Ryoto shouted with a grin. "Hope's Peak- it's a high school! Can't fool Ryoto Miura, bear!"

"...Why do you even bother?" Shiori asked the racer. "But, at any rate- only students who are considered 'Ultimates' can get in, right?"

"No no, the thing people know is that it's a beacon of hope!" Shiro corrected them.

"All good guesses- well, two out of three anyways- but not right!" Monokuma answered. "No no no- you see, what Hope's Peak is best known for is the fact that it sends the best cream of the cake into the work force every year. Indeed- success is guaranteed to anyone who can successfully graduate from the Academy!"

"...Well that's great, but we're not at the Academy, are we?" Hinata pointed out. "So why should we care about that?"

"Oh come on, you think too small!" Monokuma responded. "I'm the headmaster of Hope's Peak, aren't I? And you all remember that itty-bitty Graduation Clause of mine, don't you?"

"Ah yes, the thing that planted murderous thoughts in us from the beginning. So?" Tadao asked, frowning.

"Ach, do I have to draw a picture?" Monokuma asked in annoyance. "If someone manages to pull off a successful murder and 'graduate', they will be guaranteed success in whatever they do after their school life here! Get it now?"

"...So your motive is the promise of success after winning the killing game?" Hiroshi summarized.

"Hmph, and you got offended by the mention of being called uncreative..." Akira stated.

"Hey now, it may seem mundane- after all, it's only Hope's Peak's claim to fame," Monokuma responded. "And you know, there are quite a few ambitious cookies in this room. But even beyond that- 'success' can have many, _maaany_ different meanings!"

"And for some of you...that definition might just be worth killing for," Monokuma concluded in a dark tone.

"...Anyways! That's all, I'll let you all sleep on that!" the bear finished with a sudden shift to the cheerful. "I'll be seeing you! Goodniiiight!"

And just as quickly as he had arrived, Monokuma dove off the podium and vanished right behind it. Hana gulped in dread- sure, Monokuma's new motive didn't seem like much on the outside, but considering what had happened with the previous murder...the surfer wasn't about to underestimate the 'headmaster'.

"Hm- well, Monokuma really didn't think this one through, did he?" Hiroshi told the others. "His last motive may have been more psychological, but this one...I doubt any of us would kill for something as selfish as success after graduation, right?"

"Think back to what he said, Ashi," Akira responded. "How success can have different meanings to some people. I wouldn't be surprised if, for some of us, that definiton may not seem so selfish to them. Perhaps enough so to warrant the sacrifice of another classmate...?"

"No way! We're not gonna let another murder happen again!" Hana insisted, glaring at the prosecutor. "We're all friends, we have a choice- we don't have to kill!"

"That's right! In fact, I'll _clobber_ anyone who tries to kill someone else!" Ryoto shouted, cracking his knuckles.

"...You...could have sounded less threatening..." Hana added to the Ultimate.

"Oh sure, we say that now..." Tadao spoke up. "But look at where that mindset got Nakamura and Kurobe. Do really expect anyone will do any better this time?"

"Well not with that mindset..." Rumi muttered.

"Personally, I think killing just to secure what should be worked for is a great folly," Tadao went on thoughtfully. "However...I can see how it could be tempting. Veeery tempting..."

"Oh you're just asking to be punched, aren't you?" Shiori asked the waiter.

"I mean...I dunno, he's got a point, I guess," Hinata responded with a shrug. "I wouldn't mind a bit of security after getting out if this hellhole."

"H-Hinata!" Hana cried out.

"What? I'm just thinking out loud, it's not like I'd actually _do_ anything!" Hinata insisted, putting his hands up defensively.

Then, before they could discuss further...

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The sound of monitors turning on echoed throughout the halls, and Monokuma's nighttime announcement played.

"...Hmph. Well, it seems we'll have to continue tomorrow," Akira said to the others.

"I-I'm gonna...go lock the storage room..." Asuna informed the others, shakily breaking away from the others.

"I'm gonna...go with you," Kaneki added, following.

"I need to finish cleaning the kitchen," Tadao stated as he too walked off.

"I shall help," Saku responded, folowing the waiter.

"And the rest of us are to sleep," Akira said to the others. "Keep your doors locked, and watch your backs tonight- and don't anybody try anything. If Kurobe didn't get away with murder, I doubt you'll fare much better."

"Hey Saku! Keep an eye on him, got it?" Ryoto called out to the kickboxer. "Make sure he doesn't try any funny business!"

"Asuna, Kaneki! Be careful locking that door!" Rumi said to her friends. "...Not that anything's gonna happen! B-But you know, it wouldn't hurt to- I mean with the motive and-"

"Shh, let it go," Shiori muttered to the scuba diver with a shake of her head.

And so, the students broke away and headed for their respective destinations. Nobody really spoke, and Hana could understand why- just like the last motive, they were rendered afraid and skeptical of one another, with no idea of just what the others were capable of. Of course, the surfer didn't want to suspect any of her friends...but if the last incident had taught her anything, they weren't as invincible as they thought.

Whether anyone would truly try anything, however...Hana would have to wait and see. And as she reentered her room to get ready for bed, the surfer could do nothing but worry for the others and hope nobody would give in so soon...

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaand there you go! Part three is done, next time will be the last Daily Life of Chapter 2! So we're almost halfway through the chapter- nice! So, how about that motive? Hehehe...agh, this may be my favorite chapter, but that motive sure isn't, which I'm sure the readers at home will agree on. But, it will serve its purpose well- though what that purpose is, only time will tell.**

 **Anyways, next time, one last FTE- yes, you read that right, one and not two like I usually do (trust me, there's gonna be enough going on next time to fill a whole chapter). So here's the code:** **epwe7z8z**

 **You only get one vote this time, seeing as how it's just one FTE. So choose wisely, everyone...you never know when a character will be cut down for the sake of despair- and plot. Hehehehe...**

 **Anyways, won't waste too much more time, I'm ready to get this chapter out finally! Hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you next time! Buh-bye!**


	14. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 4)

**A/N: Aaaaah, you have no idea how long I've awaited this moment. The moment I could write... _this_ part! What happens in this part? I don't think I need to explain...nor will I, to keep up suspense. Though my bold ramblings up here are probably the least suspenseful things about this story. But how else is an author to communicate and clarify stuff, huh? **

**So, here we go, the fourth installment of Daily Life in Chapter 2! Let's see how Monokuma's motive is treating everyone, shall we?**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 **...So, no reviews, but at least the FTE poll got a vote! So thank you to that person, I was thinking I'd have to choose a character myself this time.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Daily Life (Part 4)**

As morning drove away the night yet again, the morning announcement played, and Hana got ready and dressed as usual, she couldn't help feel a twinge of unease in her chest. Would there be one less person at the breakfast meeting today? She hoped not, but...at this point, she had no idea what to expect.

Upon entering the dining room, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The students were sitting where Hana would expect them to sit, and none of them seemed completely worse for wear. However, the surfer could feel an underlying tension over the group- tension she could only hope didn't boil over.

Hiroshi was the first to greet her, the Ultimate Coroner approaching from where he had been sitting. "Hey, Hana."

"Ah, morning Hiroshi," Hana responded with a smile. "Looks like everything's still normal, huh?"

"Of course- like I said, we wouldn't give in to Monokuma's motive so easily," Hiroshi answered with a spark of confidence in his gray eyes. "Though, there's still some anxiety going around...but with time, I'm sure it'll wear off."

"I'm...not sure if it'll be that simple," Hana admitted sheepishly. "But here's hoping it is."

She took another look around the room and at her fellow classmates...before she was struck with a horrifying realization. "W-Wait, Hiroshi...where's Tadao!?"

"Right where I've always been!" the waiter called in response from the kitchen, as if he could hear the surfer shouting from in there.

"...Oh, right," Hana muttered, cringing.

"I...think you're still on edge," Hiroshi informed her. "Maybe you should sit down?"

"Y-Yeah, good idea," Hana replied with an embarrassed chuckle...before stopping in her tracks. She noticed there was somebody else missing from the banquet table- somebody who had _not_ taken to isolating themselves within the kitchen during these meetings, and in fact should have been sitting near Shiro.

"W-Wait, now..." she began, her face paling with fear. "W-W-Where's Itachi!?"

Mere moments later, as if her words had summoned him, the Ultimate Weapons Expert in question came walking into the dining room as usual. Once she registered that nothing had happened to him either, Hana added, "Er...nevermind! There he is!"

"...Yeah, you need to sit down," Hiroshi stated, his brow furrowed with concern.

Hana grimaced and nodded, taking a seat near Rumi, Shiori, Kaneki, and Asuna. Hiroshi himself sat down not too far from her- and the surfer also noticed that Itachi wasn't sitting down right away. The weapons expert seemed to be scanning the room, in a way that resembled a falcon locking onto its prey. Seconds later, the young man strode over to take a seat...next to Hinata, of all people. The Ultimate Thief seemed just as surprised as Hana was, for he glanced at Itachi in confusion...however, he shrugged and returned to what he was doing prior, while Itachi didn't seem to do much of anything else out of the ordinary.

"Hana!" Rumi called out to the surfer to get her attention. "So, I was just telling the others here, I've figured out everything! And if you guys are cool with it, then we'll be hanging out together tomorrow! What do you guys think?"

"Tomorrow? Well, that sounds good to me," Hana replied with a nod before looking to the others. "Guys?"

"Like I keep saying, it's up to you," Shiori stated with a shrug. "You're the planner here."

"And like I keep saying, I want everyone's opinions!" Rumi insisted. "Come on, give me something here guys!"

"I-I mean...I trust your judgement, s-so..." Asuna murmured, looking down at the table.

Rumi didn't seem too satisfied with this answer either. "W-Well...I'm sure Kaneki'll give me some feedback! Right?"

She turned to the tall girl with a grin...but, to Hana's surprise, the Ultimate Explorer didn't seem to be paying attention at all. Her brown eyes were fixed on...well, nothing, as if she were spacing out entirely. Kaneki then seemed to notice Rumi looking towards her and asked, "...Huh? Did you say something, Rumi?"

Rumi's eager expression turned to one of shock. "You weren't...even paying attention...?"

The Ultimate Scuba Diver then let out an exasperated sigh, leaving Kaneki with a look of genuine confusion on her face.

Some time later, Tadao brought out the food as he usually did. Hana had to admit- even if the waiter acted antagonistic towards the others, he at least knew how to make good food, which was always a nice quality.

As Tadao walked away towards the kitchen, Akira suddenly spoke up. "...Wait, Shimaru. Was there anyone else in the kitchen with you while you were cooking?"

"Of course not, I don't need any assistance with my kitchen skills," the Ultimate Waiter replied, frowning.

Akira narrowed her eyes at him and inquired, "Then how can we be certain you didn't do anything to this food while you were alone?"

"..." Hana stared down at the food she was just about to bite into, then slowly lowered her silverware.

Tadao seemed more irritated than concerned and replied, "Come now Rimutsu, give me some credit- if I _had_ poisoned the food, I as the 'team chef' as it were might as well be painting the word 'BLACKENED' on my forehead."

"We need to confirm this- someone needs to test the food!" Ryoto declared, before looking around the room as if to find a willing volunteer. "Uuuh...Hinata! You do it!"

"W-What? Why me?" Hinata asked, narrowing his gold eyes at the racecar driver.

"Well, I mean, you're a criminal..." Ryoto began. "Sooo, kinda makes you- I dunno, expendable?"

"Th-The fuck did you just say!?" Hinata yelped with a furious growl.

"Ryoto!" Rumi shouted with a disapproving tone.

"Oh for- if _I_ taste tested the food, would you all calm down?" Tadao asked with a glare at the others.

Akira raised an eyebrow, then took a piece of her own food and handed it to the waiter. The young man carefully took the food, as if to leave as few stains on his gloves as possible, before popping it into his mouth.

"..." Tadao waited a few moments after swallowing the food before saying, "There, satisfied? I told you all I didn't tamper with the food."

Akira seemed to ponder this for a moment, then replied, "Fine, it checks out. If you had done something to our food, I doubt you would have tested it as quickly as you did."

With a 'hmph', the Ultimate Waiter turned on his heel to return to the kitchen, but not before adding, "Like I said- if I did plan a murder, I wouldn't make myself look so suspicious."

"Not helping, Shimaru," Akira growled as he walked away back to the kitchen. Seeing as how the food was safe, Hana was quick to dig into it for real this time; however, it didn't stop her from thinking about that whole incident. She supposed it was just Akira being Akira- not trusting of anyone, but still trying to prevent murder when she could (though Hana suspected it wasn't because she cared for the others, perhaps it was more just her wanting to be an effective leader).

So breakfast could finally begin in peace, whatever tension that existed in the room beforehand having dissipated as the other enjoyed the food. At least...that's how it was at first, until Hana picked up on a certain deep voice from farther down the table...

"...So. Hinata. Peaceful morning, wouldn't you agree?" Itachi asked the scarf-wearing young man. His tone of voice sounded friendly enough...although it had a kind of edge to it that indicated Itachi was being anything but.

"...Uh...I guess," Hinata responded, glancing from side to side in confusion.

"Interesting, wouldn't you say? So soon after Monokuma's motive," Itachi went on, casually cutting into his food. "Though I suppose there are many of us who continue to remain vigilant. Even now, I'd say."

Hinata did not respond, seeming more baffled by the moment. Honestly, Hana could not blame him as she wondered, _That's strange...yeah, they're classmates, but Itachi and Hinata hardly ever interact. So, what's Itachi...?_

"And yet...it's strange," Itachi continued, his demeanor unchanging. "I've remained watchful since that announcement of that bear's. Despite this...on my way here, I notice something. I notice...that one of my knives has disappeared."

"Aaah, there it is, the ulterior motive," Hinata remarked, putting down his fork and turning to fully face Itachi. "No need for pleasantries, dude- lemme guess, you think I stole that knife of yours, don't you?"

"You're the Ultimate Thief for a reason," Itachi responded with a glare.

"Hold on- Kunata, explain," Akira said. "What do you mean one of your knives disappeared?"

The Ultimate Weapons Expert stood up and lifted to the legs of his pants. Strapped to his legs were a pair of knife holsters- Hana vaguely recognized them from the first day in the castle. Sure enough, only one of the holsters contained a long serrated hunting knife, with the other being empty. "Here. I have two blades on me at all times, identical knives. And not too long before the meeting, I noticed one was gone."

"Here's an idea- maybe you just misplaced it?" Hinata suggested, crossing his arms with a glare.

To this, Itachi scoffed. "To say I misplaced my blades would be like saying I misplaced my own arms. No, I keep these knives under intense care, critical eye. I even leave them strapped to my legs as I sleep."

"...That just sounds unsafe," Hana noted with a small grimace. By this point, most other conversations had stopped as the others focused on what was happening between Itachi and Hinata.

"And for the record- I went back and searched my room once I noticed the knife was gone," Itachi went on. "And it was nowhere to be seen. So, no, I doubt I 'misplaced it'."

Hinata growled softly before responding, "Look, you've got some fancy knives and shit, but I wouldn't touch them. Come on, since when have ever stolen something that random?"

"...What about the time you stole that bottle of dish soap from the kitchen?" Saku reminded him.

"And my pen," Shiro added.

"And that poker from the furnace room," Shiori chimed in.

"A-And my glasses," Asuna added.

"...Okay, so on _occasion_ I tend to use my thievery for the little things," Hinata responded. "But this time, I had nothing to do with your missing stuff!"

"You honestly expect me to take the word of a crook?" Itachi asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the thief.

Hinata grit his teeth as he stood out of his chair as well. "Oh, so whenever someone loses something around here, it's automatically my fault? Well that my friend, that is profiling!"

As the two Ultimates were practically sizzling with rage, Saku spoke up, "Come now, both of you, there is no need for confrontation. Just sit down and we can talk this through peacefully."

"Hey, I'm not the one who made accusations out of nowhere!" Hinata protested, glaring furiously at Itachi. "Seriously, if I had taken your knife, I would have joked about it and given it back like I always do!"

"You steal a man's blade, you'd best be prepared to run him through with it!" Itachi said to him, his normally calm voice being raised in anger.

"For the last time, I didn't take your fucking knife!" Hinata yelled at the weapons expert as he clenched his fists.

"Okay okay, guys, let's wind down," Hiroshi said with his usual calm tone. "Come on, we're all on edge here, there's no need to get so riled up."

The two stopped yelling at each other, though it was obvious they were both still seething. Itachi sat back down, going quiet once again, but as for Hinata...

"Mmph- so first you want to me risk getting poisoned, and now I'm being accused of something I didn't even do..." Hinata muttered to himself. "Lots of love in here guys, really. Great fucking meeting, great fucking job."

With that, the usually carefree and mischievous Ultimate stormed out of the dining room, not even glancing at the others as he left.

"...Maybe someone should go talk to him?" Rumi suggested to her surrounding classmates.

Shiori scoffed. "I mean, no one's stopping you. But seriously, what does he expect? He's the Ultimate Thief, does he really think people _aren't_ going to be suspicious of him when something goes missing?"

Rumi didn't respond, looking down at her plate for a moment before gaining a resolute look on her face and standing up. With a brief word of goodbye to the others, the scuba diver made her way out of the dining room herself. Hana cringed somewhat- it was already only one day since the motive was announced, and some of the students were already at each other's throats...

"Hey, Itachi- once breakfast is done, maybe I could help you look for your knife!" Shiro suggested to his friend. "Maybe you did just misplace it somewhere? I don't think we should automatically put the blame on Hinata, at any rate..."

"Well, searching would be an acceptable action indeed," Itachi agreed, having calmed down. "My apologies, however, but I reserve judgement with my accusation against that thief."

"Well...we just shouldn't get too carried away with our suspicions," Shiro responded with a nod. "We're all friends, aren't we? And friends should trust each other, no matter what."

 _...Huh- never mind, it looks some of us are still in high spirits._ Hana realized with a sense of relief.

"...So there's just...a knife missing?" Kaneki asked, her face slightly flushed with worry.

"Unfortunately, yes. My apologies- had I been more vigilant, perhaps this could have been avoided," Itachi explained with a sigh. "Any weapon, including blades, and even something smaller like a knife, is a deadly extension of a person. And in the hands of somebody careless, it could lead to disaster. For these reasons, Shiro and I must make haste in our search once the food is done, to get my blade back before somebody else does."

Despite Itachi's vow, the Ultimate Explorer didn't look any better. Hana furrowed her brow and turned to Hiroshi, remarking, "Hey, don't you think Kaneki seems a bit...off right now?"

"Off?" Hiroshi asked.

"Well yeah, she seems really anxious," Hana explained. "And it doesn't even seem like normal anxiety, it seems like... _advanced_ anxiety."

"Hm...I wouldn't think too into it," Hiroshi reassured the surfer. "Nobody wants another murder to happen, and nobody's immune to the concern- even someone as energetic as Kaneki, it looks like."

Hana didn't respond directly, simply shrugging in acceptance. As much as she believed in her classmates...but at this rate, she couldn't help but be concerned for the future.

* * *

When breakfast was done, Hana returned to her room once again to think out her next course of action. _Ugh- maybe I didn't sleep as good as I thought last night...maybe I should take a nap for a bit?_

Then, the Ultimate Surfer remembered how everyone had been acting during the breakfast meeting. _...Okay, maybe I should go talk to somebody. I'm sure we could all use a bit of friendliness right now- and what better way to do that than socializing?_

With the decision of 'peacekeeping first, sleep later' made, Hana swiftly exited her room back out into the familiar hallway.

Hana decided she would check out the second floor once again, to see who was lurking about up there. Seeing as how she hadn't been in the lounge in a while, Hana decided she would look there first. Poking her head into the cozy room in question, she saw Hiroshi casually sitting in one of the cushioned seats- for a moment, Hana thought the coroner was asleep. However, she was proven wrong when the young man opened a gray eye to see her.

"Hi, Hana. Here to relax too? This room really is nice, I can see why the others like it so much," Hiroshi stated, looking up towards the ceiling.

 _Hm...well, the lounge is definitely comfy- should I spend some time with Hiroshi?_ Hana asked herself, before nodding to the Ultimate Coroner. "Sure, I'll join you!"

"Heh, alright," Hiroshi replied, gesturing to one of the open seats. Soon, Hana and Hiroshi were sitting together in the comfort of the lounge, not really saying much and simply enjoying each other's company.

"Hm...you know, I've been thinking about how long we've been in this castle," Hiroshi stated.

"How long? God, well I hope you're not planning on asking me, because I've lost track," Hana remarked with a frown.

"No, I wasn't going to ask you how long it's been," Hiroshi answered. "It was just something I've been thinking about. We can clearly see the time on our e-Handbooks, and we've got the sky out in the courtyard. And yet...for all we know, what feels like a few days could very well be longer."

"That's...disturbing to think about," Hana responded with a worried frown. "Can't even imagine what that would be like- when you think it's only been a few days, but it's actually been, like, a month?"

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that's what's actually been happening- it's just strange, is all, being in the same place for an extended period of time like this," Hiroshi went on. "I wonder what we'd all be doing right now if we attended Hope's Peak like normal..."

"At the very least, we'd probably be able to hone our talents, right?" Hana suggested. "Geez, what I wouldn't give to see the beach right now, to take my surfboard and just ride the biggest waves I could find..."

Hiroshi chuckled somewhat. "Well, I suppose it's good to remain passionate about your talent, even if you can't practice it."

"What about you, Hiroshi? Aren't you worried about not being able to practice your autopsy stuff?" Hana asked him.

"Not really. For me, it's like riding a bike- you never forget," Hiroshi explained calmly. "Besides, autopsies aren't the most convenient things to practice. People die all the time, but cadavers aren't just used for being dissected by coroners, you know. A lot of other places use them for organ donations, scientific research..."

"In fact, cadavers are also used for medical school students. You know what their purpose is?" Hiroshi asked the surfer.

 _Hm? What are cadavers used for in med school? Well, obviously he's talking about..._ Hana answered aloud, "You're talking about studying anatomy, right?"

"Uh-huh. Not that I've ever seen this myself, though my aunt would often go to different universities as a guest speaker due to her extensive medical knowledge," Hiroshi explained further.

"Anyways, as I was saying, autopsies aren't always the most convenient things to practice on a regular basis. In fact, autopsies are actually only used for a small portion of deaths," Hiroshi went on, holding up a finger thoughtfully.

"Huh, really? I thought they'd be used more often than that, honestly," Hana remarked with a shrug.

"Eh, it doesn't bother me. Talent isn't everything, you know, even if we _are_ Ultimates," Hiroshi stated. "That's why you shouldn't let not being able to hone your skills in this castle get to you so much. If you keep thinking like that, then someone might end up dead, and nobody wants that."

"Well, to be fair, I'd never kill for the sake of my talent," Hana told him. "Or...for any reason, but that includes my talent!"

"I know- you're not the type to kill somebody, especially a friend," Hiroshi replied in a knowing tone with a smile. "See, _that's_ what's most important- not talent, but forming strong bonds with your classmates."

"Well yeah! I mean, I've basically been doing that since the beginning- right now even, I'm spending time with you," Hana pointed out, nodding in agreement.

Hiroshi let out a little chuckle before adding, "I figured you'd agree with that ideal. You know, it's funny...you'd be surprised, but at one point I never really believed in that."

"Huh? You?" Hana asked, incredulous. "But you're one of the nicest people here!"

"Well, like I said, people used to distance themselves from me because of my work as a coroner. And so, I wasn't really the best at social interaction," Hiroshi explained, his face shifting a bit to a neutral countenance. "But...you know, I met someone really smart, and they helped me figure out what I told you."

"Well, whoever this smart person is, I think I like them!" Hana told the coroner with a chuckle. Hiroshi returned the friendly chuckle, seeming to be enjoying talking like this. They did nothing too big, and yet...just talking with each other like this, even if it seemed rather mundane- it was quite enjoyable. And Hana realized that Hiroshi, for all his eerie calmness at times, had some great thoughts- she felt glad that she was somebody that the coroner could share these thoughts with.

Thus, after a bit more time talking with one another, Hana and Hiroshi went their separate ways yet again.

* * *

Returning to the solitude of her bedroom, Hana sat down on her bed. While she was happy she was able to possibly improve someone's mood, that did nothing to stop her from still feeling tired. She still had several hours until the dinner meeting, so catching up on her sleep would be more than possible. Hana lied down on the bed, ready to fall asleep...though it grew hard with her e-Handbook on her. She took out the tablet and walked over to the desk, setting it down before starting to make her way back to the bed.

At least...she started to, until she glanced back towards the e-Handbook. Hana couldn't help but remember what had happened just after the last trial- how her e-Handbook had suddenly acted strange and gave her that strange message. The surfer glanced at the security camera- there was no way to know if Monokuma was watching that camera specifically, or even if he would be able to see what she would be doing. Still, she couldn't be too careful; she went back and grabbed her e-Handbook again, then went back to her bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Hana then turned the e-Handbook back on, the blue light providing illumination under the bedsheets. It somewhat reminded her of when she was younger, and she would try to stay up after bedtime to read a book or something with a flashlight under her blankets; the only difference being, when she was little, there was no murder involved. Shaking her head a bit, she looked through the different applications on the e-Handbook, believing the message had been hidden somewhere in the notebook. She sifted through the multiple apps displayed, even if it seemed completely unrelated. However, the strange message was nowhere to be seen (although Hana did notice the 'Monokuma File' from before was gone- perhaps that had happened after the trial as well?); Hana furrowed her brow, before shutting off the e-Handbook and standing up once more.

Disappointed, she set the electronic gadget back on the desk before laying back down. However, her attempt at sleep was made more difficult by her thoughts swirling around that message. More specifically, she tried to remember what it had said, and what it could possibly mean. All she could figure out was that whoever had supposedly reprogrammed her e-Handbook knew about the killing game, knew _who_ she was, and may even know about her classmates. It still led to more questions, however...

 _...'Reprogrammed' my e-Handbook...? How does someone even do that? That has to be some advanced tech or something, it can't be easy to program, let alone tamper with..._ Hana pondered. _I mean, I'm just going with my gut here, but I'm assuming that message was programmed beforehand...otherwise, that person just has bad timing to tell me to end the killing game after two people had already died..._

Then, another twinge of confusion hit her mind. _But...why did they only mess with_ my _e-Handbook? And what am I supposed to 'remember'? If their telling me to 'remember the class'- well, I know them pretty well now, but I only met them a few days ago. 'Remember your role'- what role? I never asked to be in a murder game, I just wanted to go to Hope's Peak, make friends, have fun! I'd love to put an end to all this before I lose more friends, but I...what does this person want me to do...?_

After tossing and turning with these thoughts in her mind, Hana finally fell into a much-needed napping state.

* * *

Once Hana had refreshed herself with that nap, she put any remaining thoughts about the mysterious message on hold as she fixed her hair, then checked that e-Handbook once more. It was almost time for the dinner meeting- lucky for Hana that she had woken up when she did, the surfer doubted she would hear the end of it from Akira had she slept through the meeting.

With this in mind, the girl wasn't about to push her luck and made haste to the dining room.

Once she arrived, Hana saw there weren't as many absentees as that morning- well, except for Tadao, but she had learned her lesson from this morning as well.

"Hey, Hana," Hiroshi greeted the surfer from his seat at the table. "Say, where have you been all day? I thought you'd be up and about spending time with everyone."

"Well, I would have- but I had some...things on my mind," Hana explained, sitting down next to the coroner. "Plus, I was really tired, so I took a nap."

"Heh- well, thank goodness you didn't oversleep," Hiroshi responded, raising an eyebrow.

"No need to remind me," Hana replied only half-jokingly, looking around at the others. "Things seem a lot less tense than this morning, right? I mean- Hinata seems to be in better spirits than before."

Sure enough, the Ultimate Thief seemed to be back to his usual carefree self- to Hana's surprise, she also noticed Rumi was not sitting with Shiori, Kaneki, and Asuna as she usually did, but was sitting near Hinata and talking with him. It would appear that her talking to him before had worked well- still, Hana hadn't expected them to actually form a friendship- but then again, Rumi was pretty nice and if someone like Shiro could become good friends with someone like Itachi, then perhaps it wasn't too out of the question.

Speaking of Itachi- Akira turned to the brooding weapons expert and asked him, "Well Kunata, Koichi? Did you find that missing knife?"

"My apologies, Akira, but we searched every available area," Itachi replied. "And still, we couldn't find it."

"The only places we didn't search were everyone else's rooms and that secret room in the library," Shiro added apologetically. "So, we were pretty thorough, but..."

"But there's still a big knife lying around," Kaneki finished, her brow furrowed. Hana still had no idea what had the explorer so tense- though it probably was just concern over the motive. Still, it had the surfer curious...

It wasn't long before Tadao came out again with food. Above all else, it was the Ultimate Waiter that had Hana concerned the most; he had made himself clear on several occasions that he had no intention of working with the others, and even that he was willing to kill if he had to. Even though he said the motive meant nothing to him, would that still deter Tadao from making good on his threats...?

Hana would quickly realize she wasn't the only one wary of him. As Tadao was making his way back towards the kitchen, Ryoto stood up and approached him. "Hey, Tadao. Yeah, over here, turn around."

With a small, almost annoyed sigh, Tadao turned to face the racecar driver. "Can I help you, Miura?"

"Just giving you a warning- don't think of trying anything tonight, got it?" Ryoto warned, his blue eyes narrowed with distrust.

"Oh? And if I wanted to 'try something', don't you think I would have done so already?" Tadao inquired, seeming calm despite the accusation.

"No, we only got the motive yesterday, and if you wanted to kill somebody, you'd probably make a plan or something," Ryoto pointed out with a little growl.

"Hm- well look at you, maybe there is a brain under that neon porcupine you call hair," Tadao remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Though I'm not saying I even am planning a murder, for your information."

Before Ryoto could retort, the waiter added, "And besides...even if I was planning to kill, what makes you think you could stop me?"

Immediately, several eyes had turned to the conversation, including Hana's. Ryoto was silent for a moment, as if stunned, but then he growled, "The fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying- let's say I was planning to kill somebody. Why do you think you could stop me, Miura?" Tadao asked, a small grin making its way onto his face.

"...Maybe you shouldn't be implying things like this in front of the literal prosecutor, Shimaru," Akira remarked with a frown, yet made no move to break up the two young men.

"I could stop you! I don't care, I'll stop you if it means no one else dies!" Ryoto insisted, clenching his fists in rage.

"Easier said than done, Miura. After all, how do you know what I'd even be planning, anyways?" the Ultimate implored, smirking. Was Tadao...was Tadao _enjoying_ seeing Ryoto becoming so riled? "After all, you don't even know who I'd be targeting, who to protect...for all you know, I might be targeting _you,_ Miura."

"Are you messing with me...? Are you trying to mess with me!?" Ryoto demanded. "You wanna know how I'll stop you!? I'll fucking show right here and now!"

"G-G-Guys...? Come on, calm down, please?" Hana asked, trying to sound firm- and failing miserably as well. Then again, the surfer had never been the leading expert in conflict resolution...and right now, it seemed that all that tension from before was about to erupt like Mt. Vesuvius.

"Please, both of you, there is no need to fight!" Saku insisted. "Nobody wants more bloodshed-"

"Speak for yourselves!" Ryoto shouted. "Have you forgotten how Tadao's been acting!? All the threats, isolating himself- you think that's not suspicious!?"

"Oh look, someone's trying to be hero I see," Tadao stated, sounding almost amused. "But you know, putting yourself on the line like that makes you quite the target, Miura. Maybe someone might think of you as a threat, and decide you're worth more dead than alive?"

Ryoto's face was only growing redder by the minute, while Tadao didn't seem all that concerned for his safety.

"Y-You guys, we shouldn't..." Asuna began- before, to Hana's surprise, the gardener stood up out of her seat and ran over to the arguing men.

"A-Asuna? What are you-?" Kaneki began in shock, before she too stood and followed her friend.

Once Asuna was by Ryoto and Tadao she implored the two Ultimates, "W-We shouldn't fight like this! Th-This...This is just what the mastermind wants, r-right?"

"Asuna's right. If we just fight amongst ourselves, then a murder will definitely happen," Hiroshi added sternly. "And nobody-"

"I couldn't care less about what this mastermind wants, believe me," Tadao insisted. "I care about my own ends- and if murder is a means to those ends, well then I'll take it regardless. After all, Miura isn't the only one among you who I consider worth more dead than alive."

"See!? This is what I'm talking about!" Ryoto roared. "Here you are, spouting your 'I'm gonna kill someone' bull, and you think I'm gonna stand for that!? I'm Ryoto Miura, and I'm not gonna let you do a thing to anybody!"

"Miura..." Akira began in a warning tone with a vicious glare, though the racecar driver could not see it.

Tadao chuckled with a sinister edge to his voice. "And what would you do about it? You're just the brainless muscle, who still dresses like a child on Halloween- you couldn't stop a murder if it was happening in front of you!"

Ryoto's eyes practically lit up, before the Ultimate Racecar Driver let out a roar of fury. He drew his fist back, aiming it right at Tadao, whose face instantaneously went from arrogant to surprise- however, it was clear the waiter would not be able to dodge.

At that moment, several things happened within seconds- Hana could barely distinguish what happened. Right as Ryoto made his move to punch Tadao, Asuna yelled out, "RYOTO, NO!"

The Ultimate Gardener suddenly threw herself forward in an attempt to stop the racer- in that moment, Hana was certain Asuna would end up punched in Tadao's place. But then, a brown blur suddenly sped towards Ryoto; in a split second, an audible _THWAP_ could be heard through the whole dining hall, followed by Ryoto crying out in pain and being practically flung onto the floor, landing on his rear end.

It took Hana a few moments to comprehend what had happened, but once everything settled, the surfer could get a better look at the aftermath. She saw Ryoto on the ground, wincing and clutching his face in pain; she saw Kaneki, who was now standing next to where Ryoto had been, gripping her bullwhip tightly with a look of uncharacteristic rage on her face; and she saw Asuna and Tadao, the latter seeming quite shocked (much to Hana's surprise) and the former looking back and forth between Ryoto and Kaneki, as if she too was trying to figure out what had happened.

"Gh-! Shit, that stings...!" Ryoto groaned, removing his hands, allowing the others to see the long red mark forming across his face where the whip had struck him.

"Are you _crazy!?_ Did you lose your mind completely!?" Kaneki shouted at him, her face ablaze with as much rage as Ryoto's had been mere seconds before. _"Are you trying to get somebody killed!?"_

Ryoto stared at the explorer in shock, and Hana certainly couldn't blame him for the confusion. Of all the students to lose their cool like this, Kaneki did not seem like that kind of person. Sure, there were times when she could be angered (the infamous book battle notwithstanding), and she certainly wasn't her usual cheerful self all the time- but most of the time, she was. Therefore, for Kaneki to be acting so anxious all day, and now to see her just snap and lash out like this...there was no more doubt in Hana's mind- something was _definitely_ wrong with her explorer friend.

"I'll...be honest, I didn't think Miura would actually make good on his threats," Tadao admitted, regaining his composure. "But, considering how easy it is to stoke that temper of yours, you can't expect it to not be taken advantage of-"

Kaneki turned her wrathful gaze to the waiter, as if to say to him 'You're next if you don't shut up'. Sure enough, Tadao fell silent again, indicating that even he was perturbed by the Ultimate Explorer's unusual behavior.

"Okay, that's enough, all of you!" Saku spoke up, his face stern as he stood and faced the others. "All this is doing is building discord! If that happens, we're all as good as executed- therefore, let's just settle down, and finish our dinner, like the civilized people we are. Please, I'd rather not have you break you all up myself- infighting never leads to a good outcome."

The four of them were silent, before Tadao spoke up, "I...believe this is, in fact, the part where I cut my losses and make my exit."

True to his word, the Ultimate Waiter departed from the dining room to the kitchen, although his brisk pace made it look more like a scamper. As for Kaneki herself, it was hard to read her expression- she wouldn't even turn to Asuna. The explorer simply put her whip away and made her way back to her seat, her anger replaced with a deafening silence.

"Nngh- hey, Asuna?" Ryoto began apologetically as he picked himself up. "It occurred to me that I _miiiight_ have been about to punch you out before I got a whip to the face. Ah- sorry about that. I really don't know what came over me- fucking Tadao just got me so pissed, and I just had to do _something!"_

"I-It's fine...I shouldn't have jumped between you two like that," Asuna responded, looking down somewhat. "Uh...we should go back to our seats now..."

Without another word, Asuna and Ryoto returned to their own seats as well. For the rest of the dinner meeting, the conversations were quiet, and far and few between. The only real things Hana heard were Ryoto saying something about talking to Shiori to get his facial wound looked at, and Rumi attempting to make conversation with Kaneki- attempts that fell flat, ultimately, seeing as how the only person the taller girl really acknowledged was Asuna (and even then, she mostly kept to herself). Of course, this only further fueled Hana's worries regarding the Ultimate Explorer; as soon as dinner was over, the Ultimate Surfer knew the first thing she would be doing before nighttime.

* * *

With dinner done and after saying a quick goodbye to Hiroshi, Hana quickly took off in search of a certain someone. She didn't see them immediately- probably because Hana was one of the first ones to leave- so she waited out in the main chamber. A minute or two later, Hana spotted the person she was looking for; that person was Kaneki, who Hana saw enter the main hall after briefly talking with Asuna. Once the explorer broke off from her and entered the large room by herself, Hana wasted no time approaching her.

"Hey- Kaneki?" Hana asked as she walked over. "Can I...talk to you real fast?"

"Huh?" the Ultimate Explorer responded, turning to Hana with confusion. "Everything okay?"

"What? I could ask you the same question," Hana replied with a frown. "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird all day..."

"Weird...?" Kaneki began, before frowning as well. "...N-No I haven't."

"Yes, yes you have," Hana insisted. "You've been practically ignoring everyone- even Rumi, who might I add is doing her _best_ to plan a great hangout for us friends, you've been anxious and quiet, and at the beginning of the meeting you whipped Ryoto in the face!"

"Well what was I supposed to do, just let him punch out Asuna when he was gunning for Tadao?" Kaneki asked indignantly.

"That's not the point! The point is, you've been acting off, and I want to know why!" Hana replied in a firm voice.

"There's nothing wrong, everything's fine," Kaneki told her, her hazel eyes narrowed. "Okay? Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to- you act weird all day, the day after Monokuma announced that motive, and you expect me to _not_ be worried!?" Hana practically yelled, putting her hand on the explorer's shoulder to make sure she didn't walk away prematurely. "Did you forget what happened with Mikio and Azami? Azami was scared, she was freaked out by that first motive- and because of that, because we didn't even see how scared she was, Mikio died! Azami was executed!"

"..." Kaneki didn't respond, but her expression seemed to soften somewhat...

"Look, I don't think you're planning a murder, but...I don't want something like _that_ to happen again! I don't care if I have to pester you all night, I am not losing anyone like that again!" Hana insisted, her hands shaking a bit as she spoke. "So please, just _tell me-_ what's going on, Kaneki?"

"..." Kaneki looked down for a moment, her earlier anger replaced with what looked like guilt. "...I'm sorry, Hana. I wasn't trying to make anyone _that_ worried, you included. It's...fucking...it's complicated, okay?"

"...Well I'm not going anywhere," Hana stated, still determined to figure out her friend's problem.

"Look, Hana, it's not that I don't want to tell anyone," Kaneki began with a slight cringe. "I would if I could, but...I can't. At the very least, I can't do it _yet."_

"'Yet'? What are you talking about?" Hana asked, removing her hand from Kaneki's shoulder once she was sure the explorer wouldn't run off on her.

"I...can't go into specifics without freaking you out- and besides, right now, all I really have are suspicions," Kaneki went on, looking around as she spoke.

"Suspicions? Wait, do you..." Hana began, furrowing her brow in worry. "Do you think something's going to...happen?"

"..." Kaneki didn't answer that question. "...Like I was saying, I don't have all the answers yet. I'm fairly certain I will soon, but...the thing is, it's been weighing on me all day. Guess you could say that's why I've been acting all, as you put it, 'off'."

"But...you still haven't told me what you're even talking about," Hana pointed out, frowning in worry. "If it's making you so stressed, maybe telling someone will-"

"No. I can't say anything about it until I have more answers," Kaneki insisted. "But like I said- I'm sure I'll have the answers I'm looking for soon. Actually, I'd say I'll know by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? ...Will you tell me then?" Hana asked.

"Mm...well, even if it turns out I'm wrong, I guess I do owe you an explanation for making you worry so much," Kaneki replied. "So, yeah- tomorrow, I'll tell you everything."

"Okay...okay, I can live with that," Hana responded with a nod of agreement. "Oh! But, there's still that thing Rumi has planned tomorrow, and knowing her she'll want to know why too..."

"Yeah yeah, I get it- if it comes up, I'll explain it to the others, too," Kaneki agreed.

"And you know, you did hit Ryoto with your whip, so he'll probably have some questions too..." Hana also added, trailing off with a glance at the explorer.

"I get it, I get it, I owe a lot of people an explanation," Kaneki responded with a grimace.

"Heh- sorry, just giving you a bit of a hard time," Hana told her. "Just trying to make sure we're still on friendly terms."

Kaneki chuckled with a smile, and at that point Hana could see the explorer was back to her usual self- if only for that conversation. She then said to the surfer, "Say, it'll be nighttime soon-you should probably be heading back to your room, so Akira won't get mad at you for breaking her nighttime rule."

"I know, I'm going," Hana replied, turning to make her way back to the bedrooms. "Don't...do anything rash, okay?"

"Hana, don't worry- I may have an indestructible whip on me, but I don't plan on killing anyone," Kaneki reassured the surfer. "Just get some sleep, alright?"

"Alright- goodnight, Kaneki," Hana said to her friend with a wave of farewell. Kaneki tipped her fedora to Hana in goodbye as she walked away as well; though Hana still had several questions, she had a feeling her talk had at least improved the Ultimate Explorer's mood in some way, which was satisfactory for right now.

Eventually, any lingering thoughts Hana had about the day's ordeals vanished as the Ultimate Surfer prepared for bed. And as the nighttime announcement played right on schedule, the girl settled down into a semi-peaceful sleep. Whatever other questions she had, they would have to wait until tomorrow...

* * *

As Hana was jolted out of a deep sleep by the morning announcement- had a whole night really passed so quickly? The surfer felt as though she had only slept for five minutes. Regardless, it was that time of day- the breakfast meeting; trying to shake her thoughts out of a sleepy state, Hana got ready as she usually did and made her way to the dining room. She was surprised by how mundane these routines had become over the last few days, especially since this was a murder game; but then again, any sense of normalcy was welcome by this point.

Hana entered the dining room, which was already bustling with the activity of the students. Noticing Hiroshi casually leaning against the wall and observing the others, she walked over to him. "Hey there, Hiroshi!"

"Good morning, Hana," Hiroshi responded with a small smile. "Don't worry, just people watching again. You're welcome to join me again, if you want."

"No thanks- actually, I was gonna see if I could talk to Kaneki, she told me she-" Hana began, glancing at the dining table...before she noticed something strange. "...Huh? Where's Kaneki?"

"Kaneki? Hm...actually, yes, I don't see her anywhere," Hiroshi confirmed, looking around the room. "Actually...now that you mention it...she's not the only one missing. I don't see Asuna or Shiro anywhere, either."

"What?" Hana asked in surprise. The surfer walked over to Rumi and Shiori and asked the two girls, "Hey...guys? Have you seen Kaneki or Asuna anywhere?"

"Well- no," Shiori answered her. "But they're probably just running late- I mean, I'm sure you can relate to being tardy, considering your track record, Hana."

"Well, I hope they're not trying to get out of the hangout- I've been planning this for days, and we're gonna have fun whether they like it or not!" Rumi resolved with a fire in her eyes.

Furrowing her brow, Hana next walked over to Itachi. The weapons expert glanced at the surfer curiously as she asked, "Itachi? You haven't seen Shiro anywhere either, have you?"

"Shiro? Well...no, now that you mention it. Though he is usually here around the same time as me..." Itachi responded, lowering his gaze thoughtfully.

These responses did not sit well with Hana. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't too surprised that Kaneki was late- she was already being weird the day before, so her being uncharacteristically late was just another thing to add to the oddities. But...Asuna and Shiro? Hana couldn't imagine those two missing a meeting for anything- so what was going on...?

Akira caught notice of Hana's questions and remarked, "So, three of us are absent then? Hm...well, I'd prefer we were all here in one place for these meetings, but if those three don't show up soon, we may have to just go on without them. After all, progress waits for no one."

Hana frowned, but shrugged and went over to take her seat. She could only assume Tadao was still working on the food, so as the students settled down and Hiroshi continued with his people watching, the surfer turned so she could talk to Rumi and Shiori...

...And just before she could say a word, the dining room's peace would be ruined in a mere second.

 _"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

Almost simultaneously, the students in the dining room looked around in shock and confusion. It was faint, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that what they had just heard was a bloodcurdling scream.

"W-What the hell...? Who screamed?" Hinata asked, looking around the room.

"That sounded distant..." Saku remarked, also looking around in confusion.

"Yeah, it sounded like..." Rumi began...before gasping in fear and adding, "Th-That scream...it sounded like Asuna!"

"A-Asuna!?" Hana cried, her eyes widening in an instant.

"What?" Hirosh asked, his calm countenance cracking at the edges with fear.

"Wait...the motive..." Itachi began, his eyes growing wide with realization. "That scream- you don't think...!"

The mere suggestion that a murder was taking place was all it took for Ryoto to leap out of his seat, nearly knocking the chair over as he did. "Th-There's no way that's gonna happen! Come on, we gotta find her!"

Without waiting for a response, the racecar driver sprinted out of the room. Hana jumped up out of her seat as well and shouted after Ryoto, "Hey! Wait for me!"

"Guys, wait up!" Hiroshi called after, but by that point the two Ultimates were out of the dining room and speeding down the hallway into the main chamber. However, once Hana and Ryoto were by the left stairs leading to the second floor, they stopped.

"Ah...shit, I don't know where the scream came from, do you!?" Ryoto frantically asked.

"I-I don't know! It sounded so distant, I couldn't tell-" Hana began- but at that moment...

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_

Without a doubt, that was Asuna's cry again, this one sounding more like a combination of a scream and a wail. Hana thought to herself, _That one, it sounded like it came from..._

"The second floor! I heard her up there!" Ryoto yelled, pointing to the west side. "Come on, up here!"

The Ultimate Racecar Driver sped up the stairs to the second floor, with Hana doing her best to keep up- it was times like this she was glad to be athletic, otherwise she was sure Ryoto would have left her in the dust by now with how fast he was running.

As Ryoto rounded the corner into the west hallway, he called out, "Come on come on come on, I think it's this way, we gotta go there might be- GAH!"

Hana's view was blocked by the wall, but she could still hear an audible _thud_ from the hallway, something that sounded like two people crashing into each other. Once Hana rounded the corner, the surfer was shocked by what she saw: two students were lying on the ground after having barreled into each other, Ryoto and, to Hana's surprise/relief, Asuna herself.

"Nngh, what did I-" Ryoto began, picking himself up- before he realized who he was looking at. "Asuna! Oh thank god you're not murdered!"

"What happened? Why were you screaming?" Hana asked, running over to her friend. "Did something happen, was someone-"

However, the surfer stopped talking upon seeing Asuna more fully. The gardener didn't look injured- however, she was breathing very quickly, her face was pale and her eyes were wide with terror, and there were tears streaming down her face.

"I...I-I, th-there's...! In the...!" Asuna gasped in between trembling sobs, pointing down the hallway...before she let out another shriek and bolted away towards the stairs Hana and Ryoto had just climbed.

"What the...?" Hana murmured, looking down the hall to where Asuna had pointed. To her surprise, she could see the door to the study was wide open- did something in there frighten Asuna...?

"Shit...well, there's no way Ryoto Miura's stopping here! I gotta know what had her so panicked!" Ryoto told Hana before he ran down the hall and into the study room. Hana glanced back at where Asuna had fled, tempted to follow and make sure she would be fine...but then again, the surfer was sure the other students would be following soon enough, and therefore they would run into the Ultimate Gardener. With this in mind, Hana followed Ryoto into the study.

* * *

Since the door was open already, Hana wasted no time practically throwing herself into the study. The first two things she noticed were Ryoto himself and the desk, with papers haphazardly strewn on its surface and pens spilled on top of those.

"Ryoto, I know you're worried an all, but don't tear apart the whole room!" Hana admonished the racer.

"Hey, the desk was like that when I got here!" Ryoto insisted, before looking around. "More importantly- do you see anything that looks like it would make Asuna scream like that?"

"Uh..." Hana began. She looked around, but since she was still full of adrenaline, it was hard for her to focus on any real details...except for one. "Hey...look."

She pointed behind Ryoto, towards the door to the storage room. To their confusion, the door was slightly ajar, though not open enough for either of them to see the inside of the room.

"Huh? Why's the door open, I thought it was supposed to be locked until after the breakfast meeting?" Ryoto asked.

"Maybe Asuna decided to unlock it early...? Anyways, that's the one we haven't checked, so..." Hana pointed out.

Ryoto nodded in understanding as the two of them approached the metallic door. Ryoto moved over to open it...but then, the two of them stopped. Hana felt a horrible sensation in her gut- a feeling of dread, anxiety. _W-Why do I feel so...afraid? What's this presence? I...I'm worried for nothing, right? There's no way there's anything back there, there's just...just..._

"H-Hey...Ryoto...?" Hana began as they stopped. "Y-You don't think...the reason Asuna freaked out, and why the door's kinda open, you don't think...!"

"NO! No, don't you DARE say the M-word!" Ryoto shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hana quickly responded, recanting her earlier statement.

"We...We promised we wouldn't let another murder happen! So that's why...there's no way!" Ryoto insisted. "What scared Asuna...i-it was probably just a spider or something! Yeah! A big-ass spider, lurking in the storage room!"

"Y-Yeah! That makes much more sense!" Hana agreed with a firm nod. However, the feeling of terror didn't vanish, and one look into Ryoto's face was all it took to tell her that he was just as afraid as she was.

"There's...There's nothing to worry about...!" Ryoto said, turning to the door with gritted teeth. "NOTHING AT ALL!"

With a shout that bordered on a war cry, the Ultimate Racecar Driver flung the door open, nearly ripping it off its hinges. Time seemed to slow down as light from the study filled the darkened storage room. Within moments, Ryoto and Hana were able to fully look into the room. And in that instant, what they saw...

In the span of one night, the gray and silver storage room had been transformed into a world marred with dark red.

Blood splattered on the walls, on the shelves, on the boxes and crates, smeared on the tiled floor. To Hana, it looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie...but the most horrific part of what she and Ryoto were looking at wouldn't go unnoticed for long.

There, lying in the center of the storage room amongst the blood smears...was Kaneki Tenmaru, lying on her back and facing the ceiling. Her hands were covered in blood, the entire right side of her brown vest was covered in a massive bloodstain, the bottoms of her boots were cakes in dried blood, and there were more small splatters of blood that extended to the left side of her vest and down to her shorts. The explorer's prized fedora was not atop her head anymore, but rather lying a few feet away by one of the shelves on the right side of the room. A large, deep gash cut through the right side of Kaneki's throat, and there were several trails of blood, which had also dried, that had oozed out of the Ultimate's mouth.

But what caught Hana's attention the most...was Kaneki's face. A face that was frozen in an expression of what could only be described as pure, unadulterated terror. Her hazel eyes were wide open, the usual energy and life in them completely gone, and her mouth hung open somewhat as if she had been killed in the middle of a scream.

"N...Nothing...to...!" Ryoto choked out, his earlier confidence and gusto completely shattered as he stared at the scene with abject horror.

 _No...no...no, no, no, no no NO NO NO NO!_ Hana thought to herself as she gazed upon the corpse of her friend. The Ultimate felt like she stared at the gruesome scene for hours, though in reality it was probably more like a few seconds. It didn't take long for memories of discovering Mikio's bloodied body to come rushing back, and all the feelings that came with it. The surfer wanted to scream, she felt a shriek forming in her throat...but it never came out, leaving Hana to just stare alongside Ryoto in shock, confusion, and horror- until...

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

The monitors in the storage and study rooms came to life, and Monokuma's childlike voice spoke an announcement that Hana didn't think she'd ever hear again: "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

That was all it took to confirm Hana's worst fears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryoto backing away in shock; at the same time, Hana felt herself drop to her knees in despair as reality set in. She buried her face in her hands, shaking- no matter how much she wished for this all to be some kind of nightmare, deep in her heart she knew that was not the case.

 _It's...It's happened again..._ Hana told herself as she choked back tears. _Kaneki...she's dead...no, not just dead,_ murdered _...and her killer..._

 _Her killer is...is one of us...!_

* * *

 **A/N: And so, the second murder victim has been revealed: Kaneki Tenmaru, Ultimate Explorer! To be honest, I feel like it was pretty obvious towards the end that she would be the one to get axed this chapter- though to be even more honest, I don't really care if people guess the victim(s) ahead of time, it's the killer(s) that are the real mystery.**

 **But...hoo boy, this murder's been a long time coming. You know, and uh- trivia time: Kaneki was actually one of the very first Danganronpa characters I ever made, even before I decided to make a full-fledged Fanganrona thing like this. So as you can imagine, this character has a bit of a special place in my heart, as well as being one of my favorites from the 80th class as a whole. ...Now obviously that didn't do squat to save her from biting the dust- even when I'm the one in charge of the story, my favorite characters never live. That's DR for ya, I suppose.**

 **But enough of that- next time, the fun really begins. It'll be time for the long-awaited investigation! An investigation that, mind you, will be longer than Chapter 1's, seeing as how the murder is a _biiiiiiiit_ more complicated this time around. You'll see what I mean soon enough, and I hope to see you there! So until then, speculate, predict, theorize- crud those are all synonyms- do whatever makes you excited for next time!**

 **...Now,uh...if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna just...go grieve in the corner. _*sniffle*_**


	15. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 5)

**A/N: Well hello there, loyal readers! After so much delay, it's finally that time again- time to investigate the horrible murder of a friend!**

 **Well, I don't really have too much to say this time around, other than that this investigation will be longer than the previous one as I said before. Though both this one and Chapter 1's were two-parters...technically the first part of Chapter 1's Deadly Life wasn't so much investigation as it was exposition, then it was investigation, so technically that investigation was only one part. This one, though, this one is without a doubt a two-parter.** **This one in particular was supposed to be longer- but after realizing the different chunks of the investigation were spread a bit...uneven throughout this Deadly Life, I decided to split it up a bit better. You know what that means? This chapter, because it is now slightly shorter, comes out early! Yay for you lucky readers! And so, the investigating will begin...right now!**

 **Oh- one more little piece of news, unrelated to the situation in this chapter. After this chapter goes up, you're gonna see another change with the story, similar to when I changed the class's number from 65 to 80. Only this one may be just a bit more significant, I dunno; I am going to change the title of the story! Yup, after all this time, I've finally come up with a better title than cheesy on-the-nose "Remember Hope"- great, right, only took me, like, two months of this story being a thing. Yeah, I gotta work on my planning. But anyways, you won't see that change until after this chapter goes up, don't wanna confuse anyone.**

 **Okay, with that out of the way, the investigation starts..right now! For real this time!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Yeah, I did make it kinda obvious, didn't I? Ah well, as I said, I'm more focused on keeping the killers obscured in the end. Speaking of which- good speculating! Though only time will tell if you're right or not...**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

 _"Look, Hana, it's not that I don't want to tell anyone," Kaneki began with a slight cringe. "I would if I could, but...I can't. At the very least, I can't do it_ yet."

 _"'Yet'? What are you talking about?" Hana asked, removing her hand from Kaneki's shoulder once she was sure the explorer wouldn't run off on her._

 _"I...can't go into specifics without freaking you out- and besides, right now, all I really have are suspicions," Kaneki went on, looking around as she spoke._

 _"Suspicions? Wait, do you..." Hana began, furrowing her brow in worry. "Do you think something's going to...happen?"_

 _"..." Kaneki didn't answer that question. "...Like I was saying, I don't have all the answers yet. I'm fairly certain I will soon, but...the thing is, it's been weighing on me all day. Guess you could say that's why I've been acting all, as you put it, 'off'."_

 _"But...you still haven't told me what you're even talking about," Hana pointed out, frowning in worry. "If it's making you so stressed, maybe telling someone will-"_

 _"No. I can't say anything about it until I have more answers," Kaneki insisted. "But like I said- I'm sure I'll have the answers I'm looking for soon. Actually, I'd say I'll know by tomorrow."_

 _"Tomorrow? ...Will you tell me then?" Hana asked._

 _"Mm...well, even if it turns out I'm wrong, I guess I do owe you an explanation for making you worry so much," Kaneki replied. "So, yeah- tomorrow, I'll tell you everything."_

* * *

This final conversation kept playing over and over again in Hana's mind. Well, tomorrow had certainly come...but those answers never would. The proof of that was right there in the storage room: Kaneki, who had vowed to explain what had been causing her so much stress the day before to her friends, now lay dead in a bloody heap on the floor.

"What the fuck...!? W-What the fuck are we...!?" Ryoto began, his voice cracking with shock...before he cried out, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE LOOKING AT!?"

Hana didn't look up- the more she thought about what was happening, the more she wanted to just sit there and cry. "I...I don't understand, we...we promised we wouldn't let this happen, so...so why-!?"

"Guys! Hana, Ryoto!" the surfer heard a third voice call out. Out of surprise, Hana looked up and over her shoulder towards the entrance to the study, where she saw Rumi in the doorway. "What's happening!? W-We saw Asuna, and then we heard the body discovery announcement, and I heard Ryoto-"

Then, Rumi froze. Hana stood up, about to ask what was wrong- but she quickly realized what it was. When she and Ryoto had initially come into the study, the storage room's door was closed enough so that you couldn't see the inside without opening it. But the two of them, in their shock, had neglected to close the door again; which meant that, even if you were in the doorway of the study, you could immediately see what- or rather, who- was on the other side of the storage's metallic entrance.

"W...W-Wh...!?" Rumi stuttered as she stared...before she, too, screamed in horror. "Oh my god! Oh my god that's- that's-!"

With another cry that sounded like a combination of a scream and a sob, the Ultimate Scuba Diver ran back down the hallway and away from the study. It wasn't long, however, before she was replaced by three other students: Akira, Hiroshi, and Saku.

"We just saw Hamasaki. Who's-" Akira started to ask, before her eyes immediately shifted to Kaneki's corpse in the storage room. "...Oh. Nevermind, I see."

Hiroshi let out a short gasp upon seeing the scene himself. "Oh no...!"

"W-What in the name of the spirits-!?" Saku yelped, his usually closed eyes once again opened from pure shock.

Akira walked forward towards the storage room, as if to get a better look at the crime scene, before with a 'hmph' she gripped the doorknob and closed the door, obscuring the crime scene from sight yet again. "Better to keep the crime scene separate, that way no evidence gets contaminated."

"H-How are you so calm about this?" Hana asked the prosecutor in bewilderment. "Someone's dead! Again!"

"Which is what I thought may happen- though I'd prefer not to waste time we could be using to figure out a way out if this castle on investigating another death," Akira remarked coldly. "Besides- just like I wasn't Nakamura's friend, I wasn't Tenmaru's friend either, so why would I waste time on mourning?"

Before anyone could further discuss, a fourth student entered the study- Tadao, who looked around and stated, "What's going on here? I was told to come look for you all to figure out what's going on. All I know is that someone's dead, if that announcement was anything to go by."

"Hm- well, if you're so curious, see for yourself," Akira told the waiter as she gestured for him to walk over. Once he did, Akira opened the storage room door so Tadao could see the victim and crime scene.

"O-Oh...I see..." Tadao responded, stepping back (which Hana was surprised by- after the way he had been acting last night, she didn't expect him to be so perturbed). "Well...can't say I'm surprised...I told you all that someone was going to snap sooner or later."

Hana, still reeling from the situation at hand, didn't have the willpower to argue with him as well as Akira...but that's when something else happened. Ryoto looked up, turning his gaze to Tadao...before that grief-stricken countenance transformed into a gaze of pure rage. Before anyone could stop him, the Ultimate Racecar Driver was on the other side of the room, grabbing Tadao by his waistcoat and pinning him against the bookshelf with a loud _thud._

"You-! You _son of a bitch!"_ Ryoto shouted. "You did this, didn't you!?"

"W-What? What are talking about, I had nothing to do with this!" Tadao responded, narrowing his eyes in anger as he grasped at Ryoto's fists.

"R-Ryoto! What are you doing?" Hana yelped in shock.

"Hey, calm down..." Saku implored, the large young man attempting to sound soothing.

"'Nothing to do with this'!? You've been going on about wanting to kill someone for days now- you even talked about it a bunch last night!" Ryoto responded, ignoring Hana and Saku as he continued to yell at Tadao. "And now Kaneki ends up dead the next day!? You expect me to think that's some kind of coincidence!?"

"Yes! Because it is, you dolt!" Tadao shouted in response. "Now would you kindly _put me down_ already?"

"Hey, Ryoto, I know you're upset and worked up right now..." Hiroshi calmly began, furrowing his brow. "But this is not the time to lose our heads."

"If you suspect Shimaru's the blackened, fine, but you should at least have evidence to back up your claims," Akira pointed out, crossing her arms.

"Listen to the prosecutor, Miura!" Tadao commanded, although he sounded more irritated than afraid.

Ryoto, who still ignored the others, barked at the Ultimate Waiter, "Why should I do what you say, you murderous murderer!?"

"That's _enough!"_ Saku suddenly yelled, taking nearly everyone in the room by surprise- Hana certainly couldn't think of a time when the usually soft-spoken kickboxer rose his voice like this. The Ultimate then continued, pointing to the storage room door, "One of our friends is dead! Show some respect, both of you!"

"..." Ryoto seemed hesitant for a moment, but soon enough he sighed and dropped Tadao back onto the ground.

Tadao scoffed, dusting himself off as he remarked, "Honestly Miura, keep that hot head of yours in check, would you?"

Ryoto said nothing else, though Hana could tell there was still a large amount of frustration visible on his face...

However, the surfer didn't have time to dwell on this, for Akira spoke up, "I must agree with Shimaru here- it would best to prepare ourselves, _he_ could be showing up any moment now."

"Um, 'he'?" Hana asked. "Who are you talking about?"

"The Muffin Man- who do you think she's talking about?" Monokuma asked irritably, suddenly popping up in the middle of the room. "I mean, I know I took my time showing up, but who would I be to interrupt some sweet drama between classmates?"

"Gyah! Not you again!" Ryoto shouted, snapping out of his stupor.

"Oh, yeah- I should have known you'd be here..." Hiroshi muttered, pursing his lips.

"Okay, Monokuma, whatever you're going to do, can you...not?" Hana almost pleaded with the bear. "Can you give us at least one minute to process what's happened, please?"

"Nope, I'm not gonna waste time any longer! Time is a precious thing, and I'm not one to hold off on a class trial forever!" Monouma responded firmly. "Besides, it's not like this is the first time a murder's happened, right? Just do what you did last time- investigate, debate, suspect each other! Do what you did last time!"

 _When did any of us say we wanted_ either _murder to happen...?_ Hana thought to herself with a small glare at the bear.

"Speaking of the last murder- I'm assuming you're here to give us something?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're correct! A murder has occurred, and that means you all get..." Monokuma began, before finishing with a flourish, "...the Monokuma File! Uploaded to your e-Handbooks for your convenience!"

Just like before, Hana heard a little notification sound from her e-Handbook, indicating the file in question had been transferred.

"R-Really...? We have to go through all this again?" Saku asked, grimacing with worry. "Another trial, another-"

"Well of course! Those are the rules after all, and if you need another refresher just read over the regulations again!" the bear casually responded.

Monokuma then went on before anyone could add to Saku's concern, "Puhuhu...okay then! So, like I said, just go ahead and do whatever you guys did last time. Use this time to investigate- or not, it's no fur off my back- and I'll see you all at the class trial! Good luck!~"

With that declaration, Monokuma ran off, disappearing through the study's door and into the hallway, leaving the group with his words. Hana cringed as she glanced down at her e-Handbook- she was with Saku, the idea of another investigation and trial seemed so surreal, and yet...

"Well- it begins again, I suppose. Another class trial means another investigation is necessary, otherwise it'll be execution for all of us," Akira stated, adjusting her glasses. She turned to Ryoto and ordered, "Miura- I'm assuming everyone who isn't here is either in or near the dining room. Instead of throwing around accusations without proof, you should go down there and fill everyone in on what's going on while we work up here."

"..." Ryoto seemed hesitant for a moment- but then he nodded and turned to leave- however, he gave Tadao one last glare before he sprinted off.

"...Right then. Shimaru, Yamamoto, am I to assume you'll be guarding the crime scene again?" Akira inquired the two Ultimates.

"Indeed, I shall do what I can ensure its security," Saku assured the prosecutor with a little bow of his head.

"Very well- the less of you I'm forced to be around, the better," Tadao responded with a cross of his arms.

"And I'll focus on examining the body like last time, too," Hiroshi stated, already pulling out a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and donning them, just like before.

"Very well. And Amari, you..." Akira began, turning her attention to the girl...before simply stating, "Just...don't get in anyone's way."

 _Great motivation, Akira..._ Hana thought to herself with slight bitterness.

"Alright- let's get started then," Akira concluded as she and Hiroshi followed Saku towards the storage room. Just before the kickboxer entered, he put his hands together in a brief prayer before entering alongside Akira. Tadao glanced after them...but rather than go inside with them, he stepped to the side and stood by the doorway.

Hiroshi seemed like he was about to follow- but then he noticed Hana and turned to her, asking, "Hana? Are you coming?"

"Um...y-yeah, I'll be in there, just..." Hana stammered, grimacing.

"You sure you're okay? Do you need another pep talk?" Hiroshi asked the surfer, furrowing his brow in concern.

"No- No, I'm fine this time. I'm not gonna break down like I did at the start of the last investigation," Hana reassured the coroner. "I...I know we have to investigate before the trial, so..."

"..." Hiroshi nodded and added, "Okay- if you say so. I'll be in here, then."

As the Ultimate walked into the storage room himself, Hana was left with her own thoughts. _I...I really thought we wouldn't have to go through this again. Last night, I thought...I thought I had gotten through to Kaneki, I thought she'd be okay! Oh my god, I should have pressed her more details, maybe I could have done something, I could have... Why,_ why _did this happen again!? Didn't we learn from last time...? I thought...we..._

"..." Hana let out a small sigh and resolved, _Okay...no, no- I can't think like that right now. She's dead, there's nothing...that can be done about that now. If Akira's right about one thing, it's that we need to investigate if we want any chance of surviving the trial. I need to be strong right now. I need to investigate, just like last time. For Kaneki's sake, and for everyone who's still alive...I need to find the truth!_

* * *

Hana thought back to the previous investigation. _Uh...how did I start...? I...think I looked at the Monokuma File first, right?_

Figuring that was as good of a place to start as any, Hana pulled out her e-Handbook and turned it on. She immediately saw the same Monokuma File icon onscreen as before, and the surfer wasted no time clicking on it. The screen that popped up was identical to the previous one- the words 'Monokuma File' in black text with a white background, the only difference being the file was labelled with a red '#2' at the end rather than a '#1'. Scrolling down, Hana saw a new page that was similar to the last Monokuma File as well- a full body picture of Kaneki to the left, with a profile of physical information on the right. The last page of the file appeared to be another autopsy report, reading:

 **The victim was Kaneki Tenmaru. Time of death was estimated to be shortly after 10:05 PM. The body was found on the second floor of the South Wing, inside the storage room. The cause of death was a combination of suffocation and blood loss, both of which a result of a single slash wound to the right side of the throat.**

Hana furrowed her brow as she read over the Monokuma File. _What? But I thought slashed were supposed to be, like, instant death or something... Well, looks like I've already got a question for Hiroshi._

Putting away the e-Handbook, Hana made her way towards the storage room, only to notice Tadao was still simply standing by the doorway. "Uh...Tadao? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the crime scene with Saku?"

Tadao frowned at her and responded, "I can keep track of what's going on in there from out here. There is no way in this lifetime that I'll be standing around in that bloodbath- Nakamura's murder was one thing, but this? No, no, I won't take a chance. What if something gets on my clothes, or my shoes, huh? What then, Amari?"

"You know...I'm pretty sure most of the blood's dried by now," Hana pointed out.

"All the same, I will not be risking it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get blood out of fabric?" Tadao inquired with wide eyes.

Hana was about to respond that she did know- but one, that was none of Tadao's business, and two, the Ultimate didn't want to waste any more investigation time, so she simply left the discussion at that.

Hana hesitated in front of the metal door for a moment, but soon managed to work up the courage to reenter the blood-splattered storage room. Upon entering, the surfer was immediately hit with something she had failed to notice when she and Ryoto had first discovered the body- the smell. Just like when Mikio was killed, the crime scene was inundated with the same metallic odor- only this time, it was even _stronger_ than the previous investigation, so much so that Hana was legitimately convinced she would lose her breakfast right then and there. Fortunately, the surfer was able to power through, and she took a look around the storage room.

Aside from what she had seen the first time- the bloodstains and Kaneki's corpse- the Ultimate took note of Hiroshi standing by the body, Saku standing guard towards the end of the room, and Akira leaning against one of the shelves (evidently, she didn't share Tadao's concerns about the blood) as she scrutinized over her own e-Handbook- likely reading the Monokuma File as well.

Hana figured the best place to start would be the body itself. Steeling her nerves, the girl approached Hiroshi and said, "Hey, Hiroshi. Have you...started looking over the body yet?"

"Well...I was just about to," Hiroshi responded, his expression unreadable. "But...I got a little distracted, sorry."

Hana looked down at Kaneki's body, and in an instant she understood. The explorer's face was still frozen in that look of pure terror, and Hana recoiled somewhat upon seeing her friend in such a state again. For a few moments, she and Hiroshi stared down at the body of their classmate, stuck in their own grief...then, Hiroshi's facial expression shifted somewhat as he knelt down. Hana thought that this would be when the Ultimate Coroner would begin his makeshift autopsy- however, Hiroshi proceeded to manually close Kaneki's eyes and mouth, making the Ultimate seem more...peaceful, in death.

"Just...you know, even in death, a person deserves some dignity," Hiroshi explained, glancing at Hana. He then sighed and added, more to himself than anyone, "Okay- time to let the dead speak."

From there, Hana watched as Hiroshi adjusted his gloves before beginning to examine the body. He first looked over the obvious: the gash on Kaneki's throat that, according to the Monokuma File, had been the fatal wound. The Ultimate Coroner stated, seeming to be talking to himself, "Well...the Monokuma File's right again, this slash wound was definitely what killed her. Hm...that's interesting, the killer managed to cut the carotid artery-"

"Oh- hey, Hiroshi, that reminds me, I had a question," Hana interjected. "The Monokuma File said the slashed throat was the cause of death- but it also said something about blood loss and suffocation. And, well- that doesn't really make any sense, you know? Aren't slashed throats supposed to be, you know, instant death?"

"..." Hiroshi went silent for a few moments, as if trying to figure out how to word his response, then he asked, "You...watch a lot of movies, don't you?"

"I guess- what does that have to do with anything?" Hana responded in confusion.

"Ah...well, you see, contrary to what media would have you believe, slashed throats aren't quite so quick and painless," Hiroshi explained. "Under usual circumstances, slashed throats are actually rather slow. Now, in this case, the killer actually managed to sever Kaneki's right carotid artery- meaning, she didn't exactly die slowly, but I imagine she was probably still conscious for at least a few seconds. Not to mention, judging by all the traces of blood around her mouth, I don't think it was so much 'suffocation' as it was the fluid spilling into her windpipe- so basically, it was more like she drowned in her own blood-"

Hiroshi then stopped talking, because he noticed the look of abject horror on Hana's face. Realizing she probably didn't want to hear any more details about their friend's graphic death, the coroner concluded, "...Yeah. Bottom line is, the Monokuma File is accurate, so there's no need for scrutiny there."

As Hiroshi returned to his examination, Hana grimaced as she wondered to herself, _Holy shit..._ _what on Earth did Kaneki do to deserve a death like_ that?

Hana watched as the Ultimate Coroner lifted up Kaneki's right arm, most likely to get a closer look at her hands- but then, she noticed something. As the explorer's arm was lifted, Hana could get a glimpse of the back of her shoulder- and to her surprise, the surfer spotted what appeared to be...a bloodstain?

Furrowing her brow, Hana turned to Hiroshi and asked, "Hey, Hiroshi? I know you're in the middle of looking at something else, but...could you take a look at Kaneki's back real fast?"

"Her back?" Hiroshi asked, but then replied, "Alright."

Shifting his position, the Ultimate Coroner rolled Kaneki onto her side so he and Hana could examine her back. Hana immediately noticed she had been right with her earlier assumption- that _had_ been a bloodstain she had seen, though the source of it surprised both her and Hiroshi. It would appear that Kaneki hadn't just been slashed in the throat- there were also what appeared to be several stab wounds concentrated about the upper right side of her back, the area soaked in a rather large bloodstain.

"W-What the-!? Stab wounds?" Hana exclaimed in shock.

"Hm...well, good eye, Hana," Hiroshi stated as he went to get a closer look at the wounds. "Mm- once again, it looks like the Monokuma File left some things out. Let's see...looks like there are five wounds here, and based on the similar shape and size of all of them, I'd say they were all caused by the same weapon. Though, these stab wounds weren't what killed her, hm..."

As Hiroshi devolved into talking to himself once again, Hana figured it would be best for her to let the coroner do his job. As she thought about the discovery she had just made, she remembered the writing app on her e-Handbook and thought to herself, _Oh yeah...my e-Handbook has that, doesn't it? Well...I used it to write down all the evidence I found during the last investigation, didn't I? And...well, it didn't exactly work against me, so..._

Nodding to herself, the Ultimate Surfer whipped out the trusty electronic, opened up the text app, and jotted down what she knew about the back stab wounds. Looking around once more, Hana spotted Akira had moved from her original spot and was now investigating the rest of the scene.

"Oh- hey, Akira!" Hana called out, walking over to the prosecutor.

Akira glanced at her, her gaze turning into a glare upon seeing the surfer, and she inquired, "Do you need something, Amari?"

"Uh- well, not exactly, just..." Hana began, having forgotten Akira's coldness towards her. "Just looking for advice, I guess? Like, where do you think a good place to start investigating would be?"

"Mmph- if our lives weren't on the line, I'd ignore you, but I suppose I can give you some food for thought," Akira responded with a short sigh. "Overall, I get the feeling this case is going to much more complicated than Nakamura's murder."

"More complicated? Why?" Hana asked.

"Haven't you read the Monokuma File? Did you see the time of death?" Akira inquired, narrowing her red eyes slightly.

"Um- yeah, some time after 10:05 last night, right?" Hana replied.

"And you haven't forgotten my rule, have you? Regarding nighttime?" Akira then added, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah...you said we're not allowed to be out of our bedrooms after nighttime starts," Hana responded, nodding.

"Exactly. Now, considering the murder happened after 10:00- the start of nighttime- everyone would have been in their rooms at the time...well, theoretically," Akira explained, glancing at Kaneki's body for a moment. "Do you know what that means?"

"...Someone broke the rule...?" Hana guessed, unsure of where the Ultimate Prosecutor was going with this explanation.

Akira's irritated glare burned through the surfer as she clarified, "It _means:_ unlike last time, we can't account for anyone's whereabouts at the time of the crime- everyone will just say they were in their rooms. In other words, this time, _nobody_ has an alibi."

"Ooh, I get it..." Hana responded, nodding in understanding. "So...you're saying there's really no use in asking about alibis?"

"Precisely. Even if someone is telling the truth about being in their bedrooms during nighttime, I doubt there'd be any way to corroborate them," Akira went on, adjusting her glasses thoughtfully. "So, there, that's my wisdom. The rest- figure it out for yourself. You seemed to have no issue last time, after all."

As much as Hana wanted to protest that statement, Akira was clearly done with her questions and turned away to continue investigating. The surfer then watched as the red-haired prosecutor bent down to pick up...Kaneki's fedora? Seeming to sense Hana's confusion, she glanced back at her and stated, "What? Anything could be evidence, I for one am not willing to discount anything."

"..." Shrugging, Hana decided now would be a good time to return to her own investigation. Glancing about once again, the surfer couldn't see anything else that might be a lead- therefore, she decided to let the others continue with their jobs, and Hana exited the storage room to continue her search elsewhere.

* * *

Upon reentering the study, Hana glanced at Tadao, then looked around at the room once more. Now that she wasn't rushing around in a panic, she could look around more thoroughly- however, aside from the disheveled desk, she couldn't find anything that might be a clue. Thus, she turned to the other only student in the room and asked, "Hey, Tadao- I know you're on guard duty and all, but have you seen anything out of the ordinary in here?"

"Hmph- well, I'm still no investigator, that's up to you and the others," Tadao remarked, uncaring. "Though, if you must start somewhere, could you look at that discolored spot on the wall there? It's bothering me to no end."

"Discolored...?" Hana began, glancing towards where Tadao had gestured. At first, she couldn't tell just what he was referring to- but then upon looking more closely, the surfer could see something out of place. Hana walked closer so she could look more closely; on one of the walls, to the right of the door leading out to the hallway, there was some kind of discolored spot.

 _What the...? Is this some kind of...stain?_ Hana wondered, squinting as she tried to examine the spot. It was very faded, so the surfer wasn't too surprised she had still missed it without Tadao pointing it out. The shape itself was also odd- it had some kind of oblong and slightly elongated form to it, certainly a shape the Ultimate Surfer hadn't seen before. _Sheesh, I can't make heads or tails of what this is supposed to be...was this spot on the wall always discolored, and I just didn't notice until now...?_

"Strange, isn't it?" Tadao remarked as he watched Hana examine the spot. "I'd love to clean it off myself, but seeing as how it may be important to the case, I decided to leave it."

"Hm...yeah, it could be important, couldn't it?" Hana muttered, taking out her e-Handbook so she could make note of the discolored area on the wall.

"Well, if I were you, I'd see if Koichi knows anything about it- he's always hanging about in here, I've noticed," Tadao remarked thoughtfully.

 _Oooh, right- the study is pretty much Shiro's favorite spot._ Hana remembered, nodding. _Maybe I should talk to him, and see if he knows anything about-_

Then, Hana recalled something else. _Hey, wait...Shiro wasn't down at the breakfast meeting either. I mean, Asuna was up here I think, and Kaneki...yeah. But Shiro...? Where is he?_

However, the surfer was pulled out of her thoughts by Tadao, who told her, "Hello, earth to Amari? Are you just going to stand there watching the air, or are you going to continue investigating? I'm doing my job as guard, I'd prefer if you did your tasks as well."

"Um- right, right, sorry," Hana sheepishly responded. _Shiro's probably around here somewhere- maybe he's down at the dining room?_

Deciding that she would look for the silver-haired young man as well as search for clues, Hana made her way to the door- but then realized the Ultimate Poet wasn't the only person she'd like to talk to. She figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to Asuna as well- after all, considering how the body discovery announcement worked, Hana assumed the Ultimate Gardener had been the first one to discover Kaneki's body.

 _...Oh god, no wonder Asuna was so panicked when me and Ryoto found her..._ Hana realized, immediately grimacing. _Finding a classmate's dead body by yourself like that...it's just like what happened to me when Mikio was murdered...god, I hope she's okay..._

Feeling even more resolved to talk to the short gardener, Hana quickly made her way to the study's door and grasped at the doorknob to open it...but was immediately surprised to find she was not gripping the cool metal surface of a doorknob, but rather simple empty air. Confused, she looked down to where she expected the knob to be- but to her shock, there was nothing but a neat, circular hole in the door where the doorknob once was and _should_ have been.

"Wha-?" Hana stammered, quickly examining the hole in shock. No, this was not the work of her traumatized mind, the doorknob was truly gone. "Hey, Tadao- did you notice the door's missing its knob?"

"Hm? Well no- the door was open when we first arrived. Miura must have closed it when he left a few minutes ago," the Ultimate Waiter explained, shrugging.

 _Okay, I don't know about that stain on the wall, but this? No way, I know this door had a doorknob before today- you know, like doors are supposed to!_ the Ultimate Surfer thought to herself, only growing more baffled by the minute as she went back to looking over the hole in the wood.

However, as she examined the door, Hana remembered something. _Hey, wait...when the second floor first opened, didn't Monokuma say something about this door...? Something about...about it being built in "backwards", and how it locks from the outside...? Hm...no, something's definitely weird here, I'd better remember this._

Hana quickly jotted down the information about the study room door- the missing doorknob and what Monokuma had said several days ago- before stowing away the e-Handbook yet again. She then decided to return to her original goal of seeking out Asuna and/or Shiro, and thus exited the study...which proved to be slightly more cumbersome with the lack of a doorknob.

* * *

It wouldn't take too long for the Ultimate Surfer to find what she was looking for. She had decided to check the dining hall for any sign of students- and luck seemed to be on her side, for she saw both Ryoto and Asuna in the room. Asuna was sitting in one of the empty seats, her head lowered and preventing Hana from seeing her face; Ryoto, meanwhile, was standing near the gardener as if to keep an eye on the catatonic girl.

Ryoto noticed her enter the room, then turned to the surfer and stated, "Hey, Hana. Are you investigating?"

"Uh-huh. I was actually looking for Asuna," Hana explained, turning her attention to the shorter girl in question. "Um...is she...?"

"Well, she was bawling her eyes out a few minutes ago. I did what I could to clam her down, but- you know, there's only so much Ryoto Miura can do..." the Ultimate explained, frowning. "I tried to ask her some questions myself, but she wouldn't talk to me. You know her better than I do, Hana- maybe she'll talk to you?"

Hana nodded, walking over to Asuna, who didn't look up to acknowledge her at all. Furrowing her brow in concern, the surfer pulled out a chair to sit next to her friend- and once she did, Hana could more clearly see Asuna's facial expression. The student in question was simply...staring blankly at the table's surface, her eyes tinged with red as an indication that she had, in fact, been crying.

 _Sheesh...she really doesn't look much better now than when me and Ryoto first saw her upstairs..._ Hana observed. _I guess...I can't really blame her. She and Kaneki were pretty close...and Asuna was the first one to find her body, and...you know, if we didn't have such a limited time to investigate, I'd probably spend a good hour giving her a much-needed hug._

Unfortunately, Hana didn't have time to waste, so she began to speak to Asuna, "Hey...Asuna? It's Hana."

"..." Asuna kept silent, simply blinking as she remained unresponsive.

"Asuna...listen, I know you're probably really upset right now, but..." Hana began, trying to be gentle with her tone. "Are you okay to answer a question or two?"

"..." Asuna finally glanced at the surfer, as to indicate she was willing to listen and answer.

"So...why did you go up to the storage room before breakfast?" Hana asked. "I thought you were supposed to unlock the storage _after_ breakfast?"

"...I...I just thought...I'd unlock it before. Y-You know, that way...that way I wouldn't...almost forget again..." Asuna explained, her voice rather hoarse (likely from all that screaming she did before). "I-It was when I...w-when I unlocked it that I...th-that's when I f-found..."

"I-It's okay, I get it," Hana replied. "Hey...you talked to Kaneki the night before, right? Did she say anything to you that might be...a clue? Something?"

"..." Asuna went silent for a few moments, but then replied, "N-No...No, nothing. Sh-She didn't...s-say anything _too_ odd..."

The Ultimate Gardener then went on, "W-We didn't talk too long...I-I went to lock the s-storage room like I was supposed to, and th-then I went to my room. I-I was in my room the whole night, so...so that w-was the last I saw of her..."

Hana nodded- it all sounded very normal, and though Akira said that alibis were useless in this case, the surfer still decided to take Asuna's with a grain of salt.

Seeing as how there was nothing else Hana really wanted to ask her, so the surfer nodded in thanks and stood. "Thanks, Asuna. I'll...leave you be, so you can-"

"H-Hey...Hana...? Can I...ask you something...?" Asuna began, looking towards her. "...Why...? W-Why did this...happen...? W-Why did Kaneki have to...have to be..."

"..." Hana sighed and replied, "I...I don't know, Asuna. But...that's what we're all gonna figure out. During this investigation, and the class trial, we'll figure this out, okay?"

"..." Asuna nodded, returning to her vigil at the table.

Hana said nothing else...but then, as she took one last look at the gardener, she noticed something...off with her friend's appearance. "Hey...Asuna? Where's your hair pin?"

"M-My...huh?" Asuna stuttered, immediately looking up in surprise. The gardener then quickly felt around her blonde bangs, where her familiar hair pin in the shape of a flower would usually be...but right now, it was gone. "W-Wha-!? B-But I could have sworn...I had it last night, I-!"

"Er- hey, don't panic, okay? If I come across it while I'm investigating, I'll make sure to bring it back to you," Hana reassured her classmate, before turning to make her exit.

Just before she left, however, Hana saw Ryoto was still observing the two of them...however, it seemed he was only half paying attention. The surfer frowned and asked him, "Ryoto? Is something the matter?"

Ryoto scoffed. "Something the matter? Yes, something's the matter! I can't get what's happened out of my head!"

The Ultimate Racecar Driver growled, clenching his fists tightly as he continued, "I made such a big deal about not wanting to let another murder happen, and now- _look!_ Kaneki's fucking _dead,_ Asuna's _traumatized,_ we're gonna have _another_ trial-! Goddammit, I should have been more vigilant, I should have-"

"Hey hey hey, Ryoto- you can't go freaking out now, okay?" Hana quickly told the young man before he could continue. "Please? I can barely keep myself together right now, and I don't think a lot of the others are much better..."

"I-I know that!" Ryoto responded angrily. "But it's still...fucking..."

Growling to himself, the racecar driver added with more calm, "Sorry...I know this isn't the time to freak out, but it makes so FUCKING mad! Makes me wanna just find whoever did this and just...kick the _shit_ out of them!"

"W-Well, I wouldn't say you should 'kick the shit' out of them," Hana pointed out- was this how Hiroshi felt when he was trying to pull Hana out of her own depression during the previous investigation? Shaking her head, the surfer went on, "But, you're definitely not the only one who wants to figure out the truth. So...don't just give up already, okay? I know you're better than that, Ryoto- I'm pretty sure you're not the type to give up so easily, right?"

"Right...yeah, you're right! You are right! I'm Ryoto Miura, I'm not give in to Monokuma's 'despair' bullshit!" Ryoto responded confidently. "Haha! Yeah! I'm gonna put my all into this investigation!"

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Hana replied cheerfully.

"And that means proving Tadao is the blackened!" Ryoto added with determination.

"That's...less what I'm talking about," Hana stated, frowning.

"Yeah! Ryoto Miura, champion of the racing lanes, won't fail again!" Ryoto shouted. "I may not have been able to stop Kaneki from dying, but I'll make it up to her by proving Tadao's guilt!"

"O-Okay, but we don't know for sure if Tadao's _actually-"_ Hana began yet again.

"Hahaha! Yeah! I'll blow this whole case open like a lightning bolt against a tree!" Ryoto declared, cracking his fists. "The blackened better beware! Hana Amari, your words of courage have given me my strength back!"

"Ahaha...anytime Ryoto, any time," Hana replied, chuckling sheepishly. "But, uh, if you're feeling up to it...think I can ask you some questions too? Like...did _you_ see anything weird last night?"

"Oh. Uh...shit, I didn't think I'd be interrogated now," Ryoto replied with a wince. "Sorry Hana, but my mind's still a _bit_ out of it- it's not every day that you find a dead body, you know? Gimme some time- with some running around and investigating of my own, I should be ready to answer whatever questions you have!"

"Well, alright, I'll keep that in mind," Hana replied, nodding in thanks.

"Alright! Thanks again, Hana Amari, for your words of encouragement!" Ryoto declared joyfully before he sprinted out of the dining room, his blue cape flowing behind him.

 _Heh...guess I should be glad Ryoto bounces back so easily._ Hana thought to herself, relieved. _I just wish I didn't have to leave Asuna in here by herself...but I can't stay here, I have to investigate too..._

Suddenly, Hana heard footsteps swiftly approaching the dining room. The Ultimate Surfer initially thought it was Ryoto returning already...but who it actually turned out to be surprised her to no end.

"H-Hey! I-I-I'm really sorry for being so late- ah, is anyone even in here...?" a familiar male voice asked, before a certain silver-eyed poet sprinted into the room.

"Sh-Shiro!?" Hana yelped in shock. She looked over the boy- overall, he appeared as though he had just woken up from sleep. His short silver hair was completely disheveled, he was still clad in his pajamas, and he was panting heavily (presumably from running to the dining room).

"Oh! Hi Hana!" Shiro quickly greeted, walking over to her. "Ah, listen, I'm really really sorry for not being at the breakfast meeting. I-I had a hard time falling asleep last night, I was up for a few hours, I must have been so tired I missed Monokuma's morning announcement, and- oh, Akira wasn't too mad was she? Do you think a poem will make it up to her? What would a prosecutor even like, I-"

"Whoa whoa, Shiro, slow down," Hana responded, putting her hands up as a gesture to calm him down. "You... _just_ woke up?"

"Heh- uh, yeah, a few minutes ago," Shiro explained, embarrassed. "Again, I'm really sorry about that, I hope the others weren't too worr-"

At that moment, the Ultimate Poet's eyes wandered over to Asuna, who still sat catatonic at the banquet table. Surprised, Shiro asked. "Huh? What's wrong with Asuna, is she okay? Why does she look so upset?"

Hana gulped, her levels of worry rocketing high. "Y-You...You don't know, do you?"

"Don't know what? I haven't seen anyone at all since I woke up- other than Ryoto, I saw him running down the hall just now- so I have no idea what went on at the meeting," Shiro explained.

"..." Hana was frozen in place, her mind going blank as she futilely tried to find the right words to explain the situation to the Ultimate.

"Hana...? Why do _you_ look so worried now?" Shiro asked, his facial expression shifting into concern. "Did...something happen?"

* * *

What followed was Hana's attempt at explaining to Shiro what was happening: Kaneki being found murdered (which explained Asuna's depressed state), the impending second trial, the current investigation, etc. To say the Ultimate Poet was shocked and confused would be an understatement- Hana even had to prove to him that she was being serious, showing him the Monokuma File to do so.

"N-No way...!" Shiro choked out, his face paling in horror. "I-I slept through all that!? Oh my god, that's...! N-No wonder Asuna's so upset, she-!"

Shiro ruffled his hair in frustration, quickly adding, "Th-This is terrible! I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, Shiro, it's okay- you couldn't have known what would happen- and besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I got mad at you for losing sleep," Hana responded reassuringly.

"I..." Shiro began, looking down guiltily. "Well...I don't know if I'll be able to help with the investigation, at any rate. Not just because I don't like suspecting everyone, but because- you know, I slept through a lot of what happened, so I'm quite a bit behind, aren't I?"

"I...guess, but maybe-" Hana began, but then she had an idea. "Hey- if you still want to help anyways, do you think you could stay here with Asuna? I'm worried about leaving her here by herself while she's like this- so if you don't think you can investigate, can you stay with her for a bit?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah I can do that!" Shiro responded with a nod. "Yeah, I'll keep Asuna company- I mean, I'll have to get dressed at some point- but besides that! Hey, maybe I can even try to help her feel better! I could write a poem or read one or two..."

Hana smiled in relief, responding, "Thanks Shiro- if anyone can help Asuna right now, I'm sure you're best."

Nodding in thanks, Shiro turned to walk over to the table...but then Hana remembered something and quickly added, "Wait, Shiro! There's one more thing you can do real fast."

"Hm? What's that?" the poet asked.

"You're in the study a lot, right?" Hana inquired.

"Uh-huh! It's the best place in the castle so far- at least, for a scholarly type like me," Shiro replied cheerfully.

"Okay, so...have you ever seen a weird...stain-thing on the wall next to the door?" Hana then asked. "Like...a discolored spot or something like that?"

"Huh? Well, no, I would have noticed something like that by now," Shiro remarked after a moment of thought.

"Mm...alright, thanks," Hana replied with a nod of thanks. "That's all for right now. I'll let you take care of Asuna now- if something else comes up, I'll ask you, okay?"

"Okay! Don't worry, you can count on me!" Shiro assured the surfer as he went to sit down with Asuna.

Trusting in Shiro, Hana proceeded to make her way out of the dining room and back into the hallway. Still, as she walked, the surfer ruminated over what the poet had told her. _So...he's never seen a spot on the wall of the study? That's weird...I mean, I'm pretty sure I've never seen it before either, but I haven't been in the study as often as Shiro. Mm...Akira was right, this case is already making my head hurt..._

* * *

Once she arrived back in the main hall, Hana looked around to see if something caught her eye...and sure enough, something did. She almost missed it at first, but another look confirmed her thoughts- down in the bedroom hallway, Hana was certain there was somebody down there. Upon squinting slightly, the surfer could tell just who it was...and a part of her was not too surprised. Despite this, the girl quickly made her way over to the hallway, where her suspicions were immediately confirmed: a certain scarf-clad Ultimate Thief stood in one of the bedroom's doorways, poking his head in as if scoping out the interior.

"Hinata!" Hana called, a bit of exasperation slipping into her tone.

The thief yelped, quickly turning to see who had caught him. "Hana? Where'd you come from?"

"Doesn't matter- what are you doing?" Hana asked.

"What's it look like? I'm putting my talents to use- seeing if there's anything in here no one's gonna miss," Hinata explained, gesturing to the open bedroom with a grin.

"Wha...? Who's room is that?" Hana then inquired.

"Who do you think?" Hinata replied, closing the door just enough so that Hana could read the nameplate: based on the name and the little sprite graphic above it, this room had belonged to Kaneki.

"Wh- seriously, Hinata? You're going through someone's bedroom- during the investigation, no less!- again?" Hana asked, glaring angrily. First Mikio's room, now Kaneki's? She understood he was the Ultimate Thief and all, but did she was fairly certain stealing a dead person's belongings was some form of disrespect. The surfer then added, "How do you even keep getting into these room in the first place?"

"Weeell, I'd like to say it's because of my amazing lock-picking skill," Hinata began. "...But it's actually because, according to what Monokuma said to me during the last murder, the victim's bedroom is unlocked for 'investigative purposes', he said. But hey, I'm not gonna complain. What he calls 'investigative purposes', I call a golden opportunity, heh."

"..." Hana's gaze only turned more angry by the second...however, that anger soon turned to curiosity. _Monokuma unlocks the victim's bedroom, huh...? Well...last time, we didn't really need to go into Mikio's room- or at least, I didn't- but this time...this time, there's less to go on, so maybe...?_

"...Actually, Hinata, can you keep that door open?" Hana asked, approaching. "I want to take a look inside Kaneki's room. If you want to help out, you can...but please don't actually take anything that's not evidence, okay?"

"Hana, c'mon, I've got self-control! When the chips are down, I'm not gonna pull anything," Hinata reassured the surfer...but then muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "spoilsport". Ignoring this, the two Ultimates made their way inside of their deceased classmate's bedroom.

 _If there's gonna be evidence anywhere, it's going to be in the victim's bedroom- that sounds logical enough!_ Hana reasoned to herself as they entered. _...Right?_

* * *

Hana wasn't quite sure what she was expecting to see from the bedroom of the Ultimate Explorer- however, upon entry, the surfer stopped and looked around in curiosity. The basic layout of the room was identical to her own bedroom: pink bedsheets, blue walls with a light blue wavy pattern, a royal blue carpet, a desk adjacent to a closet, a bathroom, and another security camera and monitor of Monokuma's. Beyond that, there were more distinctive features- Hana spotted a map of Earth (a map that seemed rather old, with its wrinkles and torn edges) pinned to the wall just above the desk; various atlases, geography books, and a globe upon the top of the desk; a small trash can placed to the left of the bed; and a second pair of boots (spares, probably), haphazardly strewn next to the closet.

"...This is it? Shit, I thought she'd have some kind of cool artifact or two lying around..." Hinata remarked, his gold eyes scanning the room disapprovingly. "Or...maybe there's something in the closet?"

"Hinata, I told you, we're just looking for evidence," Hana reminded him, walking over to examine the desk's contents.

"Pfft- yeah, I know! I'm just...being thorough," Hinata responded with a chuckle, walking over to the other side of the room. "Besides, why do you care so much? I'm the Ultimate Thief, and it's not like Kaneki's gonna need this stuff anymore, right?"

Hana sighed as she sifted through the desk's drawers- nothing too suspicious, just some notes and more books. "Hinata- sorry, but, you know it's that attitude that made everyone think you stole Itachi's knife the other day, right? You're nice enough, but- you know, seeing as how you do stuff like _that_ all the time..."

Hinata's casual demeanor immediately shifted into a glare. "Oh come on, you too?"

"S-Sorry, just saying!" Hana replied, putting her hands up innocently as she made her way towards the trash can, having finished looking through the drawers.

"Listen Hana- I'm a thief, I own up to it, I know what I'm about. Yeah, I steal things, and I have fun doing it. If you think I took something, chances are I did, I'll admit. And if I did, I'll give it back to ya- unless you're the cops- no harm done," Hinata explained, crossing his arms with a frown. "But if I say I didn't steal something, and you still think I did it _just because_ I'm the Ultimate Thief, that gets my gears grinding."

"Really...? Huh, didn't know you felt so strongly about that..." Hana responded.

"Of course I do! I'm not just some petty criminal stealing old ladies' purses, I do have _some_ level of integrity!" Hinata added with a growl. "If I say I didn't steal something, _I didn't steal it."_

Before Hana could truly respond, the thief apparently finished rummaging through the closet and sighed. "Sorry 'bout the rant, that's been building up since yesterday. Whatever, there's nothing interesting in here anyways. I'm gonna go see what the others are up to, maybe I'll go find something cooler up on the second floor..."

Continuing to mutter to himself, Hinata made his way out of Kaneki's bedroom, leaving Hana to finish the investigation by herself.

 _Man, and here I thought Hinata took nothing but pride in his talent...guess I can't blame him, it can't be easy having a talent related to...you know, illegal stuff._ Hana pondered, frowning to herself. However, since Hinata had already left, there was nothing she could do to make him feel any better at that moment...

Hana shook her head. _Okay, okay, I can talk to Hinata later, I need to get back on track. I need to focus back on investigating, and that starts with-! ...Sorting through my dead friend's trash. It's for the sake of finding the truth, Hana, it's for the sake of finding the truth..._

The Ultimate Surfer examined the trash can...and, to her relief/surprise, it was almost completely empty. The only things she saw resting in the can were small, torn scraps of paper. Curious, Hana reached in and picked up one of the scraps; she initially believed the paper was of no significance, since she didn't immediately see anything on it...but then, upon closer inspection, she did. There was no doubt writing- or at least, a fragment of writing- on the paper scrap, reading:

 _'...e in the...'_

Blinking in surprise, Hana picked up another paper scrap- which, because the paper was ripped up, was just an unintelligible. However, she noticed two things: the handwriting was the same, as well as the type of paper, so these scraps had to have been part of the same paper (or at least, that's how Hana saw it).

 _Okay, this is weird...but! A torn up note suspiciously thrown away, that must be important! I guess!_ Hana thought to herself. She quickly gathered up more of the paper scraps, hoping to make out or form some kind of cohesive portion of the note...but unfortunately, the surfer was unable to.

 _...Nevermind, puzzles were never really my strong suit anyways..._ Hana pondered as she stared in disappointment at the scraps. The Ultimate frowned- though she was mainly following her gut instinct at this point, Hana was sure this paper hod to be of some importance, and as such she couldn't just leave these scraps as they were. Surely, there had to be _someone_ who could piece the torn paper back together.

Nodding resolutely, Hana proceeded to gather up all the scraps from Kaneki's trash can...however, it was then she ran into yet another problem. Due to the size and the fact that the pieces were made of almost weightless paper, it was extremely difficult for Hana to hold on to all the pieces without dropping several of them. The Ultimate cursed the fact that her clothes didn't come with any pockets, and the fact that she hadn't found anything in her friend's bedroom that she could realistically use to carry all the scraps.

 _This...is not going to work. I can't just leave the stuff here, I might forget, or run out of time, or..._ Hana pondered, frowning to herself. She glanced around, hoping to spot something she could use...before her brown eyes settled on the trash can once again. Glanced around the room, then back at the trash can; it would look weird, and the others would likely think she was being stupid, but at this point Hana didn't think she had any other option.

Thus, the surfer found herself placing the scraps of paper back into the trash can, picking up the somewhat small metallic container, and carrying it with her out of Kaneki's bedroom as she finished her investigation of the area.

* * *

 **A/N: And with this, we wrap up the first half of Chapter 2's investigation! Took me long enough, I could have had this uploaded hours ago if I wasn't a darn procrastinator. Whatever, it's done, it's great, we got some evidence, we got suspicions, we got a depressed gardening girl, all according to plan!**

 **As I said, this is only part one of a two-part Deadly Life- so we're far from done with investigating! Next time- more looking around, more interactions, more evidence that may affirm/dissuade your speculation, _maaaybe_ more salty Hinata. And don't forget- once this chapter goes up, the title of this story will officially be changed, so I hope you're ready to get used to that! So, in the meantime- go ahead, leave a review, speculate to yourself, and I hope to see you next time! Buh-bye!~**

 **P.S. I hope y'all appreciate the lengths I went to research slashed throats and throat/neck anatomy because I wanted to be somewhat realistic in my horrific murder story, I'm probably- I'm probably on some kind of watchlist now. Eh, worth it!**


	16. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 6)

**A/N: Nyeeeeh, welcome back! Noticed anything different? Eeeeh? New title, just like I said I would implement! Indeed, this story is no longer "Remember Hope", but it is now "Fractured Fates"! Yup, more abstract, more fitting, less cheesy, 100% better! So you guys better get used to it, forget the moments of me referring to the story as RH in the previous chapters, it is now FF! And to go along with the new title...cover art! Beautiful, glorious cover art that I spontaneously decided to make! Spent about all my free time the day before Columbus Day doing that, which I could have used to write, but eeeh- the chapter still got made, so no harm done!**

 **...Okay, back to the story. So, last time- investigation happened! This time- more investigation! Investigation that I actually needed some help to sort out at one point- I doubt the people who helped me are reading this, but if they are- thanks! Now, this is the last half of Chapter 2's investigation period, and we've still got quite a bit to go through (a flashback may or may not be included). But fear not, the mystery will only be built up from here! Probably, unless you're super genre savvy and can see through my lies...but no speculation will be confirmed or denied, so there!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 **...So how 'bout that Spooktober, eh? How 'bout them horror games? How're...How're the skelebros?**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Deadly Life (Part 2)**

Exiting Kaneki's bedroom, trash can in hand, Hana thought about where to head next. _Maybe...I should check the second floor some more? That's where the murder actually happened, maybe there are more clues up there...?_

As she walked into the main hall once more, something else caught the surfer's attention: on the other side of the chamber, right next to the door leading to the furnace room, was none other than Rumi Hamasaki. The jacket-clad scuba diver had just exited the room, walked over to the side of the door...then buried her face in her hands, leaning against the wall as she did.

"Huh...? Rumi?" Hana murmured to herself. Concerned, the Ultimate abandoned all thoughts about heading to the second floor and walked over to her blue-haired friend.

Once she was close enough, the surfer spoke up, "Rumi? Everything okay...?"

With a surprised gasp, the Ultimate Scuba Diver quickly looked up- allowing Hana to see tears building in her eyes. Rumi quickly responded, "O-Oh, hi Hana- what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was just coming from the bedrooms, then I saw you come out and the furnace room, and..." Hana explained, before shaking her head. "Are you okay?"

"O-Okay? Well, I..." Rumi stammered, sniffling as she tried to maintain her composure.

"Ah...seriously, you looked like you were crying, so I got worried, and..." Hana added. "So, seriously, what's the matter?"

"W-Well, I..." Rumi began...before tearfully responding, "No, I'm not okay! I'm trying to be strong, because we have to find clues before the class trial, but it's...I just need to-"

Unable to finish, the scuba diver burst into tears and embraced Hana. The surfer, surprised but not wanting to see her friend so upset, put down the trash can and returned the embrace. "H-Hey, it's okay to be upset, don't worry-"

"But I know we have to investigate! B-But at the same time...two of our friends are dead! First Azami, now Kaneki!" Rumi cried. "Who's next, you!?"

"W-Why did you default to me!?" Hana yelped.

"And I know! I know Azami did a terrible thing! She murdered Mikio, lied to all of us during the trial, I know what she did was bad! And yet...you know, she was our friend, so I just- I feel bad! Moving past that was hard enough!" Rumi sobbed into Hana's shoulder. "And now- and now Kaneki! I don't even care about those plans to hang out anymore, I just don't want _her_ to be dead too! I don't- why- why-"

Then, Rumi's tear-filled eyes drifted towards the trash can next to Hana. "Why...do you have a trash can with you?"

"Oh, uh- it's evidence," Hana explained, glancing at the trash can herself.

"The trash can is evidence?" Rumi asked, letting go of Hana and wiping at her eyes.

"N-No, it's what's _in_ the trash can that-" Hana began, before she heard the sound of the furnace room door opening again.

"Rumi? Where'd you go, you'd better not try and leave me to do all the-" a certain Ultimate Surgeon spoke, poking her head out of the room and looking around. Upon seeing Rumi and Hana, Shiori added, "Oh- hi Hana. When did you get here?"

"Not too long ago, I was just talking to Rumi," Hana explained, gesturing to the scuba diver.

"Yeah- sorry to hold things up Shiori, I-I just had to get my thoughts together- which Hana helped me with," Rumi said, wiping her eyes once more. "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

"Well...alright, if you say so. Let's get back to it, then," Shiori told Rumi, who nodded and made her way back towards the furnace room. She then turned her attention to Hana, telling her, "Hana- while you're here, if you want to help us look around in here, you can. The more help the better, I suppose."

Shiori closed the door afterwards, leaving Hana to think. _Well, I'm happy that I was able to help Rumi vent a bit, though...I don't know what they're gonna find in the furnace room- hey, wait! Shiori's good with her hands and organization- maybe I can ask her about these paper scraps!_

Eagerly picking up the trash can once again, Hana was quick to follow Rumi and Shiori into the furnace room.

* * *

The furnace room was the same as it had always been; Rumi seemed to be examining the furnace itself, while Shiori seemed to be looking over the cleaning supplies stored to the side.

The surgeon took notice of Hana, and initially only gave her a little nod of acknowledgement...until she spotted the small trash can in the surfer's possession. "...Any reason in particular you're carrying around a trash can?"

"Oh, well, I actually wanted to talk to you about that!" Hana responded, approaching her. "See, it's evidence."

"The trash can is evidence?" Shiori asked, skeptical. "Well, I've seen stranger clues on TV, I suppose..."

"No, the evidence is in the can," Hana explained once again, tipping the trash can slightly so Shiori could see the torn pieces of paper in question. "See? Those pieces of paper- I...didn't have anything I could use to really carry the scraps around, so..."

"...So you thought the best solution would to take the entire trash can?" Shiori asked in a deadpan tone.

"W-Well...it seemed like a good idea at the time," Hana replied sheepishly.

"Like...you couldn't find anything else to use? Anything at all, you just- you just took the trash can itself?" Shiori went on in exasperation. "The whole thing? Didn't think that would look stupid or anything?"

Hana sighed, stating, "L-Look, the point is, I-"

"A plastic bag! An envelope! A purse!" Shiori rambled. "Literally- Literally anything else that would make more sense than taking the whole- a spare hat, even!"

"Will you forget about the trash can!?" Hana yelled, forcefully setting the trash can down with a metallic _thunk_ on the hard floor. "Look, I really think these paper scraps might mean something, and I don't think I'd be able to put it back together. I figured you're smart and good with your hands- think you could put the paper back together?"

Pursing her lips, Shiori took a look of her own at the torn paper pieces. The surgeon then responded, "Well...if it's that important to you, then fine. I can piece together whatever this was. In fact, I'll even go a little extra and put the trash can back in...wait, where'd you find this?"

"Kaneki's room," Hana stated.

"..." Shiori opened her mouth, about to ask another question- before Hana, guessing what the Ultimate was about to ask, interrupted and clarified, "Monokuma unlocks the victim's room for the investigation."

Shiori nodded, presumably noting the information. She then added, "Of course, before I do that, I'd rather finish up the investigation in here with Rumi."

"Alright- hey, I can help out a bit!" Hana offered, looking around somewhat.

"Mm- the furnace room isn't really too big, and Rumi and I basically finished before she walked out and talked to you," Shiori replied. "Or...cried? Whatever she was doing."

"Ah...I think she was just upset over Kaneki," Hana explained.

"Mm...well, I can't blame her- but at the same time, I hope she won't be like that for the entire time. For the sake of figuring out what happened, she should just focus on the investigation at hand- you know, like a distraction," Shiori said, crossing her arms. "There'll be plenty of time for properly mourning after the trial. Just...you know, cry on the inside or something."

"Hm...I suppose...is that what you're doing, Shiori?" Hana then asked.

"Yes- ah, no!" Shiori swiftly corrected herself, trying to sound stern.

However, their discussion was cut short when Rumi called out to them, "Guys! I'm about to make a breakthrough!"

"Huh?" Hana responded as she and Shiori looked towards the Ultimate Scuba Diver.

The girl had picked up an iron poker and had opened up the furnace, seeming to be trying to grab at something inside with the poker. "I think I see something in here! Gimme a second to get it!"

"Wh- hey, Rumi! Careful, you're gonna burn yourself!" Shiori admonished her, walking over. Hana quickly followed, curious as to what Rumi was trying to retrieve. Luckily, the Ultimate did not end up burning herself, and it wasn't long until something blackened with soot fell out of the furnace.

"Aha! I thought I saw something in there!" Rumi proclaimed before moving to put away the poker.

"Yeah, but what's...?" Hana asked, looking down at the object alongside Shiori and Rumi. At first glance, the soot made it difficult to distinguish what she was looking at...but that quickly changed once Hana examined it more. The item was long and thin, seemed to be made of leather...undoubtedly, this was a bullwhip.

"Wha...?" Rumi murmured, furrowing her brow as she stared down at the whip.

Suddenly, with a jolt, Hana recognized what they were looking at. "W-Wait a second, guys. This whip...it's Kaneki's!"

"What?" Rumi asked. "I mean, I knew she carried a whip around, but- it wasn't on her body?"

"No...No, I didn't even notice it wasn't on her corpse, but this is definitely her whip," Hana explained.

"What? You mean to tell me this thing has been in the furnace for at least a few hours...and it's _still_ in one piece!?" Shiori asked, dumbfounded.

"Well...Kaneki did like to brag that her whip was indestructible..." Rumi pointed out.

"Y-Yeah, but that's not-!" Shiori stammered, then growled to herself before reaching into her pocket and pulling out some plastic gloves of her own (apparently, Hiroshi wasn't the only one who liked to be prepared). Once donning these gloves, the Ultimate Surgeon swiftly snatched up the bullwhip and frantically looked it over from all angles- but no matter how she examined it, there was no question that the whip, while clearly damaged from the flames of the furnace, was still intact.

Attempting to look over the whip herself as Shiori held it, Hana couldn't find anything too out of the ordinary...but then, she spotted something towards the tip of the bullwhip. Though it was small, and obscured by the burn marks, the dark red color of the stain was unmistakable.

"Hey...guys, do you see that?" Hana asked, pointing to the stain. "I...I think that's a bloodstain!"

"Yeah yeah, that's nice," Shiori responded, not paying attention as she continued to scrutinize over the bullwhip. "What the hell is this thing made of, adamantium!?"

"I...think you should just let it go, Shiori," Rumi told the surgeon sheepishly. "I think that was the only thing in the furnace that was intact, so we should be grateful that some evidence survived after all."

"B-But this thing defies all logic! We can't just gloss over this!" Shiori insisted, frantically gesturing to the item in question.

"Uh...okay, that's enough science for you," Hana stated with a little chuckle, before gently removing the charred whip from the surgeon's grasp and handing it to the much less frazzled Rumi.

"W-Wait, what do you want _me_ to do with-?" Rumi stammered, before staring down at the bullwhip with a frown.

"Uh- a-anyways! I...need to go back and investigate some more," Hana told her two friends. "Shiori, you're still going to fix that not in the trash can, right?"

"Er...right, yeah," Shiori responded, attempting to regain her composure. "I'll be in my bedroom doing that...that, and questioning the true durability of leather..."

"And I'll stay out here, investigating what I can!" Rumi declared with a resolute nod.

Nodding to the two Ultimates in thanks, Hana pulled out her e-Handbook and made a note regarding Kaneki's whip. With this, she exited the furnace room, leaving the trash can with the torn paper in Shiori's hands.

 _Okay, that turned out better than I thought it would! ...I mean, it was still weird that the killer tried to get rid of Kaneki's bullwhip, of all things, that's...I don't know why they did that._ Hana pondered, furrowing her brow in thought. She then mentally added with more confidence, _But, this investigation is turning out better than I thought it would!_ _Still, I really do need to go back to the second floor. Maybe I could look at the crime scene again? And maybe the study while I'm there? I didn't look at those two as much as I-_

"HANA AMARIIIIII!" a male voice roared, his voice seeming to echo through the main hall. Freezing in her tracks from shock, Hana quickly realized there was only one student that voice could belong to.

Sure enough, there he was: Ryoto Miura, sprinting down the stairs from the west balustrade towards Hana. "Heeey! My mind's clear, I just got done talking to Akira, my story's straight- you said you wanted to ask me some stuff, right? Well bring it on!"

"Ahaha, glad to see you've bounced back, Ryoto," Hana responded. "But, really, I didn't have that many questions for you. I just wanted to know if you saw anything weird last night."

"Good question! Well, pay attention Hana, because I've got a story to tell!" Ryoto dramatically responded, crossing his arms.

"A story?" Hana asked, her interest piquing. "W-Well don't be so suspenseful! What did you see?"

"Well- see, after dinner, I went to talk to Shiori. You know, because Kaneki hit me in the face with that bullwhip of hers, and I wanted to make sure the damage wasn't too bad," Ryoto began. "So, she examines me in her room for a bit. Long story short, she said the injury wasn't too bad- and that I was lucky Kaneki hadn't struck me harder- and sent me on my way. By this point, it was about ten until nighttime started, but I still wanted to get some exercise in-"

"Where is this story going?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow as the racecar driver spoke.

"Hold on hold on, I'm getting to the important part!" Ryoto insisted, putting his hands out in a 'wait' gesture. "Okay, so, I kinda lost track of time while I was exercising. By the time I was done, nighttime was juuuust about to start- it was about... 9:58 or something. So, I'm practically sprinting to get to my room in time, and as I enter the main chamber, who do I see?"

Dramatically pointing upwards, the Ultimate declared, "I saw Asuna! She was heading up the stairs to the second floor- which I thought was kinda weird, since I thought Asuna was supposed to lock the storage after the dinner meeting, not just before nighttime."

This information caught Hana off guard. "W-Wait, you saw Asuna?"

"Yeah! And it wasn't just her," Ryoto went on. "While I was standing there in the hall to the fitness room, wondering what Asuna was up to, I saw somebody else was in the main hall- Kaneki!"

"You saw Kaneki too?" Hana questioned in shock.

"Yeah! She didn't see me- and I don't think Asuna did either- but I saw her go up the same way Asuna did," Ryoto responded, crossing his arms as he thoughtfully reminisced. "And weirder still, Kaneki looked kinda...panicked. And for the record: just after this, I kept running to my room , and I got there _just_ as the nighttime announcement played. So, I never actually saw either of them- er, I guess should say Asuna, since we both know what happened to Kaneki up there- come back down from the second floor."

"..." Hana stared for a few moments, taking in what Ryoto had described. "Are...Are you sure about all this?"

"Of course! Why would I lie about all that?" Ryoto asked, frowning. "I even swear on my great-great-grandmother's grave- and Akiyo Miura was never wrong!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Hana responded, pulling out her e-Handbook so she could make note of the important parts of Ryoto's account. "Um...did you see anything else?"

"Uh- nope! I'm still trying to find evidence that proves Tadao's the blackened," Ryoto responded.

"Okay but, again, we don't know for _sure_ that he's the one who-" Hana attempted to rationalize.

"Okay! If that's all you had to ask me, then Ryoto Miura's got some more investigation to do!" Ryoto declared, disregarding the surfer's words. "And if you've still got doubts, then you can talk to Akira, she'll probably tell you that my story is completely straight!"

Without waiting to hear more protests, Ryoto ran off and left Hana to ruminate over what she had been told. The Ultimate did not _doubt_ his account...but if he truly was telling the truth, then it led Hana to a shocking realization, and a chilling question.

 _If Ryoto's right, and what he saw was legit...then it completely contradicts what Asuna told me in the dining room. That she was in her bedroom the whole night._ Hana thought to herself, a seed of apprehension sprouting in her gut. _Does that mean...did Asuna lie about her alibi? Why...Why would she do that...?_

* * *

Hana absentmindedly walked up to the second floor at last, still wondering about Ryoto's account of the night before. However, the surfer shook her head, realizing she couldn't focus too much on this one piece of evidence.

Once up on the second floor, Hana thought about where to investigate first; ultimately, she decided to put off revisiting the study and crime scene until she looked at the other two rooms on the floor. Walking towards the east hallway, the surfer wondered about which room to check the first- the lounge or the greenhouse.

 _Actually...Ryoto did mention Akira...maybe I should go find her? Just to see if she's found anything too?_ Hana pondered. The Ultimate doubted that the prosecutor was still in the storage room, so Hana figured she would check these two rooms first. Seeing as how the lounge was the closest, the surfer decided to investigate in there first.

Upon entering, nothing in the lounge seemed to be out of place; the couches and seats were still neat, there were no strange spots on these walls, and even the fireplace looked the same as when Hana had last been in here. Still, looks could be deceiving, and thus the Ultimate Surfer proceeded to search around the baroque-style room. She upturned the cushions, sifted through the fireplace, investigated all four corners of the room...however, nothing seemed out of place or suspicious. Hana even thought there may be some form of secret area like the hidden room in the library, so she searched for that as well- and unsurprisingly, the lounge did not hold such secrets.

Realizing there was nothing for her in the room, Hana exited with a disappointed sigh, thinking to herself, _Well, that was...that was just a waste of time. Never let it be said that I wasn't thorough, though._

She then turned her attention to the last room on the floor: the greenhouse. Would a break be waiting for in there? There was only one way to find out.

Hana made her way down the hall towards the metal doors. As she started to open them, the surfer picked up what sounded like...conversation? Unable to make out who the voices belonged to, Hana fully entered the greenhouse and took a quick look around. Immediately, she spotted two things towards the far sections of the greenhouse- a pair of heads of spiky purple and bright red hair, both of which provided a sharp contrast to all the greens and browns of the greenhouse's flora.

The two voices coming from that same direction confirmed the surfer's suspicions. Hana walked closer- however, it would seem that one of the two students sensed Hana first, and as such turned her red eyes towards the surfer.

Indeed, Ultimate Prosecutor Akira stood by one of the back quadrants of plants, and asked upon seeing Hana, "Amari? Where did you come from?"

"Hm?" the second student spoke up- upon looking over, Hana recognized him as Hinata, who was...digging into the soil of the section. Regardless of Hana's confusion, Hinata waved a dirt-covered hand and greeted, "Oh, heya Hana- fancy seeing you again."

"Uh, hey guys! Don't mind me, I just thought I'd look around here for a bit," Hana explained in a friendly tone- but Akira's annoyed glare was a clear indication that she was not in the mood for the surfer's cordiality.

Looking away from Akira's glare, Hana then turned to attention to Hinata. "Um- Hinata? Why are you digging up that spot?"

"Well Hana, I was just minding my own business in here when Ace Attorney here roped me into looking into this spot," Hinata explained with a glare of his own towards Akira.

"I noticed that the area where Yonade is currently digging looked...different from the rest of the soil, displaced almost," Akira explained. "And I merely suggested that Yonade, despite being the lowly criminal that he is, should actually make himself useful and take a look for me."

"'Merely suggested'? More like you _ordered_ me to dig up this spot, then gave me that glare of yours when I said no, and...well, have you seen yourself in the mirror when do that?" Hinata responded sharply, then adding in a muttering tone, "It's like fucking Medusa, I swear..."

"Regardless, I have no doubt there's something to be found here, so if I were you Amari, I'd stick around," Akira suggested. "Just be sure not to get in the way, understand?"

"N-No worries, I'll be careful," Hana assured the prosecutor.

Deciding there was nothing to be done but wait for Hinata, Hana took to examining the rest of the greenhouse in the meantime. For one thing, she could not find any other areas of soil that appeared 'displaced', and nothing else in the large room seemed completely out of the ordinary. That is, until Hana spotted something out of the corner of her eye; it was small, lying on the ground not too far from the entrance, and would have been barely noticeable had it not been for the fact that it was reflecting the light shining through the glass ceiling. Hana immediately walked over to see what the object- but upon closer inspection, she quickly recognized it.

 _Hey, wait. Is that what I...?_ the Ultimate thought to herself before bending down to pick up the item. There was no mistaking it- a hairpin, one with a flower design; it didn't take long for Hana to recognize the pin as Asuna's.

 _Oh! Asuna's hairpin! She said she lost it, didn't she?_ Hana thought to herself, turning the small item in her hands. _Well, having this back should make her feel...somewhat better, right?_

"What the fuck?" Hinata yelped from his spot.

Hana was immediately taken out of her thoughts and turned her attention towards the Ultimate Thief. He and Akira appeared to be looking over something- Akira with intrigue, Hinata with bafflement.

"Um- everything okay?" Hana asked as she walked over, still gripping the flower hairpin.

"Well, it seems my intuition was correct," Akira stated, bending down and picking up...something. "Looks like our culprit tried to do some...unique disposing of evidence."

The prosecutor turned slightly, allowing Hana to see what she was holding: a long, shining knife, with some dirt specks still sticking to its surface. However, it wasn't a regular knife or a kitchen knife; the blade was double-edged, one side smooth and the other serrated- a hunting knife, in short. While it certainly did not seem like the type of weapon most people would see daily, Hana felt as though she had seen this knife somewhere else before...

"Welp- I'm no expert on plants and dirt, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to plant knives like seeds," Hinata noted as he stood, wiping the dirt off his hands onto his jeans as he wandered away somewhat.

"Hm...I'll have to confirm with Ashi and see if this was the weapon that killed Tenmaru," Akira remarked, looking over the blade with narrowed eyes.

"Seriously? You already think that this is the murder?" Hana asked.

"Of course. Why else would it be suspiciously buried in here?" Akira asked, turning her narrowed (and annoyed) gaze towards Hana.

"Eeyup, I know suspicious, and that's definitely suspicious," Hinata agreed, though his tone sounded almost distracted. Hana glanced towards him, only to see the thief reading over some kind of piece of paper.

"Hinata? Where did you get that paper?" Hana asked, walking over in an attempt to see what Hinata was reading.

"Hehe, I don't see how that's important," Hinata replied with a sly grin. "But reading this...I gotta say, it's _definitely_ incriminating."

Akira furrowed her brow...then, with a look of realization, checked her pockets. Seconds later, she turned her fiery glare towards Hinata and yelled, "Yonade! You stole that piece of paper off of me just now, didn't you? How _dare_ you steal evidence off of an executioner of the law!?"

While Hana was tempted to flee the greenhouse right then and there to avoid the wrath of the Ultimate Prosecutor, Hinata remained calm and casually responded, "Ah c'mon Akira, I dug up your...fancy knife, so why not consider this weird note a kinda- payment?"

He then added with a joking shrug, "Besides, we're all the same team here, aren't we? No reason why we can't share evidence, eh?"

"...Uh, if I can just..." Hana muttered, gingerly reaching over and gently removing the paper from Hinata's fingers.

"...Hmph. Fine, read it- though you two _will_ be giving it back," Akira stated, crossing her arms as she observed the surfer and thief.

Hana glanced at the prosecutor momentarily, before proceeding to read through whatever was on the paper. Almost instantly, however...the contents sent a chill down the Ultimate's spine.

 _Kaneki-_

 _There's something really important that I need to talk to you about. But I'm too worried to let any of the others know; you're the only one I can really trust with this right now- so, try and keep this a secret, okay? Please meet me in the storage room tonight at 10:00, I'll explain more then. And be sure to be there by 10, come early if you have to. I really need you to listen to me on this, so please don't forget, okay?_

 _-Asuna_

"..." Hana stared down at the note in shock, but no matter how she read it, there was no changing the words on the paper. _Did...Did Asuna actually write this...? N-No, no there's no way...if she did, then that may mean-_

"See? Heh- Asuna writing a letter to the person who ends up dead," Hinata mused. "Y'know, that basically confirms she's the killer- at least, that's how it works in the movies."

"Well Yonade, this is far from fiction...although I will agree to the incriminating nature of this paper," Akira noted, walking over and holding her hand out for Hana to return the paper to her.

"Where...did you get this?" Hana asked as she handed the letter back to the Ultimate Prosecutor.

"Ashi found it after you left," Akira explained, pocketing the paper. "During his examination of Tenmaru's corpse, he found this note folded up and placed in the pocket of her vest."

 _Yeesh, maybe I really should have looked at the crime scene a bit more in the first place..._ Hana thought to herself ruefully. _Maybe I should go find Hiroshi after this...?_

"That just takes me back to what I just said," Hinata quipped, shrugging.

"Yonade, don't you have somewhere else to be now? You're work here is done, I have no more need for you," Akira coldly told the thief with a slight glare.

"Mmph- fine, I know when I'm not wanted," Hinata responded, casually making his exit. "I'll see you two ladies soon."

As the thief exited, Hana turned her attention back to Akira and asked, "Hey, Akira, about that knife- do you think I could hold on to it for a bit? I was gonna go find Hiroshi anyways, so I could go and ask him about the knife for you."

"Hm...well, I imagine you're not scatterbrained enough to lose such vital evidence..." Akira pondered to herself. "So...fine then, Amari. If you're going to talk to Ashi anyways, then you'd might as well."

The prosecutor handed Hana the hunting blade- and the surfer felt somewhat apprehensive holding the weapon the weapon that most likely killed Kaneki- and then glanced at her other hand. Akira then inquired, "Incidentally, Amari, what is that you're holding in your other hand?"

"Oh- this?" Hana replied, holding out the flower hairpin. "It's a hairpin- Asuna's. I guess she lost it at some point, and I told her I'd give it back to her if I found it while I was looking for clues."

"Hm...you said that's Izumi's hairpin, right?" Akira asked, her gaze thoughtful. "Let me see it."

Hana raised an eyebrow in confusion, but handed the prosecutor the item and responded, "Um- sure?"

Akira examined the hairpin closely, then asked, "The hairpin was like this when you found it, right? And where exactly did you find it?"

"Ah- yes, and over there," Hana answered, then pointed to the spot near the greenhouse's entrance where the flower pin had laid before.

"Mm...interesting..." Akira murmured, then added, "This requires...further questioning. From another, higher source."

"'Higher'...what? And why'd you say it so cryptically?" Hana asked in confusion.

Then, Akira looked around, and raised her voice in a commanding tone as she called out, "Monokuma! I need you to answer a question!"

"W-W-Wait, what?" Hana stammered, her face paling from fear.

What happened next would only shock the Ultimate Surfer more; seconds later, the monochrome bear himself popped up in his usual fashion and declared, "You called?"

Hana cried out and jumped back. "W-W-Wha-!?"

Akira was unfazed by Monokuma's appearance and inquired, "Yes, I did. I need you to tell me something. Specifically, about this greenhouse's sprinkler system."

"Y-You can just summon him!?" Hana yelped, glancing back and forth between Akira and Monokuma. She had no idea what dumbfounded her more- that Akira was willing to call for Monokuma to get information, or that Monokuma actually answered her summons.

Ignoring the surfer's confused stuttering, Monokuma responded, "The sprinklers? Well, those automatically go off every day at a certain time. And for the record, I'm the one in sole control of the sprinkler system, so you kids won't be tampering with it any time soon!"

"I wasn't wondering about tampering," Akira replied. "What I want to know is what time the sprinklers go off every day."

"Well, it's the same time every day, as I said," Monokuma explained. "That time being: right at the beginning of nighttime! 10 o'clock at night, right on the dot! I figured it would be best- couldn't do it during the day, otherwise some unsuspecting student might get soaked! ...But that _would_ be pretty hilarious, don't you think?"

"Whatever. You answered my question- now go away from me, would you?" Akira stated with an icy glare towards the robotic bear.

"Puhuhu, whatever you say, Red!" Monokuma replied with an amused giggle. "But just so you all know- there's only so much time left until the trial, so you'd better use it wisely! Time's-a ticking!~"

With that, Monokuma ran off and disappeared like always...though Hana was still very confused. Turning to Akira, she asked, "...Did you house train him or something...?"

"Forget about it Amari, we both have bigger fish to fry. And for the record, I hope you were actually paying attention instead of standing there mouth agape," Akira told the Ultimate. Looking down at the flower hairpin, she added, "At any rate...I think I'll hold on to this pin for the time being. I'll...give it back to Izumi myself when I have the chance."

The Ultimate Prosecutor punctuated that last statement with a soft chuckle...but it wasn't a chuckle of amusement or friendliness. If anything, it gave Hana a foreboding feeling in the back of her mind.

As anxious as she was, Hana knew that Akira was right- she had to go talk to Hiroshi about the knife, maybe he would even know where it came from. Before she left, however, she made certain to grab her e-Handbook and make a note about the flower hairpin, the hunting knife, and the note from Asuna.

"..." Hana cringed as she copied down the contents of that strange letter, her apprehension only intensifying as she wondered about the implications the letter created. _No...No, there has to be a reasonable explanation, right? There's...no way Asuna actually wrote that note, right...?_

Her concerns still firm in her mind, Hana took the knife and exited the greenhouse.

* * *

Back out in the hallway, Hana thought about where Hiroshi could be. Her first thought was to look at the study and storage room- even if the Ultimate Coroner was no longer there, perhaps Saku or Tadao could point her in the right direction. Besides, she had been planning on reexamining the two rooms anyways, so if anything she could at least get that off her agenda.

Approaching the study room door, Hana put her hand on it to push it open- only to find it wasn't budging.

"What the...?" Hana muttered as she attempted to push the door open again. However, it once again would not open.

"Hm? Is someone there?" a voice called from the other side (which could probably only be heard because of the hole in the door)- a voice that Hana immediately recognized as Hiroshi's. "Hold on a second."

A few footstep sounds later, and the coroner opened the door. "Oh, hi Hana. I didn't think you'd be back here to investigate."

"Well, it was partially that, and partially me needing to talk to you about something," Hana explained, stepping into the room. "But, uh, why was the door blocked?"

"My apologies, but that was me," a second, much deeper voice chimed in. Turning around, Hana saw Itachi standing towards the side, his longcoat having been set down on the chair in front of the disheveled desk. The Ultimate Weapons Expert explained, "Hiroshi asked me to stand against the door. That's why you couldn't open it."

"I was...testing out something," Hiroshi added. "Hey Itachi, do you mind doing it again so Hana can see?"

Noddding, Itachi walked over and stood where he had presumably been standing before- right against the door, adjacent to the discolored spot on the wall. As a matter of fact, Hana was able to see that the spot was as high up the wall as Itachi's neck, if not an inch or two short of his neck.

"Now, I'm no expert on forensics, but I'm fairly certain this 'test' is nothing but a waste of time," Tadao remarked from where he stood guard, observing Hiroshi and Itachi.

"I'll admit- it does seem weird. That is, you tracking me down just to have me stand against a door," Itachi agreed, glancing at Hiroshi. "However, you're smart. I'll trust your judgement."

"Oh, don't worry, there's a method to my madness," Hiroshi assured him, a knowing smile on his face. He then turned his attention to Hana and asked, "So, Hana. What did you need?"

"Well, Akira and Hinata found this, and I told her I'd talk to you about it," Hana explained, holding out the knife. She had picked off most of the little particles of dirt on its surface, leaving the blade more or less clean.

"Hm? Is that a weapon?" Itachi inquired as he donned his longcoat once more.

"Without a doubt," Hiroshi confirmed, his eyebrows raised in interest as he looked at the knife.

Itachi walked over to see for himself- Hana figured him being here with Hiroshi was a stroke of good luck, since having the opinions of both a coroner and the Ultimate Weapons Expert would no doubt confirm whether or not this knife was the murder weapon.

Itachi leaned over slightly to examine the blade. "Ah, yes. That's..."

Then, the Ultimate's icy blue eyes widened. "That's...That's my knife!"

"Wait, what?" Hana asked in surprise.

"Your knife?" Hiroshi asked, quickly turning to Itachi. "You mean the one that you said went missing yesterday?"

"Yes, I-" Itachi began, his usual reserved state clearly shaken. He reached down towards his leg, lifted one of the legs of his pants, and from the holster he had showed the day before drew another knife. "See, I have two of these blades- they're identical. Look."

He held out the other knife, comparing it to the one Hana was holding- sure enough, though Hana's was still slightly dirtied from being buried, the two knives were completely identical. The surfer then realized why she thought the hunting knife looked familiar before- it was because she had, in fact, seen Itachi with these blades in the past.

"So then, this is your knife, right?" Hana asked to clarify.

"Indeed. Where did you- actually, nevermind," Itachi responded as he put away the other knife. "Thank you for bringing it here."

Itachi reached over to take the blade back, but Hana moved it out of his reach with an apologetic frown. "Um. Sorry Itachi, but...I don't think I can give this back to you just yet."

"What? Why?" Itachi asked...but then, the weapons expert seemed to put two and two together. "Wait...don't tell me...my knife was...!"

"Let me see that," Hiroshi requested, putting on another pair of latex gloves. Hana handed him the knife, and the Ultimate proceeded to scrutinize over its details.

"Hm...double-edged...serrated..." Hiroshi murmured to himself. "Itachi, how long would you say the blade of this knife is?"

"Approximately six inches, I'd say," Itachi responded, most likely frowning under his bandanna.

"Mm-hm...well. The blade's attributes- being double-edged and serrated on one side- as well as its length are all consistent with the shape and depth of the wounds Kaneki suffered," Hiroshi explained. "Mm...yeah. Sorry Itachi, but...I have no doubt that this knife was the murder weapon."

"Gh-!" Itachi grunted, visibly taken aback. "Truly...!?"

The Ultimate looked down, growling somewhat to himself as he went on, "Dammit...! This is exactly what I was afraid of...not only did the culprit steal my blade, but now they've used it for murder...! If me and Shiro had searched harder yesterday, maybe we could have..."

He looked up as he explained, "We searched everywhere we could on this floor and the ground floor- which included the greenhouse, mind you- and yet we found nothing. And now this...!"

"Hey, Itachi, don't beat yourself up, okay?" Hana said, attempting to sound reassuring. "Maybe the killer just...hid it somewhere where you couldn't get to it, nothing you can do about that, right?"

Itachi kept growling to himself before responding, "Make no mistake. I was already determined to unmask this killer. But now...now, this case is personal!"

 _And the horrible death of a classmate didn't make it personal before...?_ Hana wondered, though she was still taken aback by how steamed Itachi was becoming.

"Personal...?" Hiroshi asked, furrowing his brow.

"When I was young, my father and uncle taught me two rules: Never steal another man's blade..." Itachi explained. "And _never_ turn your weapon against a friend during times of peace. This killer broke not one, but both of those rules! It's a dishonor that I cannot allow to go unpunished! I shall find this blackened student...and when I do, they will know a fury unlike anything they've ever experienced!"

With that furious declaration, Itachi stormed out of the room without another word to Hana or Hiroshi.

"...Wow. I've...never seen Itach get so worked up like that- except maybe for yesterday morning," Hana remarked, frowning in concern.

"Well...he is pretty passionate about blades and honor, so..." Hiroshi 'explained', his expression neutral. "We should...trust that he'll continue investigating. And that he'll remain reasonable enough not to do anything rash."

Hana wasn't too reassured, but figured there was nothing much she could do about Itachi. Regardless, the surfer took out her e-Handbook yet again and updated what she had typed for the hunting knife.

"Anyways...how's your investigation been going, Hana?" Hiroshi asked. "I've been holed up in these two rooms most of the time- mostly trying to be thorough in my examination of Kaneki's corpse, and looking for Itachi so I could conduct that, er, 'test' of mine."

"Ah...well, I've found a bunch of clues, if that's what you're asking," Hana responded. "But, uh...I don't really like where they're leading..."

While on the subject, the Ultimate Surfer asked Hiroshi, "Hey...Akira had this note, it looked like it was written by Asuna to Kaneki, and she said you found it on Kaneki's body?"

"Oh- that," Hiroshi responded, frowning.

"Uh..you don't actually think Asuna wrote that letter, do you...?" Hana asked, grimacing.

"Well...it looks like it was written by her, but we don't have any equipment to do any kind of handwriting analysis," Hiroshi responded, crossing his arms in thought. "Do I want her to have written it? Of course not. Did she write it? I have no idea."

"...That wasn't as reassuring as I hoped it'd be..." Hana muttered, looking down in worry.

"Ah, sorry...hey, maybe I can help you finish up whatever investigating you need to?" Hiroshi suggested.

"Heh, I'd appreciate that," Hana replied with a grateful smile. "Really though, I just wanted to look in here and at the crime scene one more time, in case I missed something."

"Alright then. I haven't gotten a chance to look over too much myself, so this'll be new evidence for both of us," Hiroshi replied, his smile growing somewhat.

Hana looked around, but found herself unable to distinguish where she should start. Turning towards Tadao, who remained silent where he stood, she asked him, "Hey, Tadao. Did you see anything weird since the last time I was in here?"

"Aside from that display of Ashi's just now? Nothing," the Ultimate Waiter responded, glancing to the side. "Though, if I must provide you with a place to start- Rimutsu looked around here earlier in the investigation, though I don't recall her actually taking anything, just making observations. She seemed particularly interested in the bookshelf- or rather, one of the things on the bookshelf- though I couldn't tell you which or what she had found."

Hana nodded in thanks, turning her attention to the bookshelf as Hiroshi decided to search the desk. The surfer pulled out a random book...but reading it, Hana had no idea what had Akira so interested. Flipping through the rest of the book also turned up nothing, prompting her to grab several other books and files. At first, flipping through the items yielded no leads...but then, while skimming through yet another book, something suddenly fell out from in between the pages.

"Ah-! What the-?" Hana yelped in surprise. She put the book back and looked down towards the ground to see what had fallen.

"Hm? What's wrong Hana?" Hiroshi asked, walking over to the surfer.

"Uh, something fell out of one of the books," Hana explained, bending down to pick up the object. It was small, and silver...it was a key.

"What...? A key?" Hana said to herself, staring at the key with a frown.

"Wait...no, that's not a key, that's the key to the storage room!" Hiroshi told the surfer, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"The key to the-?" Hana stammered, shocked. "W-Wait, then, what's it doing in this book? Isn't Asuna supposed to be in charge of the key?"

"Does she usually put the key in a book in here?" Hiroshi asked.

"No! I'm pretty sure she keeps it on her!" Hana responded, a shred of panic rising into her throat.

"But then...why was it in that book...?" Hiroshi wondered, furrowing his brow.

"I don't know! Nothing about this case is making any sense!" Hana yelled, her panic turning to frustration. The more she thought about all the evidence she had gathered, the more she realized it all pointed to one person...however, the last thing Hana wanted was for Asuna to be the blackened. Surely, there was no way someone like her would kill her closest friend, right? Right...?

"Hana- hey, calm down, the investigation's not over yet," Hiroshi reassured her. "Whatever's upsetting you, I'm sure we'll be able to sort it out before the trial, okay? We just have to keep going with looking for evidence."

"I...I know," Hana responded, barely able to choke down her anxiety. "I...need to talk to Asuna. I'll look at the crime scene again, but after that I _need_ to go find Asuna again."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding. "Then, I'll help you out with the crime scene. In case you're still squeamish about...well, you know."

"Thanks, Hiroshi," Hana replied, calming down somewhat. After taking a quick note of the storage room key, she and her coroner companion walked over and found themselves reentering the storage room once more.

* * *

The crime scene looked the same as when Hana had initially seen it; Kaneki still lay dead in the middle of the room, blood still marred the surfaces of the walls and floor, and Saku still stood guard towards the back. However, something was different about the Ultimate Kickboxer since the last time; namely, the fact that he was not watching the storage room, but rather was staring down at a piece of paper he was holding. How he was able to do so with his perpetually closed eyes, Hana had no idea.

"Saku? What are you doing?" Hana asked, walking over to the muscular young man.

"Huh? Oh! Hana, Hiroshi!" Saku greeted the two of them, immediately looking up from his reading.

"You have something?" Hiroshi asked, gesturing to the paper in the kickboxer's hands.

 _Another piece of paper...? Why does this case have so much paper-related evidence?_ Hana wondered as she too turned her gaze to what Saku was holding.

"Ah- well, yes. Sorry, I know I am supposed to be guarding the crime scene, but- well, I saw this paper here. It was rather well-hidden, I will admit, lying by the crates towards the entrance," the Ultimate Kickboxer explained. "I did not say anything, since I thought you or Akira would see it. But since nobody else did...I took it upon myself to examine it myself."

"No need to apologize," Hiroshi responded.

"Yeah! The more evidence the better!" Hana cheerfully added, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"So- what _is_ it, anyways?" Hiroshi inquired of Saku.

"Here, you can read for yourselves," Saku answered, handing the paper to Hana. "Er- sorry, but there is some blood on it."

"Eugh, I can see that..." Hana responded, cringing as she held the bloodstained page. In addition to the blood, the surfer noticed the paper was creased in several places, indicating it had been folded up at one point.

"I'll say this, that's a...unique blood pattern," Hiroshi noted as he looked over Hana's shoulder.

Hana decided to look at the bloodstains to see what Hiroshi was talking about. Just as the Ultimate Coroner observed, the blood on the paper did not look like normal blood splatter. The stains were larger, and looked more geometric- more specifically, they looked like a collection of rectangles and parallelograms, with a handful of curved shapes as well.

"Do not worry about being able to read what is on it- in spite of the blood, the words on the paper are still legible," Saku told the pair as they examined the item.

Indeed, Hana was still able to read the paper, and as such wasted no time scrutinizing over the contents in question. Upon reading, Hana and Hiroshi were able to come to the conclusion that they were holding...a poem?

"Hm...pretty nice poem. Seems like something Shiro would- hell, I'd even say it reads like something he'd write," Hiorshi observed.

"But still, what's a poem doing at the crime scene like this?" Hana asked.

"No idea..." Hiroshi responded, glancing about the crime scene- before his gray eyes settled on Kaneki. Hana could almost see the metaphorical light bulb go off above Hiroshi before he added, "Although...I might just have an idea of how to explain that blood. Of course, I'll need that poem to check."

Hana nodded in understanding, handing Hiroshi the bloodied paper- but not before taking one last look at the page so she could properly take a note about it in her e-Handbook. Ultimately, what caught Hana's attention the most about the poem was its title: 'Beyond the Lost Skies'. _Huh...'Beyond the Lost Skies'...I swear I've heard that title somewhere before, but where...?_

"Well, I certainly hope what I found will provide you both with some form of answers," Saku stated.

"I'm sure it will- thanks, Saku," Hana responded with a smile. "But- you know, I think I'd better go find Asuna now."

"Well, the investigation has been lasting for a while now, so do not doubt that the trial will be starting soon," Saku replied, his face shifting into worry. "If I were you, I would make haste to finish what needs to be finished before then."

"And in the meantime, I'll finish up what I need to," Hiroshi added, glancing down at the poem. "Best case scenario you and I will be able to meet up before then to talk about what we found. If not...well, then I guess I'll see you at the trial, Hana."

'Yeah- see you soon, Hiroshi," Hana responded with a wave of farewell to the coroner. With that, the surfer hastened her movement and quickly exited the storage room. It was time to get some answers from Asuna, and to get them now.

* * *

Hana did not know if Asuna was still in the dining room with Shiro, but she figured that would at least be the first place she should look. As she made her way down to the large room, the surfer desperately attempted to rationalize the evidence she had uncovered over the course of the day.

 _No no no, it couldn't...it couldn't be Asuna. It just couldn't!_ Hana told herself anxiously as she walked down from the balustrade and across the main hall. _That someone like her would kill Kaneki- no, not even that, kill her so brutally...I-I won't believe it!_

And yet, she remembered the advice Hiroshi had given her just before Mikio's trial: to trust in the evidence. Well, there was no doubting what the evidence was telling her...despite this, Hana still didn't think she was ready to accept that truth. However, that was just all the more reason to go talk to Asuna directly- one way or another, the Ultimate Surfer could only hope a talk with her would solidify any justification for suspicion.

In what felt like no time at all, Hana found herself in the hallway leading to the dining room. Taking a deep breath, the girl walked over and prepped herself- but that's when something unexpected happened.

Somebody ran out of the dining room, then sprinted down the hall right past Hana. Immediately, she could tell who it was- it was none other than Asuna herself, sprinting away from the dining room.

"W-W-!? W-Wait! H-Hey, Asuna, I need to talk to-!" Hana cried out, but she was too late and the blonde gardener was soon out of earshot.

The surfer frantically looked back and forth between where Asuna had run to and the dining room. Teeth gritted in frustration, Hana ran over to look in the dining room, attempting to see just what had caused the Ultimate Gardener to flee. When she poked her head into the room, she spotted two other students: Akira, standing with her eyes closed thoughtfully; and Shiro, his facial expression a mixture of shock and apprehension.

"Wha...? Akira? Shiro?" Hana said, swiftly looking at the two of them. "What happened to Asuna? Why was she running away?"

"I was doing my job," Akira replied, unfazed by the situation.

"Doing your...?" Hana responded, before asking in frustration, "What did you do!?"

"She was asking Asuna a lot of questions, b-but towards the end she started getting really intense, and-" Shiro stammered, before finishing in anguish, "I tried to calm everything down- but she wouldn't listen to me!"

"Calm down, Koichi. I was doing my job as a prosecutor- although I will admit, maybe I did go a bit far with my last questions," Akira admitted, but then went on coldly, "But, regardless. Izumi's dodgy attitude towards even the simplest of questions was enough to solidify my theory of the crime. There can be no doubt now."

"No doubt...w-wait!" Hana yelped. "Do you...actually think Asuna's the...?"

"You've got some evidence of your own, don't you? Surely that speaks for itself," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses.

Hana tried to find the words to respond...but instead, all that came out was a cry of frustration, followed by the surfer running out of the dining room as well. The surfer did not stop or even look where she was going, focusing all her attention on chasing down Asuna. However, due to Hana's distracted running, she was oblivious to another student making their way down the hall, and as a result the two ended up crashing right into each other.

Crying out and stumbling back, Hana looked up to see who she had run into- and it was none other than Shiori Sauchi, who looked back at her with an annoyed gaze.

"What are you _doing?"_ Shiori asked, rubbing her head where she had presumably been hit.

"Ah! S-Sorry Shiori! But uh- have you seen Asuna anywhere?" Hana quickly asked, her gaze borderline panicked.

"Asuna? Uh- actually, I did see her run past me a minute ago. I think she went to her bedroom," Shiori replied, gesturing to the other end of the main hall.

"Ah- thanks!" Hana responded, about to run off again- only to be stopped when Shiori called out, "Hey hey hey, hold on! Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Ugh, _what!?"_ Hana asked, her voice boiling over with exasperation.

"Oh nothing, just, you know, the one thing you asked me to do for you," Shiori replied, pulling out a neatly taped piece of paper and handing it to Hana.

"O-Oh! Shit, sorry Shiori, I forgot all about that," Hana responded with a cringe, taking the note. "W-Wow, you..really did a good job putting this back together. Aside from the tape, you can barely even tell it was ever torn up!"

"When it comes to what I do, I strive for perfection...even if it's a piece of paper," Shiori stated. "So, you should have no trouble reading through it. And speaking of which, the contents...it's uh- it's something. I'll let you see for yourself."

Hana nodded, starting to run off as she replied, "Will do! Thanks a bunch, Shiori!"

Sprinting away towards the bedroom hallway, the girl simultaneously read the newly repaired note...but just as Shiori had said, the words on the page were enough to cause Hana to slow down as she tried to process what she was reading:

 _Asuna-_

 _There's something really important that I need to talk to you about. But I'm too worried to let any of the others know; you're the only one I can really trust with this right now- so, try and keep this a secret, okay? Please meet me in the storage room tonight at 10:00, I'll explain more then. And be sure to be there by 10, come early if you have to. I really need you to listen to me on this, so please don't forget, okay?_

 _-Kaneki_

Hana's eyes widened in shock. _Wait...this note, it's...almost exactly the same as the note that Hiroshi said he found on Kaneki's body!_

Sure enough, aside from the type of paper used, the content of this note was nearly identical to the previous one- the only difference being that Asuna and Kaneki's names were swapped.

Ultimately, however, Hana growled to herself and thought, _I can't deal with any more confusion right now! I'll have to figure this out during the trial..._

Quickly writing about the note to Asuna in her e-Handbook, Hana continued her pursuit of the shorter girl, eventually finding herself in front of the teen's bedroom door.

Steeling her haywire nerves, Hana knocked on the door to the bedroom. "Asuna? Asuna, it's Hana! Open up, I need to talk to you now! ...P-Please?"

It took a few moments, but soon enough Asuna opened the door enough so she could see her visitor. "H-Hana...? W-What is it?"

"Asuna...Asuna, I need to ask you some stuff. Please, can you talk to me? We don't have much time left before the trial," Hana implored her classmate, her eyes pleading.

"..." the gardener came out of her room, although her movements were hesitant. "You're...You're not going to a-accuse me too, are you...?"

"I, uh..." Hana replied, shifting somewhat. "Not exactly, I just..."

"...Hey, H-Hana...? Can I...ask you something real fast...?" Asuna requested, her gray-green eyes turning towards Hana instead of the floor. "E-Everyone else...do they...do they think I-I'm the killer, too...?"

"...Asuna, I...I have to be honest with you, it...it really doesn't look good," Hana responded with a regretful sigh. "And I- I don't want to think you're the killer, but...but with all the evidence, I...I don't know if..."

Hana couldn't finish her thought, simply trailing off as Asuna's gaze turned more hopeless.

"B-But, I...!" Asuna stammered. "That's wrong...suspecting me, th-that's wrong! Because...Because no matter what, I would never have done anything to hurt Kaneki! Never!"

"I-I know, but that's...that might not be..." Hana attempted to explain, trying to be rational like Hiroshi or Akira- it did not leave a good feeling in her chest.

"N-No! Kaneki was my best friend, I-I would never want to kill her! N-No matter what kind of m-motive Monokuma gave us, I-I'd never kill her!" Asuna insisted, her voice turning desperate.

"...You're, uh...really adamant about that, huh...?" Hana replied, frowning in sympathy.

"O-Of course, I..." Asuna began, before staring down at her feet. "I...I care about all you guys- y-you, Rumi, Shiori, a-all of you, d-don't get me wrong. B-But Kaneki, she was...I-I don't know, different. W-When we met, I...I can't explain it, I felt...I felt like I j-just...gravitated towards her, e-even though w-we are- ah, _were-_ polar opposites. A-And yet, K-Kaneki was...she was always so nice to me, e-even letting me sleep i-in her room the night...the night Mikio was killed- I-I don't know i-if you remember that..."

"I remember it coming up during the trial, yeah..." Hana responded with a little nod.

"A-And, even beyond that...a-a few days ago, r-remember...? W-When Tadao basically threatened me, a-and I ran away...?" Asuna asked, her voice starting to hitch from sorrow. "W-When you and Kaneki went to find me, a-and she decided to talk to me alone, and...w-we talked, and...and..."

* * *

 _"Okay...maybe you can't really talk about it with someone else around, but- can you at least tell me?" Kaneki asked with a hopeful tone in her voice once Hana was out of earshot._

 _"..." Asuna looked down, still seeming rather hesitant to talk. "I-It's...not that I don't want to talk about it, i-it's...I-I don't know if I can talk about it..."_

 _"What...? Why not?" Kaneki asked. "Asuna, c'mon, if you really don't anyone to know, I'll keep quiet."_

 _"...I...the thing is..." Asuna began. "It's about w-what Tadao said...a-about me being w-weak, a-and being an easy target..."_

 _"What? Well, Tadao's just being a jackass for no reason," Kaneki responded, frowning. "Really, there's a good chance he's just all talk."_

 _"B-But...But he's...he's right...!" Asuna choked out as she started to tremble from fear. "I am...I'm the smallest one here, I-I'm the weakest...I couldn't defend myself if I tried, if...if anyone would make a good target for a murder, it would be...it would be me...!"_

 _"Whoa whoa, Asuna- nobody's going to commit another murder," Kaneki assured the shorter girl. "After what happened yesterday...I_ reeeally _don't think anyone, not even Tadao, would want to go through that again."_

 _"Y-You don't know that!" Asuna cried. "W-What if someone does? I-If someone does plan a murder, a-and they need a target, wh-who do you think they'll go for!?"_

 _"H-Hey, Asuna, calm down-" Kaneki began._

 _"I-I don't want to die in here! I-I have so many things I have unfulfilled, a-and my mother will probably n-never know what happened to me-!" Asuna cried, her panic starting to take hold. "I-I could die so easily, a-and I don't even know if it would be quick, o-or painful, or- or-!"_

 _"Asuna, Asuna! Calm down, take a breath!" Kaneki quickly told the gardener, putting her hands on her classmate's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down._

 _"I-I...I'm just...I'm so scared, I don't...I-I can't stop thinking about what happened to Mikio...or Azami..." Asuna whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. "I...I don't wanna die here..."_

 _"Hey, you are not going to die here, okay?" Kaneki told Asuna firmly._

 _"H-How do you know? I-I'm so weak, I..." Asuna began._

 _"Asuna, you're not weak. I'll bet my best pair of boots that you're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," Kaneki interrupted, giving Asuna a pat on the shoulder with a small smile. "Hell, you're already doing something ten times better than me."_

 _"I...am?" Asuna asked in confusion._

 _"Yeah- you're being honest about how scared you are," Kaneki explained. "Truth is...I pretty much couldn't sleep last night after seeing all that. Especially that execution...I still can't get it out of my head. At least you're honest about being afraid after all that."_

 _"H-How is that a good thing?" Asuna asked. "A-And how can you be sure that I'm...I'm 'stronger' than I think...?"_

 _"...Honestly, I...don't really know. I just...get that feeling from you, you know?" Kaneki explained somewhat sheepishly. "But, I feel pretty strongly about this, and you're my friend, so I think I'll go with my gut with on this one."_

 _"I...e-even so...being strong w-won't do me any good if I'm dead..." Asuna muttered, still staring downwards._

 _"Asuna, you won't die here," Kaneki repeated. "Because..."_

 _It took a few moments, but then the Ultimate finished, "Because...I won't let that happen."_

 _That caught Asuna's attention. "H-Huh...?"_

 _"...Yeah. I'm not gonna let you die here," Kaneki told the gardener with determination in her voice. "I promise, no matter what it takes, I will_ not _let you die in here."_

 _Asuna's eyes widened in surprise. "W-Wha...? Why would you...Why would you p-promise something like that? T-To me?"_

 _"Well...isn't it obvious?" Kaneki asked, before pulling the gardener into a comforting hug. "We're friends, aren't we? What kind of friend would I be if I let you keep being worried like this?"_

* * *

"The thing is...I-I've never really had any real friends i-in my life..." Asuna went on, her voice cracking with grief. "L-Let alone a friend who was willing to...to just, t-to just look out for me, you know? To promise me something like that, t-to try so hard t-to be there for me, to t-try and help me b-become stronger..."

The Ultimate Gardener buried her face in her hands, still fighting back tears. "K-Kaneki...sh-he was my best friend, the closest friend I've ever had! Sh-She was even like a sister to me! E-Even though we're the same age..."

"..." Hana looked down somewhat, hesitantly responding, "I...I get it, yeah..."

"S-So...So why...? W-Why does everyone th-think I'd be capable of this...?" Asuna asked.

She looked up towards Hana, her eyes pleading and tearful. "P-Please... _Please,_ you have to believe me! I-I don't know what e-evidence you found, b-but I promise I-I'm not the killer! N-Never...to do something so awful, a-and to my closest friend...! I-I couldn't have- n-no matter what the motive, I-I would never have-"

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The two girls froze, their attention going to one of Monokuma's monitors as it audibly turned itself on once again. Monokuma's diabolically grinning face appeared on the screen as the bear spoke:

"Alright everybody! I think I've given you all quite the generous investigation time..." he said. "Soooo, I'd say it's that time! Let's get this class trial started! Everyone, please make your way to the same location as last time as soon as possible. In case your memory is on the fritz, I'm talking about the courtyard! Don't keep me waiting, or else you might just be in for a world of hurt!"

The monitor went black again, leaving Hana stunned. "Th...The trial, it's...!"

The surfer didn't need to say anything else. Asuna's face changed from desperation to anguish, her voice going silent...and, after quickly wiping her eyes, the Ultimate Gardener only glanced at Hana as she made her way down the hallway. As Hana watched her go, she noticed how Asuna's movements were neither anxious nor confident...rather, she walked to the courtyard like a death row inmate about to go to their execution.

"..." It took a few moments, but soon enough Hana forced her feet to move, and soon she too was making her way towards the courtyard. The surfer had been desperate to get some answers from Asuna- whether or not they cleared the gardener of suspicion, Hana felt that she would at least have something to grasp onto going into this trial. But after hearing her story...the surfer was left with more doubt than ever before, something she didn't think was possible.

 _I...Why do I feel so sick...? Th-This is what class trials are for, right...? It's...unavoidable to suspect someone, right...?_ Hana asked herself as she walked. _So...why...?_

 _Why does everything about this case feel so...so wrong...?_

* * *

The courtyard was bustling with student activity once again, with many students holding conversations with their companions, even though the 80th class was now down three students.

Hana first passed Rumi and Shiori, the former doing most of the talking while Shiori was looking down in thought.

"Aah...I hate all of this, I really don't want to do this again...!" Rumi whimpered.

"I told you, we don't have a choice. You talked about how you wished there was more we could have done for Kaneki, right?" Shiori responded, "Well then, let's find her killer. That's really all we can do, at this point..."

"I know, but...ah, I still feel bad...I really wanted to get to know her better, you know? One explorer to another?" the Ultimate Scuba Diver replied sadly. She then spotted Hana walking past, and called out, "H-Hey! Hana! Okay, uh- if we all survive this trial, then you and I are gonna hang out! I'm not taking any chances, you and me are hanging out! One ocean-lover to another!"

"..." Hana gave Rumi a half-hearted thumbs-up in acknowledgement, continuing to walk towards the fountain.

"Man, do we really need a trial?" Hinata asked, sounding bored. "I mean, it's obvious who the killer is, isn't it?"

"Oh it's obvious alright- so obvious, I'll bet we'll be able to finish this up in record time!" Ryoto declared as he gave Tadao a dirty look (who simply rolled his eyes in response), making his own suspect extremely clear.

Hana responded to none of these, simply standing by as she waited for the fountain to transform as it had last time.

However, it wasn't long before somebody approached her- Hiroshi, who asked, "Hey, Hana. You...okay? You actually look...worse than you did before Mikio's trial."

"I, uh...I _feel_ worse..." Hana admitted, gulping. "Um...Hiroshi? What's that you said before...? 'Trust in the evidence' or something...?"

"That's basically it, yeah," Hiroshi confirmed. "As long as you remember that, you should be able to figure out the truth of this murder no problem."

Hana gulped again, her stomach churning as she replied, "Th...Thanks, Hiroshi..."

"Uh...seriously, are you okay? You look even worse now," Hiroshi pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Just, uh, nerves, haha! I'm fine, nothing to worry about, let's do it! Hah...haha..." Hana replied, her voice shaky. _Oh, that was...that was not convincing in the slightest...aaah, I am not ready for any of this..._

As much as she appreciated Hiroshi's advice...her doubt was indomitable. To rely on the evidence alone would mean condemning Asuna as the blackened...and to do so with just hard logic, was that truly the right course of action...?

The ground beginning to tremble shook Hana out of her thoughts. As the quaking intensified, the fountain stopped sprouting water once again. The water drained out of the majestic fountain, and the structure shifted and transformed into an elevator-like platform, just as it had during the previous trial.

Saku took a deep breath and spoke up, "Well then...here we go, everyone. I pray that the spirits watch over us as we are forced to partake in this terrible game..."

"Terrible, but it will bring justice to the victim, which is what I strive for," Akira replied, being the first to walk towards the platform. "Let's go, and _not_ keep Monokuma waiting."

One by one, the twelve students strode up to the platform- some with determination, some with reluctance. Overall, nobody said a word, and as soon as the last student stepped on, the same metal gate from before popped up and closed off the class from the sides of the elevator. With another metallic clang, the platform began its foreboding descent into the underground. Just like last time, nobody said a word, including Hana herself. She just channeled all her thoughts into the mechanical sounds of the fountain elevator, sounds that seemed to last for hours.

Finally, the platform abruptly stopped, the gates lowered, and the students found themselves in the same torchlit hallway as before. And at the very end of that hall, those same bright red doors, their color a powerful contrast against the hall's gray bricks. This time, Monokuma was not there to greet them, leaving the students to simply head down to the doors immediately.

"Hm...well then. Let's get this over with," Itachi stated, his eyes closed momentarily before he started to walk down the hall. The rest of the students weren't too far behind, with Akira taking the lead one more. The closer they got to the doors, the more Hana's mind became clouded with fear and worry. And yet, in the end, the surfer felt her thoughts focusing on one subject: the second friend she had lost to a killer in their midst.

 _Kaneki Tenmaru...the Ultimate Explorer. There were times when she could be a bit of an oddball, and kinda reckless or stubborn...but she had a good heart. She was reliable, and kind, and energetic, and was just trying to look out for her friends. I just...if I had known that conversation we had would be our last, I would have tried harder. I should have tried harder, I should have pressed her more, I should have-_

Hana clenched her fists, fighting back the overwhelming guilt she felt. _But...I guess Shiori was right. The only way I can make it up to Kaneki now...is to figure out the truth behind her death. For her sake, I have to find the killer!_

Then, a more dreadful thought followed up on that. _But...if I listen to the evidence...then it all points to Asuna as the killer, Kaneki's best friend, and...I don't know it just...it doesn't fit...!_

And even beyond those doubts, something else gnawed at the back of her mind- the memory of Azami's execution. No doubt, the class would have to vote on another blackened like before, but when they did...would they really have to witness something as horrible as what the Ultimate Illusionist was put through as she died _again?_

The class walked through the red doors, still very silent as they entered the trial room. Upon entry, they would immediately notice the room looked very different from the last trial. The floor and walls were made of yellow-gold bricks, with massive iron bowls set up around the perimeter of the room, with large flames sprouting out of these bowls. Four thick pillars stood around the center of the room, appearing to be made of a solid gold material. In the center of the room, sitting on top of a large red and gold carpet, the same circle of podiums stood. In front of those, Monokuma's red and gold throne stood tall, with the black and white bear himself sitting proud as he watched the students enter.

"Puhuhu! What do you guys think? I did a bit of...renovating since the last time, since I figured having trials in the same courtroom over and over again would get pretty drab," Monokuma explained, casually resting his elbow on one of the arms of the throne. "Well, don't stare in awe too long! Go on, get to your spots- same seats as last time, by the way!"

Without much more hesitation, the students made their way to their respective podiums. Hana noticed something was different- specifically, there were now two more memorial pictures that stood along with Mikio's. First, there was a photo of Kaneki that stood between Tadao and Saku, where the Ultimate Explorer had once stood; like Mikio, it was a grayscale headshot of Kaneki, with a red 'X' painted over it as well, displayed on a long stand. Then, there was Azami's photo, in between Saku and Akira; like the other two, it was a black and white headshot on a stand, but the 'X' was styled differently. Rather than the simple 'X' that was drawn over Mikio and Kaneki's pictures, Azami's looked as though it had been scribbled or scratched on, like something from a horror movie.

 _Okay...Okay, trial's starting..._ Hana told herself as she walked to her podium. To trust the facts of the evidence, or to trust her own emotions and believe in Asuna...the Ultimate Surfer knew, in order to survive this trial, she would have to make a decision, and she would have to make it _very_ soon.

And thus, whether the class was ready or not...the curtain rose on their second murder case. A deadly mystery...a deadly betrayal...who was the blackened? The only way to find out was to survive the class trial- a class trial of life...or death.

* * *

 **A/N: Hooooooooo boy- ladies and gentlemen, give it up for what is currently the longest chapter in Fractured Fates, clocking in at over 13,500 words! ...Which, for me, is a big deal, so I'm talking about it here. Heh.**

 **Now then, it's finally that time again: the time has come for the climax of this chapter, the exciting class trial! The evidence is there (or you may need a refresher from last time too), so there's only one thing you lovely readers can do: speculate! What do you guys think happened that night? Who killed Kaneki? Was Asuna truly involved? Will Hana be able to get out of this dilemma of hers? Why did I make that flashback so long? All these questions and more will be answered- next time! ...Well, partially, the class trial is gonna be multiple parts again, and significantly longer than Chapter 1's...oh, you know what I mean. Stay tuned for next time!**


	17. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 7)

**A/N: Nyahaha, hello readers! Are ya ready for some brain-squeezing, heart-thumping mystery action? You know it because you probably read Chapter 1's- it's time for the class trial! And lemme tell ya, writing this chapter was made sooo much better when I was blaring class trial music from the actual DR games. I really need to use that musical motivation more in the future, maybe then these updates will come more quickly!**

 **But, I digress, we got murder!** **So then, who killed Kaneki? Almost everyone seems to think it was Asuna, but whether or not she truly is the killer remains to be seen...**

 **Also Hana is having emotional problems, but you know, what else is new?**

 **And so, the second murder case kicks off...right now!**

* * *

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Mm- yeah, I can see the similarities, though I think you'll find the circumstances in this trial are a bit...different than how it worked in SDR2. Being cryptic aside, I like your predictions! Though as always, I can't confirm any as right or wrong. **

**Also: what if shE _IS_ THE KILLER!?**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Class Trial (Part 1)**

 _ **Class Trial: START!**_

 _ **ALL RISE!**_

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began, just as he had last time. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"I ask again- do we really need a whole trial?" Hinata asked, sounding rather bored. "I mean, it's pretty obvious Asuna's the killer, right?"

"Gah-! Already!?" Hana yelped, shocked that the accusations would start so soon.

"W-W-What!? N-No, I-I'm not-!" Asuna cried, the words becoming stuck in her throat out of fear.

"Yeah! There's no way Asuna's the killer..." Ryoto began- before furiously pointing the finger at a certain Ultimate Waiter. "Because the killer was obviously Tadao! There's no one else it coulda fucking been!"

"Oh not this again..." Tadao muttered in irritation. "Save your delusions for when our lives aren't at risk, would you?"

"That's just the kinda thing I'd expect you to say you motherfucking murderous murderer!" Ryoto shouted in rage.

"Miura- if you're so certain that Shimaru is involved in this murder, then surely you must have evidence to back yourself up, right?" Akira asked, her red gaze shifting to the racecar driver.

"...Uuuuh...well, I _looked_ for evidence," Ryoto responded, his bravado wilting immediately. _"Find_ evidence...? Hehe, well, uh- not exactly..."

"Then I second Shimaru's statement- do _not_ waste our time unless you have something intelligent to add," Akira told him with an annoyed glare.

"B-But-! He's _gotta_ be the killer! The way he's been talking, and- and-!" Ryoto futilely insisted.

"Please, if all you have are my own words, then you'd best listen to the prosecutor and shut it," Tadao responded with a slight growl.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," Shiori deadpanned from her podium. "Can we get back to the _actual damn trial_ now?"

Ryoto and Tadao went silent, allowing Akira to speak up and say, "As I was planning to say before that little tangent, I believe a summary of the case would be the best way to begin."

The Ultimate Prosecutor began, "The victim this time was Kaneki Tenmaru, the Ultimate Explorer. Her time of death was listed as being some time shortly after 10:05 last night; her body was discovered on the second floor of the South Wing, specifically inside the storage room."

"Through my examination, I was able to narrow the time of death to 10:08 PM," Hiroshi explained. "And, Kaneki died due to a combination of blood loss and the fluids spilling into her windpipe, causing suffocation as well. Both of these were a direct result of a single slash wound she received on the right side of her throat."

"W-Whoa, that's...gruesome..." Shiro remarked, his face paling as Hiroshi described the details of Kaneki's death.

"Well, I mean, unlike how the media portrays deaths by slash wounds, in real life they are in fact-" Hiroshi began.

"N-No need to elaborate on the details, Hiroshi, I think they believe you," Hana quickly told the coroner before she could explain further.

"Pfft- you people would never last in an OR," Shiori stated upon seeing the cringing faces of her classmates.

"At any rate, with the basics out of the way..." Akira went on. "I believe now would be the time to begin the arguments. And since I'm fairly certain about my theory, I shall start us off."

"Now, I'm just going to go out and make my accusation, so we can get to the point a little quicker..." the prosecutor stated...before turning her attention towards a certain Ultimate Gardener and pointing towards her, declaring, "I propose that Tenmaru's killer is none other than Asuna Izumi!"

Asuna's eyes widened in fear as she tried to find the right words to respond. "Gh-!? B-B-But, I-I...!"

Hana grimaced, the knot of dread in her stomach tightening. _Oh shit, here we go..._

"Hey, wait, I'm confused..." Rumi spoke, her tone one of worry. "Why is Asuna the one being accused?"

"Well it's very simple, Hamasaki- but in order to begin, we first need to discuss one thing," Akira explained. "Alibis for the night of the murder."

 _Wait, what?_ Hana thought to herself in surprise before asking aloud, "Uh, hold on Akira- didn't you tell me when the investigation started that asking for alibis was pointle-"

"Quiet Amari, the professionals are talking," Akira snapped at the surfer. "Now then, let's begin the discussion, shall we?"

 _What...? I'm certain she said asking around her alibis was useless, and she seemed pretty resolute with that too, so why is she bringing it up now?_ Hana wondered. _Akira...what are you up to...?_

"Hiroshi, you said Kaneki's time of death was 10:08, right?" Shiori asked the coroner.

"That's right- which lines up with what the Monokuma File said," Hiroshi responded.

"But that would have been during nighttime, right?" Itachi pointed out.

"And was it not Akira's rule that we couldn't leave our rooms during nighttime?" Saku then asked.

"Well, clearly two of us decided to be a pair of rebels, now didn't they?" Shiori reminded the group, glancing at Kaneki's portrait as she did.

"Well, don't go accusing me like you guys did last time!" Ryoto yelled out. "I was in my room the whole night!"

"And if anyone legitimately suspects me, know that I too was in my dorm that night," Tadao added calmly.

"M-Me too!" Asuna quickly chimed in. "I-I was in my room the entire night too!"

Hana heard the contradiction, and though she was extremely hesitant, she knew letting it be would only lead to trouble. Thus, with a sense of apprehension, the Ultimate shouted, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"W-Wrong...?" Asuna squeaked.

"Asuna...I don't think you were in your room the entire night," Hana stated. "Someone saw you head up to the second floor of the South Wing, just before nighttime."

"Ah-? H-Huh?" Asuna stammered. "Wh-who-?"

"You're referring to what Miura saw, aren't you Amari?" Akira replied, glancing at the racecar driver in question.

"Hm? Me?" Ryoto asked, before quickly yelling, "OOOOH! Wait wait wait, I know what you mean! You're talking about what I told you guys, about me seeing Asuna and Kaneki go up to the second floor the other night, right?"

"Ah...yeah, that," Hana responded, though her confidence was nowhere to be found.

"Ah-!? H-Hold on, are you sure-" Asuna began, before . "Are, uh...a-are you sure...it was _me_ you saw...?"

"Hey hey, I may have been in a rush when it happened, but I know what I saw," Ryoto responded, crossing his arms. "Besides, you're tiny, so it would be _really_ hard to mistake you for someone else."

"I-I'm small, b-but not _tiny!"_ Asuna yelped indignantly.

"But at any rate- just as I thought it would, I believe this sufficiently proves two things," Akira explained, a confident smirk on her face as she spoke. "First, it places Izumi on the top floor with Tenmaru near the time of the murder. Second..."

The prosecutor added this next statement with a small glare at Asuna, "It shows Izumi is more than capable of lying to us about her actions on the night of the murder- which should call into question her credibility, wouldn't you all say?"

In this moment, Hana realized why Akira started the discussion in the first place. _Oh...I get it. She wasn't really interested in alibis, it was a trap- she was trying to catch Asuna in a lie. Well...as a prosecutor, she probably does that sort of thing all the time in court, so I shouldn't be that surprised..._

"W-Wait...! I-It's not what you think!" Asuna insisted, putting her hands up defensively.

"I have to agree. While being on the same floor as where the murder happened is suspicious, it doesn't automatically point to Asuna as the blackened," Shiori pointed out, frowning at Akira.

"Yeah! I mean, I saw her go up, but I didn't see her come back down," Ryoto added. "For all I know, she probably got back to her room right after I went into mine!"

"Oh you two do make some good points..." Akira conceded...before adding, "But do you honestly think that's my only piece of evidence. Oh no- on the contrary, I'm just getting started."

 _She sounds so sure of herself...well, that makes one of us, I guess..._ Hana thought to herself in response to Akira's statement.

"To continue- we've established Izumi went to the second floor of the South Wing last night, and was up there by at least 9:58," Akira explained. "So what we need to think about is: What was Izumi doing up there?"

"Mm- Asuna? What _were_ you doing up there?" Hiroshi calmly asked the gardener.

"N-N-Nothing," Asuna stuttered, visibly anxious. "I-I wasn't up there long! I, uh...I saw Kaneki, we uh...talked for a minute, and uh...I-I went right back down to my room! Th-That was it!"

"...Well that was a pathetic lie," Tadao stated, adjusting his gloves.

"Perhaps...this requires further discussion...?" Saku suggested. "We should see if we can pinpoint Asuna's actions while she was on the top floor last night."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!" Hana agreed, nodding. "Maybe then, we can sort this whole thing out!" _Asuna, Asuna please, please tell the truth, this is getting bad right from the start!_

"Asuna, you didn't exactly answer my question..." Hiroshi told her, though he sounded as calm as ever. "Don't worry, just tell us. Why were you up on the second floor last night?"

"I-I...I already explained, didn't I...?" Asuna responded timidly. "I was o-only up there for a minute or two, a-and all I did was talk to Kaneki..."

"Yeah! I saw them both, so it makes sense that they'd see each other!" Ryoto reminded everyone with a shout.

"But that's not what Ashi is asking," Tadao pointed out.

"A-Asuna, come on, there's no need to dodge the question...right?" Rumi asked Asuna n worry.

"It's dodgy, but since Ryoto never saw Asuna go back to her room, there's no way to prove she's lying," Shiori told the others, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana suddenly shouted, stopping the Ultimate Surgeon in her tracks.

"Hold on...I think Asuna may have done a bit more than just talk to Kaneki while she was up there..." Hana explained, frowning. "The proof of that...is Asuna's hairpin."

"M-My...?" Asuna responded, one hand instinctively going up to the flower hairpin in question.

"Allow me to elaborate on Amari's claim," Akira stated, adjusting her glasses as she began. "During the investigation, she found a hairpin that belongs to Izumi- the one she is wearing right now as a matter of fact, after I returned it to her."

"But, wasn't that also when you interrogated her? And then she ran out of the dining roo-" Shiro attempted to remind the prosecutor.

Akira, ignoring the boy, went on to elaborate, "Incidentally, would you all like to know where it was found?"

"That's a rhetorical question, isn't it?" Itachi stated with a small sigh.

"It was found in the greenhouse," Akira answered (confirming Itachi's statement). "Which not only affirms that Izumi was on the second floor...but interestingly enough, the greenhouse was also where other evidence had been hidden. Rather odd, for someone's signature accessory to be lying in an area like that, isn't it?"

"That could just be a coincidence, though," Hiroshi told her, frowning slightly. "Asuna loves the greenhouse, she goes there all the time. Who's to say the hairpin didn't fall out of her hair one of those times during the day?"

"Y-Yeah- a-and, also, I-I didn't even realize m-my hairpin was missing until this morning..." Asuna explained. "S-So I have no idea w-when it actually fell..."

Akira...only chuckled, in that same knowing tone as when she and Hana were in the greenhouse- which only raised the surfer's fear even more.

"Well, believe it or not, it's actually possible to pinpoint when the hairpin actually wound up in the greenhouse," the prosecutor stated.

"Wha-? You can?" Rumi asked in surprise.

"Yes. To do so..." Akira began, turning her attention to Hana. "Amari. When you found the hairpin, was it wet or dry?"

"...Come again?" Hana asked, baffled.

"Answer the question. Was it wet or dry?" Akira asked again, this time with more force.

"I-It, um, was dry," Hana responded after a moment.

"Well that's nice and all, but what does that have to do with- anything at all?" Hinata asked.

"Well, you see, I commandeered Monokuma for some information regarding the greenhouse," Akira explained. "Amari, you were there. What time did Monokuma say the sprinklers go off at every day?"

 _The time the sprinklers go off...? I don't know what she's getting at, but I think I do remember what Monokuma told her..._ Hana pondered before answering, "He said...the sprinklers go off at 10 PM every night."

"Hm- right at the start of nighttime, huh?" Tadao noted.

"My apologies- but where are you going with this?" Itachi asked Akira, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"It's actually quite simple, Kunata," she answered the weapons expert. "We know that Izumi lost her hairpin at some point before this morning, and she didn't have it back until shortly before the trial started. Now, if we assume it had, in fact, wound up in the greenhouse earlier in the day, then it would have gotten dampened when the sprinklers went off at 10."

"However, Amari found the pin dry, not wet. Not to mention, it was found in a spot where shorter plants grow, so there's no way it was shielded from the water. Which means it had to have been left behind by Izumi _after_ 10:00, after the sprinklers had gone off," Akira went on.

"And...we know Asuna would have up there at that time based on what Ryoto saw, right?" Hana asked, looking downwards.

"Yes," Akira confirmed. "And so, the question becomes not what Izumi was doing up on the second floor- but rather, what was she doing up there for that entire time frame?"

Hana felt another dread-filled chill go up her spine as Akira finished her explanation. _Aaaah, I didn't even think any of that...how is it possible that this trial is getting worse and worse!?_

"I...I, uh..." Asuna stammered, her face growing pale. "Th-This...i-it's just a...a misunderstanding! Th-That's all, I-I...I didn't kill anyone!"

"But...you were up on the second floor, right Asuna?" Rumi asked. "At the same time Kaneki was, right?"

"And don't try to lie your way out of this one too, Izumi," Tadao stated, narrowing his blue-green eyes at her.

"I...I can't...say that..." Asuna squeaked.

"Of course you can, that's what voices are for!" Ryoto shouted. "What were you doing!?"

"I-I can't say it! Y-You guys might...I-I don't know, b-but I can't say it!" Asuna insisted, her fear only growing.

"Uh, Ryoto, I think yelling will only freak her out more..." Shiro said to the racecar driver.

 _Oh come on, why is she being so dodgy? There must be a reason she was up there, but I'm_ sincerely _hoping it's not for the reason Akira thinks it was..._ Hana though to herself. _Maybe...Maybe something else brought her up there? Maybe she was...she was..._

That's when the surfer had an idea. _Wait. Could it have something to do with...?_

"Hey...Asuna," Hana said, turning to the Ultimate Gardener. "The reason you were up on the second floor...it wouldn't have anything to do with the storage room key, would it?"

"H-Huh!?" Asuna yelped.

"The storage room key? What about it?" Shiori asked.

"Hiroshi, Akira- we can all agree that the storage key was inside a book in the study, right?" Hana asked the two.

"Why yes, it was," Hiroshi confirmed.

"I can confirm as well," Akira replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...Asuna was in charge of the storage room key, and it was a job she took super seriously..." Hana explained. "So...what if Asuna, at some during the day, actually misplaced the key? And that's why she went up to the second floor during the night- so that way she could look for it without anyone knowing she had lost it?"

"That's quite the assumption, Amari," Tadao stated.

"B-But, uh..." Asuna began. "She's...um- sh-she's...right."

"...I'm sorry?" Tadao asked, surprised.

"I...did. I-I didn't notice until about the afternoon, b-but...yeah," Asuna confirmed, looking down in shame. "I-I...I lost the storage room key! I-I'm sorry!"

"Wait, I was right?" Hana asked...before quickly adding, "Um- I mean, yeah! That's what I thought! This _is_ just one big misunderstanding!"

"...That's it?" Hinata asked. "You lied about stuff and whatever, just because you lost one little key? Talk about a mundane answer..."

"W-Well, I-I made such a big deal about w-wanting to be useful to everyone when I volunteered to take care of the key..." Asuna explained. "I...I was afraid that, i-if you guys knew I had lost something so important, y-you guys would think I was unreliable or something. A-And, especially after Kaneki vouched for me, I...I didn't want to let her o-or any of you guys down! S-So...that's why...I didn't say anything..."

"But what about when the investigation started? Why didn't you come clean then?" Hiroshi asked her.

"I-I don't know...maybe I was scared that, i-if you guys knew I was upstairs when Kaneki was m-murdered, th-then you'd start to suspect me..." Asuna went on apologetically.

"Start to suspect...? Goddammit Asuna, what do you think's been happening this whole trial!?" Shiori cried in frustration.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Asuna responded, lowering her head even more.

"...Hmph. If this is supposed to be Izumi's life-saving evidence, then you're sorely mistaken," Akira stated, her eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"Huh? But she explained herself," Hiroshi replied. "I don't know about you, but she seemed pretty honest to me."

"Well Ashi, have you forgotten what Izumi's been doing since we began?" Akira pointed out. "She's been lying to us, that's what."

"That's right- she lied about her alibi. And about what she was doing up on the second floor," Itachi reminded the group, eyes closed as he recalled.

"Exactly. So who's to say she's not lying about the key, too?" Akira asked with a slight glare.

"N-No way! That's not- no!" Hana cried, attempting to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"Amari, can you actually prove with real evidence that Izumi misplaced the storage room key in the hours before Tenmaru's death?" Akira asked, crossing her arms.

"Uh...n-no...?" Hana replied. _Oh great, here comes that doubt again..._

"B-But I'm not lying! I swear!" Asuna insisted, panic rising into her voice.

"Hmph! There's only one thing that matters in court- and that is evidence!" Akira declared, pointing. "And the evidence states that it is unlikely that Izumi simply 'misplaced' the key! The proof of that lies in where it was actually found- inside a book, of all places."

"I mean, yeah it's weird as fuck! But how does it implicate Asuna?" Ryoto demanded.

"Because- one does not simply misplace a key as you would a wallet or a cell phone...inside a book. It's simply unrealistic, and difficult at best," Akira explained. "The most logical explanation is that it was deliberately placed there by someone- by the killer, perhaps?"

"I-I'm not the killer though! Honest!" Asuna cried, desperate.

"Oh really? Tell me, who was in charge of the storage room key, and would therefore have the most access to the storage room at any time?" Akira inquired.

"That...would be Asuna, right..." Hana confirmed hesitantly.

"And where was Tenmaru killed? Where did the murder take place?" the Ultimate Prosecutor then asked.

Rumi answered that one, saying, "It...was the storage room, right?"

"And what would be the most believable explanation that would throw suspicion off of the culprit?" Akira asked with another dramatic point.

"Saying the key was missing...and then hiding it," Hiroshi stated, his gray gaze going down somewhat.

"Hold on! Shouldn't we give Asuna the benefit of the doubt? What if she really is telling the truth?" Shiro quickly asked the group. "W-We shouldn't be doubting her like this!"

"Excuse you, Koichi, but this is a class trial. Suspecting and doubting our classmates is what we're _supposed_ to do," Tadao told the poet, sounding rather annoyed.

"B-But that doesn't-" Shiro began.

"Shiro. It may be painful, but this is what we have to do," Itachi told his silver-haired friend. "If we are to survive, then we must find the killer. No matter the cost."

 _Itachi's...right, but I...why am I still doubting all of this...?_ Hana wondered. _If Asuna's the killer, then...there's nothing I can do about that, we have to convict her. So...why do I still feel like-_

"N...No...No no no, this is all wrong!" Asuna cried. "G-Guys, I'm...not the killer! I'm not! I swear I'm innocent!"

Hana grimaced as she listened to the gardener's desperate cries. _Asuna..._

"E-Everyone! P-Please believe, I-I didn't kill Kaneki!" Asuna cried out.

"You lied about you alibi and actions on the night of the murder, Izumi," Tadao reminded her.

"But she already explained why she lied!" Ryoto shouted, clenching his fists.

"Which could easily be disproven," Itachi stated flatly.

"Come on, this is Asuna we're talking about!" Shiori said. "She couldn't even kill a fly, let alone Kaneki, her _best friend!"_

"Hey, I don't really want her to be guilty, buuuut even best friends can kill each other I'll bet," Hinata pointed out with a shrug.

"B-But what you're accusing me with...! I-It's not right! I-I already explained everything!" Asuna insisted. "Th-There's nothing else! N-Nothing that proves I was involved in this!"

With a strong sense of apprehension, Hana yelled out, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Asuna...there's...one more thing that implicates you..." Hana stated.

"W-Wh-?" Asuna began, confused.

"On Kaneki's body...there was a note," Hana explained. "It told her to meet up at the storage room by 10:00. And the note...was signed in your name, Asuna."

"What...!?" Asuna asked, her voice a near whisper.

"Ah yes- the most damning evidence of all," Akira responded, smirking confidently once again. She then took out the note in question, apparently still having pocketed it. "The note to Tenmaru from Izumi, instructing her to be at the storage room before or at 10, explaining that Izumi had 'something really important' to tell her."

 _Kaneki-_

 _There's something really important that I need to talk to you about. But I'm too worried to let any of the others know; you're the only one I can really trust with this right now- so, try and keep this a secret, okay? Please meet me in the storage room tonight at 10:00, I'll explain more then. And be sure to be there by 10, come early if you have to. I really need you to listen to me on this, so please don't forget, okay?_

 _-Asuna_

"What!? I-I've never seen that note before!" Asuna cried. "I-I never wrote anything like that to Kaneki!"

"Well of course you wouldn't admit to it," Tadao remarked.

"N-No! I-I'm not lying again, I've never seen that note before!" Asuna insisted, her eyes wide with terror.

 _Wait- she doesn't recognize that note?_ Hana thought. _I mean, yeah, she could be lying again...but if she's telling the truth, then..._

"I don't think I need to explain the implications of this note, do I?" Akira asked. "It's the final piece of evidence linking Izumi to the murder. The note explains why Tenmaru went to the storage room in the first place, firstly. Second, it would only work best if Izumi were the sender of the message- after all, who would Tenmaru trust more than her supposed best friend?"

"N-No, wait-!" Asuna attempted to refute.

"And, the two of them meeting in the storage room would be most convenient for the killer, because she is the one responsible for the room's key," Akira went on. "And finally, the note matches with the timeline- it would explain why Izumi was in the greenhouse after 10:00- because that would have been after the murder, when seh was likely disposing of evidence."

"No! No no no!" Asuna cried. "That's not what- no!"

"What about the other evidence? There's still much to discuss," Hiroshi told Akira.

"Hmph- I believe what we've discussed thus far is more than enough to identify the blackened," Akira responded resolutely. "I end my argument with what I said when this trial began- Tenmaru's killer is none other than Asuna Izumi!"

"No...no...no...!" Asuna squeaked, shaking. "I didn't...I didn't kill her!"

"Come on, this can't...be what actually happened, right...!?" Ryoto asked, his face pale with shock.

"I just...it is hard to believe, is all," Saku admitted, furrowing his brow. "That something like this could happen between two friends..."

"Believe it- the truth is the truth, and there is no changing it," Akira told the group. "The evidence speaks for itself in support of my theory. Surely you all can see that at least."

 _Well...Akira's right, the evidence does support her theory that Asuna is the killer, but still..._ Hana thought, glancing at Asuna. _Asuna...she's desperate, just like Azami was when she was being accused as the blackened. But...somehow, this time, the way Asuna's freaking out seems...different. Desperate, but...a different kind of desperate? Azami got mad, freaked out, all that, but Asuna...she's just begging to be believed, nothing else..._

"Well, Rimutsu seems satisfied, and honestly I am too," Tadao remarked. "I don't suppose we can start the voting now, can we?"

"Well, if there's nothing more to say in regards to the case, and if a majority of you are in agreement, then yes!" Monokuma explained.

"V-Voting time!?" Asuna cried.

"We can't vote! We're not all in agreement yet!" Shiori pointed out.

"We don't all have to be. Just a majority," Itachi responded. "That's the rule."

 _N-No way...! We're actually gonna vote!? B-But it's too soon, we can't- there's no way-!_ Hana thought, the alarms in her mind going strong.

"N-No! Please, I'm the killer! I-I'm not!" Asuna cried, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Well then, prove it," Akira coldly responded. "If you're innocent, then show us proof of that. Mere words mean nothing without evidence to back them up- especially when our lives are on the line."

"I...I don't b-but-!" Asuna replied, her voice cracking with desperation.

 _No...No, no, something's not right...I know Akira's just doing her job, and all the evidence does point to Asuna, but..._ Hana told herself, her heart racing from fear. _Asuna would just...never do something like this! Especially not to Kaneki! But...it's not evidence, it's just what I feel, there's...no way that'll work, will it?_

"If you have nothing to back your claim, then it's just desperation fueled by you about to be convicted," Akira replied. "With that in mind, kindly be quiet.

 _What should I do, what should I trust more!?_ Hana continued to ask herself, her own desperation only growing. _Evidence, feelings!? WHAT SHOULD I DO!?_

"Sorry, dude, but- I dunno, I'm gonna trust that the literal prosecutor knows what she's doing," Hinata remarked, sighing.

"Well, it certainly seems we've come to a conclusion," Tadao stated with a satisfied smile.

"I...I don't want to think Asuna's the killer!" Rumi yelled, squeezing her eyes shut. "B-But, I didn't want to think Azami was the killer either, and...aah, I hate this! I hate this so much!"

"There's nothing that can be done," Itachi repeated. "Let's just cast our votes, if no one has anything else to say."

"There is nothing more to say. The truth is self-evident enough," Akira stated.

"No! No, I-I'm not the blackened! Believe me, please!" Asuna pleaded, before she practically screamed, "I DIDN'T DO THIS!"

 _Okay, it's now or never...this may not be the best thing to do, but dammit I want to believe in Asuna!_ Hana told herself, determined. Deep down, the Ultimate Surfer knew in her heart Asuna was innocent- and even if the proof didn't support that, Hana was willing to take that risk to find just one possibility where her belief was correct.

"No...no!" Hana suddenly shouted. "I...I reject that! I reject that theory!"

"Once again, as long as a majority is in agree-" Akira began.

"I said no! I won't accept that!" Hana shouted again, emphasizing her point by slamming her hand on her podium...which admittedly hurt more than she had expected, but at least it got her point across.

"...Um- Hana? You okay there?" Hinata asked the surfer.

"I just...don't you think you're jumping the shark a bit?" Hana asked. "Doesn't anything about this case seem off to you? Wrong? Like there's too much evidence pointing to Asuna!?"

"Seriously? 'It's too obvious'? That's your argument?" Tadao asked skeptically.

"No! I'm just saying there might be other possibilities!" Hana explained to the waiter.

"Well of course there could be, but there's only one that's the absolute truth," Akira replied. "And at any rate, Amari- if you're on Izumi's side, then I'm sure you have proof that at least suggests her innocence."

"Well...no, I'm just..." Hana replied.

"Then you be quiet too, and don't waste our time," Akira told her with a frown.

"No! I...I know I'm just listening to my gut here, but this whole theory seems wrong! I know Asuna, there's no way she would ever murder her friend!" Hana insisted.

"Pfft- and, what, you're just believing her words? Are you going to say you're 'listening to your heart' or something like that?" Akira asked, her tone condescending.

"...Well when you say it like that it sounds stupid," Hana remarked with a frown. "But...yeah. I know we have to suspect each other, being a trial and all, but...I know Asuna would never do this. She wouldn't kill Kaneki, no matter what!"

"H-Hana...!" Asuna gasped, as if surprised someone else was actually trying to defend her.

"Hmph! So that's it then, your entire argument right now is that 'Izumi is innocent because she was friends with the victim'?" Akira inquired with a glare. "Pathetic. Those kinds of relationships mean nothing in this game, and your argument is completely empty."

"Well! Maybe there's something we missed! Another angle!" Hana insisted.

"Oh? And I suppose this 'angle' is based on your feelings too?" Akira asked, shaking her head. "Is that honestly what you're doing Amari? You're putting our lives at risk, just because of your damned feelings?"

"N-No! I want to find the truth as much you do! But I just...I can't imagine Asuna as the culprit!" Hana explained. "Akira, if you're wrong about this-"

"If _you're_ wrong, Amari, we die," Akira scowled. "I at least have evidence to support my theory. What do _you_ have, huh? Baseless emotions? Those feelings will only blind you to the real truth."

"Or maybe believing in my friend will actually let me figure out other ways to look at what happened!" Hana retorted. "I don't care if all the evidence doesn't support it, I won't spend this entire trial just doubting everything! That's why I'm gonna listen to my feelings and trust Asuna! I _refuse_ to believe that she's the blackened!"

Having made her position very clear and punctuating it with a dramatic point, Hana went quiet to calm down. _Well...there we go, I made my choice. But...somehow, I feel like it was the right one. I did good, I did-_

"..." Akira was silent as well, but she didn't look calm. She was furiously glaring at Hana, her teeth clenched, her countenance one of pure frustration and rage.

 _...I...I did...uh..._ Hana's mind was drawing up a blank as she and Akira made eye contact. The more she gazed at the prosecutor, the more she felt as though she was being frozen solid right where she stood. _Why...do I feel like I've just awakened something horrifying...?_

"..." Finally, Saku worked up the courage to ask, "Ah...Akira? Are you alright...?"

"Are you going to refute, or...?" Tadao inquired as well.

"..." Akira only glanced at the two of them, a deafeningly silent signal for the two of them to be quiet. She then turned back to Hana and said one simple statement to the surfer:

"I never liked you, Amari."

Hana...was quiet, as she had no idea how to respond to that.

"You stand there, and you let your damned feelings run your life, while you disregard any sense of concrete logic like the fool you are!" Akira hissed, narrowing her piercing gaze. "You think you're clever? Intelligent? Some great detective? Well, you're not. The fact that you were even able to solve the last murder was luck alone- if Kurobe had't shown you the secret room in the library beforehand, you would have been clueless!"

"Um...we're still talking about the murder, right?" Rumi asked. "Or did this just turn into Akira yelling at Hana?"

"You're not smart! You're a fool! Your talent doesn't even have anything to do with investigating, you're just someone who spends her days on a piece of decorated wood in the ocean!" Akira growled.

"Hey, surfboards are much more complicated than they-" Hana began to respond in an indignant tone.

"And now you reject my words and the evidence, as if you know more about the facts than the likes of me? You think that your petty 'feelings' will be all it takes to bring the truth to light?" Akira asked, before laughing. "Hah! Someone as childish as you is the least fit to try and solve a real crime."

"Hey, Akira, don't talk like that, we're all trying to work together on this," Hiroshi sternly told the prosecutor.

"Quiet, Ashi. Amari is the one I must convince beyond a reasonable doubt? Fine- to bring the blackened to justice, and to end this trial swiftly, I will do just that," Akira spoke. "But...how about I do this the right way?"

"The...right way?" Hana asked. "What do you mean-"

"OBJECTION!" Akira interjected, dramatically pointing yet again.

Hana, shocked, was unable to respond as Akira declared, "You want to go up against me, Amari? So be it. I will prove to you beyond all doubt that Izumi is the guilty party! Now then- your lowly emotions versus my superior logic. Let's see which one the truth favors, shall we?"

 _W-What is this!? How did it come to this!? Why am I about to debate against the Ultimate Prosecutor!?_ Hana asked herself in terror. _Kaneki, why did you have to die in such a complicated way!?_

"Hana, breathe, relax, you're fine," Hiroshi softly assured her from the podium adjacent to where she was standing.

"Fine!? This isn't fine at all! It's one thing to go up against an actual lawyer, but _you're_ the one who keeps telling me to 'trust in the evidence'!" Hana semi-soflty responded. "If I do that, then that'll mean Asuna's guilty, and I can't believe that!"

"Who said there's only one way to look at the evidence?" Hiroshi asked, calm in spite of Hana's anger.

"Huh?" Hana asked.

"You wholeheartedly believe Asuna's innocent? Good- then if you're right, the evidence should be able to reflect that," Hiroshi explained. "Find that evidence, and show it to Akira- that's the only way out of this. Another angle, just like you said."

Hana went quiet to contemplate Hiroshi's words. _I...guess that makes sense. I may not understand everything yet, but one thing's for sure- I won't be able to convince Akira or anyone else just based on my feeling alone._

"What, Amari? Backing down now?" Akira asked the surfer, her arms crossed.

"No...no, I'm listening," Hana replied. _I have to show Akira another way to look at the evidence. Something we haven't discussed yet, something that'll break this whole thing wide open. That's the only way to keep the trial going, to save Asuna!_

"It's an indisputable fact that Izumi lied about both her alibi for the night of the crime and her actions during the time she was up there," Akira began. "In addition, there is the matter of the note to Tenmaru, which is likely what led her to the storage room in the first place. As the person who was in charge of the storage room key, Izumi would have access to the storage room at any point- including the time listed on the note, allowing her to lure Tenmaru in there and kill her."

"But Asuna already explained why she was upstairs last night- because she was trying to find the key that she had lost!" Hana refuted.

"Unlikely- the key was inside a book in the study, and you don't lose something in a book by accident. It would be more beneficial to her if we thought the key was missing, and to add to that illusion she hid the key inside that book," Akira went on. "And then there's the matter of what she did after the murder- based on the time of death specified in the Monokuma File, Izumi would have been in the greenhouse to hide evidence after 10, after the sprinklers went off. Her hairpin that was left behind is proof of that. Understand, Amari? The proof all points to Izumi as the killer, there is nothing more to discuss!"

 _"I'll cut through that claim!"_ Hana shouted upon gaining an idea.

"How dare you derail me with odd catchphrases!?" Akira demanded.

"Sorry, I got excited," Hana replied. "Anyways- there _is_ something else to discuss! Like, uh...that stain on the study's wall!"

"...What," Akira flatly asked.

"Uh...you know, that weird discolored spot?" Hana clarified.

"I know what you're talking about. What I mean is- _that's_ your groundbreaking evidence?" Akira asked again. "A random discolored spot on the wall?"

"...Maybe..." Hana responded, gulping.

"...Monokuma, can we revoke her right to speak?" Akira asked the monochrome bear, giving Hana a sideways glance.

"What!?" Hana yelped.

"Now hold on Akira, Hana might be on to something," Hiroshi told the prosecutor. "To be honest, I had my suspicions about that spot myself. But first- Hana, did you ask Shiro about that stain at all? You know, since he tends to be in the study more than any of us?"

"Yeah, I asked him," Hana responded, nodding. "He said he's never seen anything like that in the past. Right, Shiro?"

"Uh-huh. I've spent hours in the study the last few days- if there was a strange spot on the paint, I would have seen it," Shiro confirmed.

"Well that's interesting. And if that's the case, then I think I have a good idea of what that spot actually is," Hiroshi went on with a knowing smile. "Now, I didn't have the proper equipment, so I couldn't confirm my hypothesis, but considering the context of murder and what Shiro said...I'm pretty confident."

The Ultimate Coroner then turned to Hana and said, "Hana, you can understand what I'm getting at, right? What that spot on the wall really is?"

 _What that spot really is...? Um, let me see...Hiroshi mentioned the murder, and what Shiro said- which, if he was right, means that spot wasn't there before the murder..._ Hana pondered. _So with that stuff, then that must mean the spot on the wall is..._

"Hiroshi...are you saying that spot is- er, I guess was- a bloodstain?" Hana asked, surprised.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hiroshi confirmed. "That discolored spot on the wall of the study is what remains of a bloodstain."

"Can you be certain?" Itachi asked. "You said you couldn't properly test it."

"Yes, for we all we know, that spot could have been from spaghetti sauce," Tadao remarked.

"Well, Shiro did say he's never seen a spot like that anywhere in the study..." Hana reminded them. "And if that spot only appeared after the murder happened...then the spot being the remnants of a bloodstain would make the most sense."

"Um...b-but what does that have to do with me, though...?" Asuna asked, frowning in worry.

"Well, I was just about to get to that. Going off my hunch that the spot was a bloodstain, I decided to do a little...test," Hiroshi explained. "To do that, I needed someone who stood a certain height, and had a certain body type. The closest person to match both of those was- you, Itachi."

"Hm? You're referring to that?" Itachi asked.

"You mean that thing where you had Itachi stand next to the spot?" Hana asked as well.

"Uh-huh. Like I said, I had a hunch that spot was a bloodstain, so I wanted to confirm something. So to that, I needed someone with a certain height and body type- although height was the more important component. More specifically, I needed someone with Kaneki's height, since I wasn't about to tamper with the crime scene to move the body. Itachi, you were the best person for that."

"I see...but, and my apologies for the questioning, what was the purpose?" the Ultimate Weapons Expert inquired.

"Yes, where is this going?" Akira herself asked.

"Simple- based on what I saw with Itachi, I was able to see that the stain did line up with his neck and throat- so, by extension, it would have lined up with Kaneki's as well," Hiroshi explained. "And that- that means one thing: that Kaneki was standing at her full height when she was killed!"

"..." The entire courtroom fell into an awkward silence. Even Hana had no idea to add to what Hiroshi had suggested.

"...Yeah, science!" Ryoto shouted, pumping his fist into the air in an attempt to seem joyful.

"No, not 'yeah science'," Hinata responded. "The hell does it matter what Kaneki was doing when she dies? Who cares if she was standing, sitting, cartwheeling, whatever?"

"It matters immensely actually," Hiroshi told them. "Because if Kaneki was standing at full height when she was murdered, then...well, there's no way Asuna could have killed her in the way that we know she was killed."

"Excuse me?" Akira asked, swiftly turning her gaze to the coroner. "Why is that?"

"Hana, you know Asuna and knew Kaneki better than me, so maybe you can explain better," Hiroshi said. "There's a certain trait of Asuna's, a trait that would have prevented, or at least greatly hindered, any attempts at killing Kaneki like that. Figure that out, and we'll break this case in two."

 _What's he going on about now...? And why does he want me to explain?_ Hana asked herself. _Okay, okay, think Hana...a trait of Asuna's that would have kept her from murdering Kaneki in the way we know she died. I have to figure that out- this whole trial depends on it!_

It took the surfer a few moments of thinking, but soon enough the answer came rushing to her like a wave crashing onto a beach shore. "Wait a second! You're talking about Asuna's height, aren't you?"

"S-Seriously!? J-Jokes about my height, _now?"_ Asuna indignantly asked.

"N-No, not a shortness joke," Hana quickly assured the gardener. "I think Hiroshi's talking about the differences between your height and Kaneki's, right?"

"Yup. To elaborate, Asuna if I recall is about 4'5", while the Monokuma File lists Kaneki's height as being 6'0"," Hiroshi explained.

"Well, she was pretty tall, that's a fact," Shiori confirmed. "The tallest of all us female students, at least."

"And if Kaneki was standing tall at that height when she was killed, it would have been extremely difficult for Asuna, the _shortest_ of all of us, to have slashed her throat so deeply," Hiroshi went on.

"Hell, I don't even think she'd even stand as tall as Kaneki's neck anyways- maybe, like, up her chest or something," Hinata remarked.

 _"Th-There's_ the short joke..." Asuna muttered.

"The point is, it would have inconvenienced Asuna too much if she _were_ the killer," Hiroshi concluded. "Slashing someone's throat like Kaneki's was is difficult on its own, but to do so with such a significant difference in heights? No way, she would have gone for a method less cumbersome."

"And I'm not just making assumptions here, the angle of the wound lines up with this too," the Ultimate Coroner went on, crossing his arms with a smile. "Now, there are actually two types of slashed throats- drawing the blade across the throat from behind, or stabbing into the throat and slicing outwards from the front. This murder is a case of the latter- and the slash wound that killed Kaneki is very straight, clean, and horizontal. If someone of Asuna's height had been the one to deliver the killer blow, the angling would have been much different I'd imagine."

"Whoa, you can tell all that just from looking at one thing? On a dead body?" Hinata asked, incredulous.

"The dead never lie," Hiroshi responded confidently.

"Interesting, but it wouldn't have been impossible for Izumi to have murdered Tenmaru, even if she _was_ standing at the time," Akira pointed out. "It does not completely clear her of suspicion."

"Maybe not, but it does create some doubt towards her supposed absolute guilt, doesn't it?" Hiroshi asked. "And as long as that doubt exists, then Hana's right- we _cannot_ vote yet!"

"..." Akira closed her eyes in thought, as if taking in the information. "...I'm not happy that you two have poked such a large hole in my theory. However...though I am a prosecutor, I am someone who uncovers the truth above. Therefore, I agree we should abstain from voting for now."

"However! Know that the two of you- especially you, Amari- walk on thin ice. Your theory is acceptable, but it does not clear Izumi of suspicion!" Akira declared threateningly.

"Well then, that's what we're down here for, right?" Hiroshi asked. "If anything, I'd say this trial is just getting started."

Hana did not share Hiroshi's confidence in countering Akira- instead, the surfer just let out a massive sigh of relief. _I...I can't believe it...we did it! They're not voting yet! There's still a chance to turn this around, to find the real killer!_

Likewise, it seemed as though Asuna was extremely shocked at this turn of events, standing silent as if trying to comprehend how she was still alive.

"Trouble is now, thanks to you, now we have no other suspects..." the prosecutor then admitted with a frown.

"Yes, it's amazing how investigating a single person doesn't allow you to consider other suspects, isn't it?" Shiori sarcastically responded, glaring at Akira.

"Uh...guys? Are we not going to talk about Hiroshi's theory? About the, kinda, implication it makes?" Rumi spoke up.

"Implication? What do you mean?" Hiroshi asked the scuba diver.

"Well- you said that discolored spot was a bloodstain, right?" Rumi inquired. "And that bloodstain was caused by Kaneki's slash wound?"

"That's what he said," Hana confirmed.

"Well then, doesn't that mean..." Rumi began. "That the crime scene...isn't the real crime scene?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Tadao asked in surprise.

"Hm- oh! I know what Rumi's saying!" Hana interjected. "She's saying that the room where Kaneki was killed- it wasn't the storage room at all! Based on what Hiroshi said, the crime scene would have actually been the study!"

"Uh-huh! That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rumi confirmed happily.

"W... _What?"_ Ryoto asked, visibly dumbfounded.

"B-But...wasn't the body found in the storage room?" Asuna asked, confused.

Hana took a moment to think, then responded, "I mean...I guess just because the body was found there, that doesn't necessarily mean that's where the murder _happened-"_

"LIGHTNING STRIIIKE!" Ryoto suddenly interrupted with what sounded like a battle cry.

"W-What was _that?"_ Hana asked the racecar driver, surprised.

"What? You're allowed to shout catchphrases whenever, but I can't?" Ryoto demanded, narrowing his eyes.

 _Seriously, since when do I have catchphrases...?_ Hana asked herself.

"Anyways- sorry Hana, but I can't agree with you on this one!" Ryoto yelled. "That assumption- it's GOTTA be wrong!"

"Wrong?" Hana asked. "A-And hey, wait a second, Rumi was the one who-"

"Nope! That's wrong, and I'm gonna prove to you why!" Ryoto shouted, cracking some knuckles. "Get ready for a STORM OF LOGIC!"

 _I...don't know what he's going on about, but I should at least try to hear him out..._ Hana figured with a frown.

"Sorry Hana, but I can't agree that the crime scene is anywhere but the storage room! You expect me to think the murder happened somewhere entirely different, just because of one random stain, that may or may not even be from blood!? You don't even know if that is a bloodstain!" Ryoto argued. "You and I both saw the storage room, Hana- you can't tell me nothing happened in there!"

"I'm not saying _nothing_ happened in there- I'm just saying that's not where Kaneki died!" Hana countered.

"HAH! Well I'd rather believe the room that's literally splattered in blood is where someone died instead of the room with a single suspicious stain!" Ryoto shouted. "And even if that stain really was blood, then Hiroshi's theory still makes no sense! Because there's no way to explain all the blood in the storage room!"

 _"I'll cut through that claim!"_ Hana yelled, stopping the Ultimate Racecar Driver in his tracks.

"See!? Catchphrasing!" Ryoto pointed out indignantly.

"Ah forget about catchphrases!" Hana retorted with an annoyed frown. "Ryoto- there _is_ a way to explain all the storage room."

"Oh- wait, there is?" Ryoto asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Now, you weren't there when Hiroshi and I found it, so it's not your fault you didn't know about this," Hana explained. "But you see, Kaneki wasn't just slashed in the throat- she was stabbed in the back, too."

"Wh-!? Well of course she got stabbed in the back! One our classmates fucking killed her, we ALL got stabbed in the back!" Ryoto retorted with clenched fists.

"...Something tells me she means it in the literal sense," Shiro remarked.

"Er, yeah- literally, Kaneki was stabbed in the back a few times before she died," Hana explained further. "If the stabbing happened while she was in the storage room- then, I'm assuming that would cause a _bunch_ of blood splatter, right?"

"And as the resident coroner, I can confirm that assumption would be correct," Hiroshi added. "Based on the location, depth, size, and the amount of wounds, there's no doubt in my mind that a stabbing in the storage room would be closely consistent with the blood splatter seen."

"Ooh...well then, yeah, I guess that does explain it," Ryoto conceded. "Sorry about that! Haha!"

"My apologies, but how can you be certain of that?" Itachi inquired Hiroshi. "Isn't it possible that the killer inflicted those stab wounds _after_ Kaneki was dead? In order to throw us off track?"

"But doesn't the Monokuma File list the cause of death anyways...?" Hana pointed out, frowning.

"And aside from that, I'm certain those stab wounds were inflicted before death. The proof of that is the wounds themselves," Hiroshi explained. "Due to the size of the bloodstain on Kaneki's back, it was clear that there had been a significant amount of bleeding around those stab wounds. An amount that wouldn't have possible if she was dead when the killer stabbed her."

"Why not?" Shiro then asked.

"Because- think about what indicates and causes blood flow- your pulse, and the beat of your heart respectively. I don't think this is news to anyone, but when someone dies, their heart stops beating. When the heart stops, blood no longer flows through the vessels; as a result, there is very little bleeding from a cadaver compared to a living person," Hiroshi explained. "No pulse- no blood flow. No blood flow- no bleeding. Simple."

"Yeah, science!" Ryoto shouted once again, only this time the situation was much more appropriate.

"I see...so your reasoning is that, because of the large bloodstain around the wounds, the stabbing had to have happened before Tenmaru's throat was cut?" Akira asked. "Hm...it certainly sounds reasonable..."

"Does it though? Who could survive being stabbed multiple times in the back?" Tadao asked with an unsatisfied frown.

"It's possible- the human body is built to be resilient, and I've seen people survive worse injuries," Shiori stated. "Hell, I once treated a patient who had been stabbed in the back of the neck with a kitchen knife- and they didn't even feel the knife. For someone as physically fit as Kaneki to be able to survive a stab wound a back, even more than one, long enough to make her way into the study...it's certainly not impossible."

"So...Kaneki didn't just get her throat slashed, she was also stabbed...?" Rumi responded...before crying out, "Oh my god! That's a terrible way to die!"

"C-Can we change the subject soon...? Please?" Asuna asked almost pleadingly- clearly, she did not want to hear any more discussion about her best friend dying a painful death.

"Hm...it's all coming together now, then- a timeline of sorts of how the attack happened..." Akira murmured to herself. "The attack started in the storage room, with the culprit striking Tenmaru from behind several times. Tenmaru managed to get away from her attacker, make her way into the study, where the killer then caught up to her and made the killing blow by the door via slashing the victim's throat."

"Yeah- then the killer moved her body back to the storage room, then cleaned up the study!" Hinata concluded...before frowning as he registered what he just said. "...Okay wait, that sounds stupid."

"What does?" Hana asked.

"What I just said- the killer moving Kaneki's body and basically staging the crime scene," Hinata explained. "Why would they do that? That would just out 'em at risk to make more evidence, you know? When you commit a crime, you just gotta get out of there- so why stay and do...all that?"

"Oh...huh, I didn't even think about that..." Hana muttered. _He is right though, that does seem kinda weird..._

"I-I mean...there _had_ to be a reason, right...?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah- the killer wouldn't do something that time-consuming and intricate for nothing, right?" Tadao also inquired.

"No, they wouldn't," Akira agreed. "When it comes to premeditated murder, killers rarely do anything for no reason. And I'm certain this time is no exception."

"Well, let's try talking about it then- maybe we'll actually get somewhere," Shiori suggested.

Hana, however, still seemed skeptical. _I'm not disagreeing that there was a reason the killer hid the true crime scene, but...how do we figure that out?_

"Hey, Hana- if you're trying to figure this out, you've already got the answer right in front of you," Hiroshi told her. "Remember how I told you that the evidence can be interpreted in different ways? Well, now's your chance to do that."

"Huh...?" Hana replied.

"They're right- there's a reason the killer _had_ to make it look like Kaneki was killed in the storage room," Hiroshi went on. "And you don't have to look far to figure it out- you already showed that evidence earlier in the trial, remember? Now, you just have to show that different angle to it- the one that will reveal the real truth of this case."

 _A different angle, huh? Well, if it means getting a little closer to finding Kaneki's killer and completely proving it's_ not _Asuna, then I've got to do it!_ Hana told herself, a new surge of determination in her mind. _...As soon as I can remember which exact piece of evidence Hiroshi's talking about._

"Well, by hiding the body in the storage room...maybe they tried to delay its discovery!" Rumi suggested.

"Unlikely- if they wanted to do that, then they would have locked the door," Saku pointed out.

"Maybe Asuna was the one who unlocked it?" Ryoto guessed.

"N-No, I still didn't have the key this morning..." Asuna replied. "A-And even then, th-the door was already open a little when I went into the study before breakfast...that's w-why I checked it."

"So in short, hiding the body was definitely not the intent," Shiori concluded.

"I'd say it was simply to dispose of evidence," Itachi suggested.

"But why move the body to such a close location?" Tadao asked. "The murder happened at night, the killer had all the time in the world to hide the body anywhere they wanted!"

"Well sure, but why _not_ keep it close by?" Hinata asked. "Personally, I don't see it. I _really_ don't think it would matter which room we thought the murder happened in."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted.

The Ultimate Surfer then continued, "Actually, I'm pretty sure it would matter a lot which room we thought the murder was in! And the reason behind that all goes back to that note!"

"'That note'? Do you mean the one found on Kaneki's body?" Itachi asked.

"Exactly. If we're assuming Asuna is telling the truth-" Hana began.

"We cannot confirm whether Izumi is being honest about whether she wrote the letter or not," Akira interrupted the girl.

 _"If we're assuming Asuna is telling the truth-"_ Hana repeated more forcefully, choosing to interrupt Akira right back. "-Then that must mean the real killer wrote it then. Which means that it was them who, under Asuna's name, told Kaneki to go to the storage room. Now, messing around with evidence would have been one thing- but if we consider the contents of the note, then what other reason would they have had to move the body to the storage room?"

"Well, it looks like they were trying to copy what the note said," Shiro responded. "The note told Kaneki to go into the storage room, so if we thought that was where the murder happened, then it would emphasize that illusion of Kaneki having been lured in there and then immediately killed!"

"Yeah! And since the note was signed in Asuna's name, and since Asuna was the one in charge of the storage room's key, then our immediate suspicion would be to think that she was the one who had lured her in there and killed her!" Hana explained. "The killer didn't clean up the study _just_ to hide evidence or anything like that- it was also done to set up Asuna as a scapegoat!"

"Well, they certainly did a good job with that, no thanks to Ace Attorney over there," Shiori remarked, gesturing to the Ultimate Prosecutor in question.

"Quiet Sauchi, unless you have something besides sass to contribute," Akira snapped at the surgeon. "At any rate, Amari, your argument would be acceptable if it weren't for the fact that there is a distinct lack of proof that Izumi didn't write that note. As a matter of fact, this note in question is the main reason my suspicions still fall upon the Ultimate Gardener herself..."

"B-But like I said, I-I've never seen that note before!" Asuna responded defensively. "Let alone write it a-and give it to Kaneki!"

"Well obviously it came from _somewhere,_ notes don't just walk into dead people's pockets," Hinata stated.

"But I don't think we have the resources to figure that out, honestly," Tadao responded.

"Well we have to do something!" Rumi insisted. "We'll be arguing about this note all day otherwise..."

"Hamasaki's right. In order to move this case forward, we must figure out this particular mystery..." Akira told the others. "We must ascertain the origins of this message!"

"..." Ryoto stared blankly at the prosecutor.

"...Find out where the note came from," Shiori translated with an exasperated sigh.

"I...might be with Tadao on this one, I'm not sure how we'd figure out something that specific..." Hana murmured to herself.

"It might be easier than you'd think," Hiroshi quietly responded. "Just think about where I found the note- think about the body."

 _The body...what does that have to do with- oh, nevermind, if Hiroshi's bringing it up then it must be important..._ Hana assumed, closing her eyes as she thought. _And besides- that note is the one major evidence against Asuna. I have to at least prove she wasn't the one who wrote it, or just-_ something _that proves she had nothing to do with it!_

"Come on guys! We have to figure out where that note cam from!" Ryoto shouted to the other students.

"But we don't have the right equipment to able to tell something like that from the paper and handwriting alone..." Akira said, more to herself than the others.

"Can we really be so certain that Asuna _didn't_ write it?" Itachi asked. "It could be another lie."

"I-I'm not lying anymore! I swear, I've never seen that note before!" Asuna quickly replied.

"Well, you and Kaneki were together often, correct?" Saku suggested. "Perhaps you saw when she received it?"

"N-No, I would have remembered if I had..." Asuna responded. "B-Besides, we weren't together _all_ the time. I-If she did get it from someone, I-I wasn't there to see it..."

"Well, uh...at the very least, we know Kaneki had the note on her when she died, right?" Rumi suggested hopefully.

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana interjected.

"No! It's wrong to think Kaneki had the note when she died!" the Ultimate Surfer went on, determined to follow her current train of thought. "Hiroshi brought up the body, which I thought was really weird at first, but hearing you guys, and thinking about the evidence...I know what he's talking about!"

"Hey, calm your antenna hair, Hana! Slow down so I can understand what you're going on about," Hinata asked, frowning.

"Yeah, why wouldn't Kaneki have the note when she was killed? It was in her vest pocket, wasn't it?" Shiro also asked, curious.

"That's the thing, though..." Hana went on. "I kept thinking about what Hiroshi said, and I think I understand. The evidence that shows Kaneki couldn't have had the note from 'Asuna' when she was killed...is the note itself!"

"That's..interesting logic," Shiori remarked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"No no no, it makes sense, I swear!" Hana insisted.

"Guys, look at the note, and think about what Kaneki looked like when her body was found- think about the condition of the corpse, and where I found the paper," Hiroshi added, assisting Hana.

"Yes yes, we know, I myself was there when you found it," Akira stated. "One of you, get to the point."

"Well, with what I explained, isn't there something weird about the paper now that you look...?" Hiroshi asked again.

"Weird?" Tadao inquired. "How? It's just normal, clean paper with an incriminating message on it."

"Exactly," Hiroshi concluded. "Hey, Hana, I'll let you answer this one. What's missing from that piece of paper?"

"Well, that's easy...I think," the surfer replied. "The thing that's missing is...blood. There's no blood on the paper at all!"

Akira stared at the two for a moment...before realization seemed to strike the prosecutor, and she quickly looked over the note again. "Well...look at that, you're observation is correct."

"No blood? Isn't that a good thing? It means you can actually read it!" Ryoto pointed out.

"Miura you fool, you saw the body too, didn't you?" Akira asked the racecar driver. "Anyone who saw the body should understand what those two are getting at."

"Nope, sorry, I'm trying to _suppress_ the memory of finding a classmate's bloody corpse," Ryoto stated with a frown.

"I-I'd rather not remember that either..." Asuna responded as she tensed up from the traumatic memory.

"I think I understand!" Saku offered. "I got a good look at the body myself while I was guarding the scene- are you referring to how the entirety of the right side of Kaneki's chest was covered in blood?"

"That's exactly it," Hiroshi confirmed. "Since the pocket of her vest was on that same side, and in the area of that blood splatter- which I assume was a result of the fatal slash wound- then anything that was in there would have- _should_ have- gotten covered as well."

"My apologies for another interruption, but- isn't it possible the pocket simply protected its contents from the spray of blood?" Itachi suggested.

"That's what I initially thought too...so I checked the inside of her pocket, just to be safe," Hiroshi replied. "And- no, the inside was just as blood-soaked as the outside, so if the note was in Kaneki's pocket when her throat was cut, it should have gotten caught in the splatter of blood as well."

"Hah! Yeah, I was right!" Hana exclaimed- though she hadn't thought that far ahead, the Ultimate was still proud to have been the one to first bring it up.

"So then that means...the only way 'Asuna's' note could have avoided becoming bloody was if it was planted inside her pocket _after_ the murder!" Shiori finished. "That's why you said it was wrong to assume Kaneki had it when she died!"

"Well, that's some fine reasoning you've crafted there," Tadao remarked, sounding somewhat satisfied for once. Of course, that did not last long, as the Ultimate Waiter then added, "In fact, it's so fine, you've officially made this case impossible."

"Uh...come again?" Hana asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Based on what you're suggesting, it means Tenmaru never saw that note prior to her death, right?" Tadao elaborated. "But then that raises a rather important question...if Tenmaru never saw the note, then _why did she go up to the storage room in the first place!?"_

"...O-Oh...well, that's, uh..." Hana stammered, attempting to find a response.

"But he's right. With this theory, it effectively eliminates the only reason we had as to how and why Tenmaru ended up in the storage room the night of the murder," Akira confirmed. "Unless someone has a way to explain?"

"Of course there's an explanation," Hiroshi reassured the two, before turning to Hana. "Isn't that right, Hana?"

"Definitely! We wouldn't bring it up for nothing!" Hana confirmed, expecting Hiroshi to elaborate...only to find the coroner was silent. Whispering, she asked, "Hiroshi? Isn't this the part where you explain it all?"

"Ah...truth be told, I have no proof to explain this, so that task is up to you," Hiroshi responded softly.

"H-Huh? Oh come on, you're the intelligent one!" Hana replied somewhat angrily.

"Bold of you to assume I have all the answers," the coroner stated, frowning slightly. "And hey, you're intelligent too. Surely, you simply found something that I missed, right?"

Hana went silent, simply nodding in acknowledgement as she began to think. _Well...I_ do _have a bunch of evidence. Come on, one of them has to be able to explain! How did Kaneki know to go to the storage room last night, despite not seeing the note from 'Asuna'? She couldn't have just done it on a whim or something! So, why...?_

At that moment, the answer came to her swiftly, and the surfer told her classmates, "I got it! I know how Kaneki knew to head to the storage room! It was because the note Hiroshi found on her corpse, the one from 'Asuna', wasn't the only note the killer made!"

"Wasn't the only note?" Tadao asked. "You don't mean-!"

"I do mean! There isn't one note- there are two!" Hana exclaimed, pulling out the note in question.

"Well, glad to see you didn't forget about my contribution to your detective work, Hana," Shiori remarked as she saw the taped-streaked piece of paper.

"Wha...? That's, like, something you'd see in some kinda crime novel or something," Hinata quipped, his gold eyes widening in surprise.

"And believe me, I think this'll more than clarify the situation here," Hana told the others. "See, I found this note torn up in Kaneki's bedroom, so obviously she must have had it at some point- after all, the only person who would have had access to her room was Kaneki herself- and I asked Shiori to put it back together for me."

"Which I did- and I good look at what it said myself," Shiori confirmed. "It's...enlightening, for better or worse."

"B-But what does it say?" Asuna asked.

"Here, I'll read it, and I think it'll become as clear as day why Kaneki went to the second floor," Hana replied, before reading aloud the note:

 _Asuna-_

 _There's something really important that I need to talk to you about. But I'm too worried to let any of the others know; you're the only one I can really trust with this right now- so, try and keep this a secret, okay? Please meet me in the storage room tonight at 10:00, I'll explain more then. And be sure to be there by 10, come early if you have to. I really need you to listen to me on this, so please don't forget, okay?_

 _-Kaneki_

"Hey! That's exactly like that last note!" Ryoto shouted.

"No, between the two notes, the only difference- besides the type of paper used, I suppose- is that the names are swapped," Saku explained. "The one Hana just read sounds as though it was written by Kaneki rather than Asuna."

"But, most importantly- if Kaneki did see this note, then she would be tipped off to going to the storage room last night, even though she hadn't seen the note from 'Asuna' that was addressed to her," Hiroshi explained.

Asuna glanced down for a few moments, as if trying to think...before gasping. "H-Hey! Th-That note...Hana, can I see it?"

"Huh...? Uh, sure," Hana responded, confused. Still, she and the students between her and Asuna passed the paper down to the short gardener, who proceeded to quickly scrutinize over the item...before gasping again.

"Th-This paper...! I-I recognize it!" Asuna exclaimed in shock.

"You...recognize that note?" Hana asked in equal shock.

"Y-Yeah- th-the note's addressed to me, b-because...w-well, I was the one who got it," Asuna explained.

"You did- huuuh?" Hana stuttered, unsure of what to make of this revelation.

"Interesting- Izumi, why exactly did you wait until now to bring this up?" Akira inquired accusingly.

"N-Nobody asked me about it! I-I didn't even know anybody had found out about it, a-and I hadn't thought about th-this note s-since yesterday, a-a-and it _certainly_ wasn't the first thing on my mind today!" Asuna timidly explained, trembling.

"Ah...well, I would have if we had more time to investigate..." Hana muttered to herself.

"But...if you got it, then how did Kaneki end up with it?" Rumi then asked.

"U-Um...l-let me explain real fast..." Asuna began. "Y-You see, i-it all started yesterday morning- around 6, s-so before the morning announcement. I got woken up w-when someone knocked on my door. A-And just as I was getting out of bed, s-someone slipped that piece of paper under my door. I-I read it, and- well, of course I thought Kaneki had written it, i-it was signed in her name, a-after all."

The gardener went on, "B-But still, I-I was really confused, so...a few minutes later, s-still before the morning announcement, I-I went to Kaneki's bedroom door and knocked on it, and..."

* * *

 _It only took about a minute, but soon enough Kaneki answered the knocking and opened the door. The explorer looked as though she had just woken up- her hair in a non-braided and disheveled state, her fedora draped haphazardly on her head as if she had just put it on (and not very neatly, at that). "Huh...? Asuna, what are you doing up so early? Something wrong...?"_

 _"Uh- n-not exactly, it's just- sorry to wake you, b-but I need to ask you about this," Asuna responded, holding out the strange piece of paper for her friend to see._

 _"...Yeah, that's a piece of paper," Kaneki stated after staring at the item for a few moments._

 _"N-No, it's got a message on it," Asuna clarified. "F-From you."_

 _"I never wrote you a message," Kaneki replied with a yawn. "That sounds cool, though- secret messages, wouldn't that be something?"_

 _"Y-you never...? B-But it's signed in your name, right here," Asuna insisted, pointing to the name in question._

 _"Let me see," Kaneki said, Asuna handing her the paper in response. The Ultimate Explorer silently read over the paper, still seeming rather unconcerned._

 _"Mm- yeah, I didn't-" the taller girl began- before she stopped to read over the paper again. Then she read it again, her brow becoming more and more furrowed as she seemed to analyze the message's contents. Suddenly, Kaneki was looking very awake._

 _"Uh- Kaneki?" Asuna called, frowning in confusion._

 _"...!" Suddenly, Kaneki's eyes widened, and she looked almost frightened. "Th-This is...!"_

 _"S-Something wrong...?" Asuna asked, now rather concerned._

 _"I...I, I-I, I..." Kaneki stuttered, quickly glancing back and forth between the gardener and the note. "It's...nothing! Nothing's wrong at all!"_

 _"Huh? B-But-" Asuna began._

 _"Ah, you know what? This note here- i-it's nothing, really, you should just forget about it!" Kaneki told her friend, laughing in what was supposed to be a cheerful manner, though it came out rather forced. "Don't worry about a thing, forget about this whole paper, okay? Okay."_

 _"F-Forget about it?" the short Ultimate asked. "B-But it sounded so urgent, a-and I'm sorry if I-"_

 _"Asuna, no worries! This note is completely not worth your time, and you should just ignore it!" Kaneki insisted with a reassuring grin as she backed away back into her bedroom. "Ignore everything you read in that note, it's not worth your time at all! Just, uh, go back to sleep or something, it's still technically nighttime and you wouldn't want Akira mad at ya! Seriously- ignore. What. You. Read. Please."_

 _Without another word, the Ultimate swiftly closed the door, leaving Asuna_ extremely _baffled. "...W...What just happened...?"_

* * *

"Well...I-I did, I didn't think about that note _t-too_ much at all after that..." Asuna went on.

"Welp- looks like we know what Kaneki did with the note after _that_ exchange," Shiori remarked, likely referring to the torn-up state Hana had initially found the paper in.

"But, at least it confirms that she did, in fact, read the note before she ripped it up," Hiroshi stated. "Which confirms what Hana suggested- that it was through this note, not the one on the victim's body, that Kaneki knew to go up to the storage room before 10 that night."

"Well, that's all fine...but what of that second note? The one signed by 'Asuna'?" Tadao inquired.

"Hm...Izumi, give me that note," Akira ordered. Without hesitation, the frightened gardener passed the note, and soon enough it reached the Ultimate Prosecutor.

The young woman held the two notes together, her eyes narrowed at both, and soon said, "Well, I'm aware this is no true handwriting analysis test, but- just by appearance alone, it would appear the handwriting on both papers is extremely similar, even identical. It would not be _too_ far-fetched to believe these messages were written by the same person."

"It's gotta be the killer then, right?" Hana asked, watching Akira work. "Yeah, that must be it!"

"But still, why write two notes?" Saku asked with a frown. "Surely, it could not have been to lure them both to the storage room."

"If it was- well, they fucked up that part of their plan," Shiori stated in response.

"Well, we already sorta mentioned how the note from 'Asuna' was supposed to help frame her, right?" Hana pointed out. "That was the entire reason the killer staged the crime scene- to go along with what that note said, to make it more believable that Asuna was the one who lured Kaneki there to kill her."

"But what of the other note, then?" Itachi asked. "Why bother with that if Kaneki was their target?"

"Maybe it was to get her to the second floor so they could make her look more suspicious?" Rumi suggested.

"...That just takes me back to my last comment," Shiori quipped with a frown.

"Well, I guess they still got what they wanted anyways- after all, Shortstack over there did kinda help them frame her by leaving her hairpin there," Hinata pointed out. "Not to split hairs or anything. And, uh, no pun intended."

"C-Can't you guys joke about someone else's height for once?" Asuna asked.

 _Hm...why can't things be straightforward here? Every time we answer one question, about two more pop up in its place!_ Hana thought to herself. _Still, I have to figure this out. The reason the killer wrote_ two _notes was..._

Hana felt her mind go blank, as she racked her brain to try and find an answer...and yet, she couldn't. No matter how hard she remembered the facts of the case, there just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for there to be two messages...

...Then, the surfer had an idea. Perhaps, that mentality- the idea that there was no reason to write two notes- was, in itself, the answer?

"Guys...? What if...there really was no reason for the killer to make two notes?" Hana suggested.

"Preposterous, there's always a reason," Akira responded dismissively. "As stated before, in premeditated crimes such as this, killers never do anything without a reason."

"No, that's right, but-" Hana began, attempting to rephrase what she had said. "We know which order the notes appeared, right? The first note was the one Asuna received the day before the murder, and the second was the one Kaneki had in her pocket, right?"

"That would make the most sense," Itachi stated.

"Well- okay, so obviously the killer had every intention of making that first note..." Hana explained. "But what if- and hear me out- what if the killer never planned on writing a _second_ note to begin with?"

"...What?" Akira asked, visibly baffled by where Hana was going with this train of thought. "Amari, kindly explain this. Now."

"Well, like I said, I think we can all agree the note from 'Kaneki' was planned by the killer- after all, why would they go so far as to slip it into her room the day before?" Hana went on. "But, that second note, the one from 'Asuna'...I don't think the killer intended on writing it at all when they were first plotting the murder."

"But- wait, didn't we already answer what that second note was for? The killer wrote it to frame Asuna, right?" Shiro inquired, tilting his head somewhat.

"I don't think Hana's saying the second note had no purpose- it was, in fact, to make Asuna into a scapegoat," Hiroshi added. "I think she's trying to say that the killer did not pre-write the second note as they had the first. Like...the killer didn't think to write another message until later, maybe even after the murder."

"Hmph- Occam's Razor, friends," Tadao countered. "Isn't it more likely that the killer simply wrote both notes at the same time, delivered the first to Izumi, and kept the second one until after Tenmaru's murder, in which they then planted it on her body to draw suspicion towards Izumi? There's certainly more evidence to back that up than what Amari is suggesting."

"But there is evidence to prove the second note was unplanned!" Hana insisted. "And that evidence comes from...the desk in the study!"

"The desk?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah- when me and Ryoto initially went to the study this morning, just before we found Kaneki's body, we noticed the desk was completely disheveled," Hana described.

"As Ryoto, I can confirm! The desk was a mess when we went in there!" Ryoto confirmed. "And no- while I was completely fired up and panicked, I had nothing to do with its disorganized state! Like I told Hana, it was like that when I got to the study!"

"Well, maybe Asuna did it?" Hinata guessed. "With all that screaming she did, I'm assuming she was in some kinda panic. Maybe she messed up the desk then?"

"N-No, the desk was disorganized when I went into the study this morning, too," Asuna replied. "A-A-And I _was_ in a panic a-after I...I found Kaneki, yeah- b-but all I touched was the storage room door, I-I closed it out of reflex, a-and then I ran straight out of the study."

"So, the desk was in that state before anyone had even found the body," Shiori surmised.

"And one more thing...Shiro? Do you think you can look at that second note and tell us if the paper came from the study?" Hana requested of the poet.

"H-Huh...? C-Can Shiro even do that?" Asuna asked.

"Sure I can! Let me see the note," Shiro cheerfully responded, and soon enough the note from 'Asuna' was passed over to him.

The boy looked over the paper, front to back, examined the edges, felt the page, sniffed(?) the paper- until finally, Shiro proclaimed, "Uh-huh! This paper without a doubt came from the study?"

"Huh? He actually did it?" Ryoto asked in shock.

"Well, when you write as much as I do, identifying exactly where a piece of paper came from is as simple as counting to ten!" Shiro responded with a satisfied smile. "And besides, I've been in the study enough to be able to recognize the paper on the desk."

"In addition to this, I'd say the condition of the desk itself is very telling," Hiroshi stated. "The disorganized state seems pretty indicative of someone in a rush or a panic- so much so that they didn't even bother to clean it."

"And not only that- we keep talking about how the culprit planned this murder beforehand, right? And, well, it definitely looks like they did- setting up a time for their target to head to the storage room, hiding evidence..." Hana explained, her confidence in her theory growing. "But this second note isn't like that at all. Based on what we just found out, it almost looks like the killer wrote that second note right there in the study."

"But, Tadao's right- the simpler thing to do would be to write the note beforehand and bring to the site of the murder," The Ultimate Surfer continued. "So...the only explanation is that the killer didn't think they'd need a second note! Otherwise, they would have prepared one beforehand, just like Tadao said!"

"So...does that mean them trying to frame Asuna also wasn't what they originally planned?" Rumi asked.

"That does seem like the most logical conclusion to draw," Akira stated.

"But- if the second note was unplanned, and so was the frame-up..." Ryoto began...before shouting in frustration, "Then what even _was_ their original plan!?"

"That does seem to be the missing link- what the killer initially intended for the murder..." Saku said to himself.

"Well...we know they were obviously planning on killing someone. They gave that note to Asuna- which ended up in Kaneki's possession, which is how she knew to go to the storage by 10- and acquired the murder weapon. Then they lied in wait in the storage room for Kaneki, and murdered her," Hiroshi recapped. "That was what the killer planned. What they _didn't_ plan on was writing that second note and setting up a plot to frame Asuna for the murder."

"B-But...we still don't know what any of it means, d-do we...?" Asuna asked. "I-It just...seems to weird to me. W-What caused the killer t-to have to i-improvise so much a-anyways...?"

"That's...a good question," Hana responded.

"I mean, obviously _something_ derailed the killer's plot," Shiori noted. "If we can figure that out, maybe we'll _finally_ get something cleared up."

 _Well, clearing up this mystery is still looking easier said than done, but figuring out what messed up the culprit's scheme should help us out somehow, right?_ Hana pondered. _So, what was it...? Come on, think about what Hiroshi just said, something doesn't fit! What doesn't fit?_

Hana gripped her podium as she clawed through her thoughts to come to some kind of conclusion- and then, the answer actually made itself known this time. Hana had no idea what it would imply or lead to, and yet...the surfer's decided to listen to her gut and make her opinion known.

"I think what messed up the killer's plan was...their target," Hana replied. "I think it was Kaneki herself."

"Kaneki? But...what did she have to do with the killer's plan? Aside from, you know...being the victim," Rumi asked with a confused frown.

"Well, if you think about what the killer did that night...all that improvising they did didn't actually happen until after the murder," Hana pointed out. "The second note, the stuff they did to set up Asuna..."

"What's your point?" Itachi inquired, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"My point is..." Hana began. "Is that...Kaneki was not the killer's original target!"

Several shocked and confused exclamations could be heard across the courtroom.

"W-What...!? Kaneki...wasn't who the killer was...!" Asuna gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Well...can't say it's _that_ insane of a suggestion..." Tadao remarked. "I know if I were the killer, I certainly wouldn't target someone who is taller than most of us here, is athletically built, and is an expert with a bullwhip."

"And besides- what I described before, none of it- save for the murder itself- was actually directed at Kaneki," Hiroshi stated. "We even proved the only reason Kaneki ended up on the second floor to begin with was because of that first note, the one Asuna received."

"W-Well-! The culprit was planning on killing _somebody,_ right? Why make all those preparations beforehand if they weren't?" Shiori asked.

"Yeah, but who that target was..." Hana murmured thoughtfully.

"That's just one more mystery we need to solve in order to move this case forward," Akira told the other students. "All of you, think! Surely, there must be something that points to who the killer's target initially was- one of you must have seen or heard something."

 _How is it possible for a single murder case to become more twisted than it was when we started?_ Hana asked herself, cringing. She knew she had gone into trial doubtful, and then wanting to save Asuna from being accused as the blackened, and the Ultimate Surfer was certainly grateful for being successful in that goal; but now, it was becoming more and more clear that the 80th Class had severely underestimated the complexity of this case...

Shaking her head, the girl returned to her thoughts. _Okay...think, I need to think back to everything. Everything I learned in this trial, everything I learned in the investigation, everything I witnessed leading up to the murder...! Something has to point to who the killer's original target was! And if we don't figure that out, we'll just end up talking in circles! We don't have that kind of time to waste!_

As Hana recalled these memories, recollections of everything leading up to the murder, and then to this moment...something clicked in her mind. Hana felt her blood run cold at the thought, and yet...the surfer told herself, _I...I think I've got it. If I really think about the evidence and information so far...there's only one person who could be the target._

She grimaced, as if trying to block out the very thought from her mind. _I...I don't like it all, it's so terrible, and this is the absolute worst time to bring it up, but...aaaAAAAAH! There's no one else! This is the only way everything makes sense! Not just what the killer planned, but what happened leading up to the murder too!_

At last, Hana spoke up. "I...I think I know. I think I know who the killer was actually targeting."

"You do?" Shiro asked.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense!" Hinata exclaimed. "Who was it? Who were they targeting?"

Hana frowned, hesitant...but knew there was no choice. _Well...I suppose the truth is pretty bad sometimes, right...? I mean, we all learned that during the last trial, I certainly did. And...it's not like this person is the killer or anything, but...! H-How in the world do I say this without upsetting them too badly...!?_

Ultimately, the girl felt she had no other option than to just say it. And so, choking down her feelings and trying to keep her voice steady, Hana turned so she could look the student in question in the face.

"The...The killer's original target...their intended victim..." Hana began, taking a deep breath. "I think it was...you, Asuna."

* * *

 **A/N: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH GIVE IT UP FOR THE NEW LONGEST CHAPTER IN FRACTURED FATES!**

 **Ah heck- every time I think I've reached a new pinnacle in chapter length, I end up surpassing it for one reason or another. Even so, we're** _ **still** _**only about halfway through the trial! And with many more revelations to come, and more evidence to discuss, will this case become even more convoluted than it already is? Well, it's Danganronpa, so sky's the limit when it comes to complex murder schemes!**

 **But anyways! Asuna has been basically cleared of suspicion (among other things happening to her at the moment)- but the true blackened is still out there! So, if you survived this door stopper of a chapter, speculate in the reviews if you want! Speculate about any new suspects, just generally what you think will happen next, etc.! And I hope to see you there, because next time everything shall become clear! ...For the most part. Byyyyye!**


	18. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 8)

**A/N: Hehehehe- welcome back to Fractured Fates! A story of bloody, gruesome murder and lots and lots of feeeeeeels! And you thought the emotional turmoil was strong in the prior parts...hooo boy, you haven't seen a thing yet! And since Halloween has passed, which also doubled as my birthday, consider this a Halloween birthday gift to you guys! Yay! :D**

 **So- what did we learn last time? Asuna is not the killer, and the true blackened appears to be continuing the Danganronpa tradition of killers having complexity addictions! And we're still far from through- there's still much more evidence to discuss. Will the students be able to identify the real blackened, or will it take a Part 3 to do so? ...I mean there's still gonna be a third part regardless for- uh, reasons- but I digress! Let's get back to the trial!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ 'Interesting part' indeed! Just you wait!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Class Trial (Part 2)**

"W...What...!?" Asuna gasped, her eyes widening in horror and her face growing pale. "I... _I_ was the...!?"

"What the plot twist are you talking about!?" Ryoto cried in shock.

"Oh come on! Don't you think she's been through enough in this trial!?" Rumi pleaded, turning to Hana.

"R-Rumi! I don't like this anymore than you do!" Hana insisted. "B-But, if you think about it...i-it's the only way everything makes sense!"

"She's...kind of right, actually..." Hiroshi added. "Like we said, all that stuff the killer planned wasn't directed at Kaneki...but it _was_ directed at Asuna."

"I mean...she was the one who got the first note, right?" Hinata pointed out. "Which, really, was telling _her_ to go up to the storage room, I guess."

"And targeting Izumi would be more practical, at any rate," Tadao added. "She is the smallest out of everyone here, and one of the more physically weak of our group. If it were a choice between her and Tenmaru...well, the easier target seems self-evident to me."

"And...we just talked about how the plan to frame Asuna probably didn't come to the killer's mind until after the murder..." Shiori went on.

"Just...like the second note," Hana stated, looking down somewhat. "The reason the killer didn't prepare a second note...it was because they probably thought they'd only need the one..."

"Because it wasn't Tenmaru they were luring to the storage room- it was Izumi, the note's recipient," Akira concluded. "They didn't write that note to frame her, because they didn't think they'd _need_ to make a scapegoat out of her. And the reason for that was because, in the beginning, the blackened's plan wasn't to _frame_ Izumi- their plan was to _kill_ her."

Asuna gasped again, visibly taken aback by the revelation. "Wh-!? I-I...! Wha...!?"

"And that's not all- anyone notice how strange Kaneki was acting yesterday? Before the murder?" Hiroshi asked.

"Oooh, we noticed," Shiori responded with a frown.

"Yeah- she was being real quiet, she seemed way more anxious, more irritable..." Rumi explained. "It was just- really weird! Not like her at all!"

"And she fucking whipped me in the face!" Ryoto shouted.

"Well you almost punched her friend," Itachi reminded the racecar driver, gesturing to Asuna.

"Y-Yeah, and I'm sorry about that- but still! Kaneki never really lost her cool like that at all!" Ryoto pointed out. "Losing your cool like that is MY thing, it wasn't hers!"

"So...in short, Kaneki was acting rather out of character before the murder," Hiroshi surmised. "This would be...just after she would have seen that note- right, Asuna?"

"U-Uh- y-yeah, yeah, i-it was that morning that I-I showed her the letter," Asuna confirmed, still shaken by the topic at hand. "T-To be honest, I-I thought that note m-might have had something to do w-with how she was acting, b-but I never brought it up a-after that morning..."

"Well- there's no way that can be a coincidence," Akira stated. "You two were close, so I'm told."

"And Kaneki was a bit of an oddball, but she wasn't an idiot- so if she saw that note, especially the literal day after the motive was announced..." Shiori speculated. "Then, she probably put two and two together, and realized the only reason someone would write a note like that in her name to Asuna-"

"-Was to pull of the ol'- you know," Hinata stated, before making a slitting motion with his finger across his throat to indicate murder.

"W-Well, if that was the case...then yeah. I mean, if I thought my best friend was being targeted for murder, I'd be pretty on edge too..." Shiro admitted with a sympathetic frown.

"And...that's not all," Hana added, a memory coming back to her as the other students spoke. "Last night, just after dinner...I went and talked to Kaneki. Because, you know- I wanted to know what the hell was going on with her! I was worried! And...she told me..."

* * *

 _"Look, Hana, it's not that I don't want to tell anyone," Kaneki began with a slight cringe. "I would if I could, but...I can't. At the very least, I can't do it_ yet."

 _"'Yet'? What are you talking about?" Hana asked, removing her hand from Kaneki's shoulder once she was sure the explorer wouldn't run off on her._

 _"I...can't go into specifics without freaking you out- and besides, right now, all I really have are suspicions," Kaneki went on, looking around as she spoke._

 _"Suspicions? Wait, do you..." Hana began, furrowing her brow in worry. "Do you think something's going to...happen?"_

 _"..." Kaneki didn't answer that question. "...Like I was saying, I don't have all the answers yet. I'm fairly certain I will soon, but...the thing is, it's been weighing on me all day. Guess you could say that's why I've been acting all, as you put it, 'off'."_

* * *

"If...she really did see that note, then...it would explain what she said to me," Hana explained. "Her suspicions, the way she was acting, why she was so on edge...if she knew there was a murder plan against Asuna, then that- that would explain it."

"So then...not only was Izumi the intended target...but Tenmaru knew the murder was going to happen...?" Tadao stated...before adding with exasperation, "And she _still_ got herself killed?"

The waiter scoffed and added in a condescending tone, "Hmph! With that level of idiocy, I'd say Tenmaru was practically _asking_ for death."

"Hey don't fucking talk like that!" Ryoto roared at the waiter. "I'll go over there and PUNCH YOUR LIGHTS OUT!"'

"L-Let us _not_ speak ill of the dead, or punch our fellow classmates," Saku stated, attempting to calm the situation.

"B-But, hold on, something still doesn't seem right!" Rumi interjected. "If Kaneki knew Asuna was being targeted, then why go up to the storage room? Why tear up the first note? Why do- _any_ of that!?"

"Well, I can't explain why she thought to tear up the note- maybe she was trying to ensure Asuna wouldn't see it again. But outside of that, put yourself in her shoes- all she had to go off of was that note, which could very easily have been some morbid prank," Hiroshi pointed out. "There was no way to know how valid that threat was, and to be wrong would just cause more complications among the group."

"And...if that was the case, the only way to really know for certain without putting herself in harm's way would be to do nothing..." Hana realized with a chill. "And if Kaneki did that...then she would risk Asuna being murdered."

"So what? It wouldn't be the first time a murder would have happened," Akira pointed out. "For Tenmaru to act in such a way...I just can't fathom it. I can agree with wanting to prevent murder, but to do so by throwing away her life so recklessly...what the hell could have possessed her to do such a thing?"

"She...She had to have done it because..." Hana began, trying to figure out what Kaneki's mindset could have possibly been...before something came to mind. "Because...that's what she promised Asuna."

"Promised? What are you talking about?" Akira inquired.

"...Asuna. Just before the trial...you were telling me about a talk you and Kaneki had a few days ago, the day after Mikio's trial," Hana said.

"Uh...? Y-Yeah...?" Asuna confirmed. "What are you...?"

"Do you remember what you said Kaneki told you?" Hana asked. "'I promise, no matter what it takes, I will _not_ let you die in here.' That's what she said, right?"

"Y-Yeah, that's what..." Asuna confirmed...before her eyes widened in realization. "W-Wait...! Don't tell me...!"

"...Yeah...the reason Kaneki couldn't risk Asuna being murdered...was because of that promise," Hana explained. "She promised Asuna that she wouldn't let her die in this killing game, no matter what."

"Shit, really?" Hinata asked, surprised. "So...she seriously went through all that- because of...?"

"I see..." Saku noted, a somber tone entering his voice. "A desire to fulfill a promise between friends _does_ further explain Kaneki's strange behavior the day before..."

"...!" Asuna looked shocked again, her hands flying up to her mouth in horror as she seemed to realize something else.

"Asuna? What's wrong?" Hiroshi asked the gardener.

"I...I was thinking about something...a-and I realized...!" Asuna began, her voice faint with horror. "Th-The...The last time we talked...! I-It was up there, o-on the second floor, j-just after Ryoto saw the two of us go up there...!"

"Huh? You guys actually ran into each other up there?" Hana quickly asked. "And you talked to each other?"

"Well, it's not that big of a floor, so I guess that would make sense..." Rumi pointed out. "So would them talking to each other if they did."

"And yet, you failed to mention this fact, Izumi. Why?" Akira inquired with narrowed eyes.

"W-Well, I-I probably would have, b-but-" Asuna began.

"Let me guess- no one bothered to ask you, right?" Shiori asked with a sigh. When the Ultimate nodded in response, the surgeon continued, "Well, we're all ears now, no one's gonna throw any accusations at you. So, tell us- what did you two talk about when you saw each other that night?"

"S-So, um...i-it was a little before nighttime, a-and I was about to go l-look for the missing storage room key..." Asuna began. "A-And then, I heard Kaneki yelling to me- a-and I was r-really surprised, I-I had no idea why she was up there..."

* * *

 _"A-Asuna!? Asuna!" Kaneki cried out, practically sprinting over to the gardener. "Asuna, what are you doing up here!?"_

 _"K-Kaneki!?" Asuna yelped, panic rising into her voice. "W-What are- what are_ you _doing up here...?"_

 _"Don't do that! I asked you first!" Kaneki responded, her tone a combination of anger and...fear? "What the hell are you doing up here, Asuna!?"_

 _"O-Oh, I, uh..." Asuna began- of all the students in this castle, Kaneki was one of the last people she wanted to know that she had misplaced the storage room key. "Uuh...nothing! I was just, um, uh-"_

 _"'Nothing'? You don't just go up to the second floor of this place right before nighttime for nothing!" the Ultimate Explorer responded._

 _"U-Uh, that is, I-" Asuna stammered, trying to formulate a believable excuse..._

 _"Why, why are you up here!? I thought I told you to forget about that damn note!" Kaneki yelled, her face flushed with anger._

 _"The...note...?" the Ultimate Gardener asked- before remembrance struck her. Could that be why Kaneki thought she was up there? Because of that strange message? Well, as long as it kept her from figuring out about the missing key, best to simply go with it for now. "O-Oh! The note! Aha...w-well, you see-"_

 _"No! Don't just chuckle like that, this is serious!" her friend shouted, panic starting to seep into her voice. "I told you to forget that note! You should_ not _be up here, did you just forget Akira's nighttime rule!?"_

 _Asuna wanted to point out that Kaneki herself was also on the verge of breaking the nighttime rule, but kept silent as a result of her friend's perturbing behavior. "I-I-! Kaneki, I-I'm not-"_

 _"There was a fucking motive announced yesterday night, someone could be planning a murder as we speak, and you honestly think it's a good idea to go out at night!?" the Ultimate demanded._

 _"N-No, I-!" Asuna stammered, stepping back slightly. "K-Kaneki, c-calm down...!"_

 _"Why would you do something so stupid!? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!?" Kaneki practically roared, her voice an odd combination of furious and terrified._

 _"P-Please, calm down! Y-You're scaring me!" Asuna pleaded, her voice cracking in fear and tears starting to form in her eyes._

 _Kaneki seemed as though she was about to say something else...but stopped, realizing how afraid and concerned her friend appeared. The Ultimate Explorer's entire demeanor changed in an instant; where she had originally been enraged, she now appeared shocked and guilt-ridden. "I...! Asuna, I..."_

 _The taller teen grimaced, before looking downwards in shame. "I...I'm really sorry, I've just...all day, it's been..."_

 _Asuna, realizing her friend had likely calmed down, nervously remarked, "U-Uh...yeah, you...you really have been acting weird today..."_

 _"Yeah, I've...been told," Kaneki responded, frowning to herself._

 _"...I...I'm sorry for making you so upset- y-you know, by coming up here," Asuna apologized, looking downwards as well._

 _"N-No, Asuna, it's okay- I'm the one that snapped, I shouldn't have-" Kaneki quickly responded. "I've...I've been worried, alright?"_

 _"About...what?" Asuna asked, concerned._

 _"I...I can't say yet," the explorer replied, averting her gaze once more. "A-And believe me, it's not like I don't want to talk about it, I...can't. Until I know for certain, I shouldn't mention it too much. If I'm wrong, it would...cause problems, and I don't want that for everyone. Especially not you, Asuna."_

 _"I..." Asuna began, unsure of how to take these cryptic words. "Y...You don't have to...worry too much- i-if it's causing you this much stress, m-maybe-"_

 _"Asuna, I can't not worry! This..." Kaneki began, appearing hesitant...but then went on, "If...If I leave this alone, it might put you in danger. And I promised you I wouldn't let that happen, didn't I? I promised I would keep you safe, that I wouldn't let you die in this hellhole of a castle!"_

 _The Ultimate Explorer looked down, her hands squeezed into fists as she shakily continued, "I know we're the same age, we're not actually family, but- that doesn't change how I feel at all! It's my job to keep you safe, to help you survive this! That's what a big sibling does, no matter what! That's what I've always believed! That's why I...why I'm trying to..."_

 _Asuna was taken aback by her words- it almost sounded like her friend was on the verge of tears. The Ultimate Gardener then guessed, "Why...you got so upset when you saw me up here...?"_

 _After a few more moments of silence between the two girls, Asuna stated, "O-Okay...Okay. I-If you really think keeping quiet for right now i-is best, th-then...I trust you."_

 _"You...really?" Kaneki asked, looking up in surprise._

 _"O-Of course I do! I-I mean, I-I still wish I knew about what's been happening s-so I could help you more, but..." Asuna responded. "I-If that's what you need to do right now, th-then...I'm gonna trust you!"_

 _"..." Kaneki still looked rather surprised, but soon enough her expression shifted into one of...relief, and the Ultimate Gardener could tell her dear friend was more like her usual self again. The explorer then walked over and tightly embraced the much shorter teen, replying, "Thanks, Asuna...I'm glad that there's still at least one person here who still somewhat believes in me."_

 _Asuna did not respond to that, simply returning the embrace without another word._

 _"And...don't worry, by tomorrow, this should all be sorted out, then I can explain everything," Kaneki added reassuringly. "You're not the only person I owe an explanation to, at any rate."_

 _"A-Alright, fair enough," Asuna responded, glancing up at the explorer...but before she could add anything else..._

Ding dong, bing bong.

 _That familiar bell was heard, followed by the same announcement Monokuma made every day to signal the beginning of nighttime._

 _"Ah-! Shit, I-!" Kaneki stammered, swiftly breaking away from Asuna and quickly looking around. "O-Okay, I really need to get going."_

 _"H-Huh? Why?" Asuna asked._

 _"That- That's also something I'll explain tomorrow! No worries!" Kaneki 'answered', already backing away towards the west hallway, where the study was. "Just- Asuna, can you do something for me? Can you please go back to your room and stay there for the night? Please?"_

 _"I..." the gardener began hesitantly, still thinking of the storage room key. Still, not wanting to upset her friend any more, she responded, "Y-Yeah- okay, I-I'll do that."_

 _"Great!" Kaneki responded in her usual cheerful manner as she turned to run off. "Thanks I appreciate it see you tomorrow g'niiiight!"_

 _With that, she sprinted away to somewhere else on the floor without another word._

* * *

"But you didn't exactly listen to that last request, did you?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"N-No...I waited until I thought Kaneki couldn't see me anymore, a-and then I went to search the greenhouse," Asuna explained, a hint of guilt entering her voice. "B-But I swear, that was it! I-I went straight back to my room after that!"

The gardener looked down, her eyes growing misty as she added, "A-And even then, I...o-of course I was still worried about Kaneki, b-but I had no idea...I-I mean, I-I never even imagined that...! Th-The reason she was so worried- w-worried about _me-_ w-was because...!"

"...Yeah, that...that explains it..." Hana stated, her voice cracking from grief, but she continued anyways. "She...She must seen you go up there by chance, and thought the reason was because you were doing what the note said. And...if she knew that you were being targeted, that would explain her outbursts, her being worried about you..."

"Not to mention- the way she abruptly ended the conversation when the nighttime announcement played," Hiroshi also noted. "The note said to be at the storage room by ten- Kaneki must have been worried about what would happen if she was late, and as a result had no choice but leave right then and there."

"Is...this all true...?" Itachi wondered aloud- even the stoic weapons expert seemed to be shaken by this. "The...reason she went up there that night..."

"Yeah...that must be it..." the surfer affirmed. She took a breath to steady herself, then continued, "Kaneki, she must have...she must have gone up there with the intent to see for herself if there really was a killer lying in wait for you. She did that...to fulfill her promise to protect you, to be that big sister that could keep you safe. That's why...she ended up being murdered instead..."

The whole courtroom seemed to go silent at this explanation- some with thought, some with shock, and some with grief or sorrow.

"...Why?" Tadao finally spoke up. "Why...Why go so far...?"

"It's a little thing that good friends have, it's called 'love', maybe you should try it sometime," Shiori remarked.

"Not that! I understand that aspect!" Tadao snapped. "What I don't understand is...why Tenmaru was do damn reckless about what she did!"

The Ultimate Waiter went on, "Even if she was worried about being wrong, actually telling us about the note would have worked out _far_ better in the long run! Even if Izumi had died instead, it wouldn't have been the end of the world! Tenmaru could have moved past it! And yet, she chose to keep everything a secret and try to solve the problem all on her own- and look where that got her...and us! This entire trial could have been avoided if Tenmaru had just acted at least _somewhat_ rationally! So...why didn't she...?"

"I doubt that matters, Shimaru- what matters is the nuances of the case, which I believe we have greatly sorted out with this new revelation."

Nobody had any true objections to that- however, that didn't stop Hana's mind from wandering. _Tadao's right to be confused...I don't understand either. Kaneki wasn't stupid or anything, she knew how to think rationally. So...why then? Why, why on that day, that night did she choose to be so...hasty?_

The girl glanced at the Ultimate Explorer's portrait, thinking to herself, _And yet...as much as I ask myself that...I really think the answer to that particular mystery died with her..._

Across the courtroom, Hana could hear Asuna's breathing growing more ragged and quick as the full weight of the information settled on her. The Ultimate Gardener had her hands over her mouth, her head was lowered, her shoulders were trembling, her face was pale with horror, and her eyes were filled with tears.

"Oh...Oh god, Kaneki...! O-Oh my...oh my _god...!"_ the blonde-haired girl choked out, her shaking only worsening as she squeezed her eyes shut and visibly stifled a sob.

 _Asuna..._ Hana thought as she saw the state her classmate was in. Even now, in the middle of this trial, the surfer still wondered how the truth could be something so terrible- just why did it have to be like _this...?_

"...Uuuh...this might be a bad time to bring this up..." Hinata stated, breaking the silence. "But- what we just figured out...does any of it _actually_ point us to the killer?"

At that moment, the majority of the class seemed to snap back to reality as Hinata's words sank in.

Hana, her eyes widening, responded, "It...It doesn't...none of that...points to any kind of suspect..."

"Seriously...!?" Ryoto began, before shouting in fury, "You mean after all _that,_ we're back to SQUARE ONE!?"

"Well hold on, Ryoto, it wasn't all completely for nothing," Hiroshi pointed out. "We cleared Asuna as a suspect, and now we know much more about the circumstances of the crime- both during and leading up to it."

"And yet, it leaves us without any suspects, mind you," Tadao then reminded the coroner with a frown.

"Wow! Focusing your suspicions on a single person doesn't leave room to investigate other suspects!? Who would have thought!" Shiori remarked once again, the sarcasm practically dripping from her voice as she added to Akira, "Seriously, I would have expected that incompetence from Ryoto or Hinata, not you, _Prosecutor."_

"Wh- hey!" Hinata called out, offended.

"I resent that!" Ryoto yelled.

"Quiet, Sauchi- with the evidence we have, we should be more than capable of figuring out alternate suspects," Akira responded, glaring back at the Ultimate Surgeon.

As Hana started to think, she noticed Asuna was still looking down in that half-sobbing state from before, hardly acknowledging anything in the courtroom. Evidently, Akira noticed as well, for the Ultimate Prosecutor snapped, "Izumi!"

Instantly, the gardener snapped to attention, her eyes still moist with tears.

"You may no longer be my prime suspect, but we are still in the middle of a class trial and the blackened has yet to be found," Akira told her. "So cry on your own time, when our lives _aren't_ hanging in the balance!"

"I-I'm sorry, I-!" Asuna stammered, before quickly wiping at her eyes and going silent.

Hana grimaced, asking herself, _Sheesh- I get it, we all need to help out to find Kaneki's killer, but did Akira_ really _have to be so harsh...?_

"Ah...excuse me, there is something that has been on my mind," Saku spoke up, raising a large hand somewhat.

"Saku? What is it?" Hana asked, turning to the kickboxer.

"Well, it is a bit of an older topic, but...I was thinking about the study- the crime scene," the burly teen explained.

"The crime scene? You know we finished talking about that a while ago, right?" Tadao inquired.

"I-I am aware- however, it has bothering me for a while now, and I did not want to bring it up unnecessarily..." Saku explained. "Hiroshi- you are certain that Kaneki was killed in front of the door leading out to the hallway?"

"Assuming that discolored spot is what remains of a bloodstain, and I have no other explanation as to what else it could be," Hiroshi responded. "So, yes, I am fairly certain."

"Ah, I see..." Saku replied. "Then, my question is- and excuse me, I do not wish to sound disrespectful or condescending- if Kaneki was right in front of the door...what was stopping her from simply opening it and escaping?"

That caught Hana's attention- the surfer responded, "That... _is_ a good point, yeah."

"Oh yeah- that sounds pretty weird, doesn't it?" Shiori remarked. "I mean, I can think of several reasons why she didn't or couldn't open that door, but..."

"But only one of those reasons is the truth," Akira finished.

"Hey don't finish my sentences!" the surgeon snapped.

Ignoring Shiori, Akira continued, "Well, it's all we've got as of right now. So then- let's discuss, shall we?"

 _And here I thought we were getting close to the truth..._ Hana thought. _Guess we've still got a ways to go, though...well, I can't let my guard down just yet! Not until we know who the real killer is! ...Though_ that _won't be much better than the debating..._

"Well, Kaneki's hands were covered in blood, weren't they?" Ryoto reminded everyone. "Maybe she just couldn't get a grip on the doorknob!"

"No- it would have been hard to get blood on her hands from the back stab wounds," Hiroshi pointed out. "So her hands probably became bloody from the slash wound...which killed her."

"Um...what if the killer just caught up to her just before she could get the door open?" Rumi asked.

"If she was strong enough after being stabbed to make it through the storage room _and_ study without further injury, I doubt she would have had much trouble opening a door," Shiori refuted.

"Indeed, she was rather light on her feet, was she not?" Saku added.

"Well...it's not like the door was blocked or anything, right?" Hinata said. "If that was the case, couldn't she have just moved it?"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted, interrupting the Ultimate Thief.

"Actually, I wouldn't say the door was 'blocked'..." the surfer continued. "But, I do think it was something similar to that- Kaneki couldn't open the study room door because it was locked!"

"Locked?" Hinata asked. "How would that stop her? All she had to do was turn the knob to unlock it, right?"

"Normally, yeah- but this door is different," Hana reminded him. "Remember? The study's door is actually built in backwards- meaning, the door doesn't lock from the inside like it's supposed to, it locks from the outside."

"Is that scarf cutting off the oxygen to your brain, Hinata? Did you forget that we all agreed to an unofficial rule about it?" Shiori pointed out. "The study door's lock is supposed to be left alone at all times for that exact reason."

The surgeon then added, "Of course, it looks like somebody _broke_ that rule, but the point still stands."

"S-So..somebody locked the door from the outside? A-And basically trapped Kaneki in there with the killer...?" Asuna asked.

"And I highly doubt Tenmaru would be able to force open a locked door with five stab wounds in her back," Tadao added.

"Sooo, if you think about it, the killer kinda set up a...fail-safe or something," Rumi surmised. "Like, just in case Kaneki got away from them in the storage room, them locking the door would ensure she wouldn't be able to get away completely!"

"I think that's exactly it, yeah!" Hana agreed, feeling her confidence in the evidence returning quickly.

"...Mmph. You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to convince me, Amari," Akira stated, frowning skeptically. "The door being locked would be acceptable if it didn't appear based on nothing but assumptions. Unless you have some actual _proof_ the door was locked when the murder occurred?"

 _Huh? How am I supposed to prove that?_ Hana asked herself, feeling her confidence in the evidence waning quickly. _Well, okay, I asked for this by bringing up the door...so,_ is _there anything that proves the door was locked when the murder happened...?_

"Wait, I think I _can_ prove it!" Hana declared upon coming to a certain realization. "I know the door was locked at the time of the murder, because the doorknob was removed!"

"Oh, yes- I did notice the study door was lacking its knob," Tadao confirmed. "But I hardly see how that indicates it was ever locked."

"Well- it's a little weird, isn't it? The killer removing the entire doorknob like that?" Hana began thoughtfully. "What purpose would that serve?"

"Maybe they were just disposing of evidence!" Ryoto interjected. "You know, they were trying to stage the crime scene and all- maybe Kaneki got some blood on the doorknob, and the killer decided to get rid of it?"

"But if that was the case, the killer could have just cleaned the knob like they cleaned the rest of the study, there would have been no reason to go _that_ far," Hiroshi stated, as cool and collected as ever.

"Basically, yeah- the only reason I can think of as to why the killer removed the doorknob is so _they_ could get out of the room," Hana explained. "I mean, that door is the only way back into the main part of the castle, so if it was locked from the outside, both Kaneki _and_ the killer would be stuck in there. And if that's the case- well, then they'd kinda have no choice, right?"

"But what would they even use to unscrew the doorknob?" Itachi inquired.

"Not like they had a screwdriver on them, right?" Hinata added.

"No...I imagine they used the murder weapon, actually," Hiroshi hypothesized. "It was thin enough so that it could _technically_ be used as a makeshift screwdriver. Besides, I don't recall seeing anything in the storage room that could have served that purpose, so by process of elimination the murder weapon seems most likely."

"Sheesh- whoever this culprit is, they sure are good at improvising," Hinata conceded casually.

"I...don't think you should be complimenting them..." Hana stated, frowning.

"Hm...hey, wait! The locked door explanation shouldn't be possible!" Tadao suddenly pointed out after a few minutes of pondering.

"And why the fuck not!?" Ryoto demanded, scowling at the waiter.

"Because if the door locks from the _outside_...then it would be physically impossible for the killer to lock it when they were _inside_ the study," Tadao explained, frowning.

"It's not so impossible, Shimaru," Akira told him. "Maybe the culprit themselves was unable to lock the door to the study...but doesn't mean someone else couldn't have done so."

"Someone else...?" Hana asked, before gasping. "Wait, you're not suggesting-!"

"I am. I propose there was a third party in this crime- the killer's accomplice, and the one responsible for locking Tenmaru inside the study with the blackened student!" Akira declared, sounding resolute in her accusation.

"A-Accomplice?" Shiro stammered in shock.

"Wait, killers can have accomplices here?" Hana asked. "How does that work? Do the rules say?"

"I don't think they do..." Saku responded, appearing just as confused as the surfer.

"H-How do you know there even is an accomplice?" Asuna asked Akira.

"Because, it's as Shimaru said- since the study room door locks from the outside, it would have been impossible for the killer to have locked it from inside the study," the Ultimate Prosecutor explained. "The only other explanation is that the killer set up some kind of mechanism to lock the door by itself- however, I don't believe anyone found any trace of something like that. Which leaves only one option: a separate person had to have locked the door themselves. Ergo, an accomplice."

"Hmm...I wonder..." Itachi murmured, before turning his icy blue gaze to Monokuma. "Monokuma. If a killer has an accomplice, does the accomplice also become blackened?"

"No sirree! Only the student who actually killed the victim is considered blackened!" Monokuma explained, a black elbow propped against one of the arms of his seat. "Any and all accomplices are spotless- and as such, will not be saved from execution should the blackened go free! Tough luck, if you ask me!"

"Then why would anyone help out in a murder? There's no benefit to them!" Hinata asked.

"Well, we _just_ find out about that rule- so if our blackened did have an accomplice, they'd have no reason to think only one of them would be able to survive before now," Hana pointed out.

"Switching the topic a bit..." Hiroshi spoke up. "If we're working under the assumption that a third student did lock the study door- what time would they have had to go up to the second floor and do that?"

"The time? Why does that matter?" Tadao inquired.

"Because, the locked door was the killer's fail-safe, a backup plan. If the person who locked the door did it too early, then Kaneki opening the door would have unlocked it immediately, foiling that plan. But if they did it too late, then the door wouldn't have been blocked off by the time the murder happened. So the person would have to lock the door sometime after Kaneki and the killer were already inside, but just before the actual attack took place."

 _Well...I don't know if figuring out what time the door was locked will tell us who could have done it...but it wouldn't hurt to sort that out, right?_ Hana told herself. _So then, the best time for the accomplice to lock the door would have been..._

"How about...between 10 and 10:08 last night?" Hana suggested.

"That's specific. Any reason you chose that interval?" Akira asked with a calculated gaze.

"Well- remember what the two notes said?" Hana asked. "They specifically told the recipient to be at the storage room no later than 10- they even underlined it on both papers!"

"Th-That's true, th-the message was pretty specific about the time..." Asuna confirmed.

"The reason for that could have been because they wanted to ensure their target would be in the room when their accomplice came and locked the door from the outside," Hana went on. "And as for 10:08...well, Hiroshi said that was Kaneki's time of death, right? And we already proved that the door was locked by the time she was killed, so that would have had to have happened sometime before the culprit actually killed her."

"Good reasoning Hana, I couldn't have said it better myself," Hiroshi praised the surfer with his usual calm smile.

"Between 10:00 and 10:08...oh, Asuna! Maybe you saw them!" Shiro suggested. "You were up on the second floor last night, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but I-I didn't see anyone else after I talked to Kaneki..." Asuna responded apologetically. "I-I searched the greenhouse, then I-I went back to my room for the night...I-I would have remembered seeing someone else..."

"You must have just missed them, then," Hana surmised thoughtfully.

"Yeah, no worries! Let's see...10:00 and 10:08..." Shiro pondered, fiddling with his pen thoughtfully. "Last night...after 10, but before 10:08...what would have-"

Suddenly, realization seemed to strike the Ultimate Poet like a bolt of lightning. He swiftly looked up, his face pale with horror, and cried out, "AAAAAAGH!"

Hana immediately turned her attention to the shorter boy. "Sh-Shiro? You uh...you okay?"

"Quite the scream you got there, pal!" Ryoto noted, sounding almost congratulatory.

"I...I, uh..." Shiro began, his eyes wide. "Would, uh...would 10:05 work as the time the door was locked...?"

"10:05...? Hm- yeah, that would fit all the time requirements we described," Hiroshi confirmed.

Shiro, however, did not look relaxed- he seemed to look even more petrified. "Oh no...o-oh no...oh no no no no...!"

"...Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Koichi?" Akira inquired, suspicious.

"I...I didn't make the connection at first, but after hearing that stuff about the time...! I-I think- no, I know- I-I-" Shiro stuttered in his panicked state. "I...I'm the one who locked the study door!"

"..."

The entire courtroom fell silent at this declaration. Hana stared at the poet in shock, asking herself, _Did...Did Shiro just say what I think he said...!?_

At last, Ryoto broke the silence with this: "...YOU DID _WHAT!?"_

"You locked the door!? You- what!?" Shiori shouted, her voice a combination of furious and baffled.

"I-I-" Shiro began.

"Koichi! We had that rule for a reason! To keep a scenario like this from happening!" Akira yelled at the poet, her fury palpable.

"I-I know, I-" Shiro stuttered once again, horror and guilt evident on his face.

"All of you, settle down, _now,"_ Itachi commanded, raising his deep voice somewhat.

"Yeah! Yelling at Shiro isn't do anything!" Hana added defensively, before turning to the poet in question. "Shiro, be honest here...why did you lock the study door on the night of the murder?"

"Well, you see...I locked it because- well, a friend asked me to," Shiro responded candidly. "Yesterday, the came up to me, and they asked if I could go lock up the study at a specific time. And they were really specific about the time, too- they told me to make sure the door was locked by 10:05 exactly."

"Wait wait wait. Someone just... _asked_ you to lock the study door on the night of the murder?" Shiori asked, bewildered. "And you didn't think that was, oh I dunno- suspicious in the slightest?"

"N-No! I wasn't going to suspect my own friend of anything bad! I'll admit, I was pretty worried about breaking Akira's rule, but they told me that if she found out then they would take full responsibility," Shiro explained. "Even still, after I had actually locked the door like they asked, I still felt really bad for disobeying Akira...I felt so bad, I could barely sleep! That's what kept me up, that's the reason I overslept so badly this morning..."

"Wait, that's why you overslept?" Hana asked. "You couldn't sleep because you felt bad about breaking Akira's rule?"

"I ask again, you didn't stop to think that maybe, maybe this person had some ulterior motive to what they were doing?" Shiori repeated. "Did you even ask them _why_ they wanted you to do that!?"

"No! I wouldn't do that! I told you, they're my friend, and friends...friends trust each other, no matter what! So of course I was going to do what they asked, I didn't doubt them at all!" Shiro went on, resolute.

"Ah, Shiro...!" Hana said in exasperation. She could respect wanting to have faith in your friends, no matter what, but this...this was beyond having faith, even the Ultimate Surfer realized this was a problematic amount of trust.

"How many times do I have to say it- those types of relationships are meaningless in this killing game," Tadao told the poet. "They result in nothing but trouble. All you've done is prove my point, Koichi - you know why? Because- due to your stupidity, you essentially trapped your own classmate in a room with a killer. How does it feel, knowing you're an accomplice to murder?"

"I...I'm sorry, I never-!" Shiro began, his face going pale with panic once more.

"Bite your tongue, Tadao. If Shiro had known what would happen, I have no doubt he would not have done what they asked," Itachi spoke up, glaring at Tadao.

"Th-That's right! I never wanted anything bad to happen to anyone, honest!" Shiro swiftly added.

"Well it's a shame then- because that's exactly what happened," Akira responded coldly.

"Hey, quit putting all this blame on Shiro! He's not even the killer, probably!" Hana shouted at the others, also defending the boy.

"Shiro, I think we need to know...who asked you to lock the door the day of the murder?" Hiroshi calmly asked the Ultimate Poet.

"I..." Shiro began, looking down with hesitance. "I...can't say..."

"S-Seriously...?" Asuna asked, dumbfounded.

"You're still gonna hide stuff? Really dude?" Hinata also asked, just as shocked as Asuna.

"I-I don't want to, but...if I tell you guys who it was, then you might start suspecting them! And...that's wrong! I know they're not the killer, I know it! They'd never do something like this!" Shiro insisted, desperate.

"This is what a class trial is for you naive fool! We're supposed to suspect each other!" Akira scowled. "If this was a legit trial, I would have you held in contempt of court!"

"Akira, he does not want to talk more- do not push him," Saku implored the prosecutor, frowning.

"...Very well. But mark my words, we will be returning to this discussion," Akira vowed, glaring at Shiro, who said nothing and simply looked down at his podium in shame and worry.

 _I still can't believe Shiro was the accomplice...even if he didn't know that he was helping in a murder, it still sucks to think about..._ Hana thought, glancing downwards with a grimace.

"W-Well-! Now what!?" Ryoto demanded. "Are we outta leads again!?"

"I...don't know..." Hana responded, cringing. _We're just about out of evidence, we have no suspects, and even if we've figured out a good chunk of how Kaneki's murder happened, nothing actually points to the killer... But- we can't be stuck, right? No, we can't be! If we can't figure out who the blackened is, then-_

Tadao scoffed. "We're just grasping at straws at this point...if we don't figure out something soon, we're all as good as executed."

"E-Executed!? N-No, we can't be executed!" Asuna cried in panic.

"And we won't be," Hiroshi reassured them. "There's one piece of evidence that we haven't fully discussed, though we've mentioned it a few times. And even though it's only been mentioned in reference, in my expert opinion it's as important to the case as, say, the corpse or the crime scene."

 _Really? What kind of evidence is he talking about?_ Hana wondered. _A piece of evidence that we've only mentioned in passing, and yet it's still a vital part of the murder...Hiroshi_ has _to be talking about...!_

"Hiroshi...are you talking about the murder weapon? The knife?" Hana asked.

"That's right, I am," Hiroshi confirmed, nodding with a smile.

"Oh yeah- we really haven't talked about the murder weapon at all, have we?" Shiori noted.

"A knife? Do you mean from the kitchen?" Tadao asked curiously.

"No- this isn't your average kitchen knife," Hana responded. "I'm talking about a specific hunting knife- one that belonged to Itachi."

"Belonged to- hey! Is she talking about the knife that you said went missing, Itachi?" Rumi asked, turning to the Ultimate Weapons Expert.

"Precisely," Itachi responded. "It would appear my concerns were well-founded. The culprit used the knife that had been taken from me to commit this crime."

"And based on my examination, I can confirm that Itachi's missing knife would perfectly match the wounds on Kaneki's body- so it _is,_ in fact, the murder weapon," Hiroshi assured the group.

"Oh no...! I-I wish we had found it when Itachi and I went to find it yesterday, maybe we could have-" Shiro began, the regret in his voice evident.

"Hey, Shiro, you and Itachi did what you guys could- there's no reason to put yourself down!" Hana quickly reassured the poet, not wanting him to feel any more guilt than he probably already was. "And that goes for you too, Itachi!"

"..." The taller young man kept silent, his expression unreadable due to his bandanna.

"But most importantly...that would mean whoever stole the knife has to be the killer then, right?" Tadao inferred. "Or at the very least, just as involved in the murder as Koichi."

"..." Hinata was silent for a few seconds, then growled, "Well, don't look at me! I already told you guys I didn't steal it!"

"As if we'll believe the word of a criminal so easily, Yonade," Akira responded, glaring at the Ultimate Thief.

"Guys, come on, don't accuse him just because of his talent!" Rumi implored. "...And the times he stole stuff from you guys!"

"I agree with Rumi- just because Hinata's a thief doesn't automatically mean he stole it!" Hana added firmly.

"Uh, pretty sure it does," Ryoto stated, frowning.

"Oh come on- I think Hinata's pathetic too, but we're in a class trial right now!" Shiori irritably said. "And need I remind you all that focusing on a single suspect is what got us into trouble when this trial first began? Isn't that right, _Prosecutor?"_

Akira sent a wrathful glare at the Ultimate Surgeon, but then added, "While I have no faith in the thief whatsoever, I do think we don't know enough behind the circumstances of the knife's disappearance to be able to pinpoint a suspect."

"Then...what do we do?" Hana asked.

"Don't be daft, Amari! The solution is simple," Akira growled at Hana, annoyed at the question. She then turned to Itachi and ordered, "Kunata, testify. Tell us about what happened when your blade went missing."

"Very well. If it brings us closer to the blackened, then I shall answer with candor," Itachi responded, nodding in acceptance.

 _It better bring us closer to the blackened...I don't know what other evidence we'd have to go by otherwise...!_ Hana thought, an anxious chill crawling up her back at the idea of running out of leads...

"Kunata, when did you first notice the knife was missing?" Akira inquired.

"Yesterday morning. I was certain I had it with me the night before," Itachi explained. "However, it was on my way to the breakfast meeting that I noticed it was gone."

"But that's when you noticed it was gone, not when it was stolen," Rumi pointed out.

"Still, Kunata, can you give an exact timeline of that morning leading up to your realization?" Akira requested.

"Certainly. I left my room at about 7:15 AM. Just as I was about to enter the hall to the dining room was when I noticed the knife was gone," Itachi clarified. "That would have been about 7:17."

"That's...not a lot of time to take the knife..." Hiroshi stated, skeptical.

"And yet, it seems like just the challenge for an Ultimate Thief," Tadao stated.

"Again- it was not me this time, honest!" Hinata insisted.

"And you're certain you didn't see it all after that? Not even when you and Koichi went to search for it?" Akira asked.

"That's right! But- there was nothing that showed where the knife could have been," Shiro answered. "We searched as many places as we could, and there was no sign of anything knife-related..."

"Indeed. My apologies, but our search turned up fruitless," Itachi confirmed. "We searched all over the castle, and nothing. We even searched the greenhouse, and the knife wasn't there when we did."

That statement caught Hana's attention, and before she could think the surfer suddenly interjected, "Wait, that's wrong!"

The surfer took a few moments to gather her thoughts, then said, "Itachi- say that again."

"Er- alright. Shiro and I searched all over the castle, and that included the greenhouse, but the knife wasn't there when we searched," Itachi repeated.

"..." Hana stared for a few moments, shocked. _He...how did Itachi...?_

"Was there something wrong with my statement?" Itachi asked politely.

"...Yeah. Yeah, there was," Hana responded, her heart starting to speed up. "Itachi...how did you know the knife was hidden in the greenhouse?"

"..." Itachi went silent, but his expression didn't change. Instead, he asked, "Come again?"

"How did you know the killer hid the knife in the greenhouse?" Hana asked again. "We mentioned the murder weapon in this trial before, yeah- but nobody actually said where it was found."

"..." Itachi kept silent for a moment, and yet he still appeared as unfazed as ever. He then responded, "Towards the beginning of the trial- it was mentioned how evidence had been disposed of in the greenhouse. I simply assumed the murder weapon was among that evidence."

"No, no no, you can't make that excuse," Hana refuted. "You said something like that before the trial, too. Remember, in the study? When me and Hiroshi were asking you about the knife?"

* * *

 _The Ultimate looked down, growling somewhat to himself as he went on, "Dammit...! This is exactly what I was afraid of...not only did the culprit steal my blade, but now they've used it for murder...! If me and Shiro had searched harder yesterday, maybe we could have..."_

 _He looked up as he explained, "We searched everywhere we could on this floor and the ground floor- which included the greenhouse, mind you- and yet we found nothing. And now this...!"_

* * *

"You specifically brought up the greenhouse then, too," Hana explained. "But...at that point, the knife had only just been found. There was no way you could have known where we found it, unless you were there in the greenhouse-"

"Which I know you weren't, because you were in the study with me at that time," Hiroshi added.

"I can also account for that- Ashi was having you stand by that stain on the wall," Tadao confirmed.

Itachi seemed to have no rebuttal for that- he remained still and silent, his eyes closed as if he was thinking.

"Which means...the only way you could have known where the knife was hidden was if you saw where the killer had buried it beforehand," Akira surmised. "Or- you've been lying about it being stolen this whole time!"

"He...lied?" Shiro asked, before quickly continuing, "No, there's no way! He showed us the two sheaths yesterday, one of those knives was clearly gone! And also yesterday, Itachi and I searched as many parts of the castle as we could! Why would we do that if the knife wasn't stolen?"

"Obviously it was to build credibility to Kunata's 'stolen knife' story," Akira inferred. "It wouldn't have been that hard to fake the weapon being taken- all Kunata would have to do was hide the knife somewhere only he would know about, somewhere that wouldn't be searched, then go back and retrieve it when the time came for the murder."

"Time came for the...? Wait wait wait, what!?" Shiro yelped in panic. "Are you really accusing _him_ now?"

"Wait- so then, if he knew the knife wasn't actually stolen..." Hinata began. "Then- when he flew off the handle at me at breakfast yesterday..."

"Also a ruse, to add to that believably," Akira stated matter-of-factly.

"Seriously...? He was accusing me for nothing?" Hinata asked, before a look of rage crossed his face as he shouted, "Itachi, you son of a bitch!"

"Stop wasting time- it was a slip of the tongue. Nothing more," Itachi responded with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"But...you did know where the knife was, didn't you?" Hana asked, gulping down her concerns about where this was leading.

"...Perhaps I did know where the knife was. However, I hardly see how that's an issue," Itachi stated. "I'm not denying it's the murder weapon. And you all were able to find it regardless, so what's the issue?"

"Oh I don't know- last I heard, hiding vital information like that is sorta kinda a _giant red flag,"_ Shiori responded, her brown eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Actually...that's not the only issue here," Hiroshi stated, frowning.

"W...What?" Hana asked.

"Well, a few things have been bothering me about the knife, actually. Itachi's testimony only added to those concerns," Hiroshi began. "First of all, the timeline of when the knife went missing."

"Uh...he left his room at 7:15, noticed the knife was gone at 7:17," Hana said, reciting what Itachi had said before. "Why?"

"That's a pretty small window to take the knife, isn't it?" Hiroshi asked. "In fact, I'd say it's almost too small. Itachi, you didn't run into anyone who could have taken the knife, did you?"

"...No...I didn't," Itachi responded, sounding somewhat hesitant.

"AHA! So he WAS lying!" Ryoto shouted.

"Er...I know we need suspects right now, but maybe we shouldn't be _so_ quick to accuse...?" Hana suggested, cringing.

"The unlikeliness of someone even having the opportunity to steal the knife would be one thing...but there's another odd detail," Hiroshi went on. "That is...that the weapon was even used at all."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Rumi asked.

"Well, if the killer wanted to use a knife to commit the murder, there are tons of those in the kitchen. They could have just as easily sneaked into the kitchen when nobody was around and taken one of the knives from there. There was no need for them to risk being caught by Itachi by trying to take one of his knives," Hiroshi explained. "But...let's assume Itachi is the killer. We already showed he was lying about one of his blades being stolen, so he could have used it for the murder. In fact, using one of his two knives would have been the most convenient option for him- he wouldn't need to risk taking a weapon from somewhere else, because he had two right on him!"

"...So. You really are accusing me, are you?" Itachi asked. "Just because of something I said?"

"W-Well, you know we...er, sorry, Itachi..." Hana stuttered, guilt evident in her voice. She knew she couldn't have just ignored the glaring flaw in his testimony before, but she still hoped they weren't accusing the weapons expert for nothing...

"Hey, these seem like big stretches to me!" Shiro insisted. "Come on, this is Itachi we're talking about! He'd never-"

"Nobody is above temptation to kill, Koichi," Akira coldly stated, glaring at him. "Keep thinking like that, then you'll only be blocked to the truth."

 _But...wasn't it that mindset that made you suspect Asuna for half the trial...?_ Hana wanted to point out to Akira, but kept quiet.

"And besides, I'm not done," Hiroshi said. "There's one last thing that I've been mulling over for a bit now. Hana, you were there when I initially examined Kaneki's body. Do you remember what I said about the slash wound that killed her? What got severed?"

 _Huh? Aren't science and anatomy_ his _thing?_ Hana wondered. _Well, time to put my memory to use again...what did Hiroshi say got severed when Kaneki's throat was cut?_

It took a few moments to think, but after recalling what the Ultimate Coroner had said, she responded, "You said...it's called the carotid artery, right?"

"That's right. When Kaneki was dealt the blow that killed her, the killer managed to sever her right carotid artery- a major blood vessel in the throat," Hiroshi explained.

"Soooo? Aren't slashed throats always deadly?" Ryoto asked.

"And besides, I thought the saying was 'go for the jugular'," Hinata stated.

"No- the carotid artery pumps blood to the brain at a much higher rate, so that's what you want to go for," Hiroshi said. "However, to make a cut that actually succeeds at that...well, do you have any idea how difficult that actually is?"

"Surely, it cannot be that hard- the carotid artery is right here, correct?" Saku asked, putting a pair of fingers to the side of his neck.

"Actually, that's the external jugular," Shiori told him. "The carotid artery is farther back in the throat. And to answer Hiroshi's question- severing the carotid artery is usually very, very hard."

"Whoa, _two_ 'very's?" Hana asked, surprised. _Huh- and I thought the most I'd learn about anatomy today was that slashed throats_ aren't _instant death._

"That's right- severing the carotid artery is no easy task, since it's farther back in the throat, and the attacker would need to cut through all the muscles and cartilage to even make the slash deep enough to-" Hiroshi began.

"P-Please stop, I-I don't want to hear that!" Asuna begged, a horrified look on her face.

"Uh- sorry, again. To get to my point- for someone to be able to sever the artery while also making such a clean and deep slash like they did with Kaneki...well, that person would have to _really_ know what they were doing," Hiroshi summarized. "They'd have to be sufficiently skilled with a knife, enough to know how to best use it against a person. Someone-"

"Let me guess- someone like the Ultimate Weapons Expert?" Itachi asked, narrowing his eyes in disapproval.

"Well...it really doesn't sound like anyone else could have been able to do something like that..." Hana pointed out. "I mean, combined with everything else we just talked about..."

"Hmph- I'm hardly the only one. Hiroshi and Shiori are knowledgeable in anatomy, as they have just proven," Itachi stated, crossing his arms with a glare. "And there's always the possibility that the culprit simply got lucky with their strike."

"Chalking it up to luck? I wouldn't bet money on that conclusion," Tadao stated, frowning at Itachi.

"However, it's more likely than me being the killer," Itachi replied, furrowing his brow. "I may have known about the knife's location, and I may have the skills necessary to effectively slice a person's throat. However, none it proves I was involved in this. So, let's just move on from this topic."

"Oh we'll see about your involvement, Kunata," Akira told him, narrowing her red eyes. "For I think there's a concrete way to prove whether or not you're truly involved in this murder."

"Hm, do you now?" Itachi asked, his skeptical tone palpable.

"Yes, I do," Akira confirmed...before turning her gaze right towards Shiro. "Koichi, can you tell us now? Who asked you to lock the door on the night of the murder?"

"W-What!? H-Hold on, I can't, er..." Shiro stammered, caught off guard after having been put on the spot.

"Shiro, it's okay, just be honest with us," Hiroshi implored the poet calmly.

"I...I...I don't want to incriminate them, though! I believe in them, I...I won't believe they're the killer!" Shiro insisted firmly.

"Shiro...look, I know you don't want to do suspect anyone, I get it!" Hana said to him. "But...whether or not they're the killer, right now we need to know who talked to you, Shiro. We won't be able to move this case forward otherwise! So, please- you're the only one we can rely on right now, Shiro..."

"..." the Ultimate Poet looked down, his face an indication of his conflicted feelings. Hana felt her heart pang when she saw him in such a state- she couldn't blame him for his hesitation. He was likely feeling the same as Hana had when Asuna was the one suspected.

"..." Shiro finally looked up, his distraught gaze towards one particular student. Hana was certain he was talking to them when he said, "I...I'm really sorry..."

The young man then confessed, "It...It was Itachi. He was the one...who asked me to lock the study door last night."

Hana could almost feel a wave of suspicion descend onto the class- suspicion that was instantaneously passed onto Itachi. As for the Ultimate in question- his eyes were wide with shock, and he glanced about the courtroom without a word.

"Yesterday, when we were looking for the missing knife, Itachi just kinda...asked me," Shiro explained. "I don't know what prompted it, but he told me what I described before- lock the door, specific about the time, all that..."

"Well, Kunata- are you still going to claim you're not involved in this case?" Akira asked. "Because it would appear you were the one who asked Koichi to lock that door- the door that trapped the victim in the study with the killer."

"I...that is, I..." Itachi began, still trying to formulate a response.

"Hey, Itachi, calm down- just tell us why you asked Shiro to lock the door," Hana asked the weapons expert. She doubted it would be that simple, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Why..." Itachi muttered to himself, before responding, "That's...irrelevant."

"I...Irrelevant?" Asuna asked, incredulous.

"Irrelevant? Even I can tell it's _completely_ relevant!" Ryoto yelled.

"Akira just said that locking the door basically trapped Kaneki with the killer!" Rumi pointed out. "So, yeah! I think it's relevant too!"

"Silence! If I thought the reason mattered, I'd explain. But it's not, therefore there's no reason to ask about it," Itachi quickly responded, narrowing his eyes again.

"Dodging the question- reeeally making you look innocent there, Itachi," Shiori remarked, sarcastic.

"B-But-! Guys!" Shiro yelped, looking around in a panic.

"Hmph- so, if we couple this new information with what Ashi explained in regards to the murder weapon and method..." Akira stated. "I do believe you're looking more suspect by the second, Kunata. You'd better stop lying to us, now."

Itachi was growling slightly, stating, "Enough scrutiny. There's nothing for me to tell...there's no reason to suspect me! Your so-called evidence is...coincidences. A series of coincidences, nothing more."

"I...don't think so, Itachi..." Hana spoke up, looking downwards. _I'm starting to get that feeling again...that same feeling when we accused Azami of being the blackened...!_

 _"What,"_ Itachi asked in a somewhat snarling tone. "Say that again, why don't you."

"I-It's just...if it were a bit of evidence, maybe it could be coincidence, but..." Hana began. "But...after everything we've talked about...after so much, it...there comes a time when it stops being a coincidence, you know?"

"..." Itachi said nothing, but the look in his eyes indicated he was _not_ happy with her response.

"Itachi...I don't want to think you're the killer, so...if you have a rebuttal, then maybe-" Hana began...but found herself completely cut off.

At that moment, it was Shiro who raised his pen and shouted, "This needs a rewrite!"

"Sh-Shiro?" Hana responded, startled.

"I...I can't let you guys keep accusing Itachi like this! Because- Because he's not the killer!" Shiro insisted, resolute in his claim. "I'm...I'm going to explain! I'm going to explain why you're wrong to think he's the killer!"

 _Shiro...! He...He's really standing by Itachi, huh...?_ Hana asked herself. _Damn it...! What kind of people do we have to be to make him question that loyalty!? There's nothing wrong with friends believing in each other, but...! This is a trial, there's...I have no choice...! I have to show Shiro that there's a possibility Iachi could be...be the killer!_

"I admit it, Itachi was the one who wanted me to lock the door the night of the murder. And...maybe he did know about where the murder weapon was hidden, maybe he really was lying about it being stolen," Shiro conceded hesitantly. "But! Even if he did make some pretty bad choices, it doesn't automatically mean he's a killer! Asuna lied about some stuff too, and she's not the culprit at all!"

"But with Asuna, the killer was deliberately trying to frame her- I don't think the same thing's happening to Itachi," Hana reminded the poet.

"M-Maybe not, but...what if someone's trying to do the same to Itachi? They could have overheard us talking and found out about what Itachi's request, so they hid themselves in the storage room before I got there!" Shiro suggested. "And the knife...they could have stolen it, it's not entirely implausible! It's completely possible that someone's trying to frame both Asuna and Itachi!"

"But what about all that other stuff Hiroshi talked about? Don't you think it's at least a _little_ incriminating?" Hana asked him, frowning.

"I-I don't know, maybe? I-I don't know! But...there is one thing I know, and that is there's nothing that actually connects Itachi to the crime!" Shiro declared. "I mean...you can't even prove he even _was_ in the storage room when I locked the door that night!"

Hearing Shiro's statement, a memory wormed its way out of the surfer's mind- something that may very well prove her opponent wrong. With this in mind, Hana interrupted the Ultimate Poet and shouted, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

"Shiro- there was something Hiroshi and I found in the storage room," Hana stated. "It was a piece of paper, actually. Hiroshi, do you still have it?"

"Of course," Hiroshi replied, pulling out the paper in question.

"Ew, it's all bloody!" Rumi complained upon seeing the paper.

"Forget the blood, you'd better not be saying there's some _third_ note now!" Hinata growled.

"No, it's not a note- it's actually a poem," Hana explained. "It's called 'Beyond the Lost Skies'."

"'Beyond the Lost Skies'...? Oh! That's one of mine!" Shiro explained cheerfully.

"Yeah- when me and Hiroshi first found it, I thought the title sounded familiar- and now I think I know why," Hana stated. "This is the poem you write for us a few nights ago, remember? The night Mikio was murdered?"

"Yeah- I was going to read it to you all, but then Monokuma showed up and scared almost everyone out of the dining room," Shiro recalled. "When that happened, I actually left the poem behind."

"Yeah- someone picked it up then, and you told them to hold on to it. And they've been holding on to it since, right?" Hana then asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Uh-huh. The one who's been holding on to it is Ita-" Shiro began...only to freeze, his face paling. "I...tachi...!"

"...Hana. What's your point," Itachi asked, his glare as piercing as swords.

"Well...like I said, the poem was found in the storage room- you know, where the attack started?" Hana explained. "And if you were the only one who had the poem on you, then..."

"If I may add to Hana's theory- do you guys see the blood pattern on this note?" Hiroshi asked, holding up the paper for the group to see.

"Those are some...unique shapes," Tadao remarked thoughtfully.

"Yes, not quite normal blood splatter," Akira stated, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"You're right, it's not...but I was able to figure out why," Hiroshi stated, before proceeding to fold up the piece of paper by following the creases. "If I refold this poem like so, the blood pattern looks a bit more coherent."

Sure enough, once the paper was completely folded, the coroner held out the paper again- and the odd shapes were now arranged in a way that, to Hana, was no doubt a footprint.

"I-It's a footprint?" Asuna asked, surprised.

"Ooh! That explains why the blood looked so weird!" Hana remarked. "It must have been stepped on while it was folded up like that, so when it was unfolded, the pattern got all messed up!"

"That's true, but most important...is where the footprint actually came from," Hiroshi stated.

"I got it! It's the killer's footprint!" Ryoto shouted. "Itachi, take off your boots!"

"My boots don't have that pattern," Itachi replied, glaring at the Ultimate Racecar Driver.

"And it's not the killer's bootprint, anyways- it's the victim's," Hiroshi stated. "I compared the pattern to Kaneki's boots myself- just after you left to go find Asuna, Haha- and, while the portion on the paper is only a fragment of the entire bottom of the boot, the patterns matched up perfectly."

"But- Kaneki's footprint? What the hell does that prove?" Hinata asked.

"Well, we already proved that Kaneki was still alive in the storage room when she was initially attacked, so there was likely a struggle. The blood smears on the floor can attest to that. And the stab wounds can attest to the large amounts of blood on the walls and floor- in fact, Kaneki's boots were actually caked with blood on the bottom," Hiroshi explained. "So based on this, it's easy to see that the poem must have fell out the culprit's pocket during the struggle, and Kaneki stepped on it while trying to escape, leaving behind that footprint."

"So...I guess what Hiroshi's basically saying is that the footprint on the poem is proof that the poem was in the storage room when the murder happened," Hana summarized. "And since the poem was with someone else before that, it puts them in the storage room when the murder happened by proxy. How else could the poem have gotten all bloodied otherwise?"

"I...I don't...! There's no...!" Shiro gasped, horrified as realization struck him.

"Hmph! I'd expect more from you two!" Itachi refuted, not even masking his angered tone anymore. "I had visited the storage room before the murder, you know. When me and Shiro were searching for my knife. Did it occur to you that perhaps it was _then_ that the poem fell out of my pocket? All you've proven is that the poem was in the storage room when at the time of the crime. However! That leaves a large gap of several hours when the paper could have gotten there. It does not mean it happened during the attack!"

"But assuming it did, then that means-" Hana began.

"Assumptions are meaningless!" Itachi barked, cutting off the surfer. "With our lives on the line, you'd use guesses to make me a killer? If that's the case, then you truly are not fit to stand in this courtroom!"

"W-Wow, geez..." Hana muttered, grimacing at the remark. _That's something I'd expect to hear from Akira, not Itachi...he's usually so polite and courteous! I know he's being suspected of murder right now, but to see him lose his cool like this, it's...really not boding well..._

"And another thing! You all seem to have forgotten something about this case. Something crucial!" Itachi added, raising his voice as if to sound more commanding. "A vital flaw in your theory against me!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hana asked the weapons expert.

"Hmph! Don't see it? Very well then. Allow me to explain your error," Itachi responded. "Then, you will know why I cannot be the killer!"

 _An error in our thinking, huh...? Well, if there really is one, then I'd better figure out how to make it..._ not _an error._ Hana told herself with a concerned frown.

"Have you all forgotten...the location of the body?" Itachi asked. "And where the victim was lured to?"

"You mean the storage room?" Hirsohi replied.

"And what about the storage room makes it a flaw?" Akira inquired.

"Simple. The storage room door has a lock- a lock that can only be undone by the key," Itachi explained, regaining some of his composure as he spoke.

"You mean the one Asuna's in charge of, right?" Shiori asked.

"Of course. Without that key, there's no way I could have accessed the storage room on the night of the murder, when it would have been locked," Itachi went on, closing his eyes thoughtfully.

"B-But I lost the key! A-And the storage room was unlocked by then, s-so you wouldn't have _really_ needed-" Asuna fearfully began.

"Even so! You all also claim the killer was the one who hid the key from Asuna- however, once again, without the key itself, I could not have done that!" Itachi pointed out. "Understand now? If you claim that I am the killer, then I would have also had the missing key in my possession! And there wasn't a time when I could have found it before Asuna's search!"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana yelled, stopping Itachi dead in his tracks.

"Actually Itachi, there was a time when you could have found the storage room key! Even by accident," the Ultimate Surfer stated, pointing dramatically. "That time would have been when you and Shiro were going around the castle, trying to find your knife!"

 _"What?"_ Itachi snarled, glaring.

"N-No! We were together in that, there's no way!" Shiro swiftly insisted.

"Shiro...you and Itachi were not together the entire time you were searching, were you?" Saku asked the poet.

"Well...no..." Shiro responded, gulping in fear.

"Then don't you think Itachi could have found the key when you weren't there to see it...?" Rumi suggested, frowning in concern.

"I..." Shiro began, his face paling once again.

"And the only places you guys didn't search were everyone else's bedrooms- and I highly doubt the key was in any of those," Hiroshi pointed out.

"I-It definitely wasn't in _my_ room, I-I can tell you that..." Asuna stated.

"..." Itachi went silent once more, but one look at his face and anyone would be able to tell he was seething with uncharacteristic rage.

"So then...it looks like the facts of this case are starting to become clearer by the minute..." Akira said to herself. "At this rate, we may very well have a true definitive case."

"...A definitive case, you say...?" Itachi responded, his deep voice a near whisper. _"This_ is what you call a definitive case...?"

"I...I still can't..." Shiro choked out, sounding as if he was about to cry. "I-Itachi! Come on, you've got to be innocent! Just tell them, tell them you're not the killer!"

"..." The Ultimate Weapons Expert remained silent...and yet somehow, Hana felt a sense of dread upon looking at him.

"I-Itachi, come on! I-It's all a misunderstanding, it has to be!" Shiro went on, his voice desperate and pleading as he spoke to his friend.

"...Silence..." Itachi said, his voice low and menacing.

"You didn't do anything! Y-You didn't trick me into helping with the murder! And...And you didn't kill Kaneki! Just tell them, please!" Shiro cried. "You'd never kill anyone! S-So just tell them you didn't-"

"I said SILENCE!" Itachi practically roared, his deep voice the loudest Hana had ever heard it.

"W-What the-!?" the surfer yelped, taken off guard by the outburst.

"Listen to you all...standing there, spouting your accusations from on high..." Itachi hissed, seat starting to form on his forehead. "What is your evidence, huh? The knife? The cause of death? The poem? The missing key?"

The weapons expert looked down, his hands clenched into fists. "It's nothing...it's all nothing but circumstance! Do you hear me!? Your evidence is USELESS!"

"I-Itachi!?" Shiro yelped, also clearly frightened. "This...isn't like you at all...!"

"You claim you want justice for our classmate...and yet you'd shift the blame onto me with nothing but weak proof!? Even now, after all this, you all understand nothing about the case! NOTHING about the true blackened!" Itachi shouted, his ice-colored eyes blazing. "I am a man of honor! Do you honestly think I'd do something as disgraceful as murder a fellow student!? DO YOU!?"

"H-Holy shit! His personality just did a huge one-eighty!" Ryoto remarked, his eyes wide with shock.

"Hey, Itachi, freaking out won't do you any good..." Hiroshi said to the Ultimate, attempting to sound rational.

"Oh? And I assume the rest of you would react any better in my position? If you were the one being accused of a crime you did not commit!?" Itachi asked. "All your arguments are futile...they are baseless!"

"No they're not! We have plenty to prove who the killer is!" Hana shouted in response. "Itachi...I don't want this to be true,you know! You're polite and kind, nobody here wants to think you could do something like this! But...there's nobody else left! You have to be the killer!"

"HAH! That's your rebuttal?" Itachi asked with a sneer. "Very well then!"

He pointed right at Hana and declared, "You! Hana! You are the cause of all this scrutiny against me- you, who continue to pick apart my words and judge everything I say as if I am already guilty! And now you state that I _am_ the killer after all?"

"I-I also said I don't want to think you are!" Hana reminded him, trying not to make her fear visible. Itachi's mannerisms right now- they were nothing like his usual self. Was this truly the same young man she had sat in the lounge with, spoke to like a friend, drank tea with, the same student who had helped ease her feelings regarding Mikio and Azami's deaths just a few short days ago?

Could this same young man...truly have murdered one of her friends in such a brutal manner?

"Well then, you should have thought of that before accusing me! So now, if you truly want to paint me as the blackened...then, I challenge you!" Itachi barked. "I challenge you to show me true, decisive evidence that links me to this crime!"

He then added with a slight condescending tone, "That is, if you even have anything like that!"

Hana stopped, and took a few moments to think. _Okay, okay, stop being so freaked out, think about this! Think about everything, everything you've learned in this case! Every piece of evidence, everything! I need to find something, anything that definitively proves Itachi is the killer! There's gotta be something- something that hasn't been brought up yet...!_

In that moment, the Ultimate Surfer remembered something. A single piece of evidence that didn't quite fit in anywhere...but now, Hana felt as though she might just know how that evidence fit into the rest of the case. All she had to do was tell the class, and tell Itachi.

"Actually, I do have evidence! Evidence that directly ties you to the murder!" Hana declared, determined.

"You do?" Tadao asked. "You better not be thinking of keeping us in suspense- explain, please."

"N-No, I'm not doing that! You see, I wasn't the only one who found this- Shiori and Rumi were with me when we found something in the furnace," Hana explained. "And that thing...was Kaneki's own bullwhip!"

"Gh-!? W-Wait just a second!" Itachi yelped, his furious composure shattering. "Are you suggesting a regular whip was able to survive the temperatures of the furnace!? Th-That's not possible!"

"Hey, I was just as bewildered as you- I still am, actually," Shiori responded. "But...no, Hana's telling the truth."

"At first, I didn't get it...why the killer would take the whip, of all things, and try to get rid of it," Hana stated. "But now...now I think I get it. Even though it was badly burned, I could see why it was thrown in- it was because there was blood on the whip!"

"So it was more of Kaneki's blood. So what?" Hinata asked.

"But that's the thing- it _wasn't_ Kaneki's blood," Hana went on. "If it was, then why would the killer bother trying to get rid of it?"

"R-Really...? Th-That means...!" Asuna began, her eyes wide.

"Yeah...Kaneki really did _not_ go down without a fight," Hana stated. "And during that fight, she must have used her whip against her attacker, and that's where the blood came from."

"I see...so then the killer chose to dispose of the bullwhip because it was the one thing that could definitively tie them to the crime," Akira surmised.

"And if that's the case...then that means the killer must still have a wound from when Kaneki whipped them!" Hiroshi concluded.

"So- how about it, Kunata? If you're so adamant about your innocence, then you won't object to being checked for any injuries, will you?" Akira then asked Itachi, raising an eyebrow.

"Now that's an idea I can get behind," Shiori stated with a confident smirk.

"I-I-! That's not- there's no-!" Itachi stammered, scrambling to defend himself. "I...I refuse! I will not give in like this!"

"Oh come on! Knock it off and admit you did it already!" Rumi sternly told the tall young man.

"I! Admit! Nothing!" Itachi shouted. "I refuse to fall here. I cannot fall here! Until the bitter end, I will not give up like this!"

"Then let me finish it!" Hana retorted. "For Kaneki's sake, and for everyone else, I'll bring the truth of what happened to light, once and for all!"

"Hana...you're ready for this?" Hiroshi softly asked the surfer.

"...Yeah...Yeah, I...I can do this," Hana responded, trying to calm her racing heart. _I still don't understand...I don't understand how someone like Itachi could do something like this...but, I can't focus on that right now. I've got the evidence and everything- right now, I just need to ficus on putting it all together._

With a deep breath, the Ultimate Surfer steeled her nerves and called out, "Here's what I think happened!"

"This case began yesterday morning, before the morning announcement even played. The killer had a plan in mind, a plan to murder one of their classmates; that target was Asuna Izumi. To begin, they wrote a short note to Asuna under the name of the person she trusted the most- the victim, Kaneki. The note told Asuna to go to the storage room by 10:00 PM that same night, and no later than that. The killer then proceeded to slip the note under Asuna's bedroom door and wake her up via knocking, ensuring that she would see the message. Sure enough, she woke up and saw the note...but then she did something the killer wouldn't account for. Confused by the note and believing it to have been written by Kaneki, Asuna went and directly spoke to Kaneki about the letter."

"When she did this, Kaneki read the note...and, considering its contents, she must have realized that the only purpose the note could serve would be to lure Asuna into a deadly trap. Considering she had made a vow to protect Asuna at all costs...there was no way Kaneki could let that happen. So, she took the note herself and convinced Asuna to forget about it- ultimately, Kaneki would destroy the paper, tearing it up and throwing away the scraps."

"As the day progressed, the culprit continued to set up their plan. They spoke to a friend of theirs- Shiro Koichi. They asked Shiro for a favor that seemed simple- to lock the door to the study at 10:05 PM, no earlier and no later. And Shiro, being the trusting friend he is, agreed to do so without questioning the culprit's motivation. It was also around this time that Asuna would realize she had misplaced the key to the storage room; fearing the rest of us getting mad at her, she kept quiet about the missing key and made plans to look for it by herself that night. But unbeknownst to Asuna, someone had already found the missing key- the killer. I don't think the killer meant to do this, since they couldn't have known the key was even missing at that time, but they ultimately decided to incorporate it into their plan anyways. They were probably going to use it to ensure they could gain access to the storage room, or to provide insurance that Asuna would be on the South Wing's second floor for the murder."

"On the night of the murder, Asuna and Kaneki both planned to head to the second floor- Asuna to look for the storage room key, Kaneki to confront Asuna's would-be murderer. When Kaneki was on her way upstairs, she spotted Asuna already making her way up there- since she didn't know the storage room key was missing, Kaneki must have thought Asuna was going up there as a result of the note. Because of that, she rushed upstairs to stop her- but unbeknownst to both of them, the two of them were spotted heading upstairs by Ryoto Miura, who was on his way to his bedroom after visiting the fitness room. Once upstairs, Kaneki was quick to convince her friend to head back down to her room for the night, and to not come out at all. And Asuna, trusting of her best friend's judgement agreed...well, more or less. Asuna decided to search one location before heading to bed- the greenhouse. However, after that search turned up fruitless, she did go back to her room just as Kaneki asked her...however, while in the greenhouse, Asuna's signature flower hairpin fell out of her hair and was left behind. This was how we were able to prove her location on the night of the murder; since the sprinklers in the greenhouse had already gone off, the hairpin stayed dry, so it was proof that Asuna had been in there after 10:00 PM, the time the sprinklers go off."

"Now, let's talk about the murder itself. At around 10:00, after talking to Asuna, Kaneki made her way to the storage room to meet the note's instructions. Then, at 10:05 PM, Shiro was up on the second floor as well, though he wasn't spotted by anybody. He then proceeded to follow the killer's instructions and lock the study door- since the door was built in backwards, it locked from the outside rather than the inside. And as he went back to his room for the night, Shiro had no idea that he had been made an unwitting accomplice in a murder plot..."

"Once Kaneki walked into the storage room, I can only imagine how the killer must have panicked- after all, they had no idea anyone else knew about the note, so they were expecting Asuna to walk in. However, they still didn't want to give up on their plan- so, they decided to change targets. At 10:05, with the door locked at this point, the culprit took out the murder weapon- one of a pair of hunting knives that they kept on them, and a knife that they had claimed went missing earlier in the day in order to stave off any suspicion that might come from using of their own knives. And with this knife, the killer then proceeded to start the attack. Inside the storage room, the killer used the hinting knife to attack Kaneki from behind, stabbing her in the back several times. The stabbing caused blood to splatter all over the storage room, staining the walls and smearing on the floor as Kaneki struggled against her assailant."

"Realizing her life was in danger, Kaneki proceeded to fight back against the culprit. Using her signature bullwhip, she lashed out against her attacker, managing to wound the killer and draw blood. This gave Kaneki the chance to escape the storage room- but during the struggle, something had fallen out of the killer's pocket: a poem, "Beyond the Lost Skies", given to them by Shiro. I don't think either one of them realized it, but Kaneki stepped on the paper as she fled, leaving a bloody bootprint on the page and kicking it to the side of the room and out of normal sight. After making her way into the study, Kaneki went right for the door leading out to the hallway...but what she realized too late was that the door was impossible to open. With it being locked from the outside, there was no way for her to open the door and escape. And because of this, the culprit had no trouble catching up to her and killing her via slashing her throat- in an expert manner, too, something that only could have been achieved by someone like our culprit. Someone good with blades, someone like the Ultimate Weapons Expert."

"With Kaneki dead and their original plan in utter shambles, the killer was forced to improvise- and with this in mind, they decided to make their original target, Asuna, their scapegoat. First, they moved Kaneki's body out of the study and back into the bloodied storage room. They then used the paper from the desk in the study- which they left disheveled, probably because they were in a rush after committing murder- to write a second note. This one, under Asuna's name, they planted on the body, in order to make it seem as though Asuna had lured Kaneki up to the storage room to kill her. But for this plan to work best, they'd need to stage the crime scene completely, and so they'd need to clean the study of all the blood left from the slashed throat. However, it was at this point that the killer ran into another problem- the door was still locked, and so they were still stuck in the study just as Kaneki had been. So, they had no choice but to remove the doorknob entirely- I imagine they used the knife as a makeshift screwdriver, then disposed of the doorknob somewhere."

"After getting cleaning supplies from, presumably, the furnace room, the culprit proceeded to clean any and all traces of blood from the study to hide the true crime scene. And the killer actually did a good job at that- the only trace of the real crime scene left when they were done was a faded bloodstain on the wall to the right of the door, where Kaneki was standing when her throat was cut. Then, the killer had to hide the storage room key; they chose to stash it inside one of the books from the bookshelf in the study, in order to weaken any credibility to the idea of the key being misplaced should Asuna claim that the next day. From there, the killer had to dispose of the evidence that would directly incriminate them- Kaneki's whip, which had some of their blood on it. They took the whip from her body and went down to the furnace room, where they returned the cleaning supplies and threw the whip- along with, I imagine, any bloody clothing they had- into the furnace to burn it overnight. I imagine they also hid their wound underneath some clean clothing, enough so that we wouldn't see it."

"Finally, there was one last piece of evidence that the killer had to dispose of- the murder weapon itself. After cleaning any blood off of it, the killer must have figured the could kill two birds with one stone and hide the weapon in a place that would further incriminate Asuna- the greenhouse. Heading in there, they proceeded to bury the knife in the soil towards the back of the greenhouse. Whether or not the killer saw it, Asuna's hairpin was still lying in the greenhouse, and would actually further throw suspicion onto her; so in short, Asuna unknowingly and unwittingly helped the killer set her up. With the last of the evidence taken care of, the killer likely believed they had succeeded in taking care of all the loose ends they could...but little did they know, they had left behind two crucial pieces of evidence against them: the poem, which is how we figured out they were in the study at the time of the murder, and Kaneki's own whip, which miraculously survived the heat of the furnace all night- and with it, the killer's blood. And it was thanks to these two pieces of evidence that we were able to figure out the identity of the true killer."

"...I don't understand why. I don't know why someone as courteous and good-hearted as you would have planned something like this. But...the evidence proves it. And now we know, beyond any doubt- the one who set up this entire scheme, and the one who murdered Kaneki..." Hana concluded, still seeming rather hesitant about accusing a fellow classmate. "...It was you, wasn't it, Itachi?"

"..." Itachi went silent once again, his furious outbursts cut short.

"...Am I wrong, Itachi?" Hana asked. "I-I don't mind being wrong, honestly...if you have a rebuttal, then just say it!"

"..." However, Itachi made no rebuttal. Quite the contrary, he looked much more relaxed, more like his usual stoic demeanor.

"I...Itachi...?" Shiro gasped, his voice a near whisper.

The Ultimate Weapons Expert let out a small sigh- it sounded like a combination of defeated and...relieved? Regardless, he stated, "...There's no need for that."

"Oh? Back to normal now?" Shiori asked, glaring.

"...Monokuma. Start the voting, please," Itachi requested, his expression unreadable.

"W-What?" Asuna asked.

"Are you confessing?" Akira inquired.

"Do I need to? The truth seems self-evident to me," Itachi responded, his voice betraying no emotion. "There's no reason to prolong this trial any longer."

He then turned to Monokuma again, this time requesting in a more firm tone, "Get on with it, Monokuma. The voting, and the verdict. Let's...put an end to this, once and for all."

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaaand the killer is revealed, after several blocks of text! Even though the students haven't voted yet, I think we all know what the consensus will be- it was Itachi Kunata, with the hunting knife, in the study! ...Yes I know I already made a Clue joke, but I'm writing this past midnight and I can't think clearly nor could I resist.**

 **Anyways, with the murder solved, that just leaves the post-trial segment! And it's getting its own part, so you know there's gonna be some good stuff there. And I can confirm- next time, come Part 3, if you thought this part got depressing, _you haven't seen a thing yet._ Next time, the feels train will be arriving at the station, so I hope you guys are ready for that! Until then...uh, I don't know if there's much to speculate on, since the murder's been solved and all. Speculate on...character motivations...? I'll tell you one thing, it's not just the killer's actions that need explaining next time. **

**But regardless, next time: the conclusion of Chapter 2: Pros of Despair! I hope to see you guys there!**


	19. Chapter 2: Pros of Despair (Part 9)

**A/N: Hello readers, and welcome back to Fractured Fates! Are you guys ready to have your hearts broken, because I'm certainly ready to work my magic and make you all cry!**

 **So, to recap- Hana and the rest of the class identified the blackened through the power of long closing arguments (eat your heart out, V3), and now it's time for the voting! Now, this part is basically the entirety of the post-trial segment (a post-trial that, as you can guess, will be _much_ longer than Chapter 1's); you know, the voting time, any and all talking amongst characters, and everyone's favorite...the execution! **

**So now, the time has come- it's time to answer any and all lingering questions regarding the murder! Let's do this!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Ah, character motivations are great, aren't they? Wonder what you'll think of this guy's justification. And as for Chapter 3- slow down there buddy dude, we haven't even finished Chapter 2 yet, the next murder plot is still a ways away.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Class Trial (Part 3)**

"Phew! It's about time! I was worried I'd be reduced to a boring side character if this trial didn't end soon!" Monokuma responded, practically jumping up out of his seat.

"Now then, if you've all truly come to a conclusion you can actually agree to, then it's time for...the voting!" the bear declared. "Unsurprisingly, the voting works just the same as last time- use the lever next to your podium to select the student you believe is the culprit! And remember- voting is absolutely, positively mandatory, so don't skip out on it unless you want to be executed too!"

Hana glanced to the side, seeing the lever in question. Though she still had several reservations, the Ultimate still reached out and grabbed hold of it in preparation to vote.

"Now, the moment we've all been waiting for! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?" Momokuma asked, his voice taking on a eager and dramatic tone. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

In spite of her concerns, Hana knew deep down there was no more prolonging this conclusion. The surfer swiftly made her vote, as did the rest of the 80th Class, one by one.

As soon as the class was finished voting, the same large TV monitor from the previous trial descended from the ceiling for all of them to see. It took less than a second for the screen to switch on, initially showing static but then changing to the same flashy slot machine. Moments later, the three slots began to spin, the graphics of the students' faces barely discernible due to the speed (only now did Hana notice that the faces of the deceases students- Mikio, Azami, and Kaneki- were grayed out like their memorial photos).

Eventually, the slots slowed, and ultimately stopped; the three slots, once they stopped, all showed the same face: Itachi's face. Applause and cheering followed, followed by the words 'GUILTY!' flashing above the machine and hundreds of coins flying out. After the fanfare, the screen went black, leaving Hana and the others to their own thoughts.

* * *

Monokuma let out an eager giggle, before announcing to the class, "Alright students! The results are in, and I can say with absolute certainty...you guys are two for two!"

"Two for two...? Th-That means-!" Hana yelped.

"Correct! This time, the blackened student was one Ultimate Weapons Expert...Itachi Kunata!" Monokuma confirmed, pointing a paw at the tall young man in question.

"..." Itachi didn't respond to Monokuma's confirmation. His eyes weer closed, and his head was tilted down towards the ground slightly.

"R...Really...!?" Shiro choked out, his flushed. "I-Itachi! Y-You actually-!?"

"..." Once again, the weapons expert kept silent. But, to Hana's surprise, he did something else; Itachi reached up and, for the first time that Hana had seen, removed the dark green bandanna that usually covered the lower half of his face. He gripped the bandanna in his hand as he lowered his arm, allowing the class to properly see his face in full...and when they did, Hana and her peers would see something. On the left side of his face, extending diagonally from just below the corner of his lip towards his ear, was a long and bloody welt; the wound looked extremely recent, as though only a few hours old, and it had just barely started to scab over.

Though Hana was no expert on weaponry or injuries, even she could tell there was only one thing that could have caused a wound like that.

"...Well done, everyone," Itachi finally spoke, his countenance remaining calm. "I've...been unmasked."

"So it's...it's true...?" Shiro asked. "You really did...!?"

"The truth is obvious now, isn't it? Do you want me to say it out loud?" Itachi inquired, his voice taking on an almost annoyed edge. "I did it. I killed Kaneki. Even Monokuma confirmed it. How could the truth be more clear?"

Hana grimaced as she spoke, and it wasn't just out of sorrow for Shiro, Itachi's friend; though she had known that the weapons expert was the true killer, just hearing him admit to the terrible crime out loud like that felt like a huge punch to the gut.

"But...you? You, of all of us?" Saku asked, his shock almost tangible. "You were always so...honorable, so reasonable. It is simply...hard to take in, that someone like you would resort to murder...!"

At first, nobody said a word- Itachi himself had gone silent, the bandanna still clenched in his fist as a deep frown formed on his face. Hana herself tried to make sense of what was happening, asking herself, _We...I may have been the one to figure out the 'how' of the murder, but...what about the 'why'? I still don't understand...why, Itachi? Why did it come to this!?_

Evidently, Hana wasn't the only one asking that question. It was Asuna- pale, horrified Asuna- who broke the silence by asking Itachi, "W...Why...? Why...Why, why, why, _WHY!?"_

"..." Yet again, the Ultimate didn't respond, barely even acknowledging Asuna's cries.

"Hey, answer the question! Why did you do all this?" Shiori demanded. "What the hell did Asuna and Kaneki ever do to you?"

"And don't try to play it off as an accident, because this clearly wasn't," Tadao added more calmly.

"No, it was no accident. I had no plans to murder Kaneki. Asuna was my target, I admit to those two facts," Itachi confessed. "As for why I chose her...well, look at her. It didn't matter who I killed, I just needed a target; so, I chose the student who was the smallest and meekest of all of us. Someone who would the absolute easiest to kill. That student happened to be Asuna."

He glanced at the Ultimate Gardener, adding as if it was supposed to provide consolation, "It was nothing personal. It was simply a matter of practicality."

Asuna let out a strangled, shocked cry, as if she had just been punched in the gut.

"Are you that surprised? I said the same thing a few days ago- you, out of all of us here, would in fact make for an easy target. It would seem that I wasn't the only one who realized that- so, I'll at least give you credit for that intelligence, Kunata."

"H-Hey! Don't _compliment_ him, he fucking killed somebody!" Ryoto shouted at the Ultimate Waiter.

Hana stole another glance at Asuna, but the gardener wasn't looking much better; judging by the shorter girl's appearance, Hana was worried Asuna would either pass out from horror or break down into sobbing right there.

"But that doesn't explain the deeper 'why'- your motivation for putting together this whole plot," Akira stated, crossing her arms. "So, answer me that, Kunata- why _did_ you go through all of this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Itachi asked right back. "Remember. Why do you _think_ I did all this?"

Hana frowned, trying to think of what Itachi could be referring to...but then responded, "Do...you mean the motive?"

Itachi said nothing, but simply nodded in confirmation.

"Really...? _That's_ what triggered all this?" Hiroshi asked, his voice taking on a hint of an incredulous tone. _"You_ were affected by the motive?"

"Huh- I'll be honest, of all the people I suspected would be tempted by the motive, you certainly weren't one of them," Tadao admitted, evidently also taken aback by Itachi's reasoning.

"But...what would you have to gain from- what was it? 'Promise of success' or whatever you guys called it?" Hinata asked. "I don't know much of anything about being a weapons expert, but the pay can't be _that_ bad, can it?"

Itachi grit his teeth somewhat, responding, "It's not like that. The motive affected me...in a different way."

"W-What? That doesn't make any sense!" Hana quickly responded, unsatisfied by the explanation.

"That... _is_ what Monokuma said, though..." Hiroshi reminded her somewhat reluctantly. "He told us that the meaning of success could mean different things to different people..."

"Aaand that meaning could be worth killing for! Nice to see at least _some_ of you were paying attention!" Monokuma interjected- to Hana, he sounded far too cheerful for the current situation.

"B-But, I still don't..." Hana began, but soon trailed off, her throat starting to sting. _I...I just want to know already! Why did this happen!? Just blaming it on the motive doesn't answer anything! I want...I need to...I..._

"But...that doesn't explain why you actually did it!" Shiori pointed out. "What the hell would you have to gain from graduating!?"

"Bah. That's something...none of you would understand," Itachi responded, a small grimace making its way onto his wounded face.

"What? Don't tell me you're just going to keep silent," Akira stated, her voice almost a growl of irritation.

Sure enough, Itachi did not respond, closing his eyes and lowering his head slightly.

"I-Itachi...? J-Just tell us, please!" Shiro pleaded with his friend.

"Come on, don't you think-" Hana began, sorrowful. "After...all this...don't you think we have a right to know why you killed Kaneki...?"

Itachi still didn't answer any of them, his vow of silence unwavering...

Just as Hana was about to beg him for answers again, Monokuma spoke up and said, "Well! If Mr. Kunata won't do it, then I will!"

"Huh?" Hana asked. _"You're_ gonna...?"

"That's right! While normally I'd love to let you guys wallow in the despair of unanswered questions, this time the story is waaay to juicy to just pass up!" Monokuma explained, jovial. "So, I'm gonna be the one to drop some knowledge on you all!"

Before Hana or anyone else had a chance to respond or protest, the black and white bear strolled over to the center of the room and began, "Now everyone, the story behind this case is a sad tale of two Ultimates. A pair of teens who probably would have never crossed paths if it hadn't been for Hope's Peak Academy!"

"You see, the Kunata family has always been known for their skill with all kinds of weaponry. This knowledge, dating back to even Japan's feudal era, has been passed down from generation upon generation, from one head of the family to the next. It was a legacy built for hundreds of years, a legacy of strength and honor. Eventually, that mastery was passed down to the previous head of the Kunata name- to a man named Hanzo Kunata, as well as his younger brother Syo Kunata. Together, these two men worked together to head the family name- and eventually, Hanzo was able to have a son who would become the future head of the Kunata family. I'll give ya a hint- his name starts with 'I' and ends with 'tachi'."

"Now, growing up, Itachi was surrounded by the work of being a weapons expert. But even still, Itachi loved what his family did, and he longed to be just like his honorable forefathers before him. Yup, life was as sweet as tangerines for young Mr. Kunata..." Monokuma went on. "But unfortunately, life is like bacteria- where there's tangerines, there's gonna be bacteria to make it rot like hell!"

Hana furrowed her brow, then glanced at Itachi. Upon seeing the Ultimate Weapons Expert's countenance, the surfer could immediately tell Itachi did _not_ want Monokuma to be telling the class all of this.

"For you see...well, actually, maybe some of you have heard of it already?" Monokuma then asked. "It _was_ all over the news when it went down. So, even though it's been a few years, maybe your memories are still good? Anyone here know of the controversy surrounding the Kunata family?"

"I...sorta do..." Hana admitted. "I don't really know the details, though..."

"I kind of know. It was...Hanzo Kunata, Itachi's father, wasn't it?" Hiroshi asked. "He...did something. Highly illegal, it was all over the news for a while if I remember correctly..."

"...Eh, I'd give you guys a C," Monokuma stated. "Anyways! Hanzo apparently decided that the weaponry business wasn't quite making as much dough as he would have liked. So, without even his family knowing, Hanzo Kunata decided to try his hand at a more...shady business. That's right- he decided to try out the bright and wonderful world of arms smuggling!"

"Smuggling? That's what Itachi's father was doing?" Shiro asked- clearly, he had no knowledge whatsoever of the scandal that had surrounded his friend's family.

"And it wasn't some small smuggling ring isolated to this country either- this ring was big, and it was all over the place! Hanzo sold and traded all kinds of weaponry to mercenary and terrorist groups all over the world many of whom were sorta enemies of the country! And he did it all right under everyone's noses too!" Monokuma further explained. "But the government isn't entirely stupid, and it was only a matter of time until they caught onto Hanzo's shady dealings. It wasn't long until he was placed into custody, awaiting trial for his dastardly crimes. In the end, you know what Hanzo did? Did he give up the ghost and confess to his crimes? Did he go quietly, to save face and to damage his family name as little as possible?"

Monokuma's tone of voice immediately clued Hana into the fact that Itachi's father had most likely done none of those things, but the surfer wasn't sure she wanted to know what the man had actually done.

"Nope! Hanzo tried to deflect the blame off himself as much as he could- he even went as far as to try and pin all the blame on his brother, Syo!" Monokuma declared with a twisted laugh. "Now, of course the authorities didn't buy any of that, and in the end Hanzo was sentenced to- let's say a looooong stay in prison for his crimes. However, the damage had already been done; the scandal from the trafficking, as well as Hanzo's undignified actions in his last days of freedom, completely dragged the Kunata name through the mud, and then some! Suddenly, all those generations of honor had been stained, nobody in the Kunata family was trusted as much anymore. Even those who weren't even _in_ the family business- if you had even a drop of blood related to Hanzo Kunata, you were mistrusted! And Syo Kunata, now the head of the family, was to my knowledge thrown into a bottomless depression from the whole incident."

"Everyone in the family had given up hope that the honor of the Kunata name would ever be restored to what it formerly was...everyone, except for one person," Monokuma went on. "That person: was Itachi Kunata, son of Hanzo Kunata."

* * *

 _"I have to keep going. Our family name may be tarnished...but I will be different. I_ am _different. I will_ not _let my father be the end of our name. No matter how long it takes, no matter how hard I must work, even if it kills me, for the sake of those I love, I won't give up!"_

 _"Whatever it takes...I will restore my family's honor!"_

* * *

"And so, Itachi would spend the next few years working himself to the bone in order to restore the family's reputation. However, no matter what he did, nothing worked; the Kunata name was still despised, and nothing improved for him or his family. Itachi continued to be surrounded by all the hate and the shadows created by his father's actions," Monokuma went on, his voice taking on a tone of mock sorrow. "Sooo...that's why I can only imagine how ecstatic Itachi must have been when he was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy."

To this, Monokuma looked right at the other students and asked, "After all, what's the one thing everyone knows best about Hope's Peak? Why, that would be that anyone who graduates will find success in whatever they choose to do afterwards! So naturally, Itachi must have figured that if he, a Kunata, successfully graduated from the most prestigious and hope-tastic school in the country, then that would definitely help to restore his family's honor! And, if I'm completely honest, that line of thinking isn't entirely wrong!"

Hana stared at Monokuma, taken aback by the story he was telling. _I can't believe...Itachi had to deal with all of that...? But he seems so- so...unfazed by anything, so collected! Was he really having to deal with all that stress? All this time...?_

The monochrome bear then continued, "But then! The handsome, the dreadful Monokuma appeared and placed him and his classmates in the halls of this castle, forcing them to partake in a game of mutual killing! Suddenly, Itachi became as vulnerable as everyone else, and his hope of graduating and helping his family seemed to become more of a dream than a reality..."

"...That is, until I revealed the motive. The very reason Itachi accepted his admittance into Hope's Peak- the promise of success after graduation!" Monokuma added, his voice sinister. "And all of a sudden, his desire to graduate for his family's sake became achievable once again! And all he'd have to do...was sacrifice his classmates."

* * *

 _"This...This is for the best. It goes against everything I've ever known, but...if it means fulfilling what I've worked towards for years, then...it must be done. All I have to do is kill someone, and survive the trial, that's all. For my family, I...I have to do this! There is no other way!"_

* * *

"..." Itachi growled softly, grimacing as his grip tightened on the bandanna in his hand.

Hana herself stared at the Ultimate Weapons Expert, her conflicted feelings brought to new heights. She told herself, _There's...no way to condone what Itachi did...b-but, he wanted to graduate so he could help his family! That's not a bad thing, it's just...Itachi, you didn't...you didn't have to do this! We could have...we could-_

"Hang on. You mentioned two Ultimates at the start," Shiori told Monokuma, frowning. "Who's the other person?"

"My my, Doc- you're more perceptive than that!" Monokuma replied, giggling. "Every murder case has a killer and a victim. I've already told you all about the killer, so who does that leave?"

"K-Kaneki?" Asuna asked. "W-What does she have to do with w-what happened to Itachi...?"

"Oh, nothing! Like I said, those two probably wouldn't have met if not for being classmates," Monokuma replied. "However...Ms. Tenmaru wasn't above having her own ties to the outside world influencing her actions!"

"W...What does _that_ mean?" Hana asked, confused.

"Puhuhu...you guys wanna know why Kaneki started to act so weird when she found out Asuna was being targeted?" Monokuma asked, a dark look in his eyes. "Why she was perfectly willing to throw her life away to thwart Itachi? Because it wasn't just mere loyalty between friends, that's for sure!"

"But before I tell you about that- a question!" Monokuma then declared. "Did Kaneki ever tell any of you about...her family?"

"Her family?" Akira asked, turning her attention to Monokuma. "How is that relevant?"

"Quiet and answer the question!" Monokuma snapped, irritated at being questioned.

"Uh...she didn't say too much about her family..." Hana answered. "But- at one point, a day or two ago, she did mention to me and Shiori that she has a younger sister. Uh...her name's Yuna, I think she said."

"Hm- Asuna? Did she tell you anything?" Shiori asked the gardener, glancing at her.

"W-Well, yeah- b-but nothing too specific," Asuna replied, frowning.

"Oooh? Then, did Kaneki ever tell you all about what happened to Yuna?" Monokuma inquired, that grin of his unwavering.

"N-No. Like we said, she didn't tell us too much about her..." Hana replied, furrowing her brow. "Something...happened to her?"

"Oh. Well, I suppose I can't entirely blame you all for not knowing. It's not the sorta thing that someone just wants to bring up in casual conversation..." Monokuma stated, looking down sadly...before adding with a sinister edge to his voice, "After all...Yuna died when Kaneki was eleven!"

That statement caught Hana completely off guard. _Did...he say...Kaneki's sister is...!?_

Many of the other students appeared just as surprised as Hana- even Itachi, who broke out of his stupor to stare at the supposed headmaster in complete shock.

"Puhuhu...allow me to explain," Monokuma stated in amusement.

"As a child, Kaneki Tenmaru grew up in a rather normal family, in a rather normal household. She had a little sister named Yuna; growing up, Kaneki loved and cared about hr sister quite a bit. Even as a child, she understood that an older sibling's biggest job is to look out for their younger ones, to help and protect them, no matter what. That was what Kaneki believed in the most, and it was a job that she took very seriously. Without a doubt, Kaneki was the epitome of a cool big sis," Monokuma explained to the class. "And little Yuna- well, she loved her sister right back, and looked up to her immensely."

"It goes without saying that the two sisters were very close, spending much of their together. When she was young, Kaneki's instincts as an explorer were strong indeed, and since she and her family lived in an area full of forests and creeks just teeming with adventure, she would always go out and explore the nature around her home. And Yuna would almost always tag along- not that this was an issue, as Kaneki was pretty good with ensuring no harm ever came to her sister," the robotic bear went on. "And such was life for about...eleven years. Yup, life was as fit as a new computer for Ms. Tenmaru...but sadly, life is like a virus- when there's well-working tech, a virus could swoop in and wreck all of it in moments!"

Hana frowned deeply, a dark feeling in her chest. Considering the dark turn Itachi's story had taken, the Ultimate Surfer was afraid to hear where Kaneki's would end up...

"Can you get to the point already?" Akira commanded with narrowed eyes. "How does this fit into Tenmaru's actions leading up to the murder?"

"I'm getting to that part!" Monokuma responded indignantly. "Now! Don't quote me on any of this, there are some things that technology can't give info on, but..."

"One day, when Kaneki was eleven and Yuna was seven, Big Sis wanted to go look around an area deeper into the forest by their house. Now, normally this wouldn't be a problem- however, mom and dad forbade either of them from going, because the weather would be getting bad soon and rain makes walking through woods and rivers _kiiiinda_ dangerous," Monokuma continued. "But Kaneki did not heed their words; I suppose she figured the two of them would be home before then, so what was there to worry about? And if Yuna was worried about disobeying their parents, well she evidently got over it and chose to go with Kaneki. After all, nothing bad had come from following her sister in the past, so why would that day be any different?"

"So, they go into the woods- from what I know, they were in an area with a rather steep dropoff above a creek. And it was around then that, just as their parents had warned, a big storm rolled in! Now, at this point I assume Kaneki at least _tried_ to return home with her sister- but then, probably because she saw something _that_ profound, young Ms. Tenmaru ran ahead of her sister. Keep in mind, they're in an area with a big dropoff, a deadly dropoff. And the rain probably made it difficult for the smaller and weaker Yuna to keep her footing on the trail," Monokuma went on, gesturing ominously as if he was telling a ghost story at a campfire. "Now, I'm sure Kaneki immediately realized her error, and went to go back for her sister- especially if she realized the danger Yuna was in due to the cliff and rain. But then, at that moment-!"

Monokuma suddenly threw his arms into the air for emphasis, shouting, "BOOM! CRASH! Lightning, thunder, all those storm noises! Kaneki, being a kid at the time, couldn't help but become startled and scared by the lightning, in spite of her trying to help her sister. That fear from the storm caused her to hesitate- and in that moment of hesitation..."

Hana had a horrible feeling about where this story was going, but could say nothing to keep from hearing it.

"Little Yuna, who was also frightened by the lightning, lost her footing on that dropoff, and..." Monokuma concluded. "...Well, let's just say the Tenmaru family got a little smaller that day."

"..." Hana's bad feelings were instantaneously confirmed, and she yet she was still as shocked as almost all of her other classmates. "H-Holy...!"

"Needless to say, the incident left Ms. Tenmaru rather traumatized. I mean, from what I've been told, it was a pretty messy fall. And the best part...what happened to Yuna was sorta partially Kaneki's fault, wouldn't you agree? After all, if she had obeyed her parents in the first place, then the two wouldn't have been out in the woods when the storm hit. Alternatively, if Kaneki hadn't frozen up when the lightning hit, she probably could have saved her sister from falling at all," Monokuma further explained. "But, she did none of those things. She let her wanderlust and fear, in that order, overtake her, and it ultimately left Kaneki with one dead sister."

"Now of course, at its core, Yuna's death was an accident, and as such nobody in Kaneki's family blamed her for what happened...nobody, except for one person," the bear continued. "That person: was Kaneki Tenmaru herself."

* * *

 _"I...I was supposed to keep Yuna safe. That was my job, that's what big siblings do! They're supposed to keep their siblings safe! Why, WHY did I let Yuna go with me!? Why did I hesitate!? If I hadn't frozen up like a coward, she'd still be alive! That's all I am, a coward!"_

 _"Coward, coward, coward, coward, coward, coward...!"_

* * *

"To her, losing Yuna like that meant she had failed her biggest job as an older sister. She had failed to live up to her own core belief, and in the end it left her with an overwhelming amount of sorrow and guilt," Monokuma stated. "A guilt that would never subside. Even as she was traveling the world, making a name for herself as the Ultimate Explorer, the regret she felt over Yuna's death never went away. It remained buried in her heart, festering there like a wound that would never heal. Oh sure, she tried to mask her sorrow around others, but her trauma was still there regardless."

"W-What!?" Hana cried. "S-So you're saying...! This whole time, Kaneki's been...!"

"Th-That can't be true!" Rumi insisted. "Sure, she may have had her...quirks, but she was hardly ever anything but cheerful!"

"Ahaha! How naive! Didn't anyone tell you not to judge a book by its cover? Ms. Tenmaru may have seemed happy on the outside, and she may not have been depressed 24/7, but believe you me- in the back of her mind, she was constantly under the influence of that old guilt," Monokuma insisted. "You know, it's usually the happiest or most comedic people that hold the most sadness in them, and Ms. Tenmaru was certainly no exception! I mean, just look at Mr. Kunata- he's always the strong silent type, unfazed and uninfluenced by evil around him, but on the inside he was the most vulnerable to despair as everyone else! No, even more vulnerable, because he actually went through with a murder!"

Hana's eyes widened at all this new information, but she then yelled out, "That's...That mindset is wrong, though! What happened to Yuna...that wasn't Kaneki's fault at all!"

"Oh, don't tell me, tell Kaneki," Monokuma responded...before bursting into laughter and adding, "Oh wait, you can't! Ahahaha!"

Grimacing in frustration, Hana couldn't help but glance at Itachi once again. This time, his expression was entirely different, with wide eyes and a look of pure shock on his usually emotionless face as he listened to Monokuma's second story.

The bear then turned to Asuna and remarked, "You know, out of everyone here, I thought _you_ of all people would know something about what Ms. Tenmaru was dealing with. After all, you were her supposed 'best friend', weren't you?"

Asuna stared in horror, her eyes wide and her hands trembling as she tried to take in what he was saying. "N-No...! I...I never even considered...!"

"Wow, really? Huh- and here I thought friends knew each other so well..." Monokuma remarked, before adding, "Actually, that brings me to the next part of the story!"

"Now, even if her past trauma didn't hinder her becoming an Ultimate and acceptance into Hope's Peak, Kaneki was still dealing with the guilt of her beloved sister's death years later. And the great and powerful Monokuma suddenly appearing and trapping her and her classmates in this castle of mutual killing probably didn't help her damaged feelings," he stated, pacing about as he spoke. "But, amongst all the distrust and overshadowing threat of murder and death...there was something that gave her a sense of hope, a renewed sense of purpose."

The bear then turned straight to Asuna and said, "And that was: the strong friendship she had formed with a certain, abnormally tiny classmate- the Ultimate Gardener, Asuna Izumi!"

"The two of them had formed a rather strong bond thus far in the killing game, a relationship not too far off from a pair of siblings. And, while I can't account for Ms. Tenmaru's mindset leading up to her death, I can only imagine her friendship with Asuna likely improved that hole left behind by her sister's death. After all, it seemed like she had become a big sister again," Monokuma explained. "So, good on you, Ms. Izumi, for improving your classmate's emotional health!"

Before Asuna could properly respond, the robotic bear continued, "But then! The handsome, the dreadful Monokuma revealed the latest motive: the promise of escape for whoever graduated! Now, this may not have affected Kaneki in the slightest, and maybe not Asuna either- but it did affect one student. And that spark of murderous intent was aaaaaall it took for the beginning of the end. Isn't that right, Itachi?"

Itachi didn't respond, but his icy blue gaze drifted downwards, his hands starting to tremble more severely...

"Anyways, what really set Ms. Tenmaru off to a path of death was that threatening letter her dear friend had received. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out it was clearly something murderous- well, Ms. Izumi is an outlier I suppose- and to Kaneki, it was her worst nightmare come true," Monokuma stated. "Here she was, her dearest friend and sister figure being the target of a murder. If Mr. Kunata's plan went off as intended, then it would be like Yuna's death all over again. All those terrible emotions probably manifested right back into Ms. Tenmaru's mind...and she ultimately that she would _not_ let that happen. Nope- she would literally rather _die_ than allow history to repeat itself!"

* * *

 _"There's no way...no way I'm going to let that happen. Nobody's going to hurt Asuna, not while I'm still standing! That's what I promised her, what my job is as an older sibling! I failed Yuna...but I won't fail Asuna!"_

 _"It'll be different this time. I won't be afraid...I won't hesitate...I won't be a coward!"_

* * *

"And, well...I think you all know the rest of the story, don't you?" Monokuma asked, grinning wickedly.

Hana felt numb by all the information Monokuma had given to the class. Itachi's desire for redemption, Kaneki's overwhelming guilt...how could those two have been hiding so much darkness in them for so long? Itachi, strong and stoic; Kaneki, energetic and loyal; Monokuma was right, you couldn't judge a book by its cover, but the thought of someone like them dealing with so many issues seemed almost unrealistic to the Ultimate Surfer. Yet, deep in her heart, Hana knew Monokuma was being truthful; the two of them, Kaneki as well as Itachi, just couldn't let go of their ties to the outside...and in the end, it destroyed them both.

Monokuma let out another resounding laugh. "Aaah- hope to atone for the past, hope to create a better future. In the end, all it got these two was a one way ticket to the other side! This entire case was such a perfect storm, I couldn't have come up with a more despairing scenario if I tried!"

Hiroshi finally spoke up again, still in his usual calm way...but now there was a hint of a tranquil kind of fury to his voice. "Knock it off..."

"What, it's true! It was their hope that caused all of this!" Monokuma responded. "You know, if they had just given in to the darkness in their hearts instead, things probably could have been different! Holding on to hope led them down this dark path- but with despair, they wouldn't have had to worry about trying to atone for disgraceful fathers or a sister's death! So the moral of the story here is: there _are_ some benefits to despair, no matter what the critics say!"

"S...Stop it! Just- _stop it!"_ Hana shouted, a furious and frustrated growl erupting from her throat. "Just shut up already!"

Monokuma laughed again, responding to the surfer, "And what're you gonna do if I don't, stab me with that antenna on your head?"

Hana grit her teeth, having a million things to say to the bear...but there wasn't enough time in the world to voice them all.

"Whatever! I gave you all the full story, and you guys know the rest...so now we can put this all to a close!" Monokuma told the class. "It's time for-"

"W...Wait! Wait!" Shiro spoke up, breaking out of the stupor he had found himself in.

"No waiting! It's time for-" Monokuma began again.

"Wait!" Shiro insisted, completely cutting him off as the poet ran over to Itachi. "I-Itachi! I..."

Hana turned to the two, to see how Itachi would respond...but to her surprise, he was _still_ nearly catatonic, staring right down at the floor with his clenched fists still quivering.

"Itachi, how...how could you betray us like this!? I know what Monokuma said, I know why you committed the murder, but it...you didn't have to do any of this!" Shiro cried out, his voice cracking with sorrow. "We trusted you! _I_ trusted you, Itachi! I never once thought you'd do something so terrible! But you...you used me! You tricked me into helping you kill our classmate! And you...you deceived everyone! How could you do all that so easily!? The time we spent together...didn't it mean _anything_ to you!?"

At Shiro's words, Itachi finally looked up, turning his gaze towards the shorter young man.

Shiro looked down, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he choked out, "Was...Was it all just a lie...?"

Hana had no idea if Itachi would respond to him...but she found herself surprised once again when the Ultimate Weapons Expert responded, "No. That's...not true."

Shiro also seemed surprised by the response, quickly glancing upward towards Itachi.

"I..." Itachi began, as if trying to find the right words to reply with. "Everything that Monokuma said about me...my past...it's all true. And...that's precisely why I planned out this murder. Hearing that motive- it...stirred something in me. All of a sudden, there was a chance for me to accomplish what I had come to Hope's Peak to do. I...couldn't just ignore the motive."

"We know, Kunata, we just had a trial all about that," Akira responded, frowning.

"No, you don't understand..." Itachi responded, cringing. "I was planning out a murder...but through all of it, I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew I shouldn't go through with it, every fiber of my being was telling me not to do it. But still, I...I didn't listen. I tried to move past it, to remember my family- I tried to justify my actions in every way I could. But still...it was tearing me apart. My frustrations, my anger, my guilt, my deception..."

The Ultimate looked straight up towards the other students and added, "It was enough to drive a man mad."

"But...you still went through with it...?" Hana asked.

"I...did," Itachi confirmed. "I tried to swallow my feelings. For the sake of my plan...I had to."

"...So what changed?" Akira suddenly asked.

This seemed to catch Itachi off guard. "What...?"

"You planned this whole murder out to a T. Even when Tenmaru died instead of Izumi, you still attempted to improvise and salvage what you could," Akira explained, though her tone indicated she was not at all complimenting him. "And yet...it was precisely after the murder that you got sloppy, you made all these mistakes. You failed- and hesitation is what begets failure. So- what was it that made you hesitate to the point of making such errors?"

"...I just wanted my plan to go off without a hitch. By nighttime, I had finally mentally prepared myself for what would happen. I wanted Asuna to walk into that storage room, and...that would be the end of it," Itachi stated. "But...even that didn't happen. Because of Kaneki, even that didn't happen. At the time...I couldn't fathom why she was there. All I could focus on...was that my plan was in jeopardy. I...couldn't help myself, I...revealed myself, and we spoke."

"What? You and Kaneki talked to each other before the murder?" Hana quickly asked in shock.

"We did," Itachi confessed. "And...the conversation we had..."

* * *

 _"Kaneki...?" Itachi began, stepping out from behind the boxes he had been hiding behind.  
_

 _"I-Itachi?" Kaneki responded, swiftly turning around in shock to see the Ultimate._

 _"What are you doing in here?" Itachi asked, his eyes narrowing somewhat._

 _"Wha- I could ask_ you _the same question!" Kaneki responded, pointing at him in accusation._

 _"My business up here...isn't important," Itachi replied. "More importantly. I asked you first, didn't I?"_

 _"I..." Kaneki began, hesitant...but then narrowed her gaze towards her classmate. "Why are you being so dodgy with my question?"_

 _"Once again- irrelevant," Itachi stated, his calmness unwavering._

 _"You sure about that? Because I'm starting to think it's entirely relevant," the Ultimate Explorer told him with a glare. "Why are you up here?"_

 _"..." Realizing he didn't have a satisfactory answer, Itachi simply went silent._

 _"...Wait a second..." Kaneki muttered, before speaking up, "The reason you're up here...it was because of that note you sent to Asuna, isn't it?"_

 _Now that caused Itachi to snap to attention, his eyes widening as he quickly asked, "How...How do you know about that?"_

 _"Not important," Kaneki responded. "What is, though...you were the one who wrote that note, weren't you? You tried to lure Asuna in here with it, didn't you?"_

 _"That is...I..." the weapons expert began, his ice blue eyes darting back and forth. Kaneki couldn't see half of his face due to his bandanna, but his eyes told her everything she needed to know._

 _"No way...Itachi?_ You _were trying to-? You were going to-!?" the explorer stammered, shock and anger palpable in her voice. "Are you crazy!?"_

 _Kaneki' eyes blazed with fury as she demanded, "You were seriously planning out a murder!? That's not just stupid, it's_ suicide! _Did you forget what happened to Azami!? And you seriously thought you could pull off a murder of your own!? You're Itachi Kunata, you're supposed to be the reasonable stoic guy! Have you lost your mind completely!?"_

 _Before she could continue, the explorer took a deep, furious breath, as if to calm herself down. All the while, Itachi stood silent, not uttering a single word in response._

 _"...Okay. Okay, okay, okay," Kaneki said to herself, having returned to some state of levelheadedness. "Itachi...I don't know what you're thinking, or why you tried to do this. But...whatever's making you think like that, whether it's the motive or something else...this isn't the answer. You don't have to kill anyone, Itachi."_

 _"..." the Ultimate Weapons Expert still said nothing, his expression completely unreadable._

 _"Whatever's happening to you, murder is the worst thing you can do! Whatever it is, we can all figure it out, nobody has to die!" Kaneki insisted. "So...that's why I'm gonna ask you to just...call off whatever it is you're planning, okay? It's not hard, all you have to do is just go back to your room for the night, and everything will be fine."_

 _"..."_

 _"Look, I'll even...I won't even tell the others you were up here," the explorer added, trying to sound reassuring. "As long as you don't try to pull something like this again, I won't tell anyone you were up here. I'll just...say I was wrong about there being a murder threat. But if I do that, you cannot try this again, okay? A lot of people here trust you- I mean, just look at Shiro- and...I'm sure they'd be devastated if you were executed as a blackened."_

 _"..."_

 _"And...one more thing," Kaneki stated, her voice going low in an almost threatening tone. "If you_ ever _try to do something to hurt Asuna again, then you'll know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of this whip. Got it?"_

 _"..."_

 _Despite Itachi's silence, Kaneki assumed he had listened and understood what she had said, and turned to head towards the door that led out of the storage room..._

 _"...Who are you...to talk like you understand...?" Itachi asked, his voice low._

 _Kaneki stopped and turned back to him. "...Huh?"_

 _"You...You come in here...and you tell me to just 'give up'?" Itachi inquired, his tone enraged. "You think it's that simple...?"_

 _He took a threatening step forward; Kaneki took a step backwards, asking, "I-Itachi...?"_

 _"I...I have risked everything for this..." Itachi growled, his stature intimidating. "I have thrown my morals to the curb...I have damaged the trust of those who consider me a friend...and you say it's as simple as just 'call it off'?"_

 _Sensing the Ultimate's growing rage, Kaneki spoke up, "Hey, Itachi...! C-Calm down-"_

 _"You're right...you_ don't _know..." Itachi hissed...but then swiftly reached down and whipped out one of his two hunting knives, shouting, "You don't know ANYTHING!"_

 _Kaneki's face paled in terror as she saw the knife, and the Ultimate Explorer quickly said, "I-Itachi! Stop it, calm down!"_

 _"Do you think I don't know what I'm doing is wrong!? You think I'm an idiot!? That I don't know what I'm risking!?" Itachi demanded, his voice a combination of fury and desperation. "I do! I don't need_ you _to remind me! All I needed was for_ something _to go right! And you..._ you _ruined that! I was ready, and_ you _ruined it! Why did you come here!? Why couldn't you leave me in peace!?"_

 _"Itachi! Stop it, get a hold of yourself!" Kaneki pleaded, terrified of Itachi's behavior. Her eyes were moving back and forth between Itachi, the serrated knife, and the door leading to the study._

 _"Stop standing in my way..." Itachi hissed. He then raised the knife and lunged towards Kaneki, roaring, "STOP STANDING IN MY WAAAY!"_

* * *

"...In those last moments, I no longer saw my classmate. I saw...an obstacle. Someone who was trying to stop me from restoring my family's honor. In that moment, I let all my frustrations and stress consume me. All my mental preparation went out the window, I was fueled by fury...and I took it all out on her," Itachi concluded, his head lowered in shame. "And...you all know how the rest of the murder played out."

"So...you killed Kaneki because you snapped?" Hiroshi asked. "It wasn't an act to salvage your murder plan?"

"No, that...came after..." Itachi explained. "After Kaneki was...after I had..."

"...Something still isn't adding up. Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Akira asked, crossing her arms. "Surely it's not _just_ because you snapped at an inopportune time, right?"

"...Well, I should have known the Ultimate Prosecutor would be so perceptive," Itachi remarked. "Well, you're right. My loss of self-control was one thing, but...what truly stopped me, what brought me back to my senses..."

He hesitated, but then explained, "When I was young, my father and uncle taught me two rules: Never steal another man's blade, and _never_ turn your weapon against a friend during times of peace. I never truly understood the second rule, and I chalked it up to simple common sense. And whilst planning murder, I chose to ignore that second rule. I tried to justify it as, well, this was a killing game, not a time of peace- the incident between Mikio and Azami was proof of that. _Especially_ when I was trying to kill Kaneki, I didn't think about that rule. But...it was during those final moments, in the study, when I plunged the knife into her throat..."

Itachi stared down at the bandanna in his hand, a haunted look on his face as he explained, "I...I saw the look in her eyes as I made that killing blow. It was a look I've never seen before...it was shock, terror, confusion, pain, and betrayal, all mixed together. I...I realized the meaning behind that second rule. You don't turn against a friend, because they have faith that you won't turn against them. And if you do...they don't expect it, and it becomes betrayal of the highest caliber."

Itachi's face grew pale as he continued, "I saw that betrayal in her eyes as she died. And I was horrified- horrified at myself, at what I had done. I realized that...I had just killed my classmate. I had just killed my classmate. Even now, I'm _still_ haunted by that look. So, if you're wondering why I made so many mistakes after her death...that's why. Perhaps...a part of me _wanted_ to get caught and be punished for my actions."

"But if you felt so bad, then why didn't you just- you know, confess or something?" Ryoto asked.

"Because...even if there was some part of me that wanted to be found out, there was an even bigger part that knew I had to see this through. Whether that mean victory or defeat...I had to see this all through to the very end," Itachi explained. "Anything less, then...everything I had done would have been for nothing."

The Ultimate Weapons Expert went silent again, before letting out a long sigh and stating, "It's ironic, isn't it? I did all of this for the sake of honor. But now, after hearing Monokuma's story- I realize that, for Kaneki to sacrifice her life to save a friend, in an attempt to atone for her past...no doubt, she had more honor than I ever will."

"Itachi..." Hana said to herself, her gut starting to ache from her conflicting emotions. Itachi had killed her friend, and yet the remorse he felt for his actions was obvious...just how was she supposed to feel about all this?

"Puhuhu- well, if you're done talking, it's that time again!" Monokuma declared. "It's finally time for the ever-exciting, the always-exhilarating, eeeeexecution!"

"Hmph! Skip the dramatics, bear," Itachi growled at Monokuma. "Make no mistake, I will accept death as a fitting punishment. However, I will die on my own terms."

"Wuzzat?" Monokuma asked.

"Simple- I will die, but I will not die as you wish. I see now that there is only one way for me to die- and with that death, I will not only salvage whatever shred of honor I have left, but I will also die content that I will have wiped that smile right off your face," Itachi explained, his eyes closed thoughtfully and a small, knowing smile on his face. "And I can also go content that, when you die for you own crimes and we meet again in hell...that I can fulfill the vow that I couldn't keep in life. That is- slaying you myself, villain."

"Puhuhu...such bold words at the end! But you should know, that's what they all say- and despair always comes forward in the end," Monokuma warned him, his grin ever growing. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Itachi Kunata, the Ultimate Weapons Expert!"

"Everyone! Know that the time I spent with you all...I truly did cherish it!" Itachi shouted to the class. "That was no lie! And it is for that reason that what I did cannot be forgiven, nor can any form of apology undo my actions. That is why, at the very end, I shall allow my actions to speak for themselves as I fulfill the final duty of my ancestors!"

 _'Final duty...?' What does that mean?_ Hana asked herself.

"And...I know I have no right to ask you all of anything..." Itachi went on. "However, I have one final wish that I must ask of you all!"

"Huh? You want something from us?" Hinata asked in surprise.

"...What is it, Itachi?" Hiroshi asked, his facial expression not showing any form of anger or surprise.

"...Don't ever repeat my mistakes," Itachi told them. "Don't ever let a killing like this happen again. That...is my final request."

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma shouted, just as he had during Mikio's trial. "It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"..." Itachi reached up and tied his bandanna back around his face, covering his mouth and the wound from Kaneki's whip. And just like that...he never said another word to the class.

The same metal cube with the small screen and red button rose up from the ground, halting its ascent in front to Monokuma. He whipped out his gavel slammed it down on the button with gusto. A 'click' was heard, and the screen lit up with life; this time, it was an 8-bit version of Itachi standing in the center with pixel Monokuma walking over to him, then dragging him away offscreen as text appeared.

 _ **GAME OVER**_

 _ **Itachi has been found guilty.**_

 _ **Time for the punishment!**_

* * *

The scene on the TV monitor was very different from Azami's execution. The setting appeared to be a Roman Colosseum, with several thousand Monokumas in the stands yelling and cheering in anticipation. Monokuma himself- who was dressed in white and red robes with gold trim, not unlike an outfit a Roman emperor would wear- sat in an special box on one end, overlooking the ground below. As for Itachi, he stood in the center of the arena, not looking worried in the slightest.

Suddenly, the different gates on the ends of the Colosseum opened up, and Itachi's opponents revealed themselves. There were five robots with eyes resembling Monokuma's, menacingly making their way out into the arena: a gladiator robot with a pair of swords, a European knight robot with a sword and a shield, a cowboy robot with a revolver, a ground self-defense soldier with an assault rifle, and a viking robot with a battle axe. The five robots surrounded Itachi, their red eyes gleaming as the the audience roared in excitement.

 _ **Execution: Itachi Kunata's Battle Royale**_

Monokuma held his fist out, his thumb being pointed to the side...before he gave Itachi a resounding thumbs-down signal.

The first robot to move was the gladiator, brandishing its two blades as it sped towards the Ultimate Weapons Expert. Itachi swiftly pulled out his second and only remaining hunting knife- did he actually intend to fight his opponents?- and turned to face the robot. The gladiator swung at the young man, but he flawlessly blocked the blow with his knife. He then proceeded to weave his way towards the robot, block its 'wrist' with his free arm, and he swiftly disarmed the gladiator robot, its sword being flung to the side and the enemy being left with a singular blade.

Itachi then jumped back to put some distance between him and the gladiator, but now came the viking robot and the cowboy robot. The viking was the slower of the two, so the student had no trouble dodging its axe swings. However, the cowboy was taking careful aim, and it didn't take long for it to start firing away at Itachi. However, the Ultimate was resourceful, and he immediately began to dodge and weave his way around the arena towards the cowboy robot. All the while, the gladiator and viking bots were giving chase, forcing Itachi to block with his knife when necessary. The cowboy fired a second shot, then a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth...and then it realized it needed to reload. At that moment, Itachi sped forward and gave the robot a powerful kick, knocking it down.

Then, the soldier robot took careful aim, and prepared to open fire on the tired weapons expert. Realizing he wouldn't be able to dodge as effectively, Itachi looked around...and saw the knight robot running towards him with its sword ready to strike. Moving fast, Itachi weaved around and grabbed the knight, then forced it in front of him- right in the line of the soldier robot's fire (though it didn't destroy the knight, at least it kept Itachi from being filled with lead). However, it was clear he was becoming exhausted, and the five robots surrounded him once again, preparing to attack all at once. In spite of his plight...Itachi still looked calm. In fact, he then proceeded to sit down on the ground in some kind of cross-legged position, his eyes closed calmly. The five robots raised their weapons, ready to attack; Itachi held up his own hunting knife...but pointed it at himself, towards his stomach to be exact.

Just as the robots were about to unleash their deadly onslaught...Itachi tightened his grip on the knife, then drove the serrated blade deep into the left side of his abdomen.

The robots froze, but he wasn't done. Once he had dug the knife as deep into his gut as he could, Itachi then pulled the knife towards the right, creating a deep slice in his stomach in the process. It was clear the young man was in pain, but the weapons expert kept his composure regardless. Finally, the knife was freed from the other side of his abdomen, blood pouring out of the deep gash he had created. Itachi then fell over to the side, the blood-soaked knife clattering out of his hand and onto the ground. The five robots approached him, as if confused about what to do now.

As a massive puddle of blood formed around the young man, his fingers twitched for only a few moments before going still...and just like that, Itachi Kunata never moved again.

* * *

As the TV screen went black again, Hana was horrified by what she had seen. "W-W-What the-!?"

"Did...Did he just-!?" Hinata exclaimed, his face going pale with nausea.

"I...Itachi...!" Shiro cried out, his voice becoming choked up from shock.

"I-I cannot believe this...! He...He actually performed a seppuku...!?" Saku asked himself, just as shocked.

"W-What? What does that mean?" Rumi asked, appearing just as nauseated.

"I...learned about it in school," Hiroshi explained, sounding like he was struggling to keep his own composure. "It...was an ancient form of suicide, used by samurais as a form of atonement."

Suddenly, Itachi's words came rushing back to Hana. _He...said something about the 'final duty of my ancestors'...was this seppuku thing what he was talking about? Was he...planning on doing that from the beginning...? Or...did he only decide to do that after learning about why Kaneki tried to stop him...?_

"GRRAAAAR! Now I'm REEEALLY ANGRY!" Monokuma shouted in fury as he walked back into the courtroom, tearing the emperor clothing off. "Here I am, putting all this effort into making all these punishments for you all, and Mr. Kunata decides to go an SCREW WITH ALL OF IT! Didn't your parents ever teach you all to appreciate the things people do for you!?"

"Yeah, because we totally want personalized death traps, that's every teen's dream gift," Shiori remarked, though despite her sarcasm it was clear she was still perturbed by witnessing Itachi's suicide.

"Grr! Whatever! He's still dead, the blackened still got executed, I still win! Go me!" Monokuma shouted in response, turning his back to the class with a haughty 'hmph!'.

"But you didn't," Hiroshi told him, narrowing his gray eyes.

"...What," Monokuma responded, turning to him with a glaring stare.

"Itachi said he wouldn't die like you waned him to, and that he would wipe that grin off your face. And, well- he killed himself instead of letting you execute him, and you're pretty upset, clearly," Hiroshi explained, his tone completely composed. "So, yes, he still died...but in doing so, he got did he wanted to accomplish. So, you didn't quite win, Monokuma."

Hana's eyes went wide, concerned that Hiroshi was talking back to casually to Monokuma, who could execute him easily if he wanted to.

"Rrrgh...okay! Trial's done, now all of you get out of here!" Monokuma angrily shouted. "Otherwise, I'm gonna execute one of you to make up for that sorry excuse of a death!"

With that, Monokuma ran off and disappeared to parts unknown, leaving the class to deal with the aftermath.

Akira was silent for a few moments, then stated, "Well, it doesn't matter how he died- Kunata still committed murder, and I'm glad we were able to convict him. Although I still can't say I care for these 'punishments' of Monokuma's...what's done is done. There's nothing else for us here. Let's go."

This time, nobody had any objections to Akira- not even Hana, who was still reeling from all that had happened. The group started to make their way towards the exit, when someone spoke up.

"W-Wait...guys..." Shiro said, his voice cracking with grief as stared downwards. "You...You guys remember what else happened with the murder, right...? Itachi...he may have been the one who actually killed Kaneki, but...I was the one who locked the study door...s-so, I...I guess that makes me an accomplice, doesn't it...? I-If I hadn't locked the door, then...maybe Kaneki could have gotten, maybe...she could have lived...s-so if you think about it, I'm...I'm just as responsible for her death as Itachi, right...?"

Hana's eyes widened, and she was quick to respond, "N-No. Shiro, the murder, you didn't-"

"I...I participated, even if I didn't know it was a murder plot...I'm, still an accomplice..." Shiro insisted. "So that's why...I'm...to all of you, and- e-especially you, Asuna, I'm so..."

The Ultimate Poet looked up...and as he did, Hana could see the tears starting to run down his face. "I...I'm so sorry...!"

Unable to say anything else, the young man was the first to sprint out of the trial room and towards the elevator, away from everyone else.

Many of the other students looked around at each other, but at that point there was nothing anyone could do. Thus, the 80th Class made their way out of the room as well, Hana included. Her own pace was brisk at first, for the surfer wanted to be as far away from that room as possible. But then, halfway down the hallway, she stopped and looked around- someone other than Shiro wasn't with them.

Hiroshi passed by her and, noticing she had stopped, inquired, "Hana...? Something wrong?"

"Just...where's-" she began, but a quick look down the hallway was enough to answer her question. There, lingering by the door leading to the courtroom, was Asuna herself; the Ultimate Gardener was looking down, as if unable to keep moving.

Hana was about to walk down to go talk to her...but then, she noticed somebody was already in the process of doing that. To her shock, it was Akira of all students making her way back down the hallway towards her shorter classmate.

 _What the...? What's Akira doing?_ Hana wondered, concern growing. She took a few steps forward, wondering if she needed to intervene- but then, Hiroshi stepped in front of her slightly as if to stop her. The Ultimate Coroner glanced at Hana, then gestured to the side and walked over. Did Hiroshi intend to eavesdrop on their conversation? Despite her reservations, Hana followed, if only to make sure nothing adverse came from Akira speaking to Asuna.

"Izumi," Akira began as she approached the short girl.

"Gh-! O-Oh, Akira, I-" Asuna responded, wiping at her eyes as if attempting not to cry anymore.

"Hold it. Let's not drag this out too long, otherwise Monokuma might just punish us," Akira stated, holding up a hand to stop Asuna. "Now...I'm not usually one to say things like this, but when it's our literal lives on the line, I must admit I was wr-"

Akira physically grimaced, attempting to choke out, "I was wrr- I was wrrro-"

Asuna now looked more perturbed (and slightly concerned) than upset. "W-Wha...?"

Akira growled to herself, continuing, "Fine then! Words by themselves are meaningless anyways. That is why I will give you evidence of my apology."

Before Asuna could ask what the she meant, Hana saw the Ultimate Prosecutor take out...something, and handing it to the gardener.

Asuna seemed momentarily confused...but immediately, she and Hana both realized what it was Akira had presented to the Ultimate.

"Th-This is-!" the gardener gasped, staring down at the object in her hands. It was a fedora- but not just any fedora, it was Kaneki's. "Wh-Where did you-?"

"Where do you think? The crime scene. I took it with me, because I thought it might be evidence, but it would seem I was wr- er, mistaken about that too," the prosecutor explained. "And, well- I know how fond Tenmaru was of that hat, and I have a feeling Monokuma is going to dispose of everything from the crime scene just like he did with Nakamura's murder, which would likely include that hat. With this in mind...I figured that it would be better in your hands than anywhere else. I expect I don't have to tell you to take care of it, so..."

With that, Akira prepared to leave...only to notice Asuna remained rooted in place. The blonde girl was staring down at her dear friend's fedora, tears starting to from in her eyes, though it was clear she was trying her hardest to suppress any sobs.

"...If you're going to cry, then do it, there's no shame in it," Akira told her with a short, almost irritated sigh.

"Wh-What...? B-But I thought you-" Asuna began.

"Make no mistake, it's the killers I have no sympathy for. And I wasn't close to Tenmaru either, so you won't exactly see me losing sleep over her death," Akira remarked. "However...I know that death in any form is unfair- murder being the most unfair of all. So, to feel grief is natural, I've seen it all the time in the cases I've worked. But no matter what, do not let those feelings overtake you- you'll only be hindering yourself if you do."

"..." Asuna went silent, as if taking in Akira's words...before sniffling, clutching the fedora closer to her chest, and running off towards the elevator.

Hana stood, dumbfounded by what she had just witnessed. Akira giving such advice to somebody? Never in her wildest dreams did Hana envision such a scenario. She looked towards Hiroshi to see if he was just as surprised...but, he wasn't, based on his countenance. He had that same calm smile on his face, that same knowing look in his eyes...and to the surfer's greater shock, Hiroshi walked out from their hiding spot _towards_ Akira.

"Akira- that was some fine advice you gave to Asuna," Hiroshi remarked as he approached.

"Ashi!? What are you still doing here?" Akira demanded, surprised. "Were you eavesdropping on that conversation?"

"Heh, I was- well, _we_ were," Hiroshi explained, gesturing to where Hana was. The moment she and the prosecutor made eye contact, Hana froze up from fear and tired to communicate to Akira that this was all, in fact, Hiroshi's idea.

Akira growled somewhat, then told them, "Understand that it wasn't out of any care for Izumi. I was simply trying to right my error- and I imagine Koichi isn't going to be in the best of situations tomorrow, the last thing we need is Izumi having some kind of crisis as well."

"Likely story. Or...could it be you know more about sentimentalism than you let on?" Hiroshi guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"Tch...! Believe what you want- we've wasted enough time here. Best not to keep the others waiting," Akira remarked, before sending a resentful glance at Hana and growling, "Amari."

With that, Akira walked off. Hiroshi glanced at Hana and stated, "That sounds like a good idea. Come on, before the elevator leaves without us."

"Y-Yeah, good idea," Hana replied, following the coroner to the fountain-turned-platform.

Nobody said anything through the ride back up to the surface. If anyone was wondering about Asuna suddenly being in possession of Kaneki's hat, they didn't vocalize their thoughts. Thus, the class kept silent, left to grapple with their own thoughts about all that had happened; and that's how the elevator ride remained as the class left the trial room behind, left it with one less student than they had entered with.

* * *

Back in her room, Hana didn't waste much time getting into her pajamas, throwing her e-Handbook on the desk, and flopping down onto the bed. The ride up the elevator and the walk back to her bedroom gave her all the time in the world to try and sort through her thoughts. Overall, she had failed to do that, but it did allow her to come to one conclusion.

 _If...If we had just known what Kaneki and Itachi were feeling and going through...could we have prevented all this...? Didn't they know they had people here who cared about them? Who would_ still _care about them, even if we knew the truth about their pasts?_ Hana asked herself, feeling her eyes starting to sting. Once again, she recalled the final conversation she had with Kaneki (which she now realized was mere _minutes_ before her death).

* * *

 _"Nothing to- you act weird all day, the day after Monokuma announced that motive, and you expect me to not be worried!?" Hana practically yelled, putting her hand on the explorer's shoulder to make sure she didn't walk away prematurely. "Did you forget what happened with Mikio and Azami? Azami was scared, she was freaked out by that first motive- and because of that, because we didn't even see how scared she was, Mikio died! Azami was executed!"_

* * *

 _"Look, I don't think you're planning a murder, but...I don't want something like that to happen again! I don't care if I have to pester you all night, I am not losing anyone like that again!" Hana insisted, her hands shaking a bit as she spoke._

* * *

Hana started to tremble from guilt, grief, and frustration- all she could do was wonder what she or the others could have done differently to prevent this murder. _Kaneki, Itachi, I'm...I'm so sorry...! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_

The Ultimate Surfer buried her face in her pillow, the fabric muffling her grieving sobs (not that it needed to, since the room was soundproof anyways). Everything she had felt in the aftermath of the first trial resurfaced tenfold, and with those feelings Hana's sobs only intensified. Two more students, two more friends were gone; the group had, for the most part, vowed to not kill again, but they failed at that goal. The sorrow was almost suffocating, growing the more she thought about what had happened. All she could do was think about what could have been done differently, so many things that could have been done differently...

 _Bleep...bleep...bleep..._

Hana looked up again, her vision somewhat blurry from the tears. _What the...? Wait, I've heard that before, that's from..._

Attempting to regain her composure and standing, she walked over to where she had tossed her e-Handbook. Taking he device and sitting down on the bed, the Ultimate's suspicions were confirmed; just as before, the handbook's screen was flashing green, but that swiftly changed as it turned to black. Then, seconds later, another block of odd code-like text flashed across the screen, before being replaced with actual words in green:

 _ **Hello again, Hana. It likely hasn't been too long, only a few days based on how long I programmed these messages to appear. But still, since these messages are pre-written and pre-programmed, I have no idea what's been happening with you and the others. And, with the nature of this damned game, I fear that something may have already happened to a few of them. But maybe I'm wrong, and maybe all of you are still alive? Either way, I'm sure you're doing a great job at trying to figure out how to escape, as best as you can with what limited resources you guys have. Now, this message is going to give you something more. With luck, it'll be the kick you need to know how to end this killing game. If not- it'll still be a step in the right direction. Don't give up, Hana, there's still hope. You can end this all, and hopefully I'll succeed in helping you reach that goal.**_

 _ **All you have to do is remember everything.**_

 _ **Remember the class.**_

 _ **Remember your own role.**_

Upon finishing this new message, Hana barely had time to even think about being confused before a file of some kind appeared at the bottom of the text. Her curiosity overtaking her, the surfer opened the file; it apparently contained images, photos of some kind...but what was on the photos would rock Hana to her very core.

The first picture that popped up alone was enough to send her reeling. It seemed to have been taken in a hallway, one that wouldn't look out of place in a school- but most shocking of all were the people in the photo. There were three people, all girls, and Hana recognized them instantly- Kaneki, Asuna, and Azami. They stood together in the hallway, Kaneki having wrapped one arm around her two companions in a half-hug and seeming waving at the unseen photographer with her other arm. Meanwhile, Azami gave a cheerful grin towards the camera while Asuna's glasses were somewhat askew from being pressed between her two taller friends, but she too was smiling at the camera regardless. Hana also noticed their outfits were somewhat different; Kaneki still had her fedora, Azami still had her cloak, Asuna still had her hairpin, but all three of them now wore some kind of brown uniform...was that the Hope's Peak insignia imprinted on the breast pocket of each uniform?

Hana scrolled to the side to see the next picture, but this one didn't make her any less dumbfounded. This time, there were four people in the shot (which appeared to have been taken outside): Hinata, who seemed to be running away with an amused laugh and carrying several items with him; Mikio and Itachi, who were both furiously chasing after the Ultimate Thief; and Shiro, who was watching all of this from the side with a laugh of his own, as if whatever was happening was completely normal. Just like the previous picture, aside from a few modifications (Hinata's scarf, Itachi's longcoat, and Mikio's tie), these four were also wearing identical brown uniforms with the Hope's Peak symbol on the breast pocket.

And each picture after these two would show more of the same- several pictures, almost a dozen, all depicting a few or even all of the students from the 80th Class together in some fashion. Hana even saw herself in a good portion of the photos...but how was that possible? She had no memory of taking any of these photos, and the behavior of the other students didn't indicate any of them knew each other prior to a few days ago, so she doubted they would know anything about these pictures either. And yet...surely these couldn't be fake, right? Hana thought the simplest thing to do would be to declare these pictures as fake...however, something in her mind and her gut told her she couldn't do that.

But there was one aspect of the pictures that confused Hana the most...and it was confirmed in the final picture of the compilation. There were only two people in the photo, taken in some kind of cafeteria: Hana herself, with her necklace and that same uniform...and a second girl, one who was a total stranger to her. She too wore that identical uniform, though in addition to this she had a bracelet on her left wrist with some kind of circuit design on it. As for her appearance, she had green hair tied into a large ponytail, with the tips of her messy bangs and a singular lock of her hair having been dyed some kind of bright blue color. A pair of purple eyes faced the camera, the girl grinning and flashing up a peace sign with her other hand on Photo-Hana (who was also cheerfully grinning at the camera)'s shoulder.

No matter how long she stared at the picture, nothing changed. Hana could feel...something nagging at the back of her mind regarding this mysterious girl. No, not just her, but all of the photos- a good portion of which included the green-haired girl. But aside from her, all of the photos were odd; Hana was certain she'd remember taking those photos, and those outfits...were those school uniforms? But that couldn't be possible, she and the others had never gotten a chance to set foot in Hope's Peak Academy- so where did those photos come from?

 _...Why...can't I have a normal night for once...?_ Hana longingly asked herself as she set the e-Handbook down. Her thoughts regarding the deaths of her classmates were still lingering, but they were now joined by all her questions about the new message. Who had tampered with her e-Handbook in the first place? What was the meaning of 'Remember your own role'? Just what were those pictures?

And most of all...who was that green-haired girl she saw in the pictures with the rest of the 80th Class?

 **Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 11**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

 **A/N: Well...there you go, folks. That's the end of Chapter 2, and boy I hope it was as much a ride for you guys as it was for me. Honestly, this particular chapter has a special place in my heart, and not just because Kaneki and Itachi were two of my earliest DR characters. No, this case specifically was actually the first murder case I thought up back when this story was just a little seed in my mind. Now of course, it has changed DRAMATICALLY since then (it _has_ been a while) into the case you see today, and...you know, I could write an essay, _several_ essays on this chapter, but there's not enough time to do that- so for now, know this is probably one of my favorite cases of the story, and I'm all the more happy I could finally get it all down in writing after all this time.**

 **But now, what's next? Well, the start of Chapter 3, at long last! Not gonna say too much about it, so just wait for the first part to arrive, whenever that may be! Don't worry, Fractured Fates won't go on hiatus like it did in between Chapters 1 and 2, the update schedule won't be any more strange than it already is! So, leave a review if you want, and I eagerly hope to see you here next time for the start of Chapter 3!**

 **And in the meantime...I'm gonna go cry over my two dead faves. Rest in peace, you two- rest in peace.**


	20. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 1)

**A/N: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! Welcome one and all, to the newest chapter of Fractured Fates! Now I know what you're thinking- "X, you said you wouldn't go on another hiatus, you lying goat!" Well here's the thing, I wasn't exactly on hiatus; I _have_ been working on this new chapter these past few weeks, believe you me. Thing is, I've just been...slow. At first, it was just me being slow and trying to get back in the groove of writing Daily Life. But then, to add to that, came the age-old enemy of all teen fanfic writers- school and the work that comes with it. And the stress- lots...of...stress... But in spite of all that, here I am, alive and writing!**

 **And now, here we are- a brand new chapter! Now, I'll be frank, I'm fully aware of the whole thing about Chapter 3 tending to be the weakest in murder mystery stuff, especially in Danganronpa. However! Like the chapter before, I put quite a bit of thought into this chapter and its eventual murder, so even if it's not everyone's favorite case, I'm certain it'll be better than...certain other Chapter 3 cases from the canon games (looking at you SDR2).**

 **So, without further ado, let's begin! The third chapter of Fractured Fates begins...now!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ No worries, I took my sweet time with this one for some reason. New chapter, have to get back in the groove of writing Daily Life stuff, maybe...?**

 **Anyways! Yes, it's confirmed, Akira has a heart! How long it'll last...who knows. And as for the prediction, those are some very big extremes- not that I'll confirm either of them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Daily Life (Part 1)**

 _Ding ding, bing bong_

Another morning arrived. Monokuma's high-pitched voice rang out from the monitor, announcing the end of nighttime and the start of "another luxurious day". Then, as quickly as it had began, the monitor went completely silent yet again. By all appearances, it was a typical morning inside the castle; but Hana knew better. The day after a trial, after two more classmates ended up dead...what could possibly be normal about that?

Upon being awoken by the morning announcement, Hana found herself in the opposite situation than the one she had been in following Mikio's trial; instead of suffering from a distinct lack of sleep, the surfer now felt as though she had been unconscious for a year. Her eyelids felt heavy- no, not just her eyelids, her entire body felt as though there was a giant weight forcing it down on the bed. By no means did Hana want to leave her room; another friend was dead, and she had a hand in the execution of a second. How could she go and have a normal day after everything that had happened?

"..." As she lay in her bed, thoughts about past events swirling around in her mind...she remembered what Hiroshi had told her the morning after that first, terrible trial.

* * *

 _"Of course- Hana, we need to be together on this more than ever. A murder's already happened- for the sake of who we've lost, we cannot let another one happen."_

* * *

 _"Hana...I only knew so much about Mikio, and even less about Azami...but I'm sure they were good people at heart. And those two wouldn't want you to just...give up like this. If we give in here- if you give in, then that'll just make their deaths completely meaningless. That's why, no matter how long it takes, you can't let that happen."_

* * *

Even now, though the Ultimate Coroner wasn't there to say these things to her in person this time, his words still resounded within her. Deep down...Hana knew he was right; this was no different from the aftermath of the first trial, everyone was on edge or grieving, and that's why they needed to stay strong. No, it was even more important now- because now, two murders had happened, and there was no way Hana wanted to let a _third_ one happen. For that reason, as well as for the sake of those who had died (no longer just Mikio and Azami, but now Kaneki and Itachi as well), the Ultimate Surfer knew she had to get out of bed.

With a soft, almost pained groan, Hana dragged herself out of bed to get ready; today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Once she was ready, Hana took a breath to steady herself as she opened the door to exit her room-

-and she almost walked right into a certain black-haired coroner, who was standing almost right outside the door, his hand raised as if he was about to knock.

"Ah-! Hana?" Hiroshi stated, surprised.

"H-Hiroshi?" Hana also yelped, just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I- was about to check up on you, actually," Hiroshi explained. "But, it looks like you're doing just fine."

"Ahaha, uh...more or less..." Hana responded, attempting to sound reassuring. "I'm just trying to follow the advice you gave me before. You know, about...not giving up and all."

Hiroshi appeared momentarily surprised that the girl had remembered what he had told her- however, as quickly as it had appeared, this look disappeared and was replaced with his typical calm smile. "Well, I'm definitely glad to hear it. Here's hoping the others feel the same way."

Hana nodded in agreement- though in her mind, she felt far less confident than Hiroshi probably thought she was. _Okay, okay, stay strong Hana, you're not the only one upset by what happened yesterday, just walk to the dining hall and-_

However, as soon as she stepped into the main chamber, her train of thought was derailed when Hana found herself ambushed by a hand suddenly grabbing her and pulling her to the side. "Gah-!?"

"Hana! Oh thank god you're awake, and you don't look all sad or anything!" a certain Ultimate Scuba Diver joyfully said upon getting a good look at Hana.

"O-Oh! Rumi! Hi there!" Hana greeted her friend.

"Good morning," Hiroshi said to her as well. "Were you waiting here for us?"

"Not you, just Hana," Rumi told him rather bluntly. "I've been here waiting for everyone, so we can all go down to breakfast! I'm here, Shiori's waiting by the hallway, and now you're here! So now I'm just waiting on Asuna!"

"Well, that's nice, but...why?" Hana asked, glancing down at Rumi's hand, which was still firmly planted on Hana's arm.

"'Why'? Two of our friends are dead, and you ask me 'why'?" Rumi responded, sounding almost insulted.

"I'm...going to leave you two to handle this," Hiroshi told them, already making his way back down the hallway (resulting in Hana giving him a little glare that seemed to say "Thanks a lot"). The coroner then looked around and asked, "Hey, Rumi...have you actually seen anyone else around?"

"Nope. Kinda weird, since the announcement was a little bit ago, but maybe everyone's a little slow this morning?" Rumi suggested, glancing at the boy with her blue eyes.

"Well, that's understandable. I'll be looking around then, see if I can't find anybody else," Hiroshi told the two girls, before walking away.

"Now then! As I was saying..." Rumi started again, before grabbing Hana's other arm with her other hand, her blue gaze turning hard. "Hana! We've lost Azami, and now we've lost Kaneki too! That means we have to stick together more than EVER now! Understand? We are NOT going to let Monokuma get the better of us again, we WILL stick together as friends, and we WILL move past this for the better! All of us, everyone in the class, we are UNITED! Understand!?"

"I-I-If I say yes will you stop trying to crush my arms?" Hana asked fearfully, Rumi's grip having become deathly.

"Deal!" the blue-haired girl replied, immediately releasing the surfer, who winced at the soreness in her arms. Who knew Rumi could have such a strong grip? And be so terrifying? However, Hana figured it was likely a result of Rumi still reeling from everything that had taken place yesterday, so she couldn't be too angry with the Ultimate for her erratic behavior.

At that moment, a third student walked over to them- it was Shiori, who was looking less than pleased at her two classmates. "Hey- are you two just going to keep standing here and wasting time, or are we going to the dining room?"

"What? But we need to wait for Asuna! I haven't seen her yet!" Rumi insisted.

"How do you know she'll even want to come? You two saw what happened yesterday, she's probably too down to come out of her room today," Shiori pointed out with a frown.

"But- that's all the more reason she should be with us! I don't want her to think we forgot about her!" Rumi responded.

"And _I_ don't want to go another minute without some _fucking_ caffeine in my system," Shiori growled in irritation. "Look, if Asuna decides to show up, she knows where the dining room is, and we'll be there! It's fine, now can we go?"

"Er, maybe we should listen to her?" Hana suggested. She didn't want to leave Asuna behind either, but there was no denying Shiori was terrifying when she was in need of coffee.

"I...guess," Rumi conceded, sighing sadly. "Who knows, maybe she's already there and she was just early? That's why I didn't see her?"

The three girls made their way towards the hall leading to the dining room, and Hana remarked to Shiori, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you so eager to go to a breakfast meeting, Shiori."

"Don't call it eagerness, I just couldn't sleep at all last night, so that's why I need some coffee to function," the Ultimate Surgeon explained. "Believe me, if it weren't for that- and, you know, Rumi probably not letting me hear the end of it- I'd skip out on the meeting altogether."

"Huh?" Hana responded, surprised. However, before she could ask the Ultimate any further, the three of them stopped. Now that they were closer to the dining hall, they could hear something coming out of the room in question. It sounded almost like...shouting? Not to mention, the voice that was doing the shouting, it sounded familiar to Hana- a little _too_ familiar.

"Hey...doesn't that sound like...?" Hana began, turning to the other two girls.

"That...no, no, there's no way," Shiori responded confidently. "There's no way that's-"

"..." Unable to finish their thoughts, the three swiftly made their way to the dining room. As they got closer, the shouting became more clear, and their was no denying who the voices belonged to...

But upon entering the room itself, Hana and her friends would witness a scene even stranger than they could have ever imagined.

There, standing on the dining room table and shouting as loudly as she could...was the Ultimate Gardener, Asuna Izumi. But Hana immediately noticed something was very, _very_ different about her; her blonde hair was somewhat disheveled, her glasses were nowhere to be seen, her eyes were dark (a clear indication that she hadn't gotten _any_ sleep since yesterday) and had this strange...energy about them, and the red tie on her uniform wasn't done properly at all. Her entire demeanor and stature was completely different; if this were a shonen anime, Hana wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of energy aura surrounding Asuna.

"WHAT DO YOU KEEP FREAKING OUT FOR!? I...I'M STRONGER THAN EVER, AND I'LL SHOUT IT FROM _ALL_ THE ROOFTOPS _EVER!"_ the short gardener practically howled- hearing that voice shout with such force was something Hana never thought she'd hear, and frankly it just sounded...wrong to her.

"I don't care if you plan on shouting it from the top of Mt. Everest, get your filthy shoes off the table!" Tadao furiously demanded. "A gardener like you, who knows where those feet of yours have been!"

"MY- MY FEET ARE FINE! YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM TRYING TO GET MY MESSAGE ACROSS!" Asuna shouted right back.

"No, but he can stop you from waking up everyone in this damned castle with your incessant shrieking," Akira refuted, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Finally, Hana, Shiori, and Rumi could no longer contain their utter bewilderment.

"What," Rumi began.

"The," Shiori continued.

"FUCK!?" Hana yelped in conclusion, summing up all their confusion with her shout.

The three suddenly took notice of the trio of newcomers. Tadao was the first to acknowledge them, stating, "You! You're friends with Izumi- can you actually control her, please?"

"W-What's even happening!?" Rumi asked.

"Well, Rimutsu and I were the first ones here, and as I was about to go to the kitchen, Izumi entered in her current state, jumped onto the table and, despite there being literally only two people in the room, starting howling at the top of her lungs all kinds of nonsense," Tadao explained, glaring at the gardener in question.

"NONSENSE!?" Asuna shouted angrily.

"A-Asuna...? What's going on with you?" Hana asked her. "You look like- a-and your talking like- a-and your eyes, they-"

"What? You're talking like something's wrong- and NOTHING'S WRONG!" Asuna shouted, jumping off the table and approaching Hana. " _I'M_ FINE! _EVERYTHING'S_ FINE!"

 _"Nothing_ about this is fine!" Shiori insisted, completely taken aback by what they were witnessing.

"Y-You're not acting like yourself at all! This is too weird!" Rumi cried.

"STOP WORRYING, THIS ISN'T WEIRD!" Asuna told them, the crazed look in her eyes intense. "This is me...A NEW ME! I'M A NEW ME! A _BETTER_ ME, A _STRONGER_ ME!"

"This is better!?" Hana yelped.

"OF COURSE IT IS! I...I'M NOT GONNA LET ANYTHING GET THE BETTER OF ME AGAIN! NOT MONOKUMA, NOT SOME MURDERER, NOTHING!" Asuna declared. "NOBODY CAN BRING ME DOWN NOW! NOTHING CAN! NOTHIIIIIIIING!"

With that war cry, Asuna practically sprinted out of the dining room and down the hallway to parts unknown, leaving everyone inside either frustrated or completely bewildered.

"..." Hana didn't know if there were any words that could describe what they had just witnessed. One thing was for sure- never in a million years would she have imagined kind, anxious Asuna acting like... _that._

"...En...Enlighten me, is a complete personality change one of the seven stages of grief...?" Shiori asked, sounding almost dazed.

Tadao scoffed. "Well I don't know what's gotten into her all of a sudden, but if she messes up the table one more time, I'm holding all four of you responsible!"

With a haughty 'hmph', the Ultimate Waiter turned on his heel and disappeared into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Hana could see Akira visibly scowling in frustration towards the end of the table, muttering something to herself.

"..." Rumi kept silent for a few moments, but then burst into tears and sobbed, "O-Our group is falling apaaaart!"

"Wha-!? H-Hey! What happened to 'we'll stick together as friends'?" Hana asked the scuba diver in shock.

"I didn't think it'd be _this_ bad! I just thought it would be regular grieving depression, but this? Asuna's gone off the deep end, it's over!" Rumi wailed.

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Hana asked, grimacing. "It's probably just- just- a coping mechanism!"

"I...don't know, Hana, this seems like a bit more than your average coping mechanism," Shiori responded, frowning.

"Still! It could be so much worse!" Hana insisted, her frustration starting to boil. "She could be- I dunno, claiming to be a fusion of her spirit and Kaneki's!"

"Okay I admit, _that_ would be even worse- but all the same, you can't deny Asuna's state of mind is a bit...cracked at the moment," Shiori told her.

"But still! I-I don't think we should just _give up_ on her, you know?" Hana responded.

"Hey, I never said that! Trust me, I don't want to see Asuna like this either," Shiori insisted. "Thing is though, I...don't really know how to go about really fixing this. Me, I'm a surgeon, I deal with matters of the body, not the mind. We can certainly try to help her, but whether it'll actually do anything for her, I...can't say."

"I don't want to either! B-But Shiori's right, none of us are...we're not therapists...and we certainly can't bring Kaneki back..." Rumi sadly stated, sniffling. "Oooh, why can't things be simple...? Why...?"

Rumi went to go sit down, while Shiori went off to go find some coffee (not that she needed it as much anymore- witnessing Asuna's outbursting had been woken her up plenty), ultimately leaving Hana by herself.

That changed soon enough as Hiroshi entered the dining hall, along with several other students. Noticing Hana, he walked over and asked, "Hey...Hana? Is there...any reason in particular why I saw Asuna running through the main chamber, screaming at the top of her lungs like she's about to fight somebody?"

"..." Hana glanced at Hiroshi, then gave a defeated sigh and responded, "She's...trying to cope...?"

* * *

Soon, a good portion of the rest of the class had joined the group in the dining hall. Overall, they didn't look as terrible as they had the morning after Mikio's trial, yet Hana could still see some traces of sleep deprivation and overall gloom amongst the majority of them. She supposed that was an inevitability- two more classmates had died, who wouldn't be at least somewhat upset (Akira and Tadao notwithstanding)? The four permanently empty seats (plus a fifth due to Asuna's absence) serving as a constant reminder certainly did nothing to improve the moral of the students...

"Hm...has anyone seen Koichi?" Akira asked, looking around and spotted a sixth empty chair.

"The guy's probably still asleep," Hinata guessed, shrugging. "If anyone here would be too tired to show up, it'd be him."

"Well, Asuna too, but she's more on the crazy side right now, isn't she?" Ryoto asked.

"'Crazy' is a strong word. She's going through a lot- they both are," Hiroshi told him. "Losing a close friend so brutally will do that."

"And what if one of those 'friends' was a murderer?" Akira pointed out, frowning. "Personally, I believe Koichi is better off forgetting about Kunata- it's not healthy to think about someone willing to take a life like that."

Shiori scoffed, muttering to herself, "Yeah, easy for _you_ to say, not like you were friends with him or anything..."

Hana furrowed her brow, watching the surgeon's scowling gaze towards Akira. _Is it...just me, or does Shiori seem a lot more...angry with Akira today...? I definitely don't like those looks she's giving her..._

Then, Hana noticed something out of the corner of her eye- someone else was coming into the dining room. Several others took notice as well, and turned their attention to the room's entrance accordingly; this would result in a good number of students being extremely shocked as to who walked through the doorway.

"..." the student said nothing, simply standing unresponsive in the doorway for a few moment, allowing Hana to see that it was none other than the Ultimate Poet, Shiro Koichi. Like Asuna, he looked different, but the poet appeared to be a separate type of different. His silver hair was utterly disheveled, as was his jacket and other clothing (as if he had just haphazardly thrown them on), his eyes were just as dark and tired as Asuna's (though instead of madness, Shiro's silver eyes were filled with deep sorrow), and he wasn't even carrying his familiar notebook and pen with him.

At first, nobody who noticed Shiro said anything, for they were probably too surprised to react right away.

"..." Hana, realizing nobody else would, broke the silence and greeted Shiro, "H-Hey there, Shiro! Good morning!"

"..." the poet said nothing, not even giving Hana a glance of acknowledgement. He simply trudged over to an empty seat, one that was more away from the others, and sat down without another word.

"...So, uh, Shiro," Saku began, his tone friendly. "It is another beautiful day out, perhaps you would like to write about it?"

"..." Shiro didn't look up, keeping his broken gaze towards the table.

"...Hey, Shiro! I think Monokuma's fixed up the study by now, maybe heading there'll help you feel better?" Rumi suggested with a reassuring smile.

"..." Even that was not enough to arouse a reaction from the boy, and his silver gaze was kept downwards.

"Oh, leave Koichi be," Akira told them, frowning. "If he refuses to make an effort to move forward for the better, then it's not your problem."

"N-Not our problem? But he's our classmate, and- look at him!" Hana insisted. "We shouldn't just-"

"I said, it's not anyone's problem," Akira repeated with a glare. "If he wants to wallow in his own sadness, there's only so much we can do."

Hana was about to respond, but the Ultimate Prosecutor's glare quickly deterred her from any further arguing.

And so, no other incidents occurred from between then and when Tadao brought out the food. Shiro's depression was one thing, but no matter how much Hana hoped, Asuna did not return to partake in the breakfast meeting. The surfer, upon realizing this fact, sighed and turned her gaze downwards towards the food. _Why did my talent have to be sports-based? Why couldn't it be psychology based? Then maybe I'd actually be able to_ do _something for Asuna and Shiro..._

"Shimaru, don't head back into the kitchen yet," Akira said to the waiter.

"And why's that? Don't tell me you want me to test the food again," Tadao replied, frowning.

"No, it's not that. We need to discuss what our next move is, especially if today will be anything like the aftermath of Nakamura's trial," Akira explained.

"What does that mean?" Ryoto asked, looking up from the food he was devouring.

"Do any of you remember what Monokuma told us the morning after the first trial?" Akira asked. "He hinted at the idea that, should we survive more class trials, then more parts of the castle would be opened up to us."

"Ah, I see. So you believe that, since we've had a second trial now, another new area has been opened to us?" Saku surmised.

"Precisely. Which means we need to explore it as soon as we can, seeing as how there may be new clues to help us escape this place," the Ultimate Prosecutor went on. "And so, that's what we'll be focusing on today. Figuring out what has been opened up to us, and exploring accordingly to find clues to our situation."

Hana heard someone slowly scowling nearby, and she immediately saw the source was none other than Shiori. The Ultimate Surgeon was glaring furiously at Akira, her grip on her mug so tight that Hana was afraid she might break it.

"Seriously...? After everything that happened yesterday, you still think you have a right to boss us all around!?" Shiori snapped at the prosecutor.

Several students appeared shocked by her outburst, and Akira responded, "...Excuse me, Sauchi?"

"Your _great_ deduction skills almost got us all killed! You almost got Asuna convicted for a murder she didn't even commit, which would have gotten the rest of us executed for being wrong!" Shiori told her. "Hell, that's probably part of the reason Asuna's acting off now! Not only did her friend die, but you wouldn't stop thinking she did it!"

Akira narrowed her eyes somewhat, responding, "I admit my deductions were...flawed. But that's passed now, the real killer was found, despite all that."

"No no, you can't just skim over that! You said it yourself, our lives were on the line, and you wouldn't listen to anyone else until Hana and Hiroshi poked through your theory!" Shiori shouted, growing increasingly frustrated. "What kind of fucking leader are you!? You don't trust anyone, you don't care about anyone here- you don't even care that Asuna and Shiro have basically lost it!"

"Izumi's condition is none of my concern, it's not my fault that she's allowing her feelings to run wild," Akira responded sharply. "And Koichi? Koichi is mourning a _murderer."_

"That's what I'm talking about! Look, I hate what those two did as much as you do, I would never condone murder, but you're not even trying to think about the others!" Shiori yelled. "Even if Itachi-"

Shiro let out a sorrowful groan, lowering his head onto the table.

Shiori stared for a moment, before repeating, "Even if Itachi-"

Shiro let out another cry of grief upon hearing his friend's name.

"...Even if, uh, The-Student-Who-Shall-Not-be-Named did kill someone, he was still friends with Shiro, so of course the guy would be upset too! Even I get that, and I'm not even a therapist!" the surgeon retorted.

Akira appeared increasingly angered, growling, "Oh? So what are you saying Sauchi, that you'd make a better leader than me?"

"No, but I am saying I can think of a bunch of others who I'd prefer to see in your place," Shiori growled. "Like, you know- Saku! He's basically one of the only sane guys left in this group."

"E-Excuse me?" Saku yelped, surprised. "No no no, I appreciate your faith in me, but I could never be a leader! My physique aside, I have no qualities of a leader at all, so I could never take Akira's place."

Shiori narrowed her eyes in annoyance before next suggesting, "Well, what about Hiroshi, or hell, even Hana! It was thanks to them that we got as far as we did in the last two trials, and _they_ actually care about people!"

"What!? N-No! You guys don't want me as leader, I can't be taken seriously!" Hana quickly insisted, panicked. Why did Shiori have to drag her into this argument? She wasn't too fond of Akira either, but she wasn't about to try and take her place as leader!

"And I'm flattered too, Shiori, buuut I'm not much of a leader type myself," Hiroshi responded much more calmly. "Besides- despite her...um, flaws, I think Akira's done a decent job as leader so far. She's the only one who's been able to keep us organized so well thus far, and she knows what needs to be done. Shiori, maybe you should give her another chance?"

Akira and Shiori both gave the coroner a glare- the former probably because she didn't appreciate Hiroshi defending her, and the latter likely because she wasn't happy with the young man defending the prosecutor.

Akira turned to the rest of the class and asked, "Does anyone else concur with Sauchi's complaints?"

"..." Hana herself wasn't too fond of Akira's attitude, but as for her leadership... _I mean...I do wish Akira wouldn't be so cold-hearted towards everybody, and yet...I don't know of anyone else who would make a good leader..._

"...Well I mean I wasn't gonna say anything out loud," Hinata stated matter-of-factly.

"Honestly Sauchi, you're getting upset over nothing..." Tadao stated with a sigh. "Regarding the trial- Rimutsu is a prosecutor, and we were in a trial, did you honestly expect her to go easy on Izumi, the prime suspect?"

"I don't like the way she treated Asuna during all that," Rumi firmly stated. "But, uh...I really don't know who would take Akira's place as leader, so, um..."

"Oh, er- yeah, what she said!" Hinata agreed with the scuba diver, his earlier casual demeanor shifting to one of surprisingly earnesty.

"I cannot say I approve of all of Akira's actions either, but causing discord like this will only lead to more problems in the future," Saku stated. "I agree with Hiroshi. Akira may not be the...kindest of souls, but she has at least attempted to keep murders from happening and to strengthen our efforts to find a way out of this castle."

Hana shifted in her seat slightly, asking herself, _Uuuugh, why is it so hard to get along? Two of our- I mean, four of our friends are dead now, isn't this the part where the group gets closer and stronger than before?_

Shiori growled to herself in frustration, then responded, "Fine, fine. I'm not gonna force anything. But listen- I'll do what I need to to figure out how to escape, to prevent another murder, all that stuff. But I will not take orders from someone like you."

Akira scoffed, replying, "Just be certain not to get in anyone's way, Sauchi, especially mine."

The Ultimate Surgeon said nothing else, looking down at her mug bitterly while Akira returned her attention to her own breakfast.

"..." Once she knew the tension in the room was somewhat gone, Hana turned to Shiori and softly asked her, "Uuuh- Shiori? Not to bash your mindset or anything, but do you really think doing _that_ was a good idea?"

Shiori glared in response to the question and answered, "What? You think I'm scared of her or something? No way, I don't care if she death glares me forever, _someone_ needs to knock that bitch off her high horse."

"Fair point, but there's already so much going on, a-and with Asuna and Shiro being so upset-" Hana attempted to reason.

"And that's another thing! I'm holding Akira partially responsible for Asuna's condition!" Shiori cut off the surfer. "Kaneki being murdered was one thing, finding out she was Itachi's target was another, then learning about Kaneki's past was another- but to add to all of that, almost getting framed and convicted for a crime she didn't even commit? No wonder she snapped! And that last part was partially Akira's doing, so she's part of why Asuna's so broken right now too."

"I, mm..." Hana muttered to herself, going quiet upon realizing she wouldn't be able to change Shiori's mind. _This is why I shouldn't be allowed to rationalize... Even so, to say Akira is completely unfeeling isn't really true. I mean, she_ tried _to apologize and give Asuna some good advice- even if she took it the wrong way, it looks like. Akira even gave her back Kaneki's fedora! So Akira does have a heart...somewhere!_

Shiori was about to go back to eating...when she noticed Rumi staring at her. "...What is it, Rumi?"

"You...You _do_ care!" Rumi cried joyfully and tearfully, ready to give the surgeon a hug.

"D-Don't push it!" Shiori admonished the Ultimate, gently pushing her away as she returned to her food.

In spite of what was happening, seeing her friends acting somewhat normally was enough to give Hana a small sense of relief. At the very least, she conceded, Shiori wasn't going down the path of Tadao, and it wasn't like the other students were abandoning Shiro either (Ryoto's numerous failed attempts to get the Ultimate Poet to respond to _something_ could attest to that). In spite of all the tragedy and conflict, perhaps they all _would_ be able to move forward after all...?

But of course, whenever something marginally good was happening in this castle, _he_ had to appear and ruin the mood.

"Well isn't this nice? All you kids, sitting together all nice and harmonious..." a certain bear said with mock wistfulness in his voice. "...Makes ya almost forget that two more students are dead and another two have gone off the deep end, huh? Hahahaha!"

Hana glared and growled, "Oh come on, really? You're here already?"

"Yeah! Get the hell outta here or I'll pound you into the SCRAP METAL you are!" Ryoto shouted, already pounding his fists together.

"If you're here to tell us a new area has been opened up to us, you're wasting your time," Akira coldly told Monokuma. "We already gathered that much."

"Well you don't know which area has been opened up, do you? So allow me to save you some time and tell you: yes, a new section of the castle has been opened up to you all, and it's the West Wing!" Monokuma explained jovially. "And that's not all- I'm not talking just the ground floor either, I'm talking the _entirety_ of the West Wing!"

"...Well that's nice and all, but why should we care other than 'it's new'?" Shiori asked, deadpan.

"Because I didn't come here to tell you about a new area or to listen to you all be so 'perceptive'," Monokuma went on with a slight glare. "I'm also here to give you all some valuable information! Information...about your next motive!"

Hana's eyes widened in an instant. "M-M-Mo-!"

"Did...you say motive...!?" Hiroshi asked, his unfazed countenance cracking.

"I-Impossible! You have never given us a new motive so soon!" Saku pointed out, his usually closed eyes now opened from shock.

"No! No, the trial was just yesterday! You can't give us another motive _already!"_ Rumi cried out.

"Yeah! Can't you give us a fucking break!?" Hinata shouted. "...Or at least let us finish breakfast...?"

"Calm down, would ya? All of you yelling at once is gonna make my ears explode!" Monokuma growled. "Now, how about you actually let me explain, like I wanted? Because this motive is a bit... _different_ from the previous two."

"Different? How?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow.

"Because the motive this time isn't just me spouting out info or threats to you all," the bear explained. "This time, the motive is...an object!"

Hana was taken aback by unexpected information, and it would seem she wasn't the only one.

"An object as a motive...how does that work?" Hiroshi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Puhuhu, if someone finds it, you'll certainly see! For now, just know that this special motive of mine happens to be hidden somewhere in the West Wing!" Monokuma informed the students. "And you'll know you've found it, because it'll be emblazoned with my bee- _yoo_ -tiful symbol on it!"

"Interesting...and just what is this special item of yours?" Tadao inquired.

"Uh-uh-uh! I'm not giving away anything else, what I say here is what you get!" Monokuma responded. "Trust me, I think you'll find it's quite...entertaining. Though what the lucky one or ones who find it decide to do with it...that'll be up to them! And I'm hoping not to be disappointed!"

Punctuating that with a high-pitched laugh, Monokuma vanished under the table once again.

Hana glanced down somewhat, thinking about Monokuma's words. _Well, I_ guess _that explains why he's bringing up the motive now. If it's hidden like that, I...guess it could be a while before anyone actually finds it, let alone do anything with it._

"Hm...well, with this development, I think we have yet another course of action," Akira declared, crossing her arms.

"Oh, oh, I know! We put a bell on Monokuma so we know when he's gonna sneak up on us!" Ryoto shouted, a wide and confident grin on his face.

"...I think I lose more brain cells whenever you open your mouth," Shiori stated with a facepalm.

"No, Miura. I mean, in addition to finding a way to escape, we also need to track down that motive of Monokuma's," Akira explained.

"Wait, what? You _want_ us to find the motive?" Hana asked, incredulous. "But that sounds like suicide!"

"Calm down and think, Amari- it is not as simple as 'finding' it," the prosecutor went on. "Yes, I do want to retrieve that item Monokuma claims is a motive...so we can destroy it. If we get rid of it, then no would-be killer can use it against us, and we'll have prevented another murder thus allowing us more time to figure out the mysteries of this castle."

"But...what if it's indestructible or something?" Rumi wondered. "Or what if Monokuma has, like, a bunch of copies of it or something?"

"Then...we'll figure that out once we get to there, we can't predict everything," Akira responded. "For now, let's just focus on the West Wing and the motive."

"...Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but there's no way I'm letting that motive slip past me!" Ryoto declared, swiftly standing up from his seat at the table. "Yeah! Don't worry about a thing, I'm gonna fucking destroy that motive or my name isn't Ryoto Miura!"

Hana's eyes widened, startled by Ryoto's shouts. "W-Well, nice to see you're motivated, Ryoto."

"Damn straight! Four of us are dead now, and that number's not gonna get any bigger as long as Ryoto Miura's still standing!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver declared, his electric blue eyes practically on fire.

"Hmph- I recall you talking like that about a day or two ago," Tadao remarked. "You know- right before Tenmaru was murdered?"

Ryoto seemed to visibly cringe at this, responding, "D-Don't fucking remind me! I'm not gonna let that happen again! _Especially_ after what Ita-"

Shiro let out another cry of sorrow, causing Hna to remember that the Ultimate Poet was still in the room. This was immediately followed by the surfer feeling guilty about having forgotten about her depressed classmate.

"... _Especially_ after what, er, The-Student-Who-Shall-Not-be-Named said he was executed," Ryoto added, resolute.

"Huh? What does that have to do with it?" Hana asked.

"C'mon, remember what he said? 'Don't ever let a killing like this happen again', that was his dying request!" Ryoto reminded her. "And look, I'm no expert on stuff, but I do know that you should always fulfill a dying wish, no matter what! That's why I'm not gonna let what happened to Kaneki, or Mikio too, happen again!"

"Mmph- well, I commend your dedication, at least," Akira conceded, raising an eyebrow. "Though I'd prefer if your motivation wasn't tied to the last words of a murderer..."

"Murderer or not, he was still our classmate, so I'd like to respect his final wish too," Hiroshi stated in agreement. "Not letting another murder happen is a pretty admirable one, in my opinion."

"Mm- well, if we're all done here, we should get to work," Akira stated, standing up. "The sooner we investigate the West Wing, the better."

"Though in my opinion, Koichi and Izumi will be essentially useless in their current states," Tadao stated rather coldly.

"H-Hey, don't call them useless," Hana told him, frowning. "They can still help! Heck, maybe Asuna's already looking around the place as we speak! And I'm sure Shiro wouldn't just miss out, right Shiro?"

She eagerly looked to the poet for an answer- only to see he was still staring down in his half-conscious state. Hana's face fell, but she quickly added, "W-Well, maybe he'll join up in a few...?"

"Give it up Amari, he's useless," Tadao told her with a frown.

"But I-" Hana began.

"Use. Less," Tadao repeated more forcefully, narrowing his blue-green eyes. "Did you ignore me the first time? Or are you tying to live up to your foolish hairstyle's name?"

 _W-Wow, that's a_ double _insult..._ Hana thought with a wince. _Just keep quiet, no reason to give him the satisfaction of my pain..._

"If you're done bickering, we have a castle to explore," Akira stated, standing up and exiting the dining room. Several other students followed suit; ultimately it left Hana, Hiroshi, Shiori, Rumi, and Shiro in the room (plus Tadao to clean up from breakfast).

"Hey, Shiori? I know you said you weren't gonna listen to Akira anymore, but you're still gonna help investigate the new area, right?" Hana asked the surgeon.

"Of course I will- but I'm doing because I know what's morally right, not because that tomato-haired bitch told me to," Shiori responded, arms crossed.

"Well- I'm gonna go with you, then!" Rumi decided, nodding. "After all, friends should stick together, right? I mean, I'm not about to go and yell at Akira or anything, but-"

"Alright, alright, let's get going," the Ultimate responded. "Hana? You coming?"

"Uh- you guys go on ahead, I'll catch up," Hana replied, gesturing to the dining room's entrance.

"If you insist," Shiori stated in farewell as she and Rumi made their exit.

When those two left, Hana turned her attention to a certain Ultimate Poet, who still sat at the table staring downwards.

"Hey, Shiro...? You wanna...go look around the new wing?" Hana suggested, attempting to sound optimistic. "There might be something there you could write about."

"..." Shiro said nothing to even acknowledge the surfer.

Hana's face fell slightly, but she tried to remain cheerful as she then suggested, "Maybe...there could be somewhere nice and quiet where you can write? You know, somewhere like the study!"

At the mention of the study, Shiro glanced upwards, the sorrow in his eyes almost palpable.

 _Oh, great idea, me- bring up the place where someone literally_ died _yesterday!_ Hana chastised herself, cringing.

"Useless, Amari!" Tadao reminded her from inside the kitchen, having most likely heard Hana's attempts at cheering up Shiro.

"Oh stay out of it, Tadao!" Hana angrily shouted in response.

"Er...Hana? Maybe Shiro just needs some space?" Hiroshi suggested to the frustrated Ultimate. "Considering what he's going through, there's no way he's going to get better instantly. It's gonna take time, so you shouldn't rush or force it."

"I...guess not, but..." Hana began, reluctant.

"It's good that you care- but like I said, there's not really a quick way to fix this," Hiroshi stated. "At any rate, it's not like he's by himself right now, I'll keep an eye on him while I help Tadao out with the clean-up."

"Mm...alright, if you say so," Hana responded, taking another glance at Shiro before walking out of the room as well.

* * *

Making her way through the main hall, Hana glanced at the door leading to the courtyard. She thought to herself, _Well, if Monokuma said the entire West Wing is open, I wonder if that means one of the doors in the courtyard is unlocked?_

She then looked up towards the second floor of the South Wing. _Not only that, but those gates up there...the one at the end of the left hallway should be gone, right? That's where west is, isn't it?_

The surfer decided to take the indoor route, and as such made her way upstairs to the second floor. Without much thought, Hana turned left and made her way down the left hallway. Upon passing the door to the study, the Ultimate turned her attention to the open doorway to her right; her suspicions were immediately confirmed once she saw the immovable gate from before was gone, leaving the doorway completely open.

Hana was about to walk through it...but, whether she did so consciously or not, her eyes drifted over to the door to the study. Initially, the surfer noticed the doorknob that had been removed was still missing, leaving that round hole in the wood- though perhaps, considering what had happened about two nights ago, that was for the best?

"..." Hana knew she shouldn't. She knew there were bigger fish to fry, namely in the form of the West Wing. However...the girl's memories were taken back to what Ryoto had described the day after Mikio's trial. The Ultimate Racecar Driver had described the scene of the murder becoming completely clean following the trial, with no traces of a crime left at all. Though Hana hadn't gone to the fitness room to confirm Ryoto's claims, it seemed like he hadn't been lying. Now, standing mere feet away from the latest crime scene, the Ultimate Surfer's morbid curiosity was raised.

"..." _I need to know. I...I need to see for myself. If Monokuma really did get rid of..._ Hana told herself. Without allowing herself more time to think, she pushed open the door and entered the study. Her gaze quickly went to the desk, which had been a mess of toppled papers and pens when she had last seen it- but now, the papers were as neatly stacked as ever, and the pens were reorganized into the cup that had held them. Hana took a few more steps into the room, turning to the wall adjacent to the door- specifically, at the area where a certain faded bloodstain used to be. Now, to the surfer's shock, the wall was completely clean, no strange discolored spots anywhere; the Ultimate had to do a double take to ensure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

Then, the Ultimate Surfer turned her attention to the other end of the room- the door to the storage room itself. Hana approached the metallic door, a familiar feeling of dread rising up in her. As she put her hand on the doorknob, she felt her heart starting to race once again, just as it had the moments before she and Ryoto had discovered Kaneki's corpse behind that door. The memory of the bloody scene was still fresh in her mind, so vivid that she could almost smell the coppery scent of the scene.

Hana gulped, trying to force down her fear. _Don't think about it...if what Ryoto said before was true, then this crime scene should be cleaned up too, right? So I've...I've got nothing to worry about, just look real fast!_

The girl turned the doorknob- fortunately, it appeared to be unlocked (it would appear that, even in her despairing state, Asuna was still doing her job of locking and unlocking the storage room door). Taking a deep breath, then with a shout to rouse herself, Hana threw open the door and stepped into the storage room-

-and immediately saw the room was completely spotless.

Hana's eyes widened in absolute shock. Her eyes darted around the room swiftly, but no matter where she looked the storage room was clean. There were no blood stains on the floor or walls as there had been yesterday, no trace of any sort of struggle whatsoever. Hana looked to the spot where Kaneki had been lying dead just one day before, but even that area was devoid of any trace of a crime. Just as Ryoto had described with the fitness room, the storage and study rooms appeared as if all was normal, the missing doorknob the only indication that a crime had ever occurred.

Hana took a few steps forward, walking slightly farther into the storage room. No, her eyes still weren't deceiving her- the crime scene and Kaneki's body were gone. On one hand, it gave the surfer a sense of relief that nobody would have to look on that terrifying scene again. Even still...there was still a pang of sorrow in Hana's chest as she looked around.

 _It...really does look like nothing happened..._ Hana thought to herself. _But...that's not true. I know that's not true, everyone knows that's not true. But- Monokuma wouldn't even let us have a chance to really grieve. That's gotta be why he's cleaning up the crime scenes and getting rid of the bodies, all part of his stupid "despair" shtick..._

Realizing she had seen everything she needed to, Hana turned to make her out back to the hallway, yet her thoughts were still racing as a frustrated growl forced its way out of her throat. _How is any of this fair!?_ _We should have been able to do something, something for Mikio and Kaneki! Even if we can't do, like, a proper funeral, we should have been able to do_ something _for them! No, not just those two, but Azami and Itachi-_

Then, her pace slowed down as she thought about the two formerly blackened students. The two students who had once been friends...but gave in to what Monokuma had said, committed murder, tried to deceive everyone. She glanced back at the storage room, and thought once more about the blood-splattered crime scene; a crime scene that Itachi, who had once been a friend, created through his actions.

"..." Though it gave Hana an immense sense of guilt to think about this, the Ultimate Surfer ultimately left the study wondering about the two killers. Yes, they had been friends, but they had also become killers...with this conflicting statement in her mind, Hana couldn't stop herself from wondering about the obvious question: The victims certainly deserved better...but did the same statement apply to the killers...?

* * *

With conflicting thoughts still swimming around in her mind, Hana closed the study door and turned back to the doorway on the opposite side of the hall. Perhaps looking around the West Wing at last would at least distract her for the time being...?

Just as Hana was about the enter the area, she already found herself focusing on something else...

"HEEEEY! YOU GUYS GOTTA COME SEE THIS!"

Hana's eyes widened upon hearing Ryoto's boisterous voice. Immediately, she stepped through the doorway, then proceeded to actually take in her surroundings.

For starters, she was currently standing up on a balcony with balustrades along its edge overlooking a room, similar to the kind in the main chamber. Up on this upper floor of the wing, the walls were a deep red color on the upper half and had a sort of mahogany wood design on the lower half. The polished wood floor was covered in a dark red carpet with gold trim, which seemed to extend to several areas: down the stairs leading to the lower floor and extending into a pair of hallways on other ends of the balcony. Speaking of which, Hana noticed two doorways that led to a pair of hallways- one on the northernmost wall from where she was standing, and one on the western side.

Down on the bottom floor of the wing, Hana saw a certain Ultimate Racecar Driver poke his head out of another doorway, then he looked up to see the surfer. He then called out, 'HANAAAA! Don't just stand up there enjoying the view, come down here and see this!"

"Ah- on my way!" Hana shouted back, swiftly making her way down the stairwell to the lower floor. The Ultimate noticed the floor down here was also covered in an ornate carpet, with the walls having the same design from the upper floor. The doorway that Ryoto had appeared out of was on the eastern side of the room, while a pair of metallic doors stood to the west side. Deciding to ignore the metal doors for the time being, Hana followed Ryoto into the room he had disappeared to. What could be in there, she couldn't tell, but there was only one way to find out.

Upon entry, Hana immediately noticed how large the room was. Its height seemed to cover about two stories, and its overall length and width appeared to rival that of the main chamber. There was a door on the opposite end of the room from where Hana had entered from, one that resembled a door to the courtyard. Lastly, there were a pair of intricate wood doors standing on the left wall from where Hana was standing. As for the appearance of the large room itself, the walls and the marble-tiled floor were a polished white color with a slight amber or gold tint. On the same end of the room as the wooden doors stood a grand piano, also quite clean despite its almost traditional appearance- she also spotted Saku examining the instrument, so it would seem Ryoto hadn't been alone in here. Another massive chandelier hung over the ornate room, casting a gold light over the interior.

"Whooa...this place is fancy," Hana remarked, looking around the immense room.

"It's fucking neat, isn't it?" Ryoto asked with a wide grin. "I think it's supposed to be some kinda ballroom?"

"Although I am afraid we may not be able to put this piano to much use, on the count of none of us being pianists," Saku pointed out, approaching the two. "Also, as I am sure you two have guessed by now, those doors on that end lead back into the courtyard."

"Oh- well, I came in from the second floor of the South Wing," Hana stated. "So, I guess Monokuma was telling the truth, both floors of this place are open."

"Awesome! The more space the merrier!" Ryoto shouted. "Now, what's in that room over there?"

He pointed to the wood doors on the north end of the room. "Because that looks kinda suspicious!"

"It...looks like a regular pair of doors to me," Saku stated, not sharing in Ryoto's suspicions.

"Well, I could check it out real fast while you guys keep looking around here," Hana suggested, making her way towards the door in question. She privately agreed with Saku that these doors did not look too out of place, though that didn't give her any clues as to could be beyond them. Figuring standing around wouldn't give her any answers, the Ultimate Surfer pushed open the doors and walked inside.

* * *

The room behind the doors wasn't nearly as tall as the ballroom, nor was it as spacious, though it still had a good size to it. The floor was hardwood, with the walls having a similar polished wood pattern to them. Scattered around the room were a collection of round tables draped with clean white tablecloths. On the north end of the room, there appeared to be a bar of some kind: a mahogany counter extending from one corner to another with an opening for accessing the area behind it, a series of cabinets and smaller counters that held several types of drinks and glass cups, a sink for dishes, and what appeared to be a dumbwaiter in an open area on the wall behind the bar counter.

Hana also noticed she wasn't the only one inside this room- Akira was examining the tables, while Hinata was behind the bar counter.

The former of the two was the first to notice Hana's arrival. The prosecutor glanced at her and remarked, "What do you need, Amari?"

"Nothing, I just came in here to investigate," Hana replied, walking towards the bar. "What's this place supposed to be?"

"Eh, I dunno- something like another dining room? But for the ballroom?" Hinata suggested, shrugging. "All I know is, it looks like this one of those non-alcoholic places. Like, I'm just seeing a bunch of sodas, types of waters- they even have grape juice here!"

"And the dumbwaiter?" Hana asked, pointing to the object in question.

"Oh, this? Just looks like a regular dumbwaiter to me," the thief responded, lifting up the hatch to show the metallic interior. Metallic, and...surprisingly spacious.

"Huh, that's...a lotta space for a dumbwaiter," Hana remarked, heading behind the counter along with Hinata so she could get a better look.

"Is it? I dunno, I'm not an expert on mechanics," Hinata stated with a frown.

"And...what's this switch here?" Hana then asked, noticing a small red switch on the side of the dumbwaiter.

"Again- don't know, not a mechanic," Hinata repeated.

"...Well, I'm still iffy on the size. I mean, aren't these things supposed to be used for transporting items or something?" Hana asked as she examined the dumbwaiter and disregarded the odd switch for the time being. "This...looks a bit bigger than that. I mean, I doubt someone like Saku or Ryoto could fit in here, but...I dunno, maybe someone more my size might be able to fit in here?"

As if to make sure her guess was accurate, the surfer poked her head into the opening, prompting Hinata to tug on her shirt and respond, "Well, hey, don't actually try it!"

As Hana quickly stepped away from the shaft, the Ultimate Thief added, "But, I guess I can see what you mean. It's a pretty big lift they've got there- hell, I bet you could even hide a body in there!"

"..." That statement caused Hana to give Hinata a rather angry stare.

"...What, too soon?" Hinata asked, frowning.

Hana sighed before asking, "Mm- hey, did you find that motive thing Monokuma was talking about?"

"Nah, I didn't see a thing with that guy's logo on it," Hinata responded with a shrug. "I didn't see much of anything too interesting, really. Maybe I'll go check out somewhere else."

With that, the hoodie-clad young man hoisted himself over the counter, and he made his way towards the doors to leave...only for Akira to interrupt him and inquire, "Wait. Yonade, did you take anything from back there?"

"What? Come on, prosecutor, I know how important this motive-hunt thing is! Do I look like the kinda guy who'd distract you by stealing something?" Hinata asked innocently, a sly smirk on his face that provided a clear indication that he was up to his usual shenanigans.

"Hinata, can you put back whatever you took?" Hana asked, frowning somewhat.

"Hehe- fine, fine. Then I'll leave, no harm done," Hinata responded, walking over to the counter and pulling a pair of items from his hoodie pockets- a pair of glass cups? This guy really did swipe the strangest of things, Hana observed, didn't he? At the very least, he was true to what he had told her during the last murder investigation- if he did steal something random like that, he'd at least joke about it then put it back. At any rate, the thief exited the room for real this time once he had returned the glasses, leaving Hana with Akira.

"Mm...did you find anything, Akira?" Hana asked, making her way back from behind the counter.

"If I did, I wouldn't still be in here, would I?" Akira asked in response, her tone one of irritation.

Hana didn't respond to that, simply avoiding eye contact with the irate prosecutor and responding, "Well...looks like you and Hinata looked through everything here, s-so I think I'll check somewhere else."

"Do what you need to, Amari- I'll at least say I'm glad there are some of us here who are trying to be of use," Akira conceded, turning her attention back to the tables.

"Wha...? Hey, are you...talking about Shiro and Asuna?" Hana asked.

"Take a guess," Akira stated, not even looking up from her search.

Hana narrowed her eyes and responded, "You know, it's not really their fault they're not in the right mindset right now. They each lost a friend yesterday, of course they're gonna be upset for a while!"

"Even so, the way they're going about it is all wrong. They're choosing to allow their emotions cloud their judgement over everything," Akira went on. "What irks me even more is that that's what I specifically told Izumi not to do that, as I'm sure you remember. Hmph, that's the last time I ever give someone life advice..."

"Well maybe she just took it the wrong way! She's not useless now, you know! Neither of them are!" Hana furiously insisted.

"'Took it the wrong way'? Well that's not my problem, I couldn't have been more clear with what I said," the Ultimate Prosecutor responded, sending a little glare in Hana's direction.

Realizing that talking with Akira would lead nowhere, Hana chose to swallow her frustrations (a difficult task), and she quickly made her way out of the second dining room and back into the ballroom.

* * *

Seeing as how there wasn't too much to see in the ballroom either, Hana found herself back in the initial room she had entered. First her growing conflicting feelings about those who had killed their classmates, now Akira's coldness increasing her frustrations? The surfer realized she needed something concrete to investigate in order to take her mind off these things, and quick.

As luck would have it, Hana took notice of Hinata standing in the room; specifically, he was standing by the metallic doors on the west end of the room.

"Hinata? What are you doing now?" Hana asked, approaching the thief.

"Well, I was gonna look at whatever's in this room, but this damn door won't budge!" Hinata explained, jabbing a thumb at the doors. "I've tried everything on it, and nothin'!"

"Seriously...?" Hana responded, walking over so she could examine the door herself. Aside from the metal appearance, the door seemed quite thick and durable- Hana was fairly certain not even Saku would be able to dent its surface. Then, she noticed something to the left of the door that she had initially missed- attached to the wall was some sort of scanner. It didn't appear to have any form of keypad or really anything that would allow anyone to interact with it.

Hana turned to Hinata and asked him, "Hey, have you tried messing around with this...scanner thing?"

"Well, yeah, but I can't make heads or tails of it. Tried my hand, because I thought it was a hand scanner or something, but that didn't work either," the thief explained, frowning. "It's bullshit, is what it is..."

"Or maybe you two just misplaced your thinking caps!" Monokuma suddenly scolded them, appearing behind the two Ultimates.

"YAH!" Hana yelped, swiftly turning around. "Gh-! Dammit, gets me every single time!"

"Speak for yourself, I'm kinda starting to get used to it," Hinata stated, raising an eyebrow. "...Which is kinda weird when I say it out loud."

"Seriously, you two honestly think I'd use simple old hand scanners?" Monokuma asked. "Bah! You guys think too small!"

"W-Well, then, could you tell us what this is if it's not a hand scanner?" Hana asked the bear, gesturing to the scanner.

"That's what your friendly neighborhood headmaster is here for!" the robotic bear responded. "You see, this is a scanner that activates the door, but you don't use your hands. You gotta use your ever-trustworthy e-Handbook!"

"Oh- it's an e-Handbook scanner, m'kay," Hinata stated, looking at the scanner once again.

"That's what I said! Simply hold your e-Handbook in front of the scanner, and in a matter of seconds the door will open like...well, a door!" Monokuma explained. "But wait, there's more! If more than one student is entering that room, you both must scan your e-Handbooks in! Also, the door will immediately close upon your entry- but luckily, there's a second scanner inside that functions just the same! Essentially, there's a scanner for when you enter, and a scanner for when you exit."

"Okay...but what's even in this room that you'd need all that security for?" Hana questioned with a frown.

"Puhuhu- scan your e-Handbooks and find out!" Monokuma responded with a jovial grin on his face (though he was always grinning).

Hana and Hinata exchanged a confused look, but they simply shrugged in acceptance and approached the scanner. Hinata was the first to hold his e-Handbook to the device, the blue screen of the scanner flashing to signal success; Hana did the same with her own handbook before the doors had a chance to even open. Mere seconds later, the doors swung open with several mechanical noises, allowing the two Ultimates to view the contents within. And what they saw- well, it quite the sight.

The room itself seemed to be made of a darker metal, with an almost reflective jet black floor. To Hana, the room appeared almost industrial...but that wasn't what caught her attention. What did catch her eye: the large piles of treasures scattered around the room. Gold coins, gems, priceless jewelry; the place was almost radiating with riches, and it wasn't just from the lights reflecting off the gold.

"H...Holy...!" Hana gasped in awe, walking into the room with wide eyes.

"Did...Did I die? Is this what heaven looks like?" Hinata asked, with gold eyes practically tearing up the sight of all the treasure. "Or am I dreaming? If that's what it is, then I don't think I wanna wake up...!"

"Amazing, isn't it? Personally, I don't know what the deal with treasure rooms are," Monokuma stated as the metal doors closed behind them. "The people who own these castles just...leave all this good stuff in a room? What do they use it for, actually buying stuff? Decorating? Making their foes jealous?"

"If...this is a treasure room, then...are we not allowed to mess with any of this stuff?" Hana asked. "I mean, you've got that security and all, so..."

"Well, it's not like I have much use for all this stuff, and I doubt any of you would be able to find something to do with any of it, so..." Monokuma replied. "Eh, what the hell? Knock yourselves out! Consider it another gift from your generous headmaster!"

Hinata let out a resounding cry of joy, speeding towards the treasure piles, then diving into the piles as if it were a swimming pool.

"W-Wait then! If we can just take this stuff, then why are there scanners?" Hana then asked, surprised. "Why the security? Why all the- metal stuff? If you don't care, then why-"

Then, Monokuma jumped up, raised a metallic fist, and gave the Ultimate a resounding _bop_ on the head. This resulted in the surfer letting out a cry of pain, immediately clutching the spot where she had been punched.

"Enough with the blabbering, Cowlick!" Monokuma commanded as he landed, his face red with anger. "I didn't build this place, I just know how it works! So shut it, would ya!?"

"This isn't even a cowlick!" Hana yelled back, her voice a combination of pain and indignant.

Monokuma then seemed to calm down, before adding, "Oh, one last thing- those scanners? They keep track of who's coming and going out of the treasure room whenever someone scans in or out. And the one who has access to those logs is yours truly! Plus, I can just see you guys on the security cameras anyways."

"Now, that's all for the moment! Thank you for your cooperation, and I'll see you soon!~" Monokuma said, waving in farewell before he seemed to run off to parts unknown.

 _God, that guy...what's his deal? He just switches from one emotion to the other for no reason..._ Hana thought to herself with a glare. _And people at my old school said_ I _have a problem with that..._

With the pain in her head having subsided, Hana walked over to the piles of treasure. Hinata was still swimming around in the treasure like a fish in the ocean, joyfully shouting all the while. The Ultimate raised an eyebrow, eyeing the immense hill of coins. Well, she was going to have to search for that motive anyways- why not have some fun doing it?

"Hey, Hinata! Save some room for me!" Hana called out to the thief, taking a few steps backwards. She then grinned, took a running start, then leaped into the coin pile with all her strength...

...Then faceplanted into the hill with all her strength. She then let out another cry of pain with all her strength, clutching her now sore face.

Hinata let out a loud laugh as he watched the surfer's attempt. "Nice try surfer gal, but I guess swimming in all this beauty just isn't for everyone!"

"Well then how are you doing it?" Hana asked in exasperation, standing back up.

"...Truth be told, I have no idea," Hinata admitted with a frown, before going back to his happy disposition. "But I'm loving it!"

"Er- you don't see that motive thing Monokuma mentioned, do you?" Hana then asked, watching the thief with a concerned frown.

"Nope, I think I'd notice something like that," Hinata stated, stopping in his tracks as he picked up...something. He then added, sounding somewhat distracted, "No worries, though- if I uh...do see it, I'll...let ya guys know."

"Mm...alright, you're probably more fit to go through all this treasure than me anyways," the surfer replied, turning to exit the treasure room. As she approached the door, she reminded herself, _What did Monokuma say about the scanners again...? One for entering, one for exiting?_

Hana took out her e-Handbook yet again and held it up to the scanner's blue screen- just like outside, the metallic doors slid open after a few seconds, allowing the Ultimate to exit. However, just as Hana was about to walk out to continue exploring...

"H-Hey! Wait a sec, I need to ask you something!" Hinata suddenly called out, diving out of the treasure pile and practically sprinting over to Hana just before she could exit.

"What? Did you find something already?" Hana asked, hopeful.

"Find something? Yes. Is it the motive? Not at all," the Ultimate Thief responded. "But I did find- this. What do you think of it?"

He then held up a piece of jewelry- it was a bracelet that was comprised of sparkling, pale blue pearls. Hana's eyes widened in awe, and she responded, "Whoa, Hinata, this looks great! R-Really, I'm flattered, but aside from this necklace I don't really-"

"What? Who said this was for you?" Hinata snapped, frowning. "Look, you're a girl, right? Girls like jewelry, right?"

"W-Well, er, I guess it depends on the person," Hana responded.

"Okay- and, uh..." Hinata began- if Hana didn't know any better, she'd say the spiky-haired boy looked almost embarrassed. "You're...friends with Rumi, right? And she's a scuba diver, right? Likes the ocean and such?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, do you think this something she'd- you know, like?"

"I'd assume, this seems like her type," Hana confirmed...then, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Waaaait. You're gonna give this to her, aren't you?"

"Hey, wipe that smirk off, would you?" he replied with a small glare. "It's nothing like you're thinking. I just...wanted to thank Rumi for talking to me before, you know? After Itachi and everyone thought I stole his knife- a fucking lie, as everyone knows now- Rumi...you know, went and talked to me, remember? Made me feel a bit less shitty about all that. And, well, snatching shiny stuff is kinda my thing, so...bracelet."

Hana chuckled softly before assuring Hinata, "Well, don't worry, I'm sure she'll love it."

"You really think so...? Well, I hope you're right- if you're not, I'll...steal that necklace of yours or something!" Hinata threatened.

"I'll...remember that," Hana stated in response. "Anyways, don't forget to look for that motive, alright?"

"Oh, right, that- yeah, I'll look around, don't worry," the other Ultimate replied, casually nodding before returning to the mountains of treasure surrounding the room. As he did, Hana also made her exit- it was time to see what else the West Wing had to offer.

* * *

The Ultimate Surfer, having seen everything on the bottom floor, decided it would be best to explore the upper area of the West Wing. Still pondering where Monokuma's motive could possibly be, Hana looked around the upper area after ascending the stairs. She decided to explore the hallway on the western side, since it was closer than the northernmost hall. Keeping quiet, she looked down the hallway- to her surprise, she did not actually see any doors in the hall aside from one at the end. As she walked down the hall, she noticed several portrait paintings hung up on the wall- which would have been interesting if the pictures weren't all variations of Monokuma portraits.

 _Seriously...? Man, for a short robot bear, he sure does have a big ego..._ Hana thought to herself with a frown. _I'm no artist, and even I can tell these are in poor taste._

She made it to the door, which appeared to be another one made of mahogany wood. Seeing as this one didn't have any strange scanners or locks on it, the surfer entered without much fanfare.

Upon entry, she looked around; the walls were painted a light blue color on the upper half, while the lower half was covered in pale red tiles. The floor was covered in hardwood with a sky blue and gold carpet covering most if it. In the middle of the room sat a glass table covered in a white tablecloth, with several white cushioned chairs placed around it. In the northeast corner of the room stood a door to a small closet of some kind, while the other corners of the room each had a tall potted plant placed. On the opposite end of the entrance stood a second table, this one with a pair of smaller potted plants sitting on it with a small statue placed between them; the statue in question being only about a foot and a half in height, in the shape of a Chinese-style dragon standing atop a cube-shaped base. On that same back wall was what Hana presumed to be a window...but it was covered in thick metal plates like the ones in the dining hall.

Hana then noticed she wasn't the only one investigating the room- standing by the back table, holding the small statue and examining it, was none other than Hiroshi.

Hana, immediately perking up upon seeing him, was quick to greet him, "Oh, hey! Hiroshi!"

"Hm? Oh, hi there, Hana," Hiroshi responded with a smile, putting down the statue.

"So, I'm guessing you and Tadao finished cleaning up?" Hana asked, walking over. "What happened to Shiro?"

"Well, we did finish cleaning, though I'm not sure how much he appreciated my help," the coroner responded. "As for Shiro, he...went back to his room. I tried to get him to come with and investigate, but..."

"Oh..." Hana responded, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Mm...as I said before, maybe we shouldn't force him into anything. His mental state is still pretty fragile, so it would probably be best to just take baby steps," Hiroshi reminded her.

"I know, I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying!" Hana angrily responded. "Uugh, I'll just...look around this place to get my mind off of it...you didn't find anything motive-like, did you?"

"Er- no. My latest thought was that miniature statue there, but that turned up fruitless too," Hiroshi replied.

"Mm...hey, actually," Hana then began. "What... _is_ this room, anyways? Is this another lounge?"

"Hm- not exactly. It would probably be easier to tell if it wasn't for the blocked windows..." Hiroshi explained. "But, I'm pretty sure this is a sunroom."

"A sunroom? Really?" Hana asked, looking around. "...Doesn't seem like it's getting a lot of sun to me."

"That's the irony, I suppose," Hiroshi replied. "But, I've seen similar architecture like this in other place like this in Japan- that's why I'm so certain it's a sunroom."

"It would probably look nicer if the windows weren't blocked..." Hana muttered, wandering the room. The surfer opened the door in the northeast corner, taking a peek inside.

"Huh- there's really nothing in here either..." Hana remarked. "What's this supposed to be, a closet?"

"I'd imagine- not that we all have many things to hang up in there anyways," the other Ultimate replied casually. "To be frank, there doesn't seem to be much to this room. At least, I can't imagine where Monokuma would even hide a motive object. I checked the tables, the plants, that small stone statue as you saw..."

"Sooo, this room is a bust too?" Hana asked, closing the door. Preparing to leave the room with more disappointment, the surfer noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something small on the floor, on a section of the wood that wasn't covered in carpeting.

"Huh? Do you see something?" Hiroshi asked.

"I think so," Hana replied, walking over to the spot in question. Kneeling down, she narrowed her eyes enough so she could better look at the strange thing on the floor...

Whatever it was, it certainly didn't seem like a motive. It was a symbol of some kind, crudely carved into the wood floor, though Hana couldn't tell how recent it was. The symbol itself...was rather odd; it appeared to be an open hand of some kind, and in the 'palm' of the had was Monokuma's jagged right eye (or rather, what appeared to be a modified version of the eye, which looked even more jagged and cruel than the original).

"What...? _That's_ not the motive, is it?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I doubt it, it's just the floor," Hiroshi replied, lowering himself next to Hana. "But...it is strange, I'll admit. I certainly didn't make that mark, and I don't think anyone was in here before me, so..."

"Well, I didn't do it either, so..." Hana told him, frowning. She stared long and hard at the strange symbol- for some reason, the more she looked at it, the greater a strange feeling grew in her. It confused her, that same feeling she had felt several times before- a gnawing sensation at the back of her mind, as if something was trying to crawl out of some deep recess of her memories. For some reason, part of felt as though she should be feeling dread upon seeing this mysterious insignia...but she didn't. Quite the opposite, Hana felt oddly...calm upon gazing at the symbol; that confused her, too.

"...Uh. Hana?" Hiroshi began. "You're zoning out on me."

"Huh...? O-Oh! Sorry!" Hana quickly responded, snapping herself out of her stupor. "I just thought-"

"ALRIGHT, NEITHER OF YOU TWO MOVE!" a familiar high-pitched voice shouted. Hana sighed in irritation- two Monokuma encounters in one day? What were the odds of that? At the very least, she was beginning to understand Hinata's claim of becoming used to the bear's sudden appearances.

"Aaah, what do you want this ti-" Hana began, turning to face the shouting Monokuma...only to freeze in horror. This time, Monokuma hadn't arrived empty-handed- he was now holding a rather large assault rifle, with bandoliers of ammo draped around his shoulders.

"H-HOLY SHIT!" Hana cried, jumping back upon seeing the weapon- the weapon that was pointed right at Hana and Hiroshi.

"ALRIGHT! You two, STEP AWAY FROM THE WOOD!" Monokuma frantically ordered.

"Okay, okay, settle down please," Hiroshi calmly told the bear, stepping back as well from the spot on the floor they had been examining..

"W-WHERE'D YOU GET A GUN!?" Hana shouted in terror, unable to take her eyes off the weapon.

"Not important! What's important is- you two need to LEAVE! RIGHT NOW!" Monokuma shouted, pointing the weapon at the duo. "Otherwise yer gonna look like Swiss cheese in the next few seconds!"

"No! I'm too young to look like cheese!" Hana cried out.

"Huh. Any reason in particular that we should leave?" Hiroshi asked- miraculously, the Ultimate Coroner appeared completely indifferent to the deadly weapon being pointed at him- if anything, he seemed only mildly concerned.

"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Hana yelled at her companion, her voice a combination of panicked and angered.

"Enough chit-chat! Now GET OUTTA HERE!" Monokuma practically roared, his bear paws ready to open fire.

"Okay, okay, calm down, we're going," Hiroshi assured the bear, as calm as he usually was. "Come on Hana, I think we're done in here any-"

The surfer didn't have to be told twice- she immediately turned and sprinted through the door as fast as she could manage, letting out a cry of terror the whole way. She kept running until she found herself on the other end of the hall, having to lean against the wall to catch her breath and steady her heartbeat. It wasn't too long until she heard footsteps approaching her, and she turned around to see Hiroshi calmly walking over to her.

"So, that was...an experience," Hiroshi stated, remaining unfazed.

"You're telling me...I wish I had your levels of calmness..." Hana told him, letting out a long sigh to calm herself.

"You doing okay? You're looking a little pale," the coroner observed, furrowing his brow slightly in concern.

"Oh, aah- you know, it's fine, I uh- needed a heart attack today, no worries," Hana responded, only partially joking.

"Mm...it's still strange though, right? The way Monokuma was acting in there, did you notice he seemed almost...panicked?" Hiroshi inquired thoughtfully.

"To be honest, I don't really care, let's just both agree to not do...whatever made him react like that again," Hana responded, frowning.

"Fair enough. Now, I'm going to go take a look at the bottom floor- want to come?" Hiroshi offered with a small, friendly smile.

"I already looked down there. I'm just gonna...take a look...over there or something," Hana told him, looking towards the northern hallway. "Yeah, that'll make me feel better. And won't make me die, hopefully."

"Uh- okay, if you say so. Good luck with that, Hana," Hiroshi responded, waving goodbye and making his way towards the stairs. As he did that, Hana also stumbled towards the second and last hallway on the West Wing's second floor, almost praying that her heart would stop racing by the time she got there.

* * *

This second hallway had a similar appearance to the previous one, with several other Monokuma paintings displayed here as well. She noticed three openings towards the end of the hall- another wooden door on the right wall towards the end of the hall, another doorway even farther down the wall and also to the right, and finally a wood and iron door at the very end. Hana decided to check the doorway first- and to her surprise, it was blocked by a gate, much like the doorways in the South Wing were. Did that mean this was an entrance to another wing? Hana didn't know, and for the time being she decided it wasn't too important.

What was important, however, were the other two areas that she assumed _were_ open. Between the wood door and the iron door, she decided to investigate the room behind the wood door first. Pushing it open, she wasn't exactly expecting anyone to be inside-

"GAH!" a male voice yelped from inside the room.

"AGH!" Hana yelped right back, flinging the door open from fright. Once she actually took a look inside the room, she noticed the only person inside was one Tadao Shimaru.

"O-Oh- it's just you, Amari," Tadao remarked, immediately regaining his composure. "Did anyone teach you to knock before entering a room?"

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if anyone would be in here," Hana told him, fully entering the room and looking around. "What _is_ this...?"

The room itself was made primarily from wood- floor, walls, ceiling- giving the room the appearance of a log cabin or a cellar. The right side of the room was lined with large barrels, stacked on top of one another with a rather small opening on the bottom of the stack- from a small shelf holding up the bottom layer of barrels, most likely. The left side had several racks and shelves, with glass bottles of various sizes and colors contained. One rack in particular appeared to have the same brand of beverage, based on the fact that the twelve bottles had the exact same appearance: the glass was colored red, and the bottles appeared to be larger than Hana would have expected wine bottles to be. There was a space between the shelves, and it was there that Hana spotted a second dumbwaiter like the one down in the smaller dining room.

"According to Monokuma, this is a wine room," Tadao explained to the surfer. "It has dozens of brands of alcoholic beverages, as you can probably see."

"Alcoholic? Aren't we underage, though...?" Hana asked, concerned.

"Well apparently, Monokuma would agree with you. When I asked him, he was _extremely_ adamant that no students were to drink any of these beverages," the Ultimate Waiter stated, adjusting his gloves as he spoke. "Something about how 'underage drinking is not welcome in a castle environment'?"

"Really...?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow. She then asked herself, _Monokuma is perfectly fine with forcing people to murder each other, executing people in gruesome ways, and threatening some of us with literal assault weapons...but he draws the line at underage drinking, of all things?_

Tadao scoffed, looking around at the bottles. "I may not drink these types of things- though I would if I was old enough- but even I know perfectly good wine is not something to leave lying around. The fact that that damned bear has all this and nobody's allowed to even make use of it...well, it just seems like a waste to me."

"Maybe...oh, hey actually, did you find-" Hana began.

"No, Amari, I didn't find the motive that Monokuma was talking about," Tadao told her, sounding somewhat irritated. "And even if I did, there's no guarantee that I would even tell any of you. I'm simply searching to ensure no would-be killer can use the motive against me."

"Well...that's still helping, I suppose," Hana remarked, walking further into the room. As she did, however, she noticed the floor was very squeaky, creaking with every other step she took, and the noise quickly grew irritating.

"Okay, why is this floor so damn noisy?" Hana asked, more to herself than anyone.

"That's also something Monokuma relayed to me- apparently, this room is rather old compared to the rest of the castle, and much of the floor is a bit out of sorts. I think some of these floorboards are so loose, you could actually remove them if you wanted to," Tadao added. "In addition, something else was brought to my attention- do you see the lights in here? And that light switch?"

To prove his point, he directed Hana's attention towards the light switch adjacent to the door she had entered from. "Apparently, the lights in here are finicky. Sometimes they'll work fine, other times they won't. I suppose it'll just be a matter of luck."

Hana frowned, stating, "Yeesh- I hope _that_ doesn't become a problem."

She looked around the room once again, then noticed that dumbwaiter again. "Oh, hey! This place has a dumbwaiter thing too?"

"What? 'Too'?" Tadao inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah- that second dining hall down by the ballroom has a lift like this too, button and everything," Hana told him, walking over.

"Well, if that's the case, I imagine it's the same dumbwaiter, meaning it probably would have been used to transport the drinks in here down to that room...if it weren't for Monokuma forbidding us from consuming these," Tadao inferred. "Hm- that's interesting. I'm guessing this is one of those electric dumbwaiters, too."

"Hm? They have electric ones?" Hana asked.

"Of course they do, don't be dense," the waiter responded. "It's only natural that a place like this would have something so sophisticated. In fact, I'll confirm it right now."

The Ultimate reached over and pressed the button on the side. A few seconds and the soft sound of mechanisms later, the dumbwaiter arrived on the floor.

"Huh...neat," Hana remarked as she watched the lift work.

"It would be 'neater' if it could properly be used," Tadao stated with a frown. "Regardless...Amari, you can leave now. There's no motive to be found in here, and I have personally searched this room top to bottom. I was on the verge of leaving myself, actually, before you so rudely barged in on me."

"O-Oh, uh, I thought you might have needed some help, but if you say so..." Hana replied, turning to leave...before asking, "You sure you looked every-"

 _"Yes,_ I was thorough," Tadao assured her with a glare. "Now, leave me in peace, would you? I don't need someone like you getting in the way of me ensuring no one has an advantage over me."

"Okay, okay, I'm going," the surfer replied, her own tone now tinged with annoyance. She had no idea why Tadao was being so insistent on her leaving, though at the end of the day it was probably just the waiter's desire to isolate himself from the others. Regardless, she figured now as not the best time to start and argument, so she simply obeyed and made her way out of the wine room.

* * *

Upon exiting the wine room, Hana told herself, _So, I've explored almost everywhere in this wing, so I think the last place is-_

"Heeey! Hana!" a familiar voice called out to the surfer. The girl turned around to find the source, and saw a certain pair of girls making their way down the hallway: Rumi and Shiori.

"Mmph, there you are, Rumi wouldn't stop wondering where you went," Shiori stated as they approached the surfer.

"Oh, hey! Yeah, I was just finishing up my investigation," Hana explained. "I've looked around almost everything in this wing, aside from whatever's behind that other door there."

"Really? We were gonna look around to see what was in that room that you just came out of," Rumi told the surfer, gesturing to the door to the wine room.

"Oh- that's just some kinda wine room," Hana told the scuba diver. "Tadao's in there, and he's already-"

"Okay, nobody's dealing with Tadao's bullshit, iron door it is!" Shiori quickly declared, ushering her two companions towards the wood and metal door in question.

"Fine by me, that's where I was going anyways," Hana remarked, heading for the door. The surfer wasted little time pushing it open- which proved harder than Hana thought it would, seeing as how the door was thick- and then walking into the room on the other side.

Hana wasn't entirely sure what would be on the other side of the door, and yet she still found herself somewhat surprised by what she walked into. The area appeared to be made of gray stone, illuminated primarily by torches. The entire structure appeared cylindrical and quite tall, with a series of stone stairs spiraling around the walls of the structure to its top.

"Huh- I'm not an architect, but I think this is a tower," Rumi observed, her gaze looking upwards.

"Well, this is a castle, so it would make sense for there to be a watchtower or two," Shiori pointed out, her arms crossed.

"Still, could Monokuma even hide a motive item in here?" Hana asked, looking around. "Doesn't seem like a lot areas to put something..."

"Hm- maybe we should check the top? There might be something up there," Rumi suggested.

"Eh, unless there's some hidden button on one of these bricks, that might be best," Shiori concurred with a small nod.

Hana nodded as well, leading the two other Ultimates towards the stone stairs. The three of them kept silent as they ascended the steps, simply waiting until they arrived at the tower's apex. That is, the proximity _was_ quiet, until...

"HEY! WHO'S COMING UP HERE!?"

Hana's eyes widened in shock and fright. "W-W-What!?"

Shiori furrowed her brow. "I thought we were the first ones in here."

"Hey, wait, that sounded like-" Rumi began, her eyes growing with recognition.

Sure enough, there she was, a certain Ultimate Gardener standing at the top of the watchtower's stairs at the top floor. She did not appear any more stable (physically or mentally) than when Hana had seen her that morning, but at least it seemed she was participating in the exploration in some way.

"Asuna? How long have you been here?" Hana asked in shock.

"Well, after I unlocked the storage room, I saw the gate on the doorway was gone..." Asune explained, her voice still in that strange and hostile tone (still very dissonant with her voice's usual soft and gentle tone). "SO I LOOKED AROUND! AND THIS WING IS GREAT, IT'S GOT A SUNROOM!"

"Y-You're saying nice stuff in a really angry way, and it's confusing me!" Rumi told her.

"A-Ah, great to see you got a headstart on the investigating, Asuna..." Shiori began, trying to sound congratulatory.

"Oh, but- have you seen the motive around anywhere?" Hana asked. "Since it sounds like you got a head start on looking around here, maybe you saw something we didn't?"

That caused Asuna's countenance to shift into what appeared to be confusion. "...What? What motive?"

"...Ooh, that's right, you weren't there when Monokuma explained the next motive!" Hana realized. "Er- look, to make a long story short, Monokuma hid something here in the West Wing that's apparently a motive for murder. Have you seen it? He said it's got his eye symbol on it."

"..." Asuna went silent, as if considering this new information...before shouting, "NO! I HAVEN'T!"

"O-Oh, that's fine, we've been trying to find it all day!" Hana responded, cringing from the volume of the gardener's shouting.

"Hey, we know you're going through...stuff right now, but..." Shiori began, frowning as if attempting to word her request as gently as possible. "Look, since you're already looking around here, could you see if you can help find it too? We don't need some thing lying around that could lead to another murder."

"HAH! THAT'S WHAT THAT FUDGING BEAR SAID!? I'M NOT TAKING HIS WORD FOR ANYTHING!" Asuna shouted furiously. "IT'S GOTTA BE A LIE, HE'S JUST TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE SCARED AGAIN!"

"...'Fudging'?" Hana asked herself, furrowing her brow.

"But what if he's telling the truth? He wasn't lying about the other motives- well, I still don't know about the first one- so we shouldn't risk-" Rumi began in concern.

"NO WAY! I'M NOT GONNA FALL FOR ANYTHING MONOKUMA HAS TO SAY, I'M BETTER THAN THAT NOW!" Asuna declared, her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted. "And if there _is_ a motive lying around...NOBODY'S GONNA USE IT AGAINST ME! I WON'T LET THEM!"

"H-Hey, that doesn't-" Hana began, shocked by the short Ultimate's response.

"Uh- e-even so, do you wanna look around the rest of the wing with me and Shiori?" Rumi suggested. "Hana's already basically seen everything, so-"

"I SAID NOBODY'S GONNA USE A MOTIVE AGAINST ME! I'M WON'T DIE HERE, I WON'T!" Asuna shouted, then shoved past the three girls and ran down the stairs. "NEVEEEEER!"

"..." Hana could do nothing but stare at Asuna as she fled from the conversation, still baffled and concerned by her friend's behavior.

"Uh...well, on the bright side, at least we found her!" Rumi pointed out.

"I...feel like we could have handled that better," Shiori stated in spite of the Ultimate Scuba Diver's assurance.

"The part where we find her some better coping mechanisms? Or the part where we convince her to help look for the motive?" Hana asked the surgeon.

"...Yes," Shiori responded flatly. "Let's just...look at this top area, the motive's important. Then we can try and focus on Asuna again."

"If...you say so," Hana reluctantly replied, making her way up the last remaining steps to the tower's top. The floor seemed to be made from stone, with a layer of wood planks on top. More torches lit up the otherwise dark room, and several other metal plates were screwed to the walls, presumably to cover up openings in the watchtower. Boxes and cloth sacks were stacked towards one end of the circular space, and a thick wooden beam stood in the middle of the room to likely act as support.

"Hm...well, I don't see a motive with a Monokuma eye lying around, do you guys?" Shiori asked, looking around.

"Not really," Hana responded, frowning as she scrutinized over the room. _Huh- so this is how me searching the West Wing ends, huh? Kinda stinks that we couldn't find that motive yet, though...I wonder, was Asuna actually right? Was Monokuma actually lying about there being a weird item motive-_

"Hey! Guys, there's a bunch of stuff over here!" Rumi called to her friends, standing by the boxes and sacks. "What if Monokuma hid the motive in here somewhere? It wouldn't be too obvious, so you'd _really_ have to be looking for it to find it."

"Hm...well, it seems a bit too inconspicuous for Monokuma, since I'm assuming he _wants_ someone to find the thing," Shiori pointed out. "But...eh, fine, I don't think we should really rule out anything."

"Huh? So we have to look through...all this stuff?" Hana asked in slight dismay.

Shiori scoffed. "What? You want to risk letting the motive slip past just because you don't want to look through some boxes and shit?"

"N-No! Don't make me feel bad!" Hana responded defensively. "Look, I'll even start searching right now! Come on, Rumi!"

With that declaration, the surfer approached the pile of supplies, telling herself, _Okay, change of plans-_ this _is how me searching the West Wing ends. Sorting through whatever's in here with my friends- it's for a good reason, don't be so bitter about it._

However, looking over the large stack, the surfer could already feel her motivation draining. "...Yeah, this...this might take a while."

* * *

 **A/N: OKAY, IT BE DONE! Chapter 3 has officially begun at long last! I really hope the wait was worth it- believe me, this is only the tip of the iceberg of what happens in this chapter...but I can't really divulge that** **information, so just trust me on this.**

 **So, next time, we conclude the West Wing investigation, and...other stuff happens! Hooray! And among those things, the return of...Free Time Events! That's right, the voting for FTEs starts up again! But, one thing I should mention- in addition to the obviously dead students, two more students are currently unavailable for Free Time Events. I don't think I need to say this, but those two are Asuna and Shiro; since the latter has Ultimate Depression and the former is delirious with despair and basically Super Saiyan (but hey, it's not DR until at least one character goes Super Saiyan- bet ya didn't think Fractured Fates's would be Asuna of all students, did you?), so their mental states aren't exactly the best. Everyone else though- free game!**

 **So, normally I'd give you all the Strawpoll code...but right now as of the time of writing this, Strawpoll isn't working (lotsa 505 errors), and I'm impatient so I can't do that. So, what's an author to do? Well, looks like you guys are gonna have to say who you want in the reviews- you know, like back in the story's early days! So, two FTEs next time- that means you choose two different characters! And like always, the two with the most votes get FTEs! And remember, you can't vote for the dead ones, and Asuna and Shiro are also unavailable because their friends died and they're sad.**

 **And in the meantime, here's hoping the wait between parts won't be as long this time! But with school's first semester wrapping up, I don't know. I'll be doing my best regardless, though! And I hope you guys are as excited for the rest of Chapter 3 as I am! I can't wait to see you guys there!**


	21. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 2)

**A/N: And so, another day, another part to Chapter 3. Heyo readers, and welcome back to Fractured Fates! Are you guys ready to read some sweet Daily Life action? Some good old-fashioned Free Time Events, and whatever else may be in-between? I sure hope so, because we can't have another murder too soon!**

 **So, last time- motive talk, Monokuma semi-revealed it last time, but it was quite vague. Personally, I think this chapter's motive is my favorite because it does seem pretty unique but not really stupid- but, I can't give away any more than what Monokuma stated, so you're just gonna have to wait for that mystery to be solved.**

 **One more thing- this story has officially surpassed 700 views! ...Okay even after all these years of being on the site, I still don't know anything about how views work or if they even mean anything. But, hey, 700 is a big number, so I'm taking it as an achievement! Bring out the doughnuts, whoo!**

 **And with that announcement out of the way, the next part begins! Here we go!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Aaah, so many questions, I see. Hehehe, you'll just have to wait and see!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Daily Life (Part 2)**

And so, the rest of Hana's day was spent with her, Rumi, and Shiori sifting through the random supply boxes and sacks in their search for the elusive 'motive'. Many of the containers turned out to be either empty or filled with food items that did not look safe to eat in the slightest, and there certainly wasn't anything with a symbol of Monokuma's eye on it. In the end, their search of the watchtower turned up fruitless, and the three decided to return to the dining room due to how late it was becoming. Not to mention the class would have to meet up there anyways in order to discuss their findings- Hana herself was hoping her classmates had more luck than she or her friends had.

Indeed, entering the dining room would indicate the rest of their classmates had the same idea, with nearly all of them having already made their way to the room beforehand.

"Oh, great- Hana, your tardiness is rubbing off on us," Shiori told the surfer with a frown.

"Hey, it's not my fault we were supposed to be thorough!" Hana responded defensively.

"Guuuys, no fighting please!" Rumi implored her two companions. "Ugh- let's just go sit down, it's been a long day."

"You two can, I'll be...lurking out here or something," Shiori told them, about to walk away.

"What? Why?" Hana quickly asked, surprised.

"Did you forget what I said earlier today? I'm not taking orders from Akira anymore," Shiori reminded her. "I'll help out if it means stopping a murder or something, fine. But including talking to Akira about all this, count me out. I'll...be nearby or something."

Before Hana could interject any further, the Ultimate Surgeon exited the dining room.

"W-Well...again, she's not exactly isolating herself from the group, and she's still helping out, so things are still good!" Rumi immediately reassured the surfer. "Let's...just sit, alright?"

simply nodded in response, walking over, but soon found herself interrupted when a certain Ultimate Thief ran up to them.

"Oh heeey! Hana, fancy seeing you here-" Hinata began.

"Wha...? Not really, we're all supposed to come here after we get done searching," Hana pointed out.

"-And Rumi! Just the girl I wanted to see!" the thief went on, ignoring the Ultimate Surfer. "I have-"

"Yonade! Get back in your seat, we were just about to start discussing our findings," Akira scolded him, frowning.

"What? Come on, can't I just-" Hinata implored, sounding almost like a little kid.

"Not now. Sit," the prosecutor ordered.

"Uh- don't worry Hinata, you can talk to Rumi once we're done, I'm sure," Hana reassured him with an encouraging smile. She then added to him, in a voice low enough to ensure Rumi wouldn't overhear, "And hey, I'm sure you'll still have that bracelet on you even a few minutes from now, right?"

"Ah- yeah yeah, I know but-" Hinata began, also whispering, before simply walking away to his seat while impatiently grumbling.

With that, Hana took a quick look around the room, noticed an empty seat near Hiroshi, and promptly took her seat to hear what the others had to say.

"So, before we discuss the West Wing itself, I believe there's a more pressing topic at hand, so let's start with that first and foremost," Akira began, standing. "Did anyone actually find the motive Monokuma told us about?"

"My apologies, Akira, but I did not," Saku spoke up. "Ryoto and I searched the ballroom, and there was no sign of anything with that demon's symbol on it."

"Yeah, and I searched that grand piano hard! Like, I was tangled in those strings for a good five minutes!" Ryoto added. "Good thing Saku was there!"

"That is...also true. Alas, still no motive," the kickboxer confirmed apologetically.

Before Hana had a chance to wonder how Ryoto ended up caught in piano strings, Hinata stated, "Well, we got a treasure room, but I was in there the whole time and I didn't see anything weird either."

"Hmm, sounds just like something an Ultimate Thief would say, wouldn't you all agree?" Tadao spoke up, his judgmental gaze towards the purple-haired young man.

"Hey, I may steal random stuff, but even I know when things are serious!" the Ultimate in question indignantly responded. "If it stops a murder, then I'd gladly be honest if I had the motive."

"Would you really? If someone finds an item that will supposedly help in a murder, and they wanted to make good use of it, it would be plain stupid to come clean about it," Tadao pointed out, as skeptical as ever.

"Well, I say we believe Hinata," Rumi told the waiter. "I mean, remember when It- er, I mean-"

"Koichi's not here, Hamasaki," Akira informed the girl.

"Oh! Well, like I was saying- remember when Itachi tried to trick us into thinking Hinata stole his knife? Hinata was telling the truth then, wasn't he?" Rumi reminded Tadao. "Just because he's a thief doesn't mean he's automatically lying! So quit doubting him, Tadao!"

Hana was taken aback by the scuba diver telling off Tadao, and evidently she wasn't the only one; Hinata blinked a few times in surprise, before adding, "Y-Yeah, you should listen to her, she knows what she's talking about."

"..." Tadao looked back and forth between Rumi and Hinata, before rolling his eyes and stating, "Oh, fine, I'll agree to disagree. At any rate, I myself searched the wine room on the second floor, and all I found were beverages that we're forbidden by Monokuma to drink. Useless drinks, but no such motive."

"Yeah, how do we know YOU'RE not lying!?" Ryoto demanded, going as far as to slam his leg on the table dramatically and point at the waiter in fury.

"...Uh...maybe we should stop just doubting each other?" Hana suggested, frowning.

"I agree, we'll be here all day if we do that," Hiroshi stated. "Besides, we're all allies here, aren't we? If we're going to keep another murder from happening, trust in each other is vital."

"Hmph, speak for yourself, I'd mow down any one of you to escape," Tadao stated with crossed arms. He then added to Ryoto, "And get your foot of the table! Like I told Izumi, we _eat_ there!"

"We're aware, Shimaru...especially me," Akira replied, giving him a glare that seemed to say 'I'm watching you'. Meanwhile, Ryoto removed his leg from the table, but not before glaring at Tadao as well.

 _W-Why would you be so open about wanting to kill...?_ Hana wondered, glancing at the waiter in concern.

"At any rate, I myself searched that smaller banquet hall next to the ballroom, and I found nothing as well," Akira stated, as if to move the conversation back on track.

"Oh! Me, Shiori, and Hana searched that watchtower!" Rumi informed the others, raising her hand. "...But all we found were a bunch boxes and sacks full of weird supplies."

"And food that I don't think is safe to eat at all," Hana added, frowning.

"I looked in the sunroom," Hiroshi stated, leaning on the table as he spoke. "But, sorry to say, I didn't find anything either."

Hana furrowed her brow as Hiroshi made his claim. _Hey, that's not completely true...we found that- uh, symbol thing. Shouldn't we...?_

"Er- hey, Hiroshi?" Hana whispered to the Ultimate Coroner as the others continued to speak about the West Wing. "Shouldn't we tell them about...you know, that thing we found carved into the floor of the sunroom? The symbol? The thing that Monokuma freaked out about?"

"..." Hiroshi went quiet, his smile faltering slightly before responding, "I...don't think that's necessary. I don't think it was the motive, otherwise Monokuma probably wouldn't have chased us away. Besides, that eye looked _similar_ to Monokuma's, but it wasn't exact. So, I think it would be better to just keep it between us for now."

Hana frowned slightly, but simply shrugged in acceptance as she turned back to the others. _I guess Hiroshi makes a good point, but...the more I think about that symbol, the more it bothers me...but why?_

"...So, in conclusion: the West Wing contains a ballroom, a banquet area next to it, a treasury with security measures, a sunroom, a wine room with faulty lighting, and a watchtower," Akira summarized. "And _nobody_ found the motive Monokuma described? Nothing?"

A chorus of 'no's rang out amongst the students in response.

"Well, if we're quite done here, I need to make food," Tadao remarked already making his way towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Akira looked downwards, deep in thought.

"Soo- what now? We didn't find the motive, so..." Ryoto stated with a frown.

"Well, something that could influence a murder, I'd be surprised if Monokuma made it _easy_ to find," Hinata pointed out, crossing his arms.

"I do not believe we should just...give up on finding it, correct?" Saku stated.

"Correct, Yamamoto," Akira confirmed, adjusting her glasses. "Hm...give me until tomorrow morning, everyone. Rest assured, I'll have come up with a plan by then."

Hiroshi chuckled a little before responding, "I have no doubt you'll come up with something great, Akira."

"Hm...if we're going to be eating dinner, should I go get Shiori?" Rumi asked Hana. "She only said she didn't want to be a part of the discussion part, but I don't think she'd want to go to bed without eating."

"Probably not, yeah," Hana confirmed. "I wonder...do you think we could get Asuna to be here for dinner too? And maybe Shiro, too?"

"Oh! I could go get Shiro!" Ryoto eagerly offered. "I'm, like, the KING of encouraging! I'll get him here no problem!"

"I'll go find Shiori- and maybe I can get her to help me find Asuna too!" Rumi added, standing up from her seat along with Ryoto.

"Good luck with that- Sauchi is one thing, but Koichi and Izumi are another battle entirely," Akira told them, frowning in skepticism.

With that, Rumi and Ryoto exited the dining room to search for their absent classmates. For the rest of the night, not much else of interest occurred; Tadao made dinner (and confirmed none of the food was poisoned), Rumi had been successful in bringing Shiori to the dinner meeting (though the surgeon claimed it was only because she was feeling hungry anyways, definitely not because she wanted to spend time with Rumi or Hana), but Rumi and Ryoto were ultimately unsuccessful in bringing Shiro or Asuna to the dinner meeting (something that particularly wounded Ryoto's pride). In spite of this disappointment, the rest of the nighttime meeting went off without much drama. Thus, the dinner meeting went on without any more hitches, rather routine in all honesty. Everyone ate, the dishes were cleaned up, and after some more time passed Monokuma announced the start of nighttime. Thus, Hana and her classmates all made their way to their respective bedrooms to sleep.

However, Hana would find herself falling asleep with many more questions in her head regarding the motive and the strange symbol from the sunroom, not to mention continuing worry for Asuna and Shiro...in fact, falling asleep with questions and concerns roaming about in her head seemed to be becoming more commonplace these days. Even so, the Ultimate found herself coming to the same conclusion that she usually did: that she would have to wait until morning for a _possibility_ of her questions being answered, or for any of her worries to (hopefully) be put to rest...

* * *

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

After what felt like mere minutes of sleep rather than several hours, Monokuma's usual announcement played, and Hana was pulled out of sleep yet again. The surfer was sluggish to drag herself out of bed- not so much out of a lack of sleep like it usually was, but just Hana plainly being tired in the early morning- but she ultimately got ready for the day as usual.

 _Well, here's hoping things are at least slightly back to normal..._ Hana thought to herself, frowning in concern. _Maybe Shiro'll be a little bit more like his regular self? Or maybe Asuna will join in for breakfast today? I wonder if I should check out the sunroom again too, and try and get a look at that weird symbol again-_

Suddenly, Hana found herself bumping into someone with a small _thump._ The Ultimate immediately looked up to see who she had walked into, and was met with a pair of gray eyes glancing over at her.

"Oh! Hiroshi!" Hana exclaimed, immediately growing embarrassed as the coroner turned to fully face her. "Uh, sorry about that! I was kinda zoning out, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going-"

Hiroshi simply chuckled, stopping Hana's explanation as he responded, "No worries, Hana. It was sort of my fault anyways, for just standing in the hallway like that. Truth be told, I was actually kind of zoning out myself, I just wasn't expecting anyone to walk over like that."

"Oh, er- again, sorry about that," Hana apologized yet again, sheepish. _Great way to start the morning, Hana, just walk into someone minding their own business. I guess I should be glad it was Hiroshi and not, like, Akira or Tadao..._

"WEEEEEEELL, that was a waste of time!" another voice suddenly interjected into the conversation. Ryoto Miura walked past Hana and Hiroshi, continuing, "I figured Shiro was still hiding out in his room, so I tried to get him out so he can have some breakfast."

"And...it didn't go well?" Hana guessed, furrowing her brow.

"Well, he opened his door at least, but when I asked him he said he wasn't hungry and just went back into his room," the racecar driver explained. "I tried again, because Ryoto Miura isn't one to just give up- I even threatened that I'd break his door down if he didn't agree to come to breakfast!"

"Y-You did what?" Hana asked, surprised- but then again, this was Ryoto they were talking to, so her surprise was somewhat diminished.

"You didn't make good on that threat, did you?" Hiroshi inquired. "I'm pretty sure breaking down doors is against the regulations..."

"Well, not that it matters, because it didn't work. Those doors, they are a LOT stronger than they look!" Ryoto informed them, glaring in frustration. "Yup, gonna have to do a BUNCH of exercising to clear my mind! If either of you guys wanna join me, go ahead!"

With that, the Ultimate Racecar Driver stormed into the dining room, leaving Hana and Hiroshi by themselves once again.

"I..think maybe we should head in too," Hiroshi told Hana, gesturing to the entrance to the dining room. "Knowing Tadao, he probably won't take too kindly to anyone being late for the food."

"Ah...yeah," Hana responded, nodding as she and the coroner walked into the room.

The two Ultimates found themselves seated together as other students filed in. Hana was glad to see Shiori was there for breakfast, but found that relief repressed when she saw Asuna and Shiro were still absent.

The surfer glanced downwards with a grimace, thinking to herself, _I know Hiroshi said I shouldn't rush Asuna and Shiro's recoveries, but...I don't know, knowing what's going on with them, just taking it slowly doesn't feel right..._

However, Hana did not have much more time to sort out her feelings, as Tadao stoically brought out the food like he usually did. And after he did that, Akira wasted no time speaking up.

"Everyone- well, everyone who respects my authority-" Akira began, pointedly glaring at Shiori (who pointedly glared right back). "After thinking it over last night, I have come up with what we're going to do about Monokuma's motive. Now, the initial search turned up fruitless, but to that I say- Occam's Razor. We'll simply search the West Wing again."

"What? _That's_ your big plan, 'just search again'?" Hinata asked, incredulous.

"Well, if you really think about it, that's sort of all we can do," Hiroshi pointed out. "Monokuma said it's hidden in the West Wing without a doubt so, unless someone found it and didn't say anything, it's still hiding there somewhere. It's just a matter of finding it, is all."

"Although, Monokuma is not exactly the pinnacle of morality, so perhaps he was lying about the motive's location," Saku suggested.

"That's a possibility- but if that situation starts to become more likely, then we'll inquire Monokuma ourselves," Akira responded. "For now, the West Wing is all we have to go off of, so we'll focus on that."

"So...will we _all_ be searching around again?" Rumi asked.

"No, not everyone. I, of course, will be searching the wing," Akira told the scuba diver. "In addition- Ashi, Yamamoto. You two will be with me."

"Hm? Why them?" Hana asked. "...Er, nothing against them or anything! Just-"

"Because, they're two of the more competent students here for something like this," the prosecutor told her.

"Yeah, because _that_ won't offend everyone else..." Shiori muttered to herself.

"The only other candidate would be Shimaru, and I think we can at least agree that he's as untrustworthy as they come," Akira went on, ignoring the surgeon's sarcasm. "So- Ashi, Yamamoto, any objections?"

"Well, I shall certainly try my hardest to uncover the whereabouts of the motive, I can promise you," Saku assured Akira, nodding.

"While I wouldn't say the others are incompetent, if you believe me and Saku are truly the best for the job, then I'm in," Hiroshi responded with his usual calm smile.

"Good answer. We'll head for the West Wing after breakfast," Akira concluded, sitting back down on her seat.

 _Well, nice to see Akira at least has her mind set and fine._ Hana thought to herself, looking towards the Ultimate Prosecutor. _And here I thought Hiroshi was the most unfazed one, but Akira_ _'s a whole different level, even if I wish she was a little kinder. How in the world does she do it...?_

Surprise aside, the girl chose to focus on her breakfast for the rest of that morning- she had faith in Hiroshi and Saku, plus Akira made up for her lack of empathy with strategics, so they would certainly be able to locate the motive...right?

* * *

With breakfast finished, Hana decided to head back to her room. She sat down on the bed, taking a breath as she thought to herself, _Okay, we've got the trio in the West Wing looking for the motive, so...what should I do?_

Hana lied down on her back, finding herself staring up at the ceiling of the bedroom. _Well...I'd like to do something for Shiro or Asuna, but if I make a mistake and say or do the wrong thing...and they're already in a fragile state..._

The surfer frowned. _Well, if I can't do much for those two- for now, at least, mark my words- maybe I can do something for some of the others? I'm sure a lot of them are probably worried about the whole motive situation, and I'd be shocked if some of the others weren't still thinking about the last trial. Yeah...Yeah, that's what I'll do!_

Smiling to herself, Hana practically jumped out of the bed and made her way to the door. _Yeah! I'll go talk to some of the others! That ought to improve someone's mood today, right? Besides, it wouldn't hurt to get my own mind off of some of these things by spending time with the others._

Exiting her bedroom, the Ultimate made her way back into the familiar main chamber, looking for a classmate to spend time with. However, she noticed the room was rather devoid of any other students. Then, the surfer had an idea- though she was unsure how it would turn out. Despite this, Hana decided the risk would be fine, and made her way to the West Wing.

Like the south, the West Wing didn't appear to have that many people around either, though Hana knew there were at least three people in here. She spent some time searching around the rooms (all the while making sure to avoid a certain red-haired prosecutor), before eventually she found her way into the western watchtower. There, wandering around the base of the tower, was none other than Hiroshi Ashi.

"Huh...? Oh, hey Hana- what are you doing here? Did Akira decide to let you help with the search?" Hiroshi inquired curiously.

"Uuuh, not exactly- I mean I'll help if you want me to- I was just bored and thought spending some time with you would be nice," Hana explained cheerfully.

"Ooh. Well...I'm not sure Akira would like someone else joining in on the search..." Hiroshi began...but then smiled and added, "But, she never actually _said_ that couldn't happen."

With that subtle agreement, Hana spent some time looking around the watchtower with Hiroshi. Despite the nature of the search, with the motive and such, the surfer still felt as though the two of them grew a little closer.

"..." Strangely, Hiroshi was quite silent at the moment, which baffled Hana right away.

"Uh...Hiroshi? How come you're so quiet?" the surfer asked him, frowning in concern.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, it's just...I'm thinking about everything that's happened so far," Hiroshi responded, with usual calm smile faded somewhat.

"Oh...yeah, I know how that feels..." Hana told him, sighing slightly.

"...Hm. Kinda makes you think about what we talked abut before, huh...?" Hiroshi said, looking upwards. "It may have been a few days, it may have been a few weeks since we've been in here...all I know is, it feels like an eternity either way."

Hana sighed, responding, "Yeah, you took the words right out of my mouth."

"...Hey, Hana, do you-" Hiroshi began, but then stopped himself. For some reason, he seemed almost...uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Hiroshi...?" Hana inquired, leaning in somewhat to hear him say something.

"...Not here," Hiroshi said, more to himself than Hana, before turning to walk away. "Come on, let's talk about this in my room. No need to worry, I'm not gonna do anything weird or something like that."

"Y-Your room?" Hana asked in shock- being invited into a guy's room like this...was that okay? "I, uh...sure! Let's go!"

Without much more conversation, Hana soon found herself heading to Hiroshi's room. As the two entered, the room itself...actually appeared rather plain. The room, at its base, appeared identical to her own (minus the soft blue bedsheets instead of pink ones)- however, a few noticeable differences included a poster depicting the anatomy of the human body pinned to one of the walls, several textbooks about forensics and anatomy stacked on the desk, and a jet black laptop lying dormant on the desk as well.

"Sorry for being so sudden- I guess I just wanted to talk a bit in private," Hiroshi explained.

"N-No worries! I trust you!" Hana assured the coroner, still feeling somewhat out of place.

"...So...this killing game we're involved in..." Hiroshi said, sitting on the bed. "...I don't want to think about it too much. I believe in everyone here, and I want to _keep_ believing in everyone here. But...in the back of my mind, I know deep down this is for real. This killing game...is a little too real for me."

He then went on, "And...you know, I really do want nothing more than to just...be a student at Hope's Peak like it was supposed to be, you know? But...I know it's not that simple."

"Hiroshi..." Hana began, unsure of what to make of this. This was entirely new side to the coroner, one that was not all collected and confident as he often appeared to be. "How come...you're feeling like this? Where's this coming from?"

Hiroshi shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe I've just been thinking about it all a little too much recently, and..."

"But, Hiroshi, you're one of the most unfazed people here! This can't just be starting because you're thinking about it too much!" Hana insisted, baffled by his response.

"Heh...I'm glad you think that about me, Hana, and most of the time you'd be right to think that," Hiroshi admitted. "But, the thing is...it's not easy. Especially now, with everything going on, it's...incredibly hard to keep my own feelings in check."

"I'm not, Hana- I'm really not as confident or intelligent as I appear," the Ultimate went on. "There are so many things that I wish I could tell someone, but I'm too cowardly to do so. I guess even now, in spite of what I told you in the past...deep down, I'm still that insecure boy I was before Hope's Peak Academy."

"Ah-? Hey, that's not true! If anyone in this room is the insecure one, it's me," Hana told him firmly. "And...I don't think all that calmness you have is fake at all. Hiroshi, you really are one of the most trustworthy and caring people here, really!"

"A-And, it's fine to be scared about the killing game! I get scared all the time, you know that!" Hana quickly went on. "But, Hiroshi, you are _way_ better at handling this than I am. At least you're able to control those feelings of yours, I can barely handle doing that. And, honestly, you really are one of the nicest and most optimistic people here. No matter what the others might say, that sort of thing is really needed right now. I know I need someone like that to keep my own sanity..."

"So...you know that thing you keep saying to me? About how you believe in me?" Hana then asked. "Well... _I_ believe in _you_ too! And I don't like seeing you so down like this! You're not some coward, you're a great guy!"

"..." Hiroshi appeared surprised by Hana's sudden motivational speech, but then he smiled once again. "Heh...spoken like someone who's also a lot better than she thinks she is."

The coroner stood up and added, "You know, what you said...it sounded a lot like what that really smart person would probably say to me right now. Maybe that's why I'm already starting to feel better..."

"You know, you keep mentioning this 'really smart person'...who are they? Your aunt?" Hana inquired. "Because whoever they are, I think them and I would get along great."

"Heh- no, though my aunt is a great woman, she's not who I'm talking about. But, when this killing game is over, and we can leave, chances are you'll get to meet," Hiroshi promised the surfer. "And...you two would probably get along very well."

"Hah, I'll hold you to that," Hana responded with a cheerful smile.

"...Hey, Hana. Can I...try something real fast?" Hiroshi then asked.

"Huh? What is it?" Hana responded.

Hiroshi walked over to her, then reached out his hand; for a moment, it appeared he was going for Hana's hand...but then he froze, and swiftly moved his hand upwards to rest it on the girl's shoulder.

"Er...sorry. Just- you know how I'm not a fan of physical contact? Well, it's...something I'm trying to work on," Hiroshi explained, before quickly moving his hand away. "And, I trust you, so...who better to help me out with that than you?"

"Oh! Well...glad I could be of help!" Hana replied with a chuckle.

The two of them stood in the room for what felt like a few more minutes, simply taking in the other's company. It was strange, in Hana's mind- when she first met Hiroshi, she thought he was rather creepy. But that's not him at all, now that she knew him as well as she did.

No, in reality...Hana was certain she and Hiroshi really were friends in the truest sense of the word.

* * *

Bidding farewell to Hiroshi, Hana found herself returning to her bedroom. The surfer checked the time, and found there was still quite a bit of time left in the day. _Well, I'm not exactly tired at all...and I'm sure there are still other people around...I should go talk to them!_

Smiling to herself, the girl left her bedroom and wasted no time attempting to find other students. In the main hall, she initially didn't spot anyone...but upon looking towards the upper area, she saw Shiori leaning on the railing, simply staring off into space.

"Shiori, hey!" Hana greeted her surgeon friend, running up the stairs.

"Oh, hey Hana. Don't mind me, just..." Shiori began, before grumbling to herself, you know, the others better not be thinking I'm turning into Tadao or something. He's a jackass, I just don't want to take orders from that bitch Akira anymore."

 _Okay...Shiori seems a bit irritated...should I spend time with her anyways...?_ Hana asked herself, but shook off her worries and asked, "Well, do you mind if I...stand here with you?"

"...Eh, fine, knock yourself. I can think of worse people to spend time with, anyways," Shiori responded.

Thus, Hana and Shiori spent time observing the main hall together. In spite of the silence, Hana felt as though they grew a little closer.

"...You know, Shiori, there's something I've always wondered about you, a-and don't take it the wrong way, but..." Hana began. "How'd you even become a surgeon in the first place? I mean we're, like, sixteen, and don't doctors usually need a bunch of time at med school?"

"Mmph, like I haven't heard that question a million times before..." Shiori replied, exasperated. "Fine, I'll tell you too. So, I started studying these medical textbooks when I was pretty young, right? My dad is actually the CEO of this well-known hospital near where we live, so I guess that's why I started looking at all this medical stuff. I read those books cover to cover, remembering what I read...and one day, when I was in middle school, this janitor starts going into cardiac arrest-"

"W-What?" Hana exclaimed. Well that story certainly took a turn.

"-And since the only other people around at that time were me and some of my other classmates, and seeing as how none of the other kids knew what to do, I used what I read to treat him until some teachers came and called the paramedics," Shiori went on. "If I hadn't done what I did, the guy probably would have been dead on arrival. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I basically saved that guy's life."

"W-Wow, that's...intense," Hana stated. "Glad I didn't go to _that_ middle school..."

"My parents found out, and they realized I had a knack for medical stuff. So, when I was a little older, my parents- you know, being pretty influential people- pulled a few strings and got me into this medical school," Shiori went on. "And of course, since being a surgeon requires nothing less than perfection, I excelled and actually got to graduate early. Though to be honest, I feel like my parents might have had something to do with that as well- but it's not like I don't have the skill to back it up. Hope's Peak wouldn't have accepted me as the _Ultimate_ Surgeon otherwise."

"Huh...that's still pretty cool, Shiori!" Hana told her eagerly. "Wow, to be able to do all of that and still be in high school...you must really love what you do, huh?"

"..." Shiori was silent for a moment, then responded, "Meh."

"...'Meh'? What- What does 'meh' mean?" Hana asked, dumbfounded.

"Exactly what you think it does," Shiori replied. "My job is my job. I save people when I need to, and that's that. To say I 'love' it is...inaccurate."

"What!? But you're an Ultimate! How can you be the best of the best in surgery and not feel any passion for it!?" Hana demanded. "If I felt that way about surfing, I wouldn't be an Ultimate at all!"

"Listen, Hana- I don't know what you were raised on, but let me tell you something: skill and passion are not codependent on each other," Shiori told her. "You can be skillful at something you're not too interested in. Likewise, you can be utterly abysmal at something, yet still have a passion for it. If you happen to have both skill and passion for something, then more power to you. But not everyone is, and they don't have to be."

"...Oh. Well...I guess that makes sense..." Hana replied, shrugging.

"Well anyways, you got my life story, hope you're satisfied," the Ultimate replied, turning to walk away. "Anyways, I'll see you around, Hana."

Before Hana had another chance to speak, Shiori walked away to parts unknown. However, Hana's mind did wander- if Shiori wasn't passionate about her work as a surgeon...then what kind of job could she have where she would be?

Wondering about this, the surfer quietly returned to her familiar bedroom.

* * *

Finding herself back in her room yet again, Hana checked her e-Handbook for the time. It was late, approaching the time for the dinner meeting, and the surfer couldn't help but wonder about the trio currently searching the West Wing. _They've really taken their sweet time, haven't they? Well, trying to stop a murder involves being thorough I guess. I wonder...would any of them mind someone- mainly me- going to check up on them...?_

 _...Eh, it's been a long day, I'm sure I wouldn't be the first one._ Hana concluded, leaving her room. She walked down the hall and stopped in the main hall, looking back and forth between the stairs to the South Wing's top floor and the doors to the courtyard, wondering which route to take. Ultimately, seeing as how the courtyard entrance would lead her directly into the ballroom and thus closer to where someone could potentially be searching, Hana decided to enter through that door (not to mention, getting some quick fresh air would be nice).

Pushing open the doors and stepping out onto the stone surface, the Ultimate Surfer made her way down the steps and then across the grass towards the west door. Then...something caught her eye. No, not something, someone. That person was sitting on the edge of the ivory-colored fountain, their gaze downwards, which explained why they hadn't realized they were no longer alone.

 _Wait...isn't that...?_ Hana asked herself, her eyes widening in realization. The surfer approached, before she called out, "Asuna?"

Sure enough, the short blonde immediately jumped to her feet, the uncharacteristic wildness in her eyes only growing in intensity...but she seemed to calm down (well, 'calm' in relation to her recent behavior) upon seeing Hana.

"Wha-!? HANA! IT'S RUDE TO SNEAK UP ON SOMEONE!" the Ultimate Gardener shouted, accusingly jabbing a finger at the surfer.

"Gh- sorry, sorry!" Hana immediately responded, cringing. _Good god, never before today and yesterday did I ever think I'd hear Asuna with this kind of tone in her voice- if this keeps up, I_ still _don't think I'll ever get used to it..._

"What are you...even DOING out here?" Asuna asked, the crazed tone of voice diminishing ever so slightly.

"W-Well, uh, nothing really- I was just passing through on my way to the West Wing," Hana explained, looking towards the doors in question. "Ah- what are _you_ doing out here?"

"WHY DOES THAT MATTER!?" Asuna shouted, her teeth clenched. "...I'm just enjoying the scenery. BUT THAT'S STILL NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

"Sorry! I'm just trying to make conversation!" Hana stammered. "I just saw you sitting there, and- you know, we haven't talked since yesterday in the watchtower, and I was just wondering- you know, wondering how you're doing..."

"I'M FINE! I SAID BEFORE THAT I'M FINE!" Asuna declared, her sleep-deprived eyes practically blazing. _"COMPLETELY_ FINE!"

"I-I, um..." Hana began, unsure of what to make of this conversation.

"SO DON'T WORRY! Just...you know- GO TO THE WEST WING! You know, like you SAID you were!" Asuna urged her, clearly wanting to end the conversation.

"I..." Hana began, looking down. To her surprise, Asuna also went quiet, the gardener possibly expecting her classmate to leave.

 _...I can't just leave like this..._ Hana told herself. _Asuna's right here in front of me, and she's clearly no better off than yesterday. I know I shouldn't just push trying to improve her state, at least that's what Hiroshi said, but...I have to do something! Say something to reassure her, something!_

"...Hey, Asuna?" Hana began. "You...say you're fine, and I'm not saying you're lying! But, um...Kaneki's trial was only about two days ago, you know? I'm...sure you're still pretty upset about what happened..."

Asuna's eyes widened somewhat. "I...I'm FINE, I said! I'M FINE! I'M OVER IT!"

Hana grimaced, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to piece together her response. "I...kinda doubt that, to be honest. If...you're still upset about it, you know that's fine, right? I know how badly the trial affected you, so..."

"I...I'm OKAY! There's...NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" Asuna insisted- but for a moment, it would seem her angry exterior was cracking at the edges.

Hana, having realized this, continued, "Asuna, seriously- come on, you've still got friends here, you know? Hey, I am literally right here, ready for any kind of confiding you may need to do. Maybe right not right now if you're not ready for it, but..."

"I...I told you, I-" Asuna continued, although her old self seemed to be poking through more clearly.

Noticing this, Hana continued with growing sincerity, "And, you know Asuna, I _do_ know what you're going through."

The gardener's eyes widened, and she slowly turned her gaze towards Hana...but there was certainly something off about it. "W-What...?"

"I was friends with Kaneki too- maybe not as close to her as you were, but friends all the same," the Ultimate Surfer went on. "And I...I was pretty crushed too, when she died. I had talked with her the night before too, I _told_ her I didn't want to lose her like-"

"Be...Be quiet...!" Asuna whispered, before shouting, "BE QUIET!"

The gardener then proceeded to lunge forward and connect her smaller fist with Hana's stomach- although considering Asuna's size and physical stature, it didn't feel like a punch and more like a cat rubbing its body against someone's leg. However, that didn't stop Hana from going completely silent as she stared down at the other Ultimate.

"Did...you just punch me...?" Hana asked, her tone one of confusion rather than pain or anger.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT'S IN ANY WAY RIGHT!?" Asuna shouted, furious. "'I know what you're going through'- NO YOU _DON'T!_ YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M FEELING AT ALL!"

"W-What the-!?" Hana cried, completely taken aback by this turn of events.

"You...You don't know A THING! YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE _YOU'RE_ UPSET BY HER DEATH IT MEANS YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW _I_ FEEL ABOUT IT!?" Asuna demanded. Hana had no idea it was possible, but somehow the girl appeared even more unhinged than she had been yesterday. The gardener then went on, "You...Your grief may be genuine, but DON'T YOU _DARE_ SAY WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH IS THE SAME! BECAUSE IT'S NOT!"

"H-Hey, calm down!" Hana yelled at her, her panic starting to grow. "Asuna, I wasn't trying to-"

"STOP IT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AT ALL!" Asuna shouted, her voice starting to crack as what appeared to be tears of anger formed in her eyes. "DO YOU THINK I'M JUST 'CRUSHED' BY WHAT HAPPENED? THAT I'M JUST A LITTLE BUMMED OUT!? How...HOW COULD YOU BE SO PRESUMPTUOUS!?"

"It's not like that!" Hana responded. "Asuna, I'm just trying to help! I know what you're-"

"NO! YOU! DON'T!" Asuna shouted, her anger only intensifying. "JUST STOP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING, SO STOP ACTING LIKE IT!"

The gardener clenched her teeth and squeezed her hands into fists, as if trying to control her rage towards Hana.

"Just...go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Asuna snapped, backing away from the other girl. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

With that enraged declaration, the Ultimate Gardener sprinted away from Hana and the fountain, heading towards the South Wing.

"W-Wait! Asuna! I'm sorry!" Hana cried out, but at that point it was too late and the smaller girl was gone. With that, the courtyard was silent once more, and the surfer was left alone amongst the grass and stone paths.

 _...I fucked up. I fucked up bad._ Hana thought, feeling sick to her stomach. The surfer grimaced, realizing chasing after Asuna would only lead to more issues, and so decided to continue on to her original destination of the West Wing.

* * *

The Ultimate Surfer pushed open the doors to the West Wing, entering the ballroom without a word. She didn't see anyone in the room, it was empty save for the grand piano; although at this point, Hana was unsure if she was willing to talk to anyone anymore. Seeing as there was nowhere to sit except for the cushioned seat in front of the piano.

Taking a seat, Hana stared down towards the black and white keys as she recalled the conversation with Asuna.

 _...Why...? Why didn't I listen to literally anyone? I shouldn't have tried to just force it, and now- oh my god, who knows what's going on with Asuna now! She might have gotten worse now because of me!_ Hana told herself, the shame rising in her. _At the very least, I shouldn't have been so- I mean, I_ do _know how she feels about what happened, but I- oh my god, why am I so fucking dense!?_

Out of anger towards herself, Hana lowered her head and faceplanted onto the piano keys, the instrument making sound as the keys were pressed. She banged her head against the piano several more times, random piano noise filling the room as she did so. This probably would have kept up for a bit longer, until...

"Wha...? Hana?" a voice called out.

The surfer did not lift her head from the piano, but she did adjust so she could see who had walked in. On the other side of the ballroom, standing in the doorway on the opposite end of the ballroom from the courtyard entrance, was none other than Saku Yamamoto.

"Ah- so that was you making the noise from the piano," Saku observed, approaching his classmate. "Are...you okay...?"

"..." Hana hesitated for a few moments, glancing away initially, before stating simply, "No."

Saku furrowed his brow in concern, responding, "Did something happen?"

"Weeeell...I might have fucked something up, to put it vaguely," Hana explained, sitting up. "And, well, I dunno, it doesn't really help that I've just been generally stressed out, and...what happened just now, it's just, mmph..."

Saku was silent at first, but then he told her, "I may know a way to help put your mind at ease. Please, follow me."

"Huh...? But, wait, don't you have to help with the searching?" Hana pointed out, frowning.

"True, but I believe we are just about finished with the search, considering the time," Saku told her. "I myself have finished my latest assigned area, so I do not think Akira would be too angry."

"Well...if you say so," Hana replied, standing up and following the Ultimate Kickboxer out of the ballroom.

The two of them made their way into the main room of the West Wing, then they ascended the stairs to the second floor. From there, Hana followed Saku to the western hallway, and then they walked down the hall towards the sunroom.

"The sunroom? What are we doing here?" Hana inquired, looking towards the much larger student.

"You will see- it is nothing too extravagant, but I do believe it will help calm your mind," Saku assured her, opening the door to the room in question.

As the duo entered, a memory suddenly resurfaced in Hana's mind. "Er- hey, Saku, give me one second, okay?"

"Ah-? Well, alright, I need to move some of the furniture anyways," the Ultimate replied, walking over to the table and seats.

Hana nodded, then made her way towards the other end of the room. Specifically, the spot on the floor where she and Hiroshi had seen the odd symbol yesterday; she had been wondering about it since then, and now that she had a chance to see it again, Hana hoped she might be able to make some sense of it. The surfer looked down at the floor, attempting to locate the odd symbol...

 _...Wait, what...?_ Hana asked herself, still scanning her eyes across the non-carpeted section of the floor. However, no matter where she looked, there was no denying it: the strange symbol was gone.

 _What...? No, no no..._ the Ultimate Surfer thought upon realizing the symbol had disappeared. _You...have_ got _to be kidding me...!_

Hana's shock turned to frustration. No doubt Monokuma was responsible for the symbol's disappearance- after all, if he could make a bloody crime scene completely spotless in the span of a few hours, it wasn't too out of the question that he could repair a mark carved into a wood floor. However, that only raised more questions in Hana's head- why would Monokuma remove it in the first place? And why did he even panic when she and Hiroshi found it the first time? The only thing she knew for certain was that it wasn't the motive (the Monokuma eye didn't even look identical to the actual thing, as Hana imagined the actual symbol on the motive would), but that didn't entirely narrow down anything.

"Hana?" Saku said, bringing Hana out of her stupor.

"Uh, sorry! Just zoning out!" Hana responded, immediately turning back to the kickboxer. She noticed the table and chairs had been moved to the side, creating an open space in the middle of the room.

"Well, if you are ready- please, sit," Saku told her, sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor. Hana raised an eyebrow, but obliged and sat down next to the Ultimate.

"Sooo, what are we doing?" Hana asked, glancing at the young man.

"Simple- we are going to meditate," Saku told her. "You focus your mind on something particular in order to achieve mental and emotional stability. I myself have practiced it many times, so I am sure if anything can put your mind at ease, this will."

"Meditation...?" Hana inquired, hesitant. "Isn't that also when you're supposed to, you know, sit still? All calmly and stuff? I'm not good at something like that."

"Nonsense, meditation is for everyone. Try it, I have not seen anyone who did not benefit from it," Sake assured the surfer, already in a cross-legged position.

"Well...alright," Hana replied, sitting down adjacent to the kickboxer and imitating his sitting position. Anything to stave off all the stress in her mind...

"Now then, simply close your eyes and steady your breathing. Focus your mind, and try not to fidget too much," Saku explained, appearing as if he was already about to head deep into his own meditation (thought that was likely due to his perpetually closed eyes).

Hana nodded, going still and relaxed as she closed her eyes. She then attempted to focus her mind on something, though all of her anxious thoughts were too jumbled for her to do so. The surfer furrowed her brow as her mind shifted from one subject to another- the previous two killings, her surviving classmates, her feelings about the two blackened, and of course the recent the conversation with Asuna. Hana couldn't help it- the bad memories were overwhelming, so she ended up shifting in her spot and softly growling to herself out of frustration.

"...Um, Hana?" Saku spoke up, turning towards the Ultimate with frown. "As I said, you are supposed to be still and relaxed during meditation."

"I know, I know, sorry..." Hana responded, frowning apologetically as she went still again.

 _Focus...just focus on something, that's all..._ Hana told herself. _I just...need to think about something. It shouldn't matter what, right? How about I just think about...about..._

Soon enough, the surfer decided to simply think about the talk she had with Asuna- after all, her mind was already full of negative thoughts, so she decided to focus on the most recent and pressing matter.

 _...I really screwed up. God, Asuna probably hates me right now...even if she wasn't acting all crazy, if I had said something like that she probably would have gotten mad all the same..._ Hana told herself, ashamed. _What's she going to do now? She won't do anything rash, will she? Oh my god, I hope not..._

Hana clenched her teeth, but tried to remain still and relaxed. _I mean, it wasn't like I was trying to make her feel worse, I just...she's my friend! What was I_ supposed _to do!? Just let her sit there like that? I was trying at least! I...I couldn't just do nothing, or just do things slowly! I just...wanted to be a good friend..._

 _Oh who am I kidding, it doesn't matter what I_ wanted _to do, does it? I still fucked up regardless, I made things with Asuna worse! What was I thinking, I'm not an expert on this sort of thing! I know how she feels, but I- she was right, what I'm feeling probably isn't what Asuna is feeling, and yet I...I know! I know how she feels, I do! So why did things go so wrong?_

 _Uuugh...things would be so much easier if Kaneki was still here...her death was what triggered all of this, right? Why couldn't she...why...why did Itachi have to commit murder...? Why did he have to do anything!? If he had just stayed strong, not listened to Monokuma, none of this would be happening! Asuna and Shiro would be fine! But instead, we- we had another trial! No, not even that, Azami too! Those two, they shouldn't have- they should have just stayed strong! What they did, it just...it's just caused more problems!_

 _Things are only getting worse and worse, and it's all because...ah, b-but wait, it wasn't like Azami or Itachi did what they did for no reason- no, wait, that doesn't excuse anything! Does it? No! Wait-_

"H-Hey! Hana? Hello?" Saku's voice called out, snapping the surfer out of her twister of thoughts.

"Gh- ah-! Uh..." Hana began, her eyes flying open as she turned to Saku. "...Um...did I do something wrong...?"

"Well, when I looked to check on you, you seemed very...tense. And angry. I tried to say something to you seconds ago, but you were in quite the stupor," Saku explained. "I do not recall ever seeing someone become even more stressed whilst meditating..."

Hana sighed, replying, "Well, that's what happens when you let someone like me just sit and focus on their thoughts. I told you I'm not good at stuff like this..."

"N-Nonsense! You were not...bad at it!" Saku attempted to reassure her. "I simply underestimated how profound your negative thoughts truly were."

Hana was silent for a few moments, then stated, "Hey...Saku? Can I ask you something?"

"Hm? Well of course," Saku replied in earnest.

"Um...about the killers...you know, Azami and Itachi..." Hana began. "They did something terrible, really terrible. And...they shouldn't just be forgiven, I know. And yet, I just...I don't know how to feel about them. A part of me...still wants to think of them as they were before the murders, you know? Our classmates, our friends...that's not wrong, is it...?"

"...Oh. Um, well I..." Saku began, appearing hesitant. "Y-You see Hana, that is a very valid concern to have. And yes, i-it can be very difficult to sort out such feelings. H-However, I believe such a question is not one that can be answered easily. R-Really, it is all relative, a-and you would truly on be better off finding your own way to feel, as it is not something that can simply be given an answer like yes or no."

"...So in other words, you have no idea?" Hana stated flatly.

"...Quite perceptive, Hana," Saku replied candidly, sighing.

Hana sighed, before standing up. "Hey, thanks for trying to help me out, Saku, but I should get going. I'll just head back to my room for a bit, maybe then I can clear my head a bit."

"Alright then. Stay safe, and if you want to try again, then let me know," Saku told her.

Hana nodded in thanks to the Ultimate Kickboxer, then proceeded to exit the sunroom without another word.

* * *

When the time came, Hana made her way to the dining room for the dinner meeting. However, the surfer was still afflicted by all her worries regarding Asuna, Shiro, and her own conflicted feelings about the two blackened students.

"...Hey, Hana," someone then said to her. This caused the surfer to quickly snap to attention and look around, then saw it had been Shiori who had called out to her.

"Oh, uh, hey Shiori!" Hana greeted the surgeon, attempting to sound cheerful.

"Yeah, no reason for pleasantries- what are you trudging around for?" Shiori inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Wha-? Was I?" Hana asked, looking back at where she had been walking.

"Well yeah- so what gives? Don't tell me you're starting to have a mental breakdown too," Shiori stated, frowning.

"W-Well, no! Nothing like that!" Hana immediately responded. "It's just, well-"

"Okay, I have had the worst day!" Rumi yelled as she walked up to her two friends. Upon seeing the Ultimate Scuba Diver, Hana immediately noticed something- mainly that the teen's sky blue hair was slightly unkempt and full of leaves and broken twigs.

"R-Rumi? What happened to you?" Hana asked in surprise.

"Did you get into a fight with a bush or something?" Shiori also asked, also shocked.

"No, it was more like a tree," Rumi explained, brushing some of the debris out of her hair. "I came across Asuna in the greenhouse, and I tried to make some conversation with her- you know, just trying to keep things normal- but she was a lot angrier than she was before, and she was in one of the tree and would barely acknowledge me. So, I tried to climb it, and...you can see how well that turned out."

"Huh? What do you mean she was angrier than usual?" Shiori inquired.

"I mean she just seemed even madder- like, frustrated, like her condition got worse," Rumi attempted to explain, frowning in worry.

 _"What?_ Her condition's worse now?" Shiori responded. "How the hell did that happen?"

"..." Hana shifted in her spot uncomfortably, looking away from the others. _What are the odds they'll realize I had something to do with that...?_

However, Shiori's brown eyes immediately shifted to the Ultimate Surfer. "...Dodgy body language...not making eye contact...your guilty look earlier...Hana, what did you do?"

"Hey, why do you assume Hana had something to do with it?" Rumi asked the surgeon with a disapproving frown.

"Well...she'd be right," Hana admitted sighed guiltily.

Instantly, Rumi turned to Hana as well and asked in shock, "Hana, what did you do?"

"Well, I...ran into Asuna in the courtyard earlier today," Hana explained after some hesitation. "And I tried to talk to her. No, not even that, I...tried to talk to her about what happened. I tried to, you know, make her feel better, to try and talk her out of that state of anger she's been in. It started well, but then...I think I said the wrong thing, and Asuna just- snapped, and started acting even angrier than yesterday morning. Then she ran off before I could calm her down..."

"Ah, Hana...!" Rumi responded, her tone a combination of exasperation and sympathetic.

Shiori let out a long sigh of her own, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did.

"Guys, don't make me feel worse! I didn't mean to make things worse!" Hana yelled at them out of her own frustration.

"Oh, Hana- you kind, kind idiot," Shiori said to her, patting the surfer on the back while shaking her head. "Look, your heart was in the right place, anyone can see that. But you know, sometimes you gotta stop thinking with that, and use a little of this-"

She tapped Hana on the head before adding, "You know, you gotta rationalize. And, you know, stop being such a main character."

"Such a what...?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Listen, it's great that you're trying hard to help Asuna too, and I may not be an expert on mental breakdowns, but..." Rumi gently began, shooing Shiori away as she put her hands on Hana's shoulders. "You really, really need to learn subtlety or being gentle, or- you know, other synonyms. At least until she gets into a slightly better state, I'd imagine."

Hana sighed, looking down before responding, "Yeah, that's...basically what Hiroshi told me..."

Her eyes then drifted over to something on Rumi's wrist- namely, a very familiar pearl bracelet. Desperate to change the subject, the Ultimate remarked, "Heeeey, Rumi. That's a nice bracelet, have you always had that?"

"What? This?" Rumi asked, holding up the arm in question. "Wow, you really _are_ out of it- I've been wearing this since this morning."

"Um, that's great, but what about-" Shiori began, possibly attempting to rerail the conversation.

"Well, where'd you get it, hm?" Hana curiously asked, interrupting the surgeon.

"Oh! Uh, nowhere too important, it was just- just a little gift I got just before nighttime started. From, er...Hinata," Rumi explained, blushing somewhat. "But, he took it from the treasure room, which is apparently _not_ against the rules at all!"

"Heh, I never took Hinata for the gifting type," Hana responded innocently. _Yeah, no reason to tell her I already knew about Hinata's intentions._

"Guys? Hello? Did you forget about-" Shiori began yet again.

"O-Oh, no reason to think so much of it! He just said it was to thank me for defending him before, a-and...you know! Heh!" Rumi went on with a little laugh. "At any rate, I love it, and I'm a fan of jewelry anyways, so- I'm gonna wear it!"

"Well, I think it looks great on you!" Hana told her with a smile. "Plus, I think the pearls are definitely fitting for you- I mean, being the Ultimate Scuba Diver and all."

This time, Shiori did not try to interrupt them, instead throwing her hands up in defeat and exasperation.

"I know, right? Hinata really does have good taste," Rumi added with a smile, before letting out a relieved laugh and adding, "Aah, this is nice, you know? We may be in a killing game or whatever, but that doesn't mean we can't still be normal! I just wish everyone could just...you know, relax and hang out. Like we all did in the library during one of those first days, remember?"

Sighing wistfully, Rumi walked away towards the dining room, leaving Hana and Shiori alone near the hallway.

"..." Shiori said nothing, instead giving Hana a disapproving stare.

"..." In response, the surfer simply gave a sheepish shrug and swiftly made her own way to the dining hall.

* * *

Time passed, and soon enough the others arrived at the room without much fanfare.

"Hey, Hana," Hiroshi greeted the surfer, as he and the other members of the search party (Saku and Akira) entered the room themselves. "Hope you and the others weren't too worried about us."

"Holy shit, Akira's late?" Hinata remarked in mock surprise.

"What!? _She's_ late!?" Ryoto cried out in genuine surprise. "Holy crap, she's NEVER late! THAT MUST MEAN SOMETHING'S GOING ON!"

"Would you calm down, Miura? The three of us were simply searching as long as allowed," Akira explained with a frown.

With that, the three students took their own seats, with Hiroshi seated next to Hana.

"So...does that mean you guys found something...?" Hana asked, mainly directed at the coroner.

However, Hiroshi was not the one who answered; in reality, it was Akira who announced to the class, "Well, to those of us who actually still care about completely cooperating with the group-"

Shiori grumbled something to herself, then raised her hand slightly as if to say 'guilty as charged'.

"-I must admit, the three of us did _not_ find Monokuma's motive, despite our thorough search of the area," Akira informed the other Ultimates, frowning in frustration. "And I made certain Ashi and Yamamoto weren't attempting to hide it from my sight."

"Well, what if, you know- _you're_ hiding it?" Hinata pointed out, frowning.

"Oh great, Tadao's rubbing off on you..." Shiori muttered to herself, probably to avoid drawing attention to herself as a result of her semi-isolation.

"Oh please- I wouldn't dream of committing murder, no matter how I feel about some of you," Akira responded. "It would disgrace me as a prosecutor- you know, someone who helps in _convicting_ criminals? _Including_ murderers?"

"Trust me, I doubt Akira's keeping the motive from us," Hiroshi told the others. "No matter how she may act, I think we can all agree she would rather prevent a murder than cause one."

"Oh, Ashi- here I thought you were somewhat smarter than most of these others, but it seems you have your own affliction with naivety," a certain Ultimate Waiter spoke in a condescending tone, exiting the kitchen and passing out the food like he usually did.

"I...wouldn't call myself naive," Hiroshi replied, appearing unfazed.

"You know, it's not like you're flawless yourself, Tadao..." Hana stated with a frown, feeling the waiter's remark towards Hiroshi was unfounded.

"Oh, don't try and defend him, Amari, because you're an even worse offender of that than he is," Tadao responded, glaring at the surfer. "But I don't think I need to explain that, you've demonstrated it enough already."

Normally, Hana would have defended herself vehemently (and indignantly), but she then remembered her actions regarding Asuna earlier that day as well as her thoughts about the killers. As a result, she felt Tadao's claims about her were not entirely baseless, and as such she could only muster, "Just...you know, just...don't?"

Tadao simply gave a dark chuckle in response, as if enjoying the surfer's defeat, and returned to the kitchen without another word.

"...I HATE THAT GUY!" Ryoto shouted in fury.

"But...I don't think yelling about it will change his attitude," Rumi pointed out, looking down at the table with a sigh.

Hana herself kept quietly, angrily picking at her food as she thought to herself, _Dammit, karma's brutal. I make my friend's mental state worse, and now I can't live it down at all! Not only that, but I can't figure out how I'm supposed to feel about Azami and Itachi! How many years off my life is this taking!?_

"...Hey Hana. Everything okay?" Hiroshi inquired. "You seem tense."

"Wha-? Again? Is it that obvious?" Hana asked in exasperation. "You're the second person today whose said something like that..."

"Well, in reality it's not so obvious right now, but you know how perceptive I can be," Hiroshi responded. "So, what's eating you? I doubt it's what Tadao said, right?"

"No, it's not because of Tadao's usual behavior, it's...well, technically two things," Hana explained. "But, the first thing is something I've been chastised for enough, and I know you'd go 'I told you so' too."

"Oh, I wouldn't do something like that- even if it would be true," Hiroshi reassured his friend, chuckling softly.

"Even still, I...look for right now, I just...can I ask you something?" Hana asked the Ultimate, turning to him fully.

"Of course. What is it?" Hiroshi inquired, his usual smile fading somewhat in concern.

"It's...about Azami and Itachi. You know...the last two killers. It's just, recently I've been wondering...you know, how to feel about them. They were our classmates and friends, and yet...they both killed someone," Hana told him, glancing away towards one of the empty seats. "I already know what someone like Akira would say, that they were traitors and shouldn't be forgiven. And maybe she's right, but maybe...I don't want to think like that. And if that's the case, then...is that right?"

"'Is that right'...?" Hiroshi murmured to himself, before responding, "Well...here's how I've been seeing it: Azami and Itachi were in fact our friends at one point, that's a fact. And I don't think what they did should invalidate that. Now, I'm not saying what they did should be forgotten, but...I think they deserve some forgiveness. Because those two had their reasons for committing the murders, reasons that were somewhat influenced by Monokuma himself, and...I'm certain those two wouldn't have killed anyone if we weren't in a killing game."

Hana blinked in surprise- Hiroshi really had thought this out, hadn't he? "So...you're saying it's better to forgive their crimes, but not forget or condone them?"

"Exactly. Now, you may not see it like I do, but if you wanted some form of answer, hopefully I was able to help with that," the Ultimate Coroner responded with a nod.

"..." Hana returned the nod, staring down at her food. _So in short- lots of different opinions. Not that it helps me at all..._

"Actually, what was that other thing bothering you? I'd like to help with that too, if I can," Hiroshi then asked, smiling in a friendly manner (although it came off as slightly eerie- but knowing him, it was most likely unintentional).

"Uuuuh, that?" Hana replied, growing somewhat panicked. "Er, that's...you know, it's not so bad, let's just put a pin in that- or better yet, throw out the whole bulletin board, m'kay?"

"Uh...? Well, if you say so," Hiroshi responded, although he appeared skeptical all the same. "But seriously, if there's still something bothering you, you know you can talk to me, right? That's what friends are for, after all."

 _Mmmmph, I know, and that's entirely why I don't want you to hop on the disappointment train too..._ Hana wanted to tell the coroner. Instead, she simply nodded in thanks, mentally adding, _I'll just keep this to myself, and if things between me and Asuna aren't fixed in the near future, then I'll talk to him about it._

With that in mind, Hana spent the rest of the night observing the other students. There was Rumi, socializing as usual, appearing to be trying to keep Shiori's spirits up while also occasionally speaking to Hinata. The Ultimate Thief himself was swiping pieces of food from Ryoto's plate while the Ultimate Racecar Driver was distracted telling a dramatic story to a politely listening Saku. Akira was keeping silent, although eventually barking at Hinata to stop with the food theft. Hana then glanced next to her- Hiroshi, though he appeared to be keeping to himself as well, did appear to be enjoying himself.

 _...You know, Rumi was right- being able to act all normal like this is pretty nice. I just...wish this place wasn't so empty..._ Hana wistfully thought. _I wish everyone could be here again, before everything became kinda tense. Everyone- Tadao, Asuna, and Shiro...Mikio and Kaneki...even Azami and Itachi..._

In spite of all these wishes, Hana kept them to herself, and as such the dinner meeting went on without much fanfare.

And so, the dinner meeting ended, the dishes were cleaned up, and everyone went their separate ways to turn in for the night (or, in Ryoto's case, exercise away his hatred for Tadao in the fitness room before nighttime). In the end, Hana still found herself extremely conflicted about the day's events, but hoped that a good night's sleep would clear her mind in the way meditation had failed to.

...Right?

* * *

 _...How is it morning already...?_ Hana asked herself as she slowly opened her eyes. Strangely enough, it had not been the daily morning announcement that had awoken the surfer- in fact, Hana had no idea why she had woken up at all.

Even still, the surfer groggily stood up and went to grab her e-Handbook. All the while, she was wondering why she felt more tired than usual-

"6 AM!?" Hana cried to herself as she stared at the time on her e-Handbook. Waking up an hour early? What were the odds of that?

 _Okay, okay, it's till technically night time, I should just...go back to sleep._ Hana told herself, making her way back to the bed. She laid down, closed her eyes, and prepared to fall back to sleep...

...Well, that was the plan, anyways. However, several minutes of tossing and turning was evidence enough that sleep would not easily return to the Ultimate.

 _Uuugh, what's going on? Why can't I fall back asleep?_ Hana asked herself as she tiredly stared at the ceiling. _I mean it's not like there's anything to worry about here. Outside of sleep, though, there's...well, there's Asuna losing her mind, me making it worse, Shiro's still depressed, I can't figure out how to feel about the blackened students- not only that, but Monokuma's damn motive is still lying around somewhere...I almost wish it was the thing in the sunroom, then we could at least- WAIT. I forgot to tell Hiroshi about the missing symbol last night! Shit, I thought I-_

At that moment, Hana realized what her problem was: her mind was too wild. Now that she was awake, her thoughts had wasted no time in rushing about once more, keeping her awake as a result.

 _I...need to calm down more._ the surfer told herself, standing again. _But...will staying in here really do it...?_

She glanced at the door leading to the hallway- no, that was a terrible idea. Early in the day as it was, going out now would be breaking the nighttime rule, and not only would doing that incur the wrath of Akira Rimutsu, but the last time the rule had been broken...

 _...But...I won't be gone long, right...? I'll just...walk around a bit, I'll even stick to the South Wing._ Hana told herself, heading for the door. _Just go for a bit, then come right back, nobody needs to know!_

Hoping this would be a good idea, Hana slowly opened the door and slipped through, closing it behind her. She then proceeded to make her way down the slightly darkened hallway and into the also darkened main chamber.

Even though it had been mere seconds since exiting, the girl could already feel a different atmosphere to the castle; the absolute silence was deafening, the darkened light that came with early morning strangely oppressive, and yet it was calming enough to cause Hana to forget about her fears regarding Akira's rule. What truly felt strange to Hana was standing out in this majestic chamber in her white pajama top, her blue and white pajama shorts, and her unkempt hair lacking its usual ponytail (at least the ahoge was still there, so at least she was recognizable from afar); it was almost irreverent, in a sense.

However, that train of thought was derailed when she realized something- the castle was _not_ entirely silent.

 _Huh...?_ Hana thought to herself as she strained to listen. Were those...footsteps? Was someone else awake? Judging by the faint sound, the footsteps did not seem to be approaching her; they nearly sounded as though they were coming from the top floor.

Without allowing her tired mind to think through this, the surfer was quick to make her way up the stairs to the second floor of the South Wing. As she turned to the left hallway that connected to the West Wing, Hana was almost certain she saw...somebody, she couldn't make out who, walking through the doorway into the section in question.

"W-What the-!?" Hana whispered to herself, ready to give chase or to call out to them...but then she stopped. _Wait wait wait wait, what am I doing? I can't just chase whoever that is, I need to get the others and-_

Then she realized doing so would cause the others to find out she had been out at night, and Hana doubted that 'I wanted to walk around', truthful as it may be, would cut it with someone like Akira. Besides, chances were this person wasn't some burglar or common criminal, whoever was walking around was one of her classmates. Surely, she could reason with them if she needed to, right? And what if they were in the middle of setting up something for a murder? If that was the case, ignoring it was out of the question!

Wasting no more time, Hana silently gave chase, her bare feet not betraying any noise on the floor as she ran. She poked her head through the opening and into the top floor of the West Wing, and as she did she heard a new sound: a door being slammed shut, most likely coming from the northern hallway if Hana had to guess. The surfer was quick to head towards the hall in question, spotting the doors to the watchtower and the wine room, as well as the gated doorway blocking the other area.

 _Well...that door didn't sound very metallic..._ Hana thought as she recalled the sound of the closing door. _So whoever they are, they didn't go into the watchtower. That just leaves..._

Hana approached the door to the wine room, putting her hand on the doorknob. The Ultimate leaned in to the door, attempting to listen and hear if anyone was on the other side of the wood. However, she heard nothing...but that did not entirely mean there was nobody inside.

 _...Well, there's no use standing out here...if I do, whoever's inside is just gonna see me when they come out._ the surfer told herself, taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart. _So...let's...DO THIS THING!_

Without giving herself any more time to think, Hana threw open the door, swiftly flipped the light switch on the side, and shouted, "AHA-! Huh?"

To her surprise, the lights did not turn on. The Ultimate stopped and flipped the switch up and down a few more times, but to no avail.

 _Oh, great...what's that Tadao said about the lights in here again? They didn't work sometimes?_ Hana reminded herself. Grumbling, the surfer reached for her e-Handbook- only to then remember she had left it in her room, believing she wouldn't be gone so long. Hana softly groaned to herself in exasperation, yet seeing as how she was too far in to just leave, she proceeded into the dark wine room, the tiny amount of light from the hallway outside not enough to brighten her surroundings at all.

"Uh...hello? I saw someone come in here, so uh...hiding's kinda pointless," Hana called into the darkness. "Come on, it's me, it's Hana! Just come out here? Pretty please?"

No response, the room was as silent as the rest of the castle.

"Um...Hinata? You uh...you trying a prank or something? Rumi? Are you planning some kinda surprise?" Hana said again, looking around all the while. "Come on guys, this is extremely suspi-"

Suddenly, her foot bumped against something on the floor- judging by the noise, it was something wooden. Eyes widening with surprise, the girl immediately bent down to pick it up (although she spent a few moments feeling around for it due to the lack of light). Eventually, her hands came across something lying on the floor, and she picked it up accordingly; it felt like wood, not too thick, and it seemed to have a rectangular shape to it.

 _What_ is _this...? A wood plank? A floorboard?_ Hana asked herself. _Was there something like that lying around in here when I first looked in here yesterday...? Er, the day before yesterday._

But more important than that...where had that mysterious figure gone? Hana was certain she had seen someone head into the West Wing, so where were they? Had she misheard something and, as a result, head into the wrong room? Or maybe...had she been seeing things the whole time, and there really was nobody else here?

 _...Man, I really do need sleep..._ Hana told herself, preparing to set the wood board back on the ground. _Can sleep deprivation a_ _ctually cause hallucinations...? Would Shiori know about that? Maybe I should ask her tomorrow-_

That's when everything changed.

It all seemed to happen in an instant, as if someone was fast-forwarding through a movie. Hana heard some form of movement behind her, then the sound of something metallic...but before she had a chance to react to either of those, the surfer felt a sharp, horrible pain in her right thigh.

"GYAAAAAH!" Hana shrieked from the pain, dropping the wooden plank and hearing it hit the floor with a clunk. The pain in her leg was unlike anything she had ever felt before, but now was not the time to dwell on it; even in her pained state, the Ultimate knew she was in a large amount of danger. Barely able to keep from falling over, Hana turned to make a break for the door...

But she was unable to. That was because, standing there...someone was there. Hana couldn't tell who it was, mainly due to the darkness inside the wine room, but there was no doubt this was not a hallucination. And the assailant would not give her a chance to fully register what was happening, because the moment the girl turned around, Hana saw the person raise...something over their head. In a split second, they brought the object down and struck the Ultimate Surfer right on the head.

All Hana would feel in that moment was a sharp pain in her skull, and then...everything went pitch black.

* * *

 **A/N: Anyone ask for a cliffhanger? No? TOO BAD YA GOT ONE.**

 **So I'm already looking forward to seeing how everyone reacts to this end, but I'm also praying everyone doesn't jump to conclusions too quickly. Oof, I'll just have to wait and see- and so will you guys! Because SUSPENSE!**

 **So next time, we'll see how Hana's doing after all this, and also...Free Time Events! And by that I mean one- yes, there will be only one next time, for reasons I think you can figure out. Asuna and Shiro are both still out, and now Hiroshi has officially been maxed out in his FTE path. Yes, like the games, I am giving everyone a set amount of FTEs and such. This means Hiroshi, popular as he apparently is, will no longer be on the poll despite his alive-ness. Don't worry, there are still plenty of other students to choose from, especially since you only get one vote this time, so choose wisely!**

 **And the best part? Strawpoll is back and working again, so I can actually do a real poll this time! Here's the code:** **4cszc4b7**

 **And with that, consider this latest part to be my (late) Christmas present to you all! This year has been wacky for me, even moreso since I started this project, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying my writing of this. So merry (late) Christmas to you all, and here's to another year (since I doubt I'll have the next part up before New Year's) of murder mystery for all! Goodbye for now, and see you next time!**


	22. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 3)

**A/N: Hello everybody! Welcome back to the story that keeps popping up again, Fractured Fates! Before we get into the chapter, I have a special announcement regarding the story. Now, one of my biggest dreams regarding FF has been for it to have its own quality page on TV Tropes- or at least be recommended on Danganronpa's Fanfic Recs page. And then I found out I didn't need to keep waiting...I could make the page myself! So I did that! Fractured Fates now has its own page on TV Tropes! If you're interested, just go to the site and search up the title, it should be there! There are spoilers of course, but if you've read this far you probably don't need to worry about that.**

 **Now, onto the story itself. I was hoping to get this updated by last Sunday at the latest, the last day before school started for me, buuut needless to say that didn't happen. Then again, a LOT of stuff happens in this part, especially compared to the previous one, so I guess I should have expected that.**

 **In fact, so much happens in this part, that it was EXTREMELY long. I didn't like how long it was, so I decided to split this part into two. So, you've got Part 3 here, next time it'll be Part 4- not, like, Part 3.5 or anything. I just underestimated how long this would be, so that was poor planning on my part. But don't worry, I won't withhold the next part from you guys, it's gonna be uploaded along with this one! Sooo- technical double update! Woo-hoo!**

 **Now, back to the plot itself- last time, Hana got hecking murdered! ...Okay, she's not dead, but I doubt she's in a good spot after what happened at the end of the last part. Let's take a look, shall we?**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well, I can definitely understand why Asuna and Shiro would make you feel a bit...concerned. But, interesting predictions, let's see how they hold up.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Daily Life (Part 3)**

 _..._

 _..._

 _...What year is it...?_

That was the first question Hana had when she opened her eyes. She felt as though she had been in a decade-long coma, and as of that moment her entire world was blurry and groggy. One thing was for certain, however- this was not her bedroom. Where she was currently lying, it felt too hard to be her bed...was she on the floor? If so, this still wasn't her bedroom, because she couldn't feel any carpeting.

Soon enough, Hana began to slowly recall what had happened in the early morning. When she did, she told herself in realization, _This is...the wine room. Why...am I in the wine room...? And why...is it dark...?_

She soon began to better remember what had occurred; she had wanted to go for a walk around the castle in secret, she had seen someone sneaking around on the top floor, she had followed them to the wine room, and...then what? Hana then remembered that the lights in the wine room didn't always work, so that explained the darkness...but what of everything else? How long had she been unconscious?

 _I...need to get up..._ Hana told herself, her mind and memories still foggy. _I need to...just...stand up...!_

The surfer's entire body was sore and heavy, as if she had been on the losing end of a fistfight. Not to mention, her clothing also felt somewhat damp, as if someone had just poured water all over her. Despite this, she tried to power through it, planting her hands on the wood floor to push herself upright...but the moment she did, the surfer felt an overwhelming pain in her head. Yelping, Hana immediately put a hand up to where the pain was worse; to her surprise, the area felt strangely warm...and wet. It was then that the surfer caught a whiff of something all too familiar- metallic, sickening...blood.

 _What the..!? Am I...bleeding...!?_ Hana asked herself. The darkness in the room made it impossible to tell; she had to get to the light switch, at least. Fighting the terrible pain in her skull, the Ultimate attempted to stand up and walk...but that was when a second pain made itself known to her, this one in her right thigh.

This time, the pain in her leg was both surprising and overwhelming, and the surfer ended up collapsing back onto the floor with a hard _thud_ and a cry of agony. Now, both the pain in her leg and head were intensified, and they showed no signs of subsiding.

 _What...What happened...why am I...why is my leg...and my head, it's...!_ Hana thought, still feeling only half-conscious. _I...need to...move...! I can't just...stay here...!_

With that train of thought, Hana ignored her body's protests and forced herself to stand yet again. She tried to put as little weight on her right leg as possible, practically dragging it behind her as she moved towards the front of the room. All the while, she could feel blood oozing down her face- was she still bleeding? Maybe she hadn't been knocked out as long as she thought (or felt)- but she couldn't focus on that right now. A few moments of hazily feeling around the wall in question, Hana finally found the light switch. She had to flip the switch on and off a few times, but soon enough the lights in the wine room came to life.

Momentarily flinching from the sudden illumination, Hana leaned against the wall for support as she turned to look at the spot where she had been lying before. She let out a sharp gasp from shock and worry upon seeing the area; there was a worryingly sizable puddle of blood in the middle of room, with some smearing and a trail of blood droplets leading over to where the surfer was currently standing. Not only that, but the front of her pajama shirt was splattered in blood and she saw her right leg was covered in several trails of oozing blood, originating from some kind of- stab wound?- a half a foot above her knee.

 _What...!? What...happened...?_ Hana asked herself again, desperately trying to remember what had occurred. Clearly, she had been attacked, and the time...it had to be a little after 6 AM, right? But what time was it now? It couldn't have been that long, wouldn't she have stopped bleeding by now if it had? Or at least not as badly as she was at that moment.

Wincing from pain, the surfer realized she could be confused later- right now, if she stayed in here like this, there was no doubt she would likely bleed out before someone came across her. With that, Hana turned her attention to the door, not even bothering to turn the lights back off.

 _Okay...gotta back to the South Wing...maybe nighttime's already ended...?_ Hana told herself, making her way through the doorway and into the hallway. _Come on, you can do it...! Just...one foot...in front of...the other...!_

Of course, moving down the hallway and then across the upper balcony to the South Wing proved more difficult than that, no matter what Hana tried to tell herself. The main problem was the distance between the wine room and the doorway to the South Wing (and going down the stairs was out of the question), as those two were on opposite ends of the West Wing's upper floor. Not to mention, the pain from her injuries was only worsening. Every step she took, it felt like someone was driving a wooden stake further and further into her skull; in addition, though she was leaning against the walls to try and keep weight off her bad leg, the stab wound still made her leg feel like it was on fire.

After what felt like an eternity, Hana finally passed through the doorway and found herself on the second floor of the South Wing. However, at this point the pain was too much to bear, and just after passing the door to the study, the Ultimate collapsed onto the floor yet again.

 _N...No...! I have to...keep going...!_ Hana forcefully told herself, trying to ignore the pain continuing to envelop her. _Move, move you idiot...!_

Left with no other choice, attempted to drag herself down the hall with her arms...but that plan only lasted a few seconds until Hana went still yet again. The fatigue, pain, and blood loss proved too much for the teen, and ultimately she found herself lying on the floor of the hallway much like she had been in the wine room.

 _W...Wait, I...need to...keep going..._ the Ultimate told herself yet again, but as her vision started to go dark, she knew that line of thought was futile. She felt herself going limp once again, her eyelids growing heavy...

The last thing Hana asked herself before losing consciousness again was, _Is this...what dying feels like?_

* * *

 _..._

It felt like she had only been out for about a second, although in reality it was likely much longer than that. What had brought the surfer out of the void of unconsciousness, however, was...

 _"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

"AAAAAAH!" Hana screamed, immediately jolting awake due to the surprise and terror of hearing such a cry. She swiftly lifted her head, momentarily forgetting what was happening; it was at that moment that she realized she was no longer alone in the hallway, as she locked eyes with someone standing at the other end. It didn't take long for her to recognize who it was- long sky blue hair, dark blue eyes, a black and blue jacket, it was none other than Rumi. The two Ultimates stared at each other in silence for a few moments, the shock in their eyes almost tangible, until...

"OH MY GOD, IT'S A ZOMBIE!" Rumi cried in terror, looking ready to run away at that instant.

"W-WHAT!?" Hana yelped in fright. Confused by what was happening, the surfer tried to scramble to her feet- only for a terrible pain in her head and leg to bring her right back to the floor, quickly reminding her of what had occurred. She had been attacked in the wine room (probably), she had made her way back to the South Wing, then she passed out again for who knows how long.

"W-Wait...oh! Oh my god, you're not a zombie! You're alive!" Rumi realized in relief. "Oh god, when I saw you lying there, I thought there had been another murder, and then you got up and I thought you-"

Then, the scuba diver went silent, likely stopping to get a good look at Hana...then she gasped in shock and went on, "You- You're bleeding! Oh my god, why are you bleeding so much!?"

Hana looked up from where she was practically writhing in pain, seeing Rumi running over and then kneeling down beside her. "W-What _happened_ to you!? Your head, it looks like it-! Hold on, lemme just-"

Trying to be gentle, the scuba diver lifted the girl up so that she was sitting upright instead of lying on the ground. The scuba diver then asked, "How'd you get so hurt? And why are you in your pajamas? And- were you in the wine room, why do you smell like alcohol-?"

"R-Rumi, please...! I-I can't answer a lot of questions, I don't- _ngh!"_ Hana began, her voice raspy from pain, but she interrupted herself with another grimace of pain.

Rumi's eyes widened, and she quickly responded, "Okay, okay, uh- stay calm, okay? I'll just, uh- here, get up, I think Shiori's still down in the dining room, she'll be able to help you. I'll help you, just-"

She then proceeded to try an bring Hana back to her feet, only for the surfer to quickly remember her leg injury and protest, "W-Wait, Rumi, don't- GAH!"

Too late, the Ultimate Surfer put too much weight on her right leg, and with a cry of pain fell back to the ground, Rumi barely able to catch her and stop her from faceplanting.

"Wait, what? Y-Your leg's hurt too!?" Rumi yelped in shock, finally seeing the stab wound. "Oh god! I'm so sorry!"

"I-It's fine, I-" Hana began again, trailing off again as she fought to remain conscious. "I...uuugh, I feel so weird..."

Then, she could hear a new voice nearby, calling out, "Rumi? I could hear you yelling from downstairs- is everything okay?"

Hana looked up somewhat, asking, "Is that...Hiroshi?"

"Yes- Yes! That's it! Hiroshi knows medical stuff too, he'll be able to help you!" Rumi concluded eagerly. She then gently dragged Hana's barely conscious form over to the wall so she was sitting against it, telling her, "He sounded close, so I'm gonna go get him. Stay calm, okay?"

Only able to muster a small groan of acknowledgement, Hana saw Rumi take off down the hallway and around the corner. The surfer tried her best to do what she was told, but staying calm under pressure rarely came easy to her. It didn't help that in this particular situation she was suffering from severe blood loss, she felt confused and about ready to fall asleep, and now she could barely control her own shallow breathing. What was there to be calm about?

"Come on, come ON! Quick being so weird and hurry up!" She could hear Rumi's frantic voice from around the corner, followed another familiar voice.

"Rumi! I'm following you, y-you don't need to grab me like this!" That was Hiroshi, though he was sounding somewhat perturbed.

Nevertheless, the two reappeared not long after, with Rumi gripping Hiroshi's wrist and the coroner looking rather uncomfortable as a result. However, that discomfort seemed to disappear completely the moment he saw Hana's bloodstained form slumped against the wall.

"What the-!?" Hiroshi gasped with a surprising amount of shock in his voice.

"Nngh- h-hey, Hiroshi," Hana greeted the Ultimate. Even if she didn't feel calm, she could at least pretend she was, right?

"Wha- how did-" the coroner stammered, a level of shock and panic that Hana didn't think she'd ever see Hiroshi with, before he ran over to her along with Rumi. "What...What happened?"

"A-Again, I-I can't answer...much of anything," Hana repeated herself. "A-All I remember is that, I...I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd- I'd go for a walk around...around the castle, then I-"

With another wince, her hand flew up to the wound on her head, the pain having not subsided in the slightest.

"H-Hey, you don't have to explain yourself right now!" Rumi told her. "You can do it when you're feeling better!"

Hana shook her head and continued, "Then I, mm...I saw someone. I...I don't remember who, but...I think I followed them into the wine room, then...I-I can't really...remember what happened after that..."

"But- when you went for that walk..." Hiroshi began, his eyes darting to the wounds on her head and leg. "Did this happen during nighttime...?"

"Uh...technically...?" Hana replied with a frown. "I left my room at around...6 in the morning, s-so..."

"What!? You've been bleeding like this for almost an hour and a half!?" Rumi cried out, her panic only growing.

"H-Hour and a half...?" Hana asked. "I-Is that how long it's been...?"

"Well, we started looking for you at around 7:30, so I'd say that's a good estimate..." Hiroshi responded, still looking over the surfer with concern in his eyes.

"Looking for me? What...?" the Ultimate inquired, not feeling any less confused.

"Well, you see, when you didn't show up for the breakfast meeting- you know, you've been late before, but never _that_ late- so, a lot of us started getting worried that something had happened again, so Akira told three of us to go find you," Rumi explained. "Me, Hiroshi, and Hinata's around too."

"O-Oh, uh...s-sorry for making everyone worry..." Hana responded, looking down towards the floor...which admittedly was a poor move, since it only caused more pain to flare up in her head.

"W-Well, looks like we had good reason to worry!" Rumi quickly pointed out. "But it's fine now! Because Hiroshi's here!"

That caught the boy's attention. "...Come again...?"

"Come on! You work with bodies a lot, don't you? And you know anatomy and stuff? You've got to know enough to be able to help Hana!" Rumi implored him.

 _"Dead_ bodies, Rumi! I'm a coroner, I'm not trained to do medical procedures!" Hiroshi responded- once again, there was an uncharacteristic amount of panic in his voice that Hana did not think was possible for him. "That's Shiori's talent, not mine!"

"W-What!? Are you saying you can't do anything!?" Rumi yelped. "Y-You have to be able to do something though!"

Hana grimaced, speaking up, "Guys...?"

"Believe me, I want to, but I- I really can't!" Hiroshi responded, his voice devoid of its usual calmness.

"Just try, come on!" Rumi pleaded with him.

"Rumi, I can't do it! You don't understand!" the Ultimate Coroner quickly responded, sounding more upset than angered or frustrated.

"Guys...!" Hana repeated, clenching her teeth from pain.

"What do you mean you can't!? Yes you can! You have to!" Rumi cried, sounding more and more frantic.

"I can't! I want to, but I can't!" Hiroshi replied, even going so far as to raise his own voice in response.

"Guys! Knock it off, please!" Hana begged, clutching her head as her head pain only worsened. "...Or at least be quieter..."

Rumi and Hiroshi immediately went quiet, before the former remarked, "Okay, arguing, not making things better at all. But still, what-"

Then, yet another voice called out to them, this one coming from the doorway leading into the West Wing.

"Hey, guys, I can hear you arguing about whatever from in here-" Hana immediately recognized it as Hinata's voice- Rumi did say he was part of the search party too. "-but I thought you should know that I found some kinda blood trail leading to the wine room and I think that's pretty-"

Before the thief finished that thought, he poked his head through the opening (Hana had to stop and wonder how many people could fit in this hallway) and looked towards Rumi and Hiroshi...then he caught sight of Hana sitting against the wall.

"Oh! Nevermind, you guys already found 'er," Hinata remarked, fully stepping into the hallway. It took him a moment to register what he was seeing, but when he did...

"...Holy shit! Hana, why are you so bloody!?" the Ultimate Thief cried out in shock. "That doesn't look good at all!"

"It doesn't feel good either..." Hana responded, still fighting to keep from losing consciousness again.

"Wait- Hinata!" Hiroshi quickly callled. "Okay, I know you're probably confused right now, but we need you to go back down, get Shiori, tell her what's happened, and bring her back here."

"What!? You want _me_ to go get her?" Hinata responded. "Have you met Shiori? She's not gonna believe me for a second! I can barely wrap my own head around what's happening!"

"Please Hinata! You're probably faster than me or Hiroshi! I'm sure Shiori'll be able to tell you're being serious!" Rumi pleaded with the purple-haired teen. "Please!"

His entire attitude seemed to change almost immediately, and the thief nodded with, "O-Okay, okay! I'll bring her here, one way or another!"

Without another word, Hinata sped off towards the stairs leading to the South Wing's ground floor. Even in her current state, Hana was still surprised how easily swayed he was by Rumi's plea.

With Hinata gone, Hiroshi knelt back down next to Hana and told her, "Okay, Hinata shouldn't be gone long, he'll bring back Shiori, and she'll be able to help you. You're going to be fine, okay?"

"O-Okay..." Hana replied, nodding a little in acknowledgement. Still, the Ultimate Surfer was once again finding it difficult to stay awake, and she had a feeling her two companions could tell.

"Y-Yeah! Until then, we're right here, we're not gonna let anything else happen to you," Rumi assured her friend, putting a hand on her arm to try and comfort her- then remarking in shock, "W-Whoa! Y-Your skin, it's freezing!"

"Huh...? O-Oh, uh...yeah, I guess...I've been a little cold, but I didn't really...think about too..." Hana began to respond, only for her vision to start going black again. She attempted to fight off her tiredness yet again, but then she was nearly overtaken by how weak her body felt. Due to that, the surfer found herself slumping to the side towards the floor, prompting Rumi to quickly move over and catch her before she could hit the floor.

"Okay, okay, uh- you know what? I'm just gonna- hold on to you like this, alright? That way you won't have to waste strength on trying to keep yourself up, and I can keep you warm too," Rumi explained, still holding her friend close. "Right? That's good, right? Keeping her warm, that's good, right?"

"I-I think, but-" Hiroshi responded, before informing Hana, "Listen, Hana, you have to stay awake right now, okay? That head injury of yours is severe, I'm sure you know that, and losing consciousness again would be...not good. So- you need to stay awake, don't lose consciousness, stay awake!"

"I-I'm trying...!" Hana responded, wincing yet again. She then whimpered, "I...I hate this..."

"It's okay, it's okay, you'll be alright...!" Rumi assured her, trying her best to keep her friend comforted. However, Hana could still hear the scuba diver's voice cracking from sorrow.

Hana's vision continued to darken, and fearing she may not be able to keep awake much longer, she said to Hiroshi, "H-Hey, Hiroshi...? I-I gotta tell you something- r-remember yesterday when I said there was something else bothering me...? W-Well, the thing is...y-you know how you told me not to rush things with Asuna and Shiro...? Y-Yeah, I didn't listen, I tried talking to Asuna, a-and I just made things worse...I-I didn't tell you because- because I-I didn't want you to be mad at me too..."

Hiroshi's eyes widened somewhat, before he shook his head and told her, "Don't worry about that, okay? And there's no need to talk like that either, you're going to be fine."

"H-Hiroshi's right, you'll be...you'll be..." Rumi attempted to agree, but it sounded more like she was trying not to break down into sobbing. The scuba diver then hugged her friend a bit closer (but not enough to risk exacerbating Hana's injuries), pleading, "Don't...die on us! Don't you _dare_ become the third victim, you hear me? Stay alive, please! _Please!"_

Amongst Rumi's stifled sobs, Hana was able to see out of the corner of her eye Hiroshi's own condition; he was staring down, as if he himself couldn't bear to watch one of his friends slowly bleeding out. The coroner looked so...powerless, so upset. Like everything else about his demeanor throughout this ordeal, this also surprised Hana- no, it didn't just surprise her, the surfer did not like to see someone (let alone one of her closest friends) usually so calm and collected in such a state. The same went for Rumi- Hana didn't want to see her so upset, and what would happen if she did die right here in the scuba diver's arms? In front of Hiroshi's eyes?

 _I'm...not gonna put them through that...I'm not dying here!_ Hana told herself, her previously suppressed determination rising up through the dizziness and pain. _Not Rumi, not Hiroshi, not...not any of my friends! I'm...not gonna be the next victim, I'm not...gonna...die...!_

With that, Hana fought even harder to stay awake, although as more seconds passed, that quickly grew more and more challenging. And if she did pass out here, well...Hana wasn't sure if that guaranteed her demise, but it certainly wouldn't be a good sign, would it?

"Hinata, you son of a bitch! Cut it out, this wasn't funny to begin with!"

"Knock it off, we're almost there!"

Hana, Hiroshi, and Rumi all looked up upon hearing the two bickering voices of Hinata and Shiori. The surfer became hopeful that, now that Hinata was successful in retrieving the surgeon, she had a real chance at surviving this. However, that hope became dashed when she realized the thief hadn't exactly brought Shiori like normal- as a matter of fact, Hinata was carrying the labcoat-clad teen over his shoulder, the latter still appearing quite irate by her situation.

"...Hinata? Why are you carrying Shiori like that?" Hiroshi asked him, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah, like I warned you guys- she wouldn't believe me, so I had to take some...dramatic measures," Hinata responded, setting the girl down at last.

Shiori angrily shoved away from him, growling, "For fuck's sake, Hinata! Are you trying _that_ hard to get me to believe this stupid trick of yours? And why are Rumi and Hiroshi-"

Then, Shiori turned around to face the other two...and her eyes quickly fell on Hana.

"...Hey, Shiori," Hana greeted the surgeon, trying to smile as if nothing was wrong- but one look at her would be proof of the contrary.

"Holy shit, you weren't joking!" Shiori cried, her demeanor changing completely.

"I told you! I wouldn't joke about something like this!" Hinata responded, narrowing his gold eyes.

Ignoring the thief's frustration, Shiori quickly ran over to where Hana was, immediately kneeling down and saying, "Hey, Hana! Can you hear me? Hey, Rumi, move her a bit so she's facing me."

"Er- okay!" Rumi responded, shifting Hana so she was now in a similar position to when she was sitting against the hallway's wall, only this time she was being held up by the scuba diver herself instead of the wall.

"Okay, I...dammit! The one time I don't bring any medical supplies with me!" Shiori growled to herself after searching her coat pockets. "At the very least, I need some-"

Then, she seemed to notice the latex gloves sticking out of one of the pockets of his pants. Without giving the coroner a chance to react, Shiori swiftly grabbed two such gloves out of his pocket and slipped them on.

"Okay, better. Now, Hana, I'm gonna take a look at your injuries real fast- stay calm and don't move too much," Shiori firmly told the surfer.

"O-Okay," Hana replied. "I-If you're wondering what happened, I-"

"I can't deal with that right now. That goes for the rest of you, right now I don't care how it happened, I care how it's gonna be fixed," Shiori stated, gently brushing Hana's hair to the side in order to get a better look at her head injury. "And quit talking so much, okay? Looks like you've already lost enough strength, don't waste any more by talking."

 _Whoa, Shiori's...actually really calm about all this..._ Hana remarked as Shiori looked over her injuries- though it was more an attempt to keep her mind busy in order to keep from falling unconscious again. _Well, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised...she's treated all kinds of patients, right...? S-So it'd...make sense for her to be so cool under pressure..._

Shiori grimaced upon finishing up her initial examination, asking the others, "Hey, how long has she been like this? Do you guys know?"

"About an hour and a half, based on what she told us," Hiroshi told her.

"So? Can you help her or not?" Hinata asked the surgeon, his eyes wide with worry.

"Of course I can, I'm the Ultimate Surgeon! Still though...bleeding for that long, your skin's cold, your breathing's rapid..." Shiori said to herself, then she turned to Hana herself and asked, "Hana, do you feel weak at all? Confused, tired, maybe all of these?"

"Th-That's specific...but yeah, yeah to all of those..." Hana responded, wincing. _Why'd she say it like that...? I-It was almost like she was naming symptoms or...or something..._

"Really? Then..." Shiori remarked to herself, before swearing and turning to the others. "Okay, you three- I need your guys' help. First of all, Hiroshi- I don't suppose you'd be willing to act as my assistant while I patch up Hana here, would you?"

"H-Huh...? Shiori, I-I can't do that, I'm not- I mean, I'm not good with-" Hiroshi began, trying and evidently failing to find the words to explain.

"Wh-!? Oh- fine, fine! If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself," Shiori growled, frustrated by Hiroshi's unwillingness.

Hana furrowed her brow slightly, then attempted to speak up in an attempt to encourage the Ultimate like he had done for her so many times...but the words did not come out, instead the surfer was hit with another wave of near unconsciousness, her vision growing darker by the second.

"Hinata! Head down to the fitness room and go grab one of the mats from in there," Shiori ordered the thief. "Rumi, since we'd be wasting precious time going to get Saku, you're gonna have to help bring her down to my room."

"Your room? Why there?" Rumi asked.

"I'm sorry, is there a real medical area around here?" Shiori snapped. "Exactly. I've got medical equipment in my room that I can use to properly treat her, so that's why we're taking her there. Hiroshi, if you're not gonna be my assistant, then you can go down and tell the others what's happening. Hana- Hana?"

The surfer was barely paying attention by now, her eyes barely open. "I-I...Shiori, I'm not sure if..."

"Hey- hey hey hey, Hana! Don't go unconscious yet, okay?" Shiori quickly told her.

"I-I know, I'm trying, but I really...I really don't..." Hana replied. _Stay awake, come on...you need to stay awake, you need to...stay...awake..._

"Hana? Hana! Hey, stay with me, come on-" Shiori ordered her.

However, Hana didn't hear the last part of that statement; at that moment, the tiredness she had been holding back this whole time overwhelmed her, and in a split second her world was enveloped in blackness for a third time.

* * *

The Ultimate Surfer had no idea how long she had been out this time. One thing was certain, and that was she once again felt as though she had been asleep for a decade. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring up at a clean white ceiling, no longer in one of the hallways.

 _What happened this time...? Am I...wait, am I alive?_ Hana quickly asked herself. She shifted herself somewhat, expecting immense pain to envelope her again- but to her surprise and relief, that didn't happen. Her head and leg were sore, but not to the point where she could barely move; she also noticed she was had been lying on some kind of mat on the ground, and was covered in some sheet that was acting as a blanket. However, she wasn't focused on that- rather, the surfer quickly felt herself, as if to confirm that she was, in fact, alive.

 _I'm...alive. I'm alive! I'm okay!_ Hana happily thought to herself. _I feel- well I don't feel great, but I don't feel like I'm about to die!_

The surfer was so happy, she attempted to stand up- but then she was hit with a wave of dizziness and a sharp pain in her leg, cluing her in to the fact that she was far from completely healed. Wincing and sitting back down, Hana moved her hand up to rub her head, and when she did she felt what she assumed were bandages wrapped around her head. Furrowing her brow, the Ultimate looked down and lifted the sheets to check her leg, seeing that the area where the stab wound was had also been tightly wrapped in bandages. Hana also saw that the only traces of blood left on her were the bloodstains on her pajama shirt and some smaller splatter on her shorts (which disappointed her, because she liked these pajamas).

Looking around, Hana attempted to pinpoint just where exactly she was. Clearly, she was in a bedroom, on the count of the identical layout and appearance to hers- it even had pink bedsheets, indicating this was probably one of the girls' rooms. She noticed a few key differences, however; on the desk were several strange pieces of equipment, which the surfer realized were medical tools, as well as a rather nice-looking scented candle. A model skeleton with several notes taped to it was placed in one of the corners of the room, and a set of medical textbooks were stacked on the floor besides the desk. All in all, the room appeared _extremely_ well-organized, as if whoever slept in this was the type of person to keep their surroundings as neat and perfect as possible.

The last thing Hana noticed was a set of clothes lying on the bed, neatly folded and each piece set next to each other. Specifically, she saw a black shirt with some gray pants.

 _Wait...medical stuff lying around, everything looking all neat, black shirt and gray pants..._ Hana observed, a conclusion forming in her no longer foggy mind. _It kinda reminds me of-_

Then, Hana's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the bedroom door's doorknob turning. Seconds later, the door opened, and a certain Ultimate Surgeon quietly stepped into the room.

"Shiori?" Hana said upon seeing her classmate.

The surgeon let out a small gasp of surprise, turning around to see the surfer. "Wh-? Hana? When did you wake up?"

"Ah...about a minute ago, I think," Hana responded, fully sitting up as she spoke. "Um- is this your room?"

"Well, yeah. I doubt anyone else here has surgical supplies in their room- well, maybe Hiroshi might- and plus, I did say that I'd be treating you in my bedroom," Shiori pointed out, walking over to Hana's spot. "Sorry for the...rudimentary set up, but since this castle doesn't have a proper infirmary or anything, I had to improvise."

The surgeon then knelt down to Hana's current level, asking her, "But, more importantly- how are you feeling? Any dizziness, confusion, maybe some weird breathing?"

"Uh- well, I guess I'm still feeling a little groggy, but I think that's because I just woke up," Hana replied. "And...my head and my leg are still feeling sore, but it's not _too_ bad."

"Mmph- that's an improvement," Shiori remarked, examining the girl closely. "Glad to see my skills are still good, in spite of what I had to work with.

"Hey...Shiori?" Hana began, frowning. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"How long? Hm..." Shiori appeared to do some math in her head, before replying, "I'd say about twelve hours."

"T-Twelve hours!?" Hana yelped.

"Yeah. Not really that surprising- that head injury alone would have had you out for a while, and combine that with the hypovolemic shock you had..." the surgeon explained. "Frankly, I wasn't expecting you to wake up until at least tomorrow- a lot of people have been unconscious for longer with similar injuries."

"...Hypovo-what?" Hana inquired, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"..." Shiori looked like she was about to make a sarcastic remark, but held it back and explained, "It means you lost a lot of blood. You know, you were left bleeding for about an hour and a half based on what you told the others, head injuries like the one you got tend to bleed quite a lot, and there's the fact that your femoral artery was sliced as well, which caused even more bleeding."

Hana opened her mouth to ask another question, only to be interrupted with the other girl stating, "Big artery in the leg."

"Anyways, I did what I could with the equipment I had- I don't have any advanced supplies here, so I wasn't able to treat your injuries as well as I could have had I had a full array of equipment, but I'm fairly certain everything worked out," Shiori went on. "All in all: you are _extremely_ lucky to be sitting here and talking right now."

Hana was silent for a moment, taking in this info, before nodding and asking, "So, basically, I'll be fine?"

"You should be, yeah. You might experience some dizziness, fatigue, or nausea on the count of your head injury, and you should let that leg rest often at first so it can heal properly," the surgeon explained. "And don't even think about doing anything too crazy for the next few days with those wounds. If something comes up, like something gets reopened or the pain starts getting worse, then you'd better let me know."

"Ah- I'll keep that in mind," Hana responded, nodding. "Hey, uh- am I okay to head down and find the others? They're probably worried, right? And now that I'm awake, I want them to know that I'm fine or something."

Shiori frowned skeptically. "Personally...I'd prefer it if you didn't try to move around so soon, at least wait a bit."

"Come on, please? I probably won't go too far, and the sooner I'm walking around the better, right?" the surfer insisted.

"Mm...okay, fine. Only because I'm supposed to let the others know when you're awake and about anyways, so I'd better do that," Shiori conceded. "In the meantime- I don't think you want to go around in those bloody and pajamas, so I decided to let you borrow some of my clothes until you go back to your bedroom. We're basically the same height- not counting that weird antenna you call hair- and body size, so my clothes should fit you just fine."

"Really?" Hana asked, surprised by the surgeon's generosity- that explained the set of clothes lying on the bed.

"Yes, 'really'. Just make sure you give it back once you get into your usual outfit, alright?" Shiori told her. "Also- you won't have any trouble changing with that leg injury, will you?"

"No way, it's just changing, I'll be fine!" Hana assured the surgeon with a nod.

"..." Shiori still looked rather hesitant, but ultimately sighed in acceptance and exited the bedroom, leaving Hana to change clothes in private. The process wasn't too bad, as Hana mainly remained seated on the bed as she changed in order to avoid putting too much weight on her bad leg. Once finished, surfer quickly realized how strange it felt to wear pants instead of her usual skirts- just how did Shiori do it?

However, then came the more pressing issue- actually walking over to the door. Despite Hana's injuries having been patched up, that did nothing to prevent the searing pain from her stab wound from flaring up the moment she stood. Barely able to keep from falling over when she stood up, the surfer slowly made her way to the door, exited Shiori's bedroom, and found herself back in the bedroom hallway.

 _Gh...I swear, when I find out who did this to me, I'm going to- going to- going to fucking slap them or something!_ Hana angrily vowed, slowly and badly limping down the hall.

Hana then saw Shiori heading back down the hall, presumably returning to her room to check up on her again. Initially, she didn't see the surfer in the hallway, but that was quickly remedied when the surgeon looked up and saw her.

Hana, realizing Shiori had noticed her, greeting the girl, "Hey Shiori! See, told you I wouldn't- ngh!- have trouble getting changed! And your clothes- ow- fit fine, so no worries there!"

"..." At first, Shiori just stared at the limping teen, before sighing in exasperation and telling her, "Oh my- no, stop, stop."

Hana stopped. "What? I'm moving around just fine-"

"Stop, stop- god, you're gonna give me a fucking coronary, and I'm only sixteen!" Shiori angrily admonished the surfer, walking over to her. "Just- quick trying to strain yourself so soon, would you? You've been awake for, what, about ten minutes? And before that, you kinda almost died. And- ugh, look, lemme just-"

Before Hana could react, Shiori moved to her right side (the same side as her injured leg), then put one arm around her waist and told her, "You're not fooling me, so I guess I ought to give you a hand. Just lean on me, I'll keep you supported."

"O-Oh, uh- thanks, Shiori," Hana replied, relieved (not that she would admit it) that she didn't have to put so much weight on her right leg. "So, uh- is everyone waiting in the dining room or something?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I at least let some of the others know that you were up and about," the surgeon responded as she and Hana made their way down the hall towards the main chamber. "Though I'm not sure what everyone else was doing while I was making sure you didn't become the third murder victim, I guess everyone I talked to seemed pretty much done. Akira in particular said that she was going to call a meeting of all the others, so I'm assuming she at least spread the news to the others."

"What? You actually talked to Akira?" Hana asked in shock.

"I know, I know- not like I had much of a choice, though," Shiori replied. "If things weren't so complicated, I'd just treat your injuries and leave her out of your medical business. But, this is a killing game, so I guess you could say we both have a common goal- figuring out what the actual fuck happened. I'm assuming she did some investigating of her own during all this, and me healing you should help in figuring out what happened, more or less..."

"I...guess that makes sense," Hana replied with a small nod. _I guess Shiori's just doing what she said she would from now on- not really with Akira, but doing what she thinks would help the group the most. I mean, if nothing else, I'm still here because of her talent. Actually..._

"Hey...Shiori?" Hana spoke up as they passed through the main hall. "I...just, thanks for helping me. I-I mean, you basically saved my life, if you hadn't been here, I might have-"

"Hey, quit that. I'm the Ultimate Surgeon, I'm literally supposed to save lives, you don't need to thank me for doing my job," Shiori told her dryly. "...Although..."

"Yeah?" Hana asked.

"In the future, could you...you know, be more careful? So you don't almost get murdered?" Shiori asked her, sounding somewhat hesitant. "It's not like treating was difficult or anything, I've faced way worse to be honest. But at the same time, you know- I've...never had to treat someone I actually know. And, it was...kind harder to..."

"Huh...? Hold on, were you actually worried about me?" Hana asked in surprise. "I mean, not that you're, like, callous or anything, but you never really seemed like the type to be... _that_ worried or caring."

"I-It's not that I care! It's just harder to treat someone who I see on a daily basis!" Shiori insisted. "So, don't go doing anything that'll put you at that kind of risk again!"

"..." Hana chuckled a little. "Oh my god, you do care."

"I will leave you here, I swear to god," the surgeon threatened with a glare.

"I mean, if you didn't, you wouldn't even be helping me right now," Hana pointed out. "And plus, you have been pretty worried about Asuna too- you even yelled at _Akira,_ I can't imagine doing that."

"I'm sorry, are we in the middle of a trial? Are you a prosecutor too?" Shiori inquired. "No! So quit with the scrutiny!"

In spite of the Ultimate's anger, Hana simply remained amused by her continued denial. Of course, she didn't try to tease her about it anymore, out of fear that Shiori really would just leave her behind to limp to the dining hall on her own.

* * *

Soon enough, the duo entered the dining room, allowing Hana to see the other nine students students waiting inside.

"Alright, here she is, completely alive and not murdered," Shiori announced to the group, gesturing with her free arm to the surfer.

Most of the other students swiftly turned to see the two of them, as if to confirm what the surgeon had said.

"..." Feeling somewhat embarrassed that nearly everyone was looking at her, Hana said, "Uh...hey guys! I'm not dead, heh!"

At first, nobody said anything. Then, Hiroshi walked up, opening his mouth as if to say something-

-but he was immediately interrupted when Rumi practically sprinted across the dining room, shouting, "Hanaaaaa!"

"Wait wait wait, Rumi don't-!" Shiori attempted to tell the scuba diver.

However, it was too late, and Rumi practically shoved past the surgeon so she could nearly tackle Hana in a tight hug. "Oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried, I know a lot of the others were too, and it's just- ooh, I'm so glad to see you!"

"Ow ow ow OW!" Hana cried out as she was hugged. "Y-Yeah, I'm happy to see you too Rumi, b-but- ow!"

"H-Hey, Rumi, she's still recovering, you may want to be a little gentler," Hiroshi suggested, wincing as he watched.

"Huh-? O-Oh! I'm sorry!" the scuba diver immediately responded, letting go of Hana.

"Agh- it's fine, can I just...sit down real fast?" Hana asked, looking towards one of the empty seats. She also thought to herself, _Well, glad to see some of the others are in good spirits._

"Yeah, that might be best," Shiori replied, helping the surfer over to said chair.

Once Hana had sat down, Hinata walked over- strangely enough, he appeared...confused? Things only became stranger when the thief yelped, "Holy shit! So you actually did get attacked!? I thought it was just you guys pulling some really convoluted shit on me!"

"...Uh, what?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow.

"See? Told you we weren't tricking you!" Ryoto told Hinata, his eyes narrowed.

"And besides, it was certainly bold of you to assume you were worth such an elaborate trick," Tadao coldly added to the Ultimate Thief.

"What are you talking about...?" Hana asked, only becoming more baffled by what she was hearing. "Hinata, you were there when Rumi and Hiroshi found me! You were the one who went to get Shiori! You even had to carry her over your shoulder because she wouldn't believe you!"

"Ah, that's what the others told me- and like I said to them, that _does_ sound like something I'd do," Hinata replied with a small chuckle.

"Yeah...that's something I forgot to mention," Shiori told Hana with a sigh. "Apparently, Hinata here claims he can't remember a good chunk of that morning- which includes the part where us four found you bleeding out."

"I'm not 'claiming' anything! I keep telling you guys, I really can't remember that stuff!" the thief insisted. "I know it sounds weird, and I'm just as confused as you guys! But I'm telling the truth!"

"Truthfulness or not, as _I_ keep saying, we can't deal with Yonade's possible memory issues right now," Akira spoke up, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. "As you can imagine, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Even so, I must say real fast- it is truly great to see you back on your feet, Hana," Saku spoke up with a nod. "I am sure many of us here feel the same, I myself was praying for your safety. To lose a _third_ classmate, and so soon after the previous trial...I am not sure how we would have reacted to that."

"Heh, I agree with that," Hiroshi added. "I mean, you already saw how Rumi in particular reacted, and Shiori seemed more stressed than usual-"

"Wha-!? Don't say that! I wasn't stressed or worried at all!" Shiori swiftly insisted.

Hana couldn't help but laugh a bit before replying, "Hah- well, thanks, guys."

 _Wow...was everyone- well, I don't think Akira or Tadao cared that much- really that worried about me? I mean, it could have been just that they didn't want a third murder to happen, but...I just hope it's a sign that I'm actually making some kind of good impact here instead of just screwing things up._ the surfer hopefully thought to herself. She then looked around and realized, _Actually...speaking of me screwing things up..._

"Hey...Asuna and Shiro aren't here?" Hana asked once she realized they were absent. "I mean, I know neither of them are in the best place right now, but..."

"Oh, yeah- I mean, I haven't seen either of them," Ryoto replied. "I'm sure Shiro still knows about what happened, though. A lot of us were making a big fuss when we first found out what happened, I even tried to get him out of his room to tell him."

"And I'm sure he still heard you- _I_ could hear you from in my room, you and your big mouth," Shiori added with a frown.

"And I actually ran into Asuna earlier today!" Rumi stated. "I was able to tell her what was happening, and...it was kinda weird, to say the least."

"...Weird how?" Hana asked.

"Weeeell, you see, what happened was..." the blue-haired teen began.

* * *

 _Rumi was currently pacing about on the top floor of the South Wing, keeping to the area that overlooked the entire main hall. The scuba diver wasn't usually one to pace around like this, but today...she might lose a third friend to a killer, there was no way she could sit still in such a worried state._

 _However, in her distracted state, Rumi had forgotten to watch her surroundings, and as a result hadn't noticed a certain Ultimate Gardener coming down the right hall from the greenhouse. That would quickly change when the two girls ended up bumping into each other, causing them both to stumble back from the force._

 _"Gh-!" Rumi yelped, looking up- then gasping in shock upon seeing who she had bumped into. "A-Asuna!?"_

 _"Rumi?" Asuna began. The short gardener still appeared to be maintaining the vicious behavior she had been exhibiting the past few days, she didn't look any less disheveled or sleep-deprived than she had the day following Kaneki's trial, and she still wasn't even_

 _"Uh- sorry, I-" Rumi replied, cringing. As concerned as she was for Asuna's mental state, she didn't have the willpower at that moment to try and talk some sense into her._

 _"What are you_ doing? _Why aren't you paying attention!?" the other girl demanded, before adding in a more confused tone, "And why...do you look like...you've been crying?"_

 _"Uh, you see- I guess you've been off doing your own thing, so you might not know what happened, but..." Rumi began, trying to figure out whether or not to even tell her about what happened to Hana. Sure, the gardener was likely still mad at her for what occurred yesterday, but then there was the issue of Asuna's already fractured mental state, and telling her another friend might be killed may very well makes things even worse..._

 _"What...? WHAT?" Asuna demanded, her eyes only growing more intense._

 _"I, uh- okay, look! It's- It's about Hana. I know you're probably still super mad at her for yesterday- and yeah, she told us about that- so I don't know how you'll feel about this, but..." Rumi explained. "Hana...she was attacked by someone. She went for a walk before the morning announcement, she saw someone walking around all suspicious and she followed them, and then...they must have attacked her!"_

 _"..." At that moment, Asuna's entire demeanor seemed to change. The ferociousness in her eyes was extinguished, replaced with complete shock. "W...What...?"_

 _"I mean, Shiori's trying to patch her up right now, but I...I don't know, it was pretty bad, and Shiori said she doesn't have all the proper medical stuff she usually does, and..." Rumi informed her, the scuba diver fighting the urge to break down into crying again. "And, and I don't if we- Asuna?"_

 _"..." The gardener's eyes were wide, and her face had gone pale. It was as if all the viciousness had been knocked out of her, leaving her in an almost catatonic state._

 _"...Asuna...?" Rumi timidly prompted, beginning to regret this conversation._

 _"...Ah...Ah-!" Asuna choked out...before letting out a loud cry, "GAAAAAAAAAH!"_

 _Before Rumi even had a chance to respond, the Ultimate Gardener practically fled from her, sprinting towards the stairs to the ground floor, then making her way across the main hall and into the hallway leading to the bedrooms._

* * *

"...Yeah, I think I know how you felt when you tried talking to her yesterday and you ended up making her angrier..." Rumi concluded to Hana with a sigh.

"W-Wow, that...sounds like..." Hana began, unsure of how to take that information.

"It sounds super bad! Like, SUUUPER bad!" Ryoto dramatically declared.

"...But have you seen her at all _since_ then?" Hana then inquired, frowning in concern.

"No...she might still be in her room honestly, but to try and talk to her while she's like that..." the Ultimate Scuba Diver replied.

"It's basically like trying to get through to Shiro, and you see how that's going..." Hinata added with a sigh.

"I...see," Hana replied, nodding. _That sounded...weird. Why did Asuna react that way, it almost sounded like- well, it almost sounded like she was going back to her old self._

Akira stood up, then spoke up, "Alright, listen up everyone. If the joyous reunion is completed, we have a much bigger issue at hand. Now that we have confirmed that Amari is, in fact, alive, a certain someone should be appearing any moment now to give us some answers."

"A...'certain someone'?" Hana asked in concern. "Why so vague...?"

"Oh, yeah- Hana, I'm sure you know who she's talking about..." Hiroshi told her with a small sigh. "We were all wondering what would happen since you got attacked, but _he_ just told us we'd have to wait until we could know for absolute certain whether you'd live or not."

"Okay, seriously, what are you-" Hana began, only for remembrance to strike her and she responded, "Oh...oh, that's right."

Then, as if to confirm her realization, a childish voice spoke up, "Sheesh! You don't show up for a day or two and all of a sudden nobody remembers you! Or maybe that concussion of yours blacked out more memories than just the assault? Either way- get your shit together, Beachcomber! I'm not some forgettable background character, I'm Monokuma!"

"...'Beachcomber'...? You _do_ know what that actually means, right?" Hana inquired with a frown, turning to see the black and white bear having appeared as he usually did- seeing as how it was a given a this point, the surfer was becoming more unfazed by his sudden arrivals, even in her current state.

"Eh, I don't sweat the details. Anyways, I gotta say- it does a teacher's heart good to see their students...not murdered..." Monokuma said, the tone of his voice seeming cheerful on the surface, but it was clear he felt the opposite. "Good work from you, Doc! I guess I should have expected nothing less from the skills of the Ultimate Surgeon!"

"...Right, because I've always wanted to be complimented by the likes of you," Shiori deadpanned with a sigh.

"Whoa, is Monokuma...actually glad to see you're alive?" Ryoto asked, turning to Hana. "Sheesh, looks like someone's playing favorites!"

"He's not playing favorites, you idiot!" Tadao growled at him. "He's obviously got some ulterior motive here or something..."

"Whaaat? Me, being anything but genuine? How dare you make such assumptions! Of course I'm glad Cowlick here is alive!" Monokuma insisted in mock hurt. "I mean, if she had died...it would have been the most boring murder in the history of murders!"

"Aaaaand there it is..." Hiroshi sighed.

"Stop calling this a cowlick!" Hana shouted at the robotic bear.

"I mean, seriously! I saw the whole thing through my cameras, and- good god, you have no idea how disappointed I'd be if that was how a third murder went! Like, the person didn't even use the motive at all, and do you have _any_ idea how much time I spent preparing it!? You're all supposed to be Ultimates, you can do so much better than that!" Monokuma ranted, jumping up on the table as pacing its surface as he did so. "Yes, I _am_ glad that Blondie's alive, because that means there's a chance for you all to redeem yourselves by giving me an actual, _decent_ murder! It could be the person who did the assault, it could be someone else, I don't care! Just do _not_ disappointment me like I almost was today!"

"Hah- bold of you to assume to any of us will commit another murder," Hiroshi retorted, narrowing his eyes somewhat.

"Uh, wake up and smell the bloodstains, Emo Vest! Someone _just_ tried to commit murder, who's to say they won't try again?" Monokuma responded wickedly.

"Enough of your games, Monokuma. Unless you've forgotten, you owe me- as well as everyone else here- an answer to that question," Akira told him, her red eyes betraying no hint of fear. "Earlier, you were asked if we would be holding a trial for Amari, and you said you couldn't answer that until you knew for sure whether or not she'd stay alive. And, well, I believe the answer to that is self-evident, wouldn't you agree?"

 _My god- Monokuma's interrogation, Hinata's amnesia, Asuna's freak out...I guess that's what I get for being out for twelve hours..._ Hana thought to herself. _...Not that I had a choice in how long I was out._

"Ah, yes, that. Well, Miss Rimutsu, you don't even need me to answer that one!" Monokuma informed her with a widened grin. "All you gotta do is look in the killing game rules to find what you're looking for!"

"The rules-? Oh, wait, I think I know what you're talking about," Hiroshi said, pulling out his e-Handbook and opening up the regulations page.

 **10.) Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.**

"Give the man a prize, he's correct!" Monokuma declared. "And, uh, tell me Akira- does Ms. Amari here look murdered to you? Hm? Hmmm?"

"I get it, I get it," Akira growled at the bear. "So, the bottom line is: we won't be holding a trial because Amari wasn't actually murdered?"

"Wh-!? Are you KIDDING!? We're just supposed to let whoever did this get off Scot-free!?" Ryoto furiously demanded.

"Can't you like, you know, punish them or something?" Rumi suggested. "They caused all this trouble, injured a classmate, and they didn't kill anyone, that has to count for _something,_ right?"

"Weeell, I _could_ punish them for disrupting the peace without a murder, but..." Monokuma responded. "Nope, not doing that! I have a feeling this could play a part in something much bigger, and who would I be to waste such potential for a good plot by killing off the one doing the plotting?"

"Hmph- well, I suppose we should have known you wouldn't do something if it would hinder another student's possible murder plot..." Tadao said to himself.

"M-Murder? Come on, we don't know if whoever attacked me was doing it to kill!" Hana pointed out. "It might have been...I dunno...something else...?"

"...Actually...as I look over these rules again, I do have one more concern," Saku spoke up, looking up from his own e-Handbook.

"What? Come on, we answered all the important stuff, didn't we?" Hinata asked in annoyance.

"Perhaps, but there is one thing that I believe I must bring up," Saku responded. "I...probably should not even say this, but...my concern is with this rule here."

 **3.) Sleeping anywhere other than the bedrooms is strictly prohibited, and students will be punished accordingly.**

"And...Hana was knocked out outside her bedroom..." Saku explained. "So...was she still breaking that rule?"

"W-What!? Why would you actually bring that up!?" Rumi cried, her eyes widening. "What if he says yes!?"

"Dude, you're supposed to keep silent about these sorta things!" Hinata responded with an angry gaze towards the Ultimate Kickboxer. "God, remind me not to rob a bank with you!"

"W-Why the anger? I do not _want_ any more harm to come to come to Hana, that is why I am trying to make sure she was not breaking that rule!" Saku quickly responded in his own defense.

"W-Well, what is it!? Was I?" Hana asked in fright. "Y-You're not actually gonna punish me, are you!?"

"Hey, all of you, calm your tits!" Monokuma shouted at the students. "Now, as you all know, I'm the smartest ursine this side of the planet! So I think it goes without saying that...I know the difference between being knocked out and willingly falling asleep!"

"Huh...? Wait, so you're not gonna punish me?" Hana asked hopefully.

"Of course not! I can't believe you guys wasted my time with such an obvious question!" the bear yelled. "No, you will not be punished for being knocked unconscious by someone outside of your bedroom. Just make sure it doesn't happen, got it?"

 _As if I had choice in getting knocked out..._ Hana thought with a frown.

"Now, unless you all have any more stupidly obvious questions to ask me, I'll be going now!" Monokuma said, jumping off the table.

"Good, maybe then you can stop messing up the table with your filthy paws," Tadao muttered with a glare.

"I will stand wherever I goddamn please!" Monokuma shouted at him. "And right now, I'll be standing in my little hidey-hole, keeping an extra close eye on what happens next! Because lemme tell ya, I have a feeling things'll be getting _pretty_ interesting in the near future!"

With another 'Puhuhu', the robotic ursine slipped underneath the table and disappeared without a trace.

"So- the big takeaway from all of this is that we won't have to worry about a trial for Amari's assault," Akira concluded.

"Fine by me, I don't wanna do another investigation thing," Hinata stated with a casual shrug.

"But at the same time, that means whoever attacked Hana is allowed to go free..." Shiori pointed out.

Ryoto stood up, then shouted, "ALRIGHT! Whoever tried to kill Hana, you'd better MAN UP- or WOMAN UP, it could either!- and CONFESS!"

"..." Unsurprisingly, nobody confessed to anything.

"I...do not believe the culprit will be so honest..." Saku pointed out a concerned frown.

"Well, no worries- as you all recall, me and Ashi were doing a sort of...miniature investigation while Sauchi was treating Amari," Akira spoke up.

"You did?" Hana asked, turning to Hiroshi.

"Ah- yeah. Akira thought that, whether you lived or not, it would still be a good idea to at least start an investigation to gain a better understanding of what happened," Hiroshi explained. "I decided to act her assistant of sorts, since- you know, I wanted to be useful in some way."

Hana frowned a bit, then prepared to say something in response to him- only to be interrupted when Akira said, "Well, now that the would-be victim is awake and able-bodied...Amari, I want you to come with me somewhere. And _just_ you, Amari, no one else is to come with."

"Huh? Me? Now?" Hana stammered in surprise.

"Yes, did I stutter?" Akira responded crossly.

"Uh...okay, but before I do, can I go and change back into my regular clothes?" Hana asked, gesturing to the outfit she was currently wearing.

"...Fine, make it quick. When you're done, meet me on the second floor of this wing," Akira informed her, before making her way out, signifying that the meeting was over.

"...And with that, my cooperation with _her_ ends," Shiori said, gesturing to where Akira had exited. She then turned her attention to Hana and asked, "Hana- is your leg feeling good enough for you to be able to get up those stairs to the top floor? And do you need any help getting back to your room?"

"Ah- you know, I think I'll be fine," Hana responded, standing up only somewhat difficultly. "I'll get used to it, don't worry."

"Well, if you say so. But remember what I told you, don't go trying to strain yourself," Shiori reminded her. "If you end up re-injuring yourself- well, I'm not gonna be happy, I'll leave it at that."

"And while she's out doing that- mind taking a look at me, Doc?" Hinata requested, grinning at Shiori...before his grin faded and he added in a completely no-nonsense tone, "No but seriously, I am legitimately concerned about what's going on with me."

"...Like I said. Add to what I have to deal with, and I will NOT be happy," Shiori warned Hana with a small glare, before turning her attention to the thief.

"Uh- point taken," Hana responded with a nod. She then stood up, said whatever farewells she needed to, then proceeded to limp back to her bedroom to change.

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 **A/N: Okay, I'm not going to say much here, seeing as how this part has been split in two due to my poor planning. Just head over to the next part, which should be uploaded at the same time as this one! I'll talk more at the conclusion of that part!**


	23. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 4)

**A/N: Here we go, double update because I had to split this one! Once again, I'm not saying much, everything I need to say will be said at the end. Oh, but one thing- the FTE is in this part, so fret not those who voted!**

* * *

 **Review Replies:**

 **...Well there are none, this was supposed to be one singular part.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Daily Life (Part 4)**

It didn't take too long for the Ultimate Surfer to change out of her borrowed clothes and back into her usual outfit. In spite of everything, Hana was glad to be back with her usual outfit, and with her hair back in its usual ponytail (which was a little hard to do on the count of the bandages around her head)- she was starting to feel better already. After setting the clothes Shiori had loaned her in front of the surgeon's bedroom door, the surfer wasted no more time and made her way to the main chamber. Once there, she proceeded to one of the two stairs leading to the top floor- specifically, she went for the left stairwell, since it was on the same side of the room as her.

Upon approaching the stairs in question, Hana stared up at the steps, then wondered, _Hm...maybe I was a little bit overzealous in thinking heading up these stairs would be a good idea..._

Even so, she couldn't keep Akira waiting any longer, and thus she powered through whatever pain she might experience and practically dragged herself up the steps. Once she did that, the surfer had to take a moment to allow the pain to subside before making her way towards the hallways.

"Hm- there you are. I was starting to wonder if you'd already forgotten," Akira spoke up from the west hallway, walking over to the surfer.

"Wh- hey, I don't think I took that long to get here, did I?" Hana responded indignantly. "At least cut me _some_ slack, I'm kinda hindered by injury here..."

"...No," Akira bluntly responded with a small glare. "Well, now that you're actually here, we can get down to business."

"...And that would be...?" Hana prompted, raising her eyebrows.

"Follow me," Akira simply told her, turning around and gesturing for the Ultimate to follow.

Despite her confusion, Hana did what she was asked and followed the Ultimate Prosecutor down the hall. They soon made their way to the area where she had been found by Rumi, evident by the smears of the blood on the floor.

"...Uh...what are we doing back here?" Hana inquired the red-haired teen, eyeing the bloodstains with a grimace.

"We're not stopping here," Akira told her, making her way through the doorway leading into the West Wing. "Come on, what are you standing around for?"

Hana followed her classmate into the West Wing, and she quickly realized where exactly they were going; her first clue came from how the two of them were following the little splatters and smears of blood that Hana had left when she had stumbled out of the wine room earlier that day. Sure enough, her suspicions were confirmed when the duo found themselves in front of the entrance to the wine room.

"Huh? What are we doing back here?" Hana asked, surprised by where this was going. "I mean, this was where I got attacked, but-"

"Quit asking so many questions and be patient," Akira scolded her, opening the door to the room and switching on the light. This time, the lights reacted as they should, illuminating the room instantly. As the two stepped in, Hana saw the same bloodstains on the floor that had been left there when she had been lying unconscious that morning.

"Now, as for why we're back here, I wanted to discuss with you- the 'victim', as it were- the events of what happened. After all, you may very well be the best witness, and returning here may jog some of your foggy memories," Akira explained at last, moving to the end of the room to grab something. "Explaining the findings of the investigation Ashi and I did may also help in that endeavor."

"What? You guys actually found stuff?" Hana asked, tilting her head somewhat in confusion.

"That's right. First and foremost...the weapon that was used to actually knock you out," Akira said. She then pointed to a rack of bottles on the left side of the room. "Amari, look at that shelf over there. Do you notice anything wrong with it?"

Frowning, Hana turned to where Akira was pointing, and she quickly recognized the shelf as the one containing the twelve red wine bottles. Well- there should have been twelve, but one of the openings was suspiciously empty.

"Hey...didn't all the openings on that rack there have a bottle in them?" Hana asked, looking towards the Ultimate Prosecutor. "I...only see eleven."

"Precisely. Because one of those bottles..." Akira began, holding up something. "Was used to attack you."

Hana looked down at what Akira was holding; sure enough, it was one of the large red wine bottles from the rack, identical to the other bottles. The only differences she could see was that a chunk of the side of the bottle had been chipped off, resulting in some of the contents having been spilled out, as well a substantial amount of blood splatter on the red glass.

"O-Oh, I see..." Hana remarked, cringing as she stared at the item.

"This bottle, as well as the eleven just like it, are made from a rather thick glass- therefore, with the weight of the bottle itself, combined with the added weight of the contents inside, it would have made for an effective weapon indeed," Akira explained.

"Ah...ah, hey, it's actually broken!" Hana pointed out. "Would that mean that the drink inside would have- you know, spilled all over the place?"

"That's right. Why?" Akira inquired.

"Oh, just- you know, when I woke up, it felt like I was kinda...wet, and not from blood, but from like- water or something," Hana explained. "Rumi said that I smelled kinda like alcohol, too. I guess the bottle spilling when it got broken would explain that, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would, thank you for explaining the obvious," Akira responded. "Anyways, this bottle was placed haphazardly in the corner there, so I suppose that would make it hard to spot at first glance. However, it also indicates the culprit was in a hurry."

"I still can't believe they actually broke off a piece of the bottle..." Hana muttered incredulously. "Actually, speaking of weapons- what about the thing they used to stab me? Can you show me that?"

"No. Because the culprit was a bit craftier in hiding that, so I have yet to find it," the prosecutor responded. "But, I have my suspicions on what it could have been."

"Oh, uh- can you tell me about that too?" Hana then asked.

"No, because you don't need to know everything, Amari. I just brought you here in the hopes that it may help you remember vital information," Akira bluntly responded. "After all, though it was your own recklessness that brought this on you, your testimony as the victim would be most important."

"Okay...so what do you want me to tell you?" the Ultimate Surfer responded.

"First, start with what you remember for certain," Akira instructed. "Quickly, we don't have all evening."

"Okay, okay. So...I woke up at around 6 in the morning. I was having trouble sleeping, so...I thought going for a little walk the castle would clear my head," Hana explained. "Then...I saw someone up on the second floor. So I followed them, and I saw them going into the West Wing. I was worried they might try something- you know, deadly if they were left alone too long, so I kept going after them. I followed them into the wine room, and then...then..."

"Hm- so it seems like that's the point where your memory becomes foggy," Akira remarked. "At the very least, what you're telling me lines up with what you told Hamasaki and Ashi, so at least you're not changing your story."

The prosecutor then gestured to the scene and added, "Now, see if you can remember more. Look at this scene, and focus. Whatever you can recall, tell me immediately."

"Uh...okay, I'll try..." Hana responded. She looked around at the 'crime scene', then closed her eyes as she tried to think.

 _O...kay, I just need to...think..._ Hana told herself. _I've been awake for a while now, and my mind is basically back in order...so if I just think hard enough, something shoild come back to me, right?_

 _So...I went into the wine room so I could find out who went into the wine room, right? Uh...I don't think the lights were working, it was really dark, and then..._ Hana thought to herself, trying to excavate the memory of the attack from her mind. _I...something happened, I don't...I don't remember...was I holding something...? Wait, hold on, there was something after that..._

She furrowed her brow as an image formed in her mind. Someone was standing there, behind her...who was it? The image was far too foggy for her to clearly remember, but no doubt someone was there and holding something over their head. That person...Hana couldn't recall any true features of theirs...

"Well? Anything?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...well, I think I tried turning on the lights...and, I think I can...sorta remember the person...?" Hana began, opening her eyes. "I mean, unless I'm remembering things wrong, the lights didn't work, so it's not like I would have been able to identify them anyways if my memories were still intact..."

"Seriously...? All you've told me at this point are things that have already been deduced!" Akira growled at her in frustration.

"Wh- hey! I-If it's any consolation, uh, what I can remember is..." Hana quickly responded. "Uh...the person didn't seem like they were too short...so I really don't think it was Asuna. I also don't really think it was Shiro, either. They...also didn't look that giant or muscular either, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't Saku either."

"Hm- ruling out Izumi, Koichi, and Yamamoto..." Akira murmured...before stating, "Well, at least I can say I agree with that."

"Wh- really?" Hana asked in shock. _Did...I hear that right? Akira...agreed with me?_

"I have my reasons- reasons you don't need to know either," the Ultimate responded. "At any rate, it would seem there's nothing more you can offer me. That's...disappointing to say the least."

"Well, that's only because I got bashed over the head so hard! If it hadn't been for that, I could probably remember more," Hana pointed out indignantly.

"And whose fault is that?" Akira hissed.

"...The person who attacked me...?" Hana guessed.

"...Allow me to rephrase that- whose fault is it that the culprit even had the opportunity to do this?" the prosecutor inquired, crossing her arms.

"..." Hana had no answer to that, only responding with, "Point taken."

"Exactly. Now then- go away. Thanks to you, now there's this attacker situation to figure out in addition to locating Monokuma's motive," Akira growled at her. "If you happen to remember anything else about when you were attacked, inform either me or Ashi immediately."

"Yeah, sure thing," Hana responded with a sigh. _Okay, could have gone without the emotional injury in addition to the physical kind._

"Oh, and, one more thing..." Akira added as Hana turned to leave. "What I've told you about the investigation thus far- don't tell anyone. This is to stay between me, you, and Ashi."

"What? Why?" Hana responded. "The other investigations-"

"-Involved murders, trials, and life-or-death. In those situations, cooperation of some kind _would_ be necessary," the Ultimate explained. "But this time, there is no trial, and you're not murdered. Therefore, it would best for now to keep things confidential, as is the case with most legitimate investigations. Besides, keeping the information amongst as few people as possible will make it easier for information and evidence to remain intact."

Hana had no response to Akira's reasoning, though she'd be lying if she said she disagreed with it; at the same time, that didn't mean she liked it. Once again, however, the surfer had no rebuttal, and as such she simply nodded in agreement and left the wine room without another word.

"Well, so much for that..." Hana softly murmured to herself. _And here I thought there'd be some answered involved...I mean, I guess I learned a little more about what happened, but...god, I wish I could remember more, stupid head injury!_

Similar thoughts continued to plague her mind as she limped back to the South Wing and carefully made her way down the stairs to the first floor. She started to make her way back to her bedroom, but then she noticed two of her classmates walking towards her- Rumi and Hiroshi, to be specific.

"Hey! Hana!" Rumi called out, heading over to her friend alongside the black-haired coroner.

Upon seeing her two friendlier classmates, the surfer's mood improved somewhat, and she responded, "Oh- hey, guys."

"So, what did Akira want? Did things go well?" Hiroshi inquired.

"Uh...well, she didn't get _too_ mad at me, if that counts for anything," Hana responded sheepishly. "I'd go into more detail, but she kinda told me I'm not supposed to talk about what she told with just anyone, and since I don't want to get on her bad side more than I already am..."

"Oh- well, fair enough, I guess," Hiroshi conceded, crossing his arms.

"Speak for yourself, now I'm curious!" Rumi stated with slight annoyance.

"Again, sorry, but I'd really rather not cause any more issues by not listening to Akira- again," Hana insisted apologetically. "I mean, she did point out that because of what happened, it's sorta hindering the search for that item Monokuma talked about, and...I guess she's sorta right-"

"Oh- don't talk like that! You didn't know what would happen!" Rumi insisted, immediately pulling the Ultimate into a hug. "I mean, okay, maybe going out during nighttime wasn't the _best_ decision you could have made. But still, you clearly had your reasons-"

"I just wanted to go for a walk, it wasn't _that_ serious," Hana reminded her.

"-and at the end of the day, I'd rather blame the person who actually did the crime than the victim!" the scuba diver concluded, looking down at Hana. "So, please don't beat yourself up over it, okay? It's bad enough we keep having to deal with murders, and then there's what happened with you and Asuna, plus there's still the motive thing-"

"Uh, this is supposed to be making me feel better, right?" Hana asked with a frown.

"What I'm trying to say is that- please don't beat yourself up over what happened, okay? No matter what Akira or anyone else says," Rumi clarified. "Besides, something tells me you've got enough on your mind, soo..."

"I'll...try, yeah," Hana replied with a reassuring smile. Not being so worried was becoming more and more easier said than done, but the surfer decided it wouldn't hurt to at least _try_ to change that.

As Rumi nodded in satisfaction and released Hana from the embrace, Hiroshi himself broke his observant silence and spoke up, "Hey...Hana. There's something I need to say too."

"Yeah? What is it, Hiroshi?" Hana asked, turning to the coroner curiously.

"Well, it's...about before, when Rumi and I first found you up on the second floor," Hiroshi began. "Looking back on it, my...actions weren't really the best."

"What? But you didn't do anything wrong," Hana responded furrowing her brow in concern.

"Well...the thing is, I didn't really do _anything,"_ Hiroshi replied, looking downward somewhat. "I, well...I froze. I still don't think my skills as a coroner would have done too much good for you, but at the same time...I really could have done more, you know?"

Hana, shocked by Hiroshi's guilt, immediately responded, "Hey, Hiroshi, you didn't do anything bad. Even if you did freeze up- I mean, you know how _I_ am when it comes to _dead_ classmates, so for _you_ to kind freak out like that...I'm no expert, but that seems pretty normal to me."

"Even so, I shouldn't have just done nothing," Hiroshi insisted with a sigh. "Maybe if I had, your condition would have been a little better by the time Hinata brought Shiori. Maybe you would have woken up sooner, or maybe...I don't even know."

"I mean, to be fair, you helped Akira out with the investigation, didn't you?" Hana pointed out, trying to sound encouraging. "That's something."

"Yeah, but..." the coroner began, still seeming concerned- it was still strange to Hana to see him bear his emotions in such a way, slight as it may be. The Ultimate then went on, "I guess that whole incident just...really shook me up, is all."

"Seriously...? But, you're like- always so unfazed and calm and stuff," the surfer responded, verbalizing her shocked thoughts. "I'll be honest, seeing you like this...it's really unsettling. After all, being the one freaked out is _my_ thing."

Chuckling a little from the humor, Hiroshi replied, "Well, I don't think anyone would be able to stay calm if they were watching their friend and classmate dying in front of them. As hard as I try to keep a level head...even I'm not above feeling like that."

Hana was silent for a few moments, before adding, "Hiroshi? That thing Rumi told me just now, about how you shouldn't beat yourself over what happened and how the blame is really with the actual culprit?"

"That's another thing that worries me- the fact that one of our classmates may have done this," the coroner added. "Personally, I don't want to think about that, and yet...sadly, considering what's happened already, we kind of _have_ to consider it..."

"Eugh, I know...and please, _please_ don't remind me of that," Hana responded, before continuing, "Anyways, er- ugh, look, not to steal Rumi's lines or anything, but- I feel like a lot of what she said could apply to you too. So, can you please stop feeling so bad? You did what you could, and I appreciate that. And besides, I'm alive, aren't I?"

Hiroshi smiled at that, remarking, "Well, I'm definitely glad for that. I still wish I could have done more to help you...and yet, I agree. Seeing you alive and- more or less well like this, it's...a relief, to say the least. I'm just glad we could avoid another murder, and...if you had been killed, if you had died then...I don't know what I would have done. So...that's why I'm really glad that you're alright."

"O-Oh, uh- okay, wasn't expecting that," Hana admitted with a small, embarrassed blush.

"Oh come on, you'd probably be _way_ more emotional if I had been the one attacked instead of you," Hiroshi pointed out with slight amusement in his voice.

"Huh!? Hey, I wouldn't be-" Hana began indignantly...before stopping, thinking it over, and continuing, "Okay, yeah, I'd be worried out of my mind."

Hiroshi simply chuckled again due to her response. "Well, I'd at least hope so."

 _Heh- glad to see Hiroshi's feeling better._ Hana told herself, chuckling herself. _I really hope we can figure out all of this soon- if it's getting to someone like_ him _so badly, what does that mean for everyone else...?_

"..." Rumi kept silent for a few moments, simply watching the exchange...before letting out what could only be described as a joyful "squeeee!"

Hana immediately turned her attention to the Ultimate Scuba Diver. "...You okay, Rumi?"

"Oh I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm sorry about that, I just..." Rumi began, before giggling. "Aaah, I just get excited whenever I see stuff like this, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Hiroshi inquired, furrowing his brow.

"Oh come on guys, don't deny it! I can see what's going on!" the girl responded with a grin. "I've seen it so many times in books, on TV- I've even seen it happen with some of my other friends! And I really love seeing things like this happen between friends, it's just so sweet!"

"Uh...maybe I just missed something, but I still don't understand," Hana responded with shake of her head.

"Come on, it's obvious! The way Hiroshi was so worried about you this whole time, the way you care enough to try and make him feel better- heck, the way just care about each other in _general-_ the playful banter between you two, the just...everything!" Rumi insisted. "I can see it- even if you two don't."

"You can...see..." Hana muttered to herself, still attempting to make sense of what her friend was saying...before realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

In that moment, the surfer quickly responded, "N-No! Rumi, it's not like that at all!"

Rumi laughed, replying, "Suuure it's not. Trust me Hana, I'm basically an expert when it comes to this stuff- like I said, you wouldn't be the first friend of mine found love!"

"Stop this. Stop this right now," Hiroshi told her, seeming to have come to the same realization as Hana.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy! Especially after everything's that's happened, seeing something nice like this..." Rumi told them with a little smile. "Still, when I thought about it, I always thought I'd find someone before you did."

"Okay, I'm out, I'm done, please tell me there's an 'off' switch for this conversation..." Hana muttered with a cringe.

"Oh- fine, I'll stop..." Rumi conceded, before turning her attention to Hiroshi and adding, "But remember, Hiroshi- if you do anything to hurt her, I'll end you myself, understand?"

"W-What? We're not even- I'm not-" Hiroshi stammered, completely dumbfounded by this turn of events.

"Okay, keep denying it- we'll see how long that lasts!~" Rumi concluded, giggling again as she left the two.

"We're in a killing game, not a romance novel!" Hana shouted after her, though the scuba diver did not acknowledge her yells.

"...Wow, that...conversation took a turn," Hiroshi remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Geez, how did that even happen...?" Hana sighed. "Ah, I can't stay mad at her...that's just Rumi, I suppose."

"If you say so, you know her better than I do," the Ultimate Coroner responded, regaining his composure. "Besides, I suppose it's just baseless at the end of the day."

"Heh- yeah! You're one of my closest friends here, but what Rumi said- yeah, it's not true," Hana replied in agreement. "As much as I like spending time with you and all, and you're really nice, and sensitive, and any girl would probably love to-"

"..." Hiroshi's smile faded somewhat into a skeptical look, and he then asked, "...Are you considering what Rumi said?"

"Considering...?" Hana began, before her face paled and panic set in once more. "N-No! I didn't mean it like that! I swear I was just talking hypothetically, it has nothing to do with how _I_ feel, you're just a good really friend and I appreciate you and- _gah-!_ I mean-!"

Cutting her nervous motor-mouthing short, Hana went silent along with Hiroshi himself.

However, after what Hana believed was an eternity, the other Ultimate broke the silence by remarking, "Ah...yeah, I think I'm going to erase this exchange from my memory."

"Y...Yeah, please do," Hana replied, her face growing hot with embarrassment.

"Anyways...Shiori said you should rest as often as you can, right? So you don't reinjure yourself or something?" Hiroshi reminded her. "You've been running around a little bit, and especially since you only woke up...what was it, about a half an hour ago?...that might be a good idea."

"I know, I know, I'll do that," Hana assured him somewhat dismissively.

"Glad to hear it. And in the meantime, I'll see if Akira wants me to help any more with investigating the attack, or with searching for the motive," Hiroshi informed her, then added, "After all, when you said Akira told you not to talk about what you learned with just anyone...she meant just me, didn't she?"

"Yeah, your suspicions are right," Hana confirmed with a nod.

Hiroshi simply nodded in response. "Well, alright then. I'll go do that, and you be sure to take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will. You be careful too!" Hana told him as the two Ultimates went their separate ways.

 _Geez...I think I need to forget that conversation too, can't I go one day without sounding like an idiot?_ the surfer chastised herself. Then, as she continued to walk, she realized the pain from her two injuries was starting to flare up again. Though she had sounded haughty when she told Hiroshi she would rest, she now thought to herself, _Okay, actually...I think standing and running around like that wasn't the best thing for me, I think I really do need to rest for a minute- or ten..._

Making that decision, the Ultimate limped back to her bedroom for some much-needed rest- both physical and mental.

* * *

Hana didn't do too much once in her bedroom, simply laying down on the bed for some time in a half-napping state. After a few minutes of rest, the discomfort from her injuries subsided enough that she could potentially go back to wandering the castle grounds.

 _Well...there's not too much time left until the dinner meeting..._ Hana told herself after checking her e-Handbook. _Then again, that's what happens when I'm out for half a day. But still...I don't want to just sit in here until then, and moving a bit should be good for me anyways._

The surfer stood up, her leg not feeling too bad, and made her way to the bedroom door. _Besides, I know it's extremely likely it was on of the others who attacked me, but...I'm not going to sit around being paranoid of everyone! That's a terrible attitude to have!_

With those determined thoughts in her mind, Hana exited her bedroom and made for the main hall. Resolute as she was to spend a bit of time with her classmates, the girl still remembered Shiori's advice not to overexert herself so soon after the incident, and so figured it would be best to stay in the South Wing for now.

Seeing nobody was in the main chamber, the Ultimate decided to check the dining room next. Once again, she saw nobody on her way there, but upon entering the spacious room she immediately noticed- as luck would have it- the Ultimate Surgeon in question. The short-haired teen sat at the empty by herself, eating what appeared to be some fruit.

"Oh- hey Shiori!" Hana called out to her, making her way over to her seat.

"Hm? Hana?" Shiori stated, turning to the surfer in surprise. "What's the matter? Is something wrong? Are either of your injuries you bothering you, did you-"

"No, no, it's nothing medical, don't worry," Hana quickly reassured her classmate. "I just wanted to spend some time with you is all- you know, all normal and stuff."

"...Oh," the surgeon responded, immediately calming down before adding, "Yeah, I figured. What are _you_ saying, I wasn't worried. Anyways, just uh- take a seat before I change my mind."

Heeding her warning, Hana wasted no more time and took a seat next to her. Though it was clear Shiori was trying her hardest not to go full doctor mode on her recovering classmate and stay casual (well, as casual as Shiori usually managed), Hana felt that the two of them had grown a little closer.

"Hey, Shiori. I have another question for you," Hana spoke up, her voice betraying a hint of eagerness.

"Another one? This isn't some interview you know, you're not a journalist," Shiori responded with a glare.

"N-No, it's nothing too personal like before!" Hana quickly told her. "It's about that other thing I asked you."

"Oh, yeah, 'that other thing', _very_ specific," Shiori deadpanned.

Ignoring the sarcasm, Hana continued, "I'm just wondering- did you think about what I asked? You know, since you're not too eager about being a surgeon...what kind of job _would_ you be eager about?"

"What, that?" Shiori responded with a frown. "Not to burst your bubble, Hana, but I haven't really thought about it at all since we last talked. Hope you didn't lose sleep over it or anything."

"No, I've been losing sleep over other things!" Hana insisted...before quickly adding, "Uh, but don't worry about that."

The surgeon sighed, then went on, "Listen, I haven't been ignoring what you said to be an asshole or anything. I just...don't see the point in wondering about that. I may not be too interested in it, yeah, but being a surgeon is...kinda all I care about. To just change professions...I don't know, I just...mm..."

"I mean, aren't you at least a little curious about what else you could do?" Hana inquired. "Even if your parents were the ones who pulled a bunch of strings to get you the training you needed in such a short time, like you said before, you've definitely got talent to back it up. And whenever we escape this place, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to put it to something you'd enjoy."

"..." Shiori was silent for a few moments, as if actually considering her words, then asking, "Well what do you think?"

"Eh?" Hana responded in confusion.

"You've clearly been thinking about this a lot, enough to bring it up again since last time," the Ultimate explained. "So clearly, you must have an idea of what I'd be interested in, right?"

"Um..." Hana began. Shiori's countenance was a clear indicator that she wasn't expecting the surfer to be able to answer, but Hana only took that as a challenge and responded, "Yeah! I've got an idea!"

 _Okay, gotta come up with something_ now. Hana thought, looking Shiori over. _Let's see- Shiori. Surgeon. Does...medical stuff. Surgery stuff. Yeah. So, if she were to quit being a surgeon and go into something else, she'd probably be best at..._

"Hm...being a surgeon, you might be best doing something with your hands," Hana responded. "I keep hearing about how doctors have pretty steady hands, or at least they're supposed to, so something like that would be useful in some other field."

"...Hm. Look at that, you do pay attention," Shiori remarked, glancing down at the hands in question.

"I can name a bunch of jobs that you'd need steady hands for- you could be a masseuse, a mechanic, a florist, a woodworker..." Hana rambled, counting out the professions with her fingers. "A carpenter, a jeweler, or maybe even a chef-"

"Okay okay, I get it! God, I didn't think you had a whole list prepared," Shiori interrupted her with a grimace.

"Uh- sorry, I've been told I ramble when I get too hyped up," Hana sheepishly replied. "But, you can see there are tons of things you could do, right?"

"...Yeah, I get it," Shiori stated, glancing down for a moment.

"It's just...you know, even if passion and skill don't always go together, I still think passion is the more important of the two," Hana explained. "Without that, it's like...what are you even doing, you know? I guess I just want to help you find that one thing you really live for, like me with my surfing."

"..." Shiori still seemed hesitant, and as such replied, "I...appreciate the effort, but...you're really wasting your time. I'm just...a surgeon. That's how it's been, that's the field I've chosen, and that's that."

With that, it was evident the Ultimate wanted nothing more to do with the topic, and as a result Hana dropped the subject. Still, in the back of her mind, the surfer remained stubborn...just why was Shiori so hesitant to talk about being something other than a doctor? However, the answer to that question...the girl was almost certain it wouldn't be easy to come by.

After some more small talk, Hana and Shiori went their separate ways, and the Ultimate Surfer returned to her room without much fanfare.

* * *

Some more time passed, Hana remained in her bedroom and rested her head and leg a little more. When the time for the dinner meeting approached, the surfer stood yup out of bed, took a minute to ensure she would be fine to walk, then exited the room with hardly any sound. It was at that moment that someone else exited their own bedroom- a certain Ultimate Surgeon, Shiori Sauchi.

"Hm? Oh, hi Shiori!" Hana called to the student. "You're heading to the dining room too, right?"

"No, I'm going to go sing showtoons in the greenhouse- of course I'm going to the dining room," Shiori responded with an irritated frown, making her way down the hallway. "I may not be participating in them anymore, but I still get hungry. I'll probably just...grab some food and eat somewhere else."

"Wait, really? You're not eating with us?" Hana asked in shock, following her classmate towards the dining room. "You know, Rumi's not gonna like that at all."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather not listen to Akira's usual bullshit tonight, so sorry to disappoint," the surgeon stated, glancing away for a few moments. "As you can imagine, it's been a crazy day today, so I'd just rather not deal with any of that, alright?"

"I...guess. Just try not to make this too regular of a thing, alright?" Hana asked. "Even if you don't like Akira or most of the others that much, we still have to stick together to make sure another murder doesn't happen, you know?"

"I know that, you don't have to repeat that old speech," Shiori responded with a sigh. "God, people had better not think I'm being as devious as Tadao or something, because that's not the case at all."

"Nah, I don't think most of the others'll suspect you're planning something- I mean, everyone knows you're pretty dedicated to following that Hippocampus Oath thing that doctors do," Hana reassured her cheerfully.

"Hippocratic," Shiori corrected her, then asked, "Speaking of...how are you feeling? You seem to be doing a little better with walking, but..."

"Uh, I'm fine- well, I at least don't need help walking around anymore, and my leg and head aren't hurting too much," Hana explained.

"Ah, good- not that I was worried, I was certain you'd be more okay by now thanks to my skills," Shiori swiftly insisted with confidence.

"Well...I never said otherwise," Hana pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"..." the surgeon went quiet, as if to avoid the risk of incriminating herself even more.

"Actually, speaking of medical stuff...what happened to Hinata?" Hana then asked. "Did you figure out why he got all amnesic this morning?"

"Oh, that..." the Ultimate replied. "Well, truth be told...I actually couldn't figure that out. I examined him pretty thoroughly, and I didn't find any kind of injury or anything else that might have caused his memory loss."

The teen then went on, "But...in spite of that...I actually kinda believe him about the memory loss."

"You do? _You_ believe him?" Hana responded in shock.

"I know, I never thought I'd see the day I'd be on that guy's side, but...yeah, I think he's telling the truth about his amnesia," Shiori informed her. "He's been sounding genuine enough, and if this was another one of his tricks I'm pretty sure he would have called it off by now. That doesn't mean I know _how_ he lost his memories, but I'm fairly certain he did."

"Well, do you have any ideas or theories?" Hana then inquired.

"All I know is what he told me about what he last remembered," the Ultimate explained. "He said his last memory was sitting there at the breakfast meeting, people were starting to get a little confused about where you were, he stole and chugged down Ryoto's drink for shits and giggles, ate a bit more of his food, and then...that was the cut-off point. He said the next thing he knew, he was in the main hall with Rumi and Hiroshi after they had found you in the upstairs hallway."

"Huh, that...doesn't seem like _that_ big of a gap in lost memories," Hana stated, furrowing her brow.

"It's not. Not even that, but I think you can agree Hinata wasn't acting any different during the chunk he doesn't remember," Shiori added. "And...both of those kinda make things even more confusing. God, I'll have to look through some of my textbooks to see if I can figure out what's going with him..."

Finally, the duo found themselves entering the dining hall, and as such they cut their conversation short. Hana looked around, seeing a majority of the students there as usual...though something did appear off to her. Was someone else not here- well, aside from the depressed Asuna and Shiro?

"Hey guys!" Rumi called out cheerfully, approaching the two girls.

"Hi there, Rumi," Hana replied with a small wave.

"Yeah, hey- I'm gonna go out and say it, I'm not staying long," Shiori informed the scuba diver. "Like I told Hana here, I don't want to hear Akira's tonight after the day I had, so I'm just gonna grab my food and eat in private somewhere."

"W-Wait, what?" Rumi stammered. "You can't do that! I'm no expert, but that sounds like a slippery slope to...I dunno, ending up like Tadao!"

"I'm not doing that! God, how many times do I have to explain this!?" the surgeon growled in frustration.

"Hey, I couldn't help but overhear you gals..." Hinata spoke up, leaning on the table as he did. "But, in order to thank Doc over here for taking a look at me earlier, I'm gonna tell you now so you don't get disappointed in a sec- there's no food yet, Tadao's not here."

"Wait, what?" Hana asked. "What do you mean he's not here?"

"He's just- not here yet," Hinata repeated himself.

"Seriously...?" Shiori responded in surprise. "I mean, the guy's an asshole, but at least he's good at keeping to a schedule. So why's he late?"

Hinata shrugged. "I dunno, your guess is as good as mine. Lotsa mysteries today, huh?"

"No kidding...I hope he gets here soon, all this stress today didn't do much good for my appetite..." Rumi remarked, looking towards the kitchen wistfully.

"Hm- well, if all else fails, we could whip up something ourselves," Hiroshi stated, evidently deciding to jump in on the conversation. "I remember both you and Saku have some cooking skills-"

"Unnecessary! I'm here, I'll handle it so you heathens don't mess up something!" a certain waiter's voice yelled. Seconds later, Tadao himself appeared in the doorway, practically seething. What immediately caught Hana's attention was how disheveled he looked, with his somewhat messed up hair and his unkempt waistcoat, and...why did he look so pale?

"Ah, Tadao, we were wondering where you were!" Saku cheerfully greeted the young man. "...Where _were_ you, exactly?"

"And why do you look like you just wrestled a bear?" Hana added with a concerned frown.

"To be fair, you're not entirely wrong," the Ultimate Waiter stated with a small scowl.

At that moment, a second person bolted into the room, his blue cape and yellow hair obvious from a mile away. Ryoto, immediately upon entrance, shouted to the others, "OKAY! Whatever he told you, it is NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

"..." The room fell into an awkward silence. At that point, Hana realized what had felt off about the room before- the Ultimate Racecar Driver's absence.

"...Shimaru? Miura? Either of you care to explain?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"The reason I was so late coming here was because Miura here basically kidnapped me," Tadao explained, gesturing towards the young man in question.

"K-Kidnapped?" Rumi exclaimed.

"You did what?" Hiroshi asked, turning to Ryoto in disbelief.

"I did not! It was just...questioning! We both ended up at the watchtower by coincidence, so I decided to...you know, ask him some questions!" Ryoto countered. "Ryoto Miura's just taking initiative!"

"'Initiative'!? You were holding me upside down, by my ankles, over the edge of the stairs towards the top of the tower, and refused to lift me back to solid ground until I answered all your questions!" Tadao shouted. "There was so much blood rushing to my head I was convinced I would start bleeding out of my ears!"

"You did WHAT!?" Hana cried at Ryoto.

"I wouldn't have actually dropped you! It was intimidation! And interrogation! And...some third thing!" Ryoto insisted, crossing his arms with a glare.

"Just...Just..." Shiori began, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. "Why? Just...answer that, why?"

"Why do you think? This dimwit here thought _I_ was the one responsible for what happened to Amari," Tadao stated, still bitter about his ordeal.

"W-Well...can you blame me!? You're always plotting something, something with MURDER!" Ryoto yelled. "Come on guys! He's like, the word 'suspicious' if it was a person!"

"Yes, I recall that was your logic when you accused me of being Tenmaru's killer," the waiter reminded him. "And look where _that_ theory of yours ended up."

"H-Hey! I may have wrong that time, but that doesn't mean-!" Ryoto spluttered defensively. "L-Look! I am TRYING to stop another murder from happening! I'm trying to honor Itachi's last wish, and I'm sure nobody here wants a third trial to happen in general!"

"Ryoto...we know you had good intentions," Hiroshi told him. "But that doesn't mean you can just hang one of your classmates over a deadly drop because you think he's plotting a murder."

 _...I feel like that's a sentence he never thought he'd need to say._ Hana thought, cocking her head a bit.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, your little interrogation wasted enough of my time..." Tadao growled, sending a nasty look Ryoto's way before beginning to head towards the kitchen.

However, just as it seemed things would settle down...Hana could hear rapid footsteps approaching the dining room. _Huh? Who's-_

"Everyone! I-I'm sorry for showing up like this, but- please, I need your attention for just a minute!"

Hana's eyes widened in shock as the student appeared in the entrance of the dining hall. She wasn't the only one- the rest of the students turned their attention to the doorway to see who exactly was shouting, and they became just as surprised upon realizing who it was.

 _No way...! That's-!_ Hana thought, barely able to comprehend what she was seeing.

There, standing in the entrance, panting heavily as if he had sprinted there from another part of the castle...was the Ultimate Poet, Shiro Koichi. His silver hair was still messy, and his jacket still looked as though he had hastily thrown it on, but his eyes no longer looked lifeless. For the first time since the previous trial, his eyes had regained the light they usually held, and he was even talking out loud like he used to.

"Sh-Shiro!?" Hana exclaimed, finally unable to contain her shock any longer.

"Yeah...it's me," Shiro confirmed, taking a few steps forward to fully enter the room. "Sorry, but I wanted to make sure everyone was here before I showed up. I...guess Asuna's not here, and I wish she was, but...I think this should be fine."

"I...can't believe this. Shiro, you're actually...!" Hiroshi began, sounding as much surprised as he was overjoyed. "It's...really great to see you."

"'Really great'? It's awesome! I can't believe it, you're actually here! And nobody had to drag you here or anything!" Ryoto exclaimed joyfully.

"Truly, it brings us great joy to see you have rejoined us, Shiro," Saku stated, his smile wide.

"But...it seems sudden. What's changed, Koichi?" Akira inquired. "You've been completely catatonic for the past few days, and now all of a sudden you appear back here, seeming more back to your usual mindset? Something had to have happened."

"H-Hey! Why are you questioning it?" Hana demanded, glaring at the prosecutor. "Can't we just be happy he's back? More or less?"

"Uh...guys? I think Shiro wants to say something," Rumi spoke up, gesturing to the short poet in question.

"Ah...thanks, Rumi," Shiro responded once the others quieted down. "So, um...I've been thinking all day about how to say this...I-I heard about what happened to you, Hana, when Ryoto shouted about it through my door. I'm glad that you're okay."

"Oh- thanks, Shiro," Hana replied, smiling.

"And, um...well, to start, I..." Shiro began, looking downwards. "I...thought about how I'm going to say all this, but actually saying it is..."

"Saying what? Is there something you need to tell us?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yes, I do. I need to...well, first I should..." the poet began again...before sighing and looking around to ensure everyone who was present could see him. The boy then went silent, before dropping to his knees and slouching over, bowing his head and resting his palms on the dining room's floor.

"Shiro...?" Saku spoke up, surprised. "Why are you-?"

"I...I have no right to ask you all for forgiveness...after what happened, not even the most beautiful words could ever undo what happened..." Shiro began, not lifting his head from his position. "And...for the past few days, I've been going about it all wrong too. I've just been...wallowing in my sadness, but that won't change anything. That won't change the past, and doing that only makes me less worthy of forgiveness..."

"Shiro...of course you'd be depressed by what happened, no one can blame you for feeling that way," Rumi softly told him, her voice sympathetic.

"That's right- heck, just look at me, I'm a mess when it comes to my feelings," Hana pointed out with a small chuckle.

Shiro shook his head, continuing, "Even so, I...I can't continue like this. I...I don't want to keep living like this. Living with so much despair...knowing that I had a hand in the death of one of my classmates..."

"Hey, technically you had nothing to do with-" Hinata began.

"And...you all are such great people, every one of you..." the Ultimate Poet went on. "You all deserve something...something better from me. And I...thought all day about what I could do to atone for what I did. Words...my poems...they'll do nothing. But actions...actions, they will."

"...Huh?" Hana spoke up, feeling concerned about where Shiro's train of thought was going...

Shiro stood up at last and continued, "Someone...tried to commit a murder, right? They tried to kill Hana, right? Well, then it's...clear someone else is developing some murderous intent, right? Why else...why else would they have attacked her?"

"W-Wait, we don't know if they were _actually_ planning on killing me," Hana pointed out.

"Amari, now isn't the time for denial," Tadao muttered.

"And...nobody here deserves a death like that. All of you...are great people at heart, and none of you deserve to be murdered like Mikio or Kaneki were," Shiro went on. "So...I'm saying to whoever attacked Hana, or- or anyone here may have murderous intent. Don't...Don't murder anyone here."

He then concluded, "If you want to murder someone...then murder _me_ instead."

That shattered whatever lightheartedness that had been in the room beforehand.

"What...did you say...?" Hiroshi asked, his voice quiet from surprise.

"I..." Shiro began, before making his way towards the banquet table and climbing on top of it.

"Oh for- what is _with_ everyone and climbing up on the table these past few days!?" Tadao demanded in frustration.

"I mean it, too. I want one of you to kill me," Shiro repeated, looking around at all the others. "Because...none of you deserve to be killed like that...but I do. I...I was a killer's accomplice, right...? That makes me as guilty as the blackened, doesn't it? That's why...I don't deserve to keep living. It may not be a proper execution, but...I'll still be paying for my actions with death. And that...isn't that fitting...?"

"W-What!?" Hana exclaimed, horrified.

"Hold on! This whole time we've been trying _not_ to let a murder happen, don't go talking like that!" Shiori shouted.

"Dude, Shiro! Come on, you must not be thinking clearly...!" Hinata told him with a nervous chuckle.

"No...No, for the first time since the trial, I _am_ thinking clearly," Shiro responded, turning to the thief. "I've thought about it all day, and I know...I know now that this is...this is the best way to make up for what I did...!"

It was at that moment that Hana caught a glimpse of the poet's eyes; before, they had regained the usual life that they displayed before the previous trial...but now, the pupils in the silver irises were dilated, and his eyes overall were filled with an undeniable madness.

"No, it's not- Shiro, throwing your life away like that, it's-" Hiroshi began, his eyes wide.

"I'm not, though...I'm not..." the young man refuted. "If it means allowing someone the chance to escape...to return to the outside world, to continue with their lives, to see their loved ones again...how can that be 'throwing my life away'?"

"Enough! Shiro, this talk cannot continue!" Saku told him, standing up from his seat. "There will be no more death among classmates, that is what we all vowed! And that is what we will hold fast to!"

"But what if someone tries to kill again? I don't want any of you to die...I'm the only one here who deserves that..." Shiro responded. "I'm an accomplice to murder...I helped someone commit such a terrible crime! It's only fitting that I die to make up for what I did! Giving my life to allow someone to escape... _that_ is how I'll atone!"

"Shiro! You don't have to atone for anything!" Ryoto yelled at him.

"Ryoto's right! You didn't do anything wrong, you didn't know what was happening! And if you had known, you wouldn't have done it! I know you wouldn't have!" Hana also cried out, desperate to bring Shiro back to his senses. "You weren't the blackened! You didn't kill Kaneki! That was Itachi! That was all-"

Shiro let out that same agonized cry as before upon hearing Itachi's name, lowering his head and gritting his teeth. This immediately cut Hana's words short, the surfer fearing she had worsened the young man's emotional state.

Calming down, the Ultimate stated, "Everyone...I'll be in my room from this point on. Sorry to say this, but I'll only answer to anyone who has a murder plan for me. I'd prefer it if you told me, that way I won't do something to mess it up. If you have no intentions of killing me, then...sorry, I have no business with you."

Before anyone could stop him, Shiro jumped off the table and swiftly exited the dining room.

"W-Wait! Shiro!" Ryoto yelled, clearly ready to speed off after his classmate...

"Miura. Don't," Akira said to him. "Do you honestly think just chasing him and yelling at him will bring him back to his senses?"

"W-What!? B-But did you hear him!? We can't just-" the racecar driver insisted.

"We'll have to deal with him at another time, sorry to say," the prosecutor stated. "We still have to find the motive, and now there's the added issue of figuring out who attempted to murder Amari."

"Fair point...though that would only make it easier for someone to take Koichi up on his offer," Tadao pointed out with a small smirk.

"Oh shut up, Tadao!" Shiori snapped at him. The surgeon then appeared she was going to say something else, her glare furious...but the Ultimate kept silent and simply stormed out of the room.

"H-Hey, Shiori-!" Hana cried out, but she could do nothing to stop her classmate from leaving.

"...Well, if that fiasco's done, it's time for me to get to work," Tadao remarked, before entering the kitchen as he had tried to do before Shiro arrived.

For the rest of that night, the dinner meeting was...tense, to say the least. Ryoto's frustrations were almost palpable, and most of the other students either shared in his frustrations or were more afraid for what would happen next. Hana herself found herself somewhere in between- angered by everything going wrong, and concerned beyond concern about how things would progress from here.

 _Okay- Monokuma announcing the vague motive object had been one thing, Asuna and Shiro losing their minds had been another, feeling conflicted about my feelings towards the killers had been a third thing, I even almost died! And now- this?_ This!? _Shiro literally asking to be murdered!?_ Hana thought to herself. _I can't believe this...what, is everything just going to keep getting worse? What's next, is another murder actually going to happen!?_

Then, Hana stopped to consider her thoughts. _...I...what's going on...? I'm frustrated, but...I'm no pessimist, right? Holy crap, am I kinda losing it too? Is that a symptom of head injuries, insanity? Maybe once I get some sleep, I'll stop feeling so down in the dumps..._

* * *

Thus, the tense dinner meeting ended, and Hana hardly wasted any time leaving the room after saying goodbye to her friends. The surfer was making her way towards her bedroom, intending to get some sleep despite the nighttime announcement being a little over ten minutes away. The Ultimate didn't care too much, however; she just wanted to rest her head and leg, as well as sleep off any more depressing thoughts that may surface.

Entering the main chamber, Hana immediately noticed someone also heading for the bedrooms- and that person was Shiori.

"Ah-! H-Hey! Shiori, hold on!" Hana yelled in order to catch the surgeon's attention, then making her way across the main chamber as quickly as her bad leg would allow.

Shiori sighed, turning to her classmate and responding, "Lemme guess, you wanna know why I didn't grab any food like I said I would?"

"...Well, yeah," Hana stated. "You did say you weren't gonna participate in the meeting tonight, but...I mean, you didn't even grab anything, you just...stormed out."

"Yeah...that I'm sorry about," the Ultimate admitted, frowning. "I just didn't want to be in there any longer, after seeing Shiro have a total breakdown and listening to Akira just...! Needless to say, I lost my appetite."

"Mm..." Hana muttered in response, nodding in understanding.

"Anyways...I was just about to head back to my room for the night," the girl continued. "After today, I'm just...just tired, more than anything. I am going to need so much coffee tomorrow morning..."

"Heh- truth be told, I was about to do the same thing," Hana told her, trying to make the mood more light-hearted.

Shiori didn't really respond to that; as a matter of fact, something still seemed to be bothering the Ultimate, at least to Hana.

Based on this, Hana then inquired, "...Hey, Shiori? Is something else going on?"

"Mm- well, define 'going on'," the girl responded, crossing her arms. "I mean, something has been on my mind. It's nothing like what's happened with you or the shit with the motive, but..."

The Ultimate Surgeon then glanced at the doors to the courtyard, then further explained, "Truth be told, while I was wandering around after leaving the meeting- no, not even that, it had to have only been a few minutes ago- I saw...a certain someone head out into the courtyard."

"'A certain someone'?" Hana asked. "Wait, was it-"

"No, it wasn't Shiro, but you're close," Shiori told her. "I...saw Asuna."

"Asuna? She went out to the courtyard?" Hana asked, her eyes widened in surprise. "Is she still out there?"

"I said I saw her go out there a few minutes ago, didn't I? So unless she went into the West Wing from the courtyard, she should still be out there," Shiori explained. "I tried to talk to her, but something was...off. Well, compared to how off she's recently been. And yet, what's really been on my mind is...well, it felt like a good kind of 'off'."

"...What?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, she still seemed pretty unstable and all, and yet...it seemed like she was a bit closer to her usual self. Like she wasn't as vicious as before, it almost seemed...a little more possible to talk to her," Shiori clarified. "Thing is, I tried, but she avoided me like the plague, and I don't think me chasing her down will do any good."

The girl then glanced at Hana and added, "Well, _me_ chasing her, anyways. If someone _else_ were to take the opportunity and try and get through to her- maybe someone who tried once before and royally fucked it up- that's none of my business."

"...Waaait. Are you...saying I should go and talk to her...?" Hana then asked, glancing at the courtyard doors. "You know, while she's a little less hostile?"

"You said it, not me," Shiori stated casually. "If that's what you want to do, I can't- I can't stop you."

"..." Hana kept silent, an eyebrow still raised. _Is...Shiori actually trying to tell me I should go patch things up with Asuna? In her own, evasive, 'I don't care even though I totally do' way? ...Or is she just trying to have plausible deniability in case I mess up again?_

Whatever Shiori was trying to do, clearly this was a prime opportunity for a second try at bringing the Ultimate Gardener back to her senses. The surfer gave her classmate a nod of understanding, then made her way towards the pair of doors in question. It was then she realized the pain from both her leg stab wound and her head injury was beginning to flare up yet again; however, she did what she could to hide and ignore it, and apparently it was working due to the medical expert Shiori not saying anything about it.

Pushing open the two doors and entering the courtyard as she had the day before, Hana looked around the grassy terrain. One thing she noticed was the night sky; it was something she had never truly paid attention to before, but right now...she had to admit, despite the terrible circumstances, the stars in the dark blue sky were shining like priceless diamonds. The Ultimate would have loved to continue staring up at the beautiful sky...but this night, there was something more important she had to do.

Carefully making her way down the stone steps, she looked around the courtyard for a certain short classmate. Making her way more towards the fountain, Hana glanced around for Asuna...before hearing some shuffling against stone. Furrowing her brow, the surfer found herself standing in front of that same ivory fountain, yet she still didn't see Asuna anywhere. For a few moments, Hana wondered if she had been hearing things before and her classmate wasn't actually there...but then she heard something else.

 _Hey...is that sobbing...?_ Hana asked herself, following the source of the quiet sobs. She made her way around the perimeter of the fountain, and that was when the girl finally caught sight of a certain blonde-haired gardener.

The shorter Ultimate didn't appear aware that someone else was in the courtyard with her. Asuna was sitting on the side of the fountain, on the side facing the north end of the courtyard, her head lowered and her face buried in her hands. It was clear she was trying her hardest to stifle any sobs that might come out, but that wasn't working so well.

Unable to remain silent any longer, Hana approached and spoke up, "Uh...Asuna?"

The gardener gasped in surprise, immediately looking up and seeing Hana standing near her.

"H-Hana!? W-Where did- when did-!?" Asuna stammered, completely dumbfounded by this turn of events. She quickly stood up from the fountain, yelling, "I...It's...late- LATE! IT'S LATE!"

"I know, it's almost nighttime, but I...I heard you were out here, and-" Hana began after a moment of hesitation.

"I-I told you-! I mean- I TOLD YOU- I...I DON'T...I didn't want you to-!" Asuna stammered, attempting to maintain her hostile demeanor.

"..." Hana furrowed her brow, listening to Asuna speak. She then sighed and told her, "Asuna...you don't have to keep talking like that."

"W-Wha-!?" the gardener responded in confusion.

"I don't know why, but- the way you've been acting, the way you're acting now...it's just an act, right?" Hana asked. "I heard you crying just now, Shiori told me about how you seemed more like your usual self, and Rumi even told me about when you saw her earlier today."

Sighing, the surfer went on, "I came out here because I wanted to talk things out with you, so can you...can you not do that thing you've been doing? With the shouting and the anger and the jumping on tables..."

"..." Asuna seemed as though she was about to shout something again, but then she hesitated. Eventually, the girl went entirely silent, and Hana saw any remaining viciousness fade out of her eyes; aside from how disheveled she looked, the gardener almost appeared as her old self.

"..." Hana took a deep breath- so far so good. "Okay...Asuna. I...want to know what's going on with you. Ever since the trial, you've been all...well, you've been a bit of a jerk, and, well, shouting and acting all- look, it's really weird and concerning, okay?"

"..." Asuna kept silent, but her gaze was downwards.

"And, look, I...admit I didn't help at all the last time we talked," Hana added, cringing. "I...was stupid, I should have been more careful with what I said. I knew you were in a bad spot, but I still..."

"..." Asuna was still silent, but her glance occasionally went towards the bandages on the surfer's head, then towards the leg she was clearly trying to favor.

"Ah- hey, I'm fine, I'll be okay standing out here," Hana quickly assured her. "And even then, I'd still be out here, because I'm worried about you! A lot of the others are worried about you! That's why I'm here! Even though you're probably still mad at me!"

"..." Once again, the gardener was silent for a few moments, but then she stated (in her normal tone of voice), "...I'm not... _still_ mad at you. But...I-I really was mad at what you said, that...that wasn't an act."

"O-Oh..." Hana responded, her shame only growing.

"Th-The truth is, though...you're right. These...past few days, I've been...trying to seem a lot more, you know...assertive, hostile, w-whatever..." Asuna explained, staring down at the ground.

"Yeah, we noticed," Hana responded, frowning. "But...today, like I said, you don't seem like you're too into that act today. You seem a little more like your usual self."

"...Yeah, I...I just..." Asuna began, grimacing. "It's...a-actually related...to what happened between you and I yesterday..."

"Huh? Really?" Hana inquired.

"L-Like I said, I-I really was mad about what you said...e-even without my act, I-I probably still would have yelled at you- m-maybe not as severely as I did, b-but..." Asuna explained, her voice gaining a hint of bitterness.

"...Well...at least you're honest..." Hana stated. _Wow, she was genuinely mad...? It wasn't because of that act of hers...? I screwed up worse than I thought..._

"B-But then...this morning, Rumi told me about what happened to you, and I..." the Ultimate Gardener went on. "I thought about...what I said to you...h-how I told you to leave me alone and to get away from me..."

Asuna's voice started to shake a bit. "I thought...I-I was afraid that...that would be the last conversation we'd have...a-and the last thing I would have said to you...th-those things I said to you...would have been...!"

Hana's eyes widened, and she quickly responded, "H-Hey, I'm fine though! I'm okay! And besides, I don't even blame you for what you said."

Asuna shook her head and replied, "No, I...I-I know what I've been doing is...wrong...b-but at the same time, I...I have to-"

"No you don't. Asuna, you don't have to push everyone away, you don't have to act like that-" Hana attempted to reason with her classmate.

"Yes I do!" the girl suddenly yelled. "I-I don't like it, I- I hate acting like that! B-But I have to do it! I-If I do, th-then maybe no one will think I'm so weak anymore! A-And if that happens, th-then no one will target me again, a-and _then_ no one will die for me again!"

When she said that, a realization dawned on Hana, and she responded, "Oooh...I get it, _that's_ what triggered all of this..."

"Huh...?" Asuna muttered, turning her attention back to the surfer.

Hana took a step towards Asuna, her eyes sympathetic as she said, "Asuna...look, I remember what happened, but...what happened to Kaneki wasn't your fault. You weren't the killer, it wasn't your fault that Itachi targeted you."

"Th-That's not true! I may not have been the blackened, b-but I still- I was...I wasn't...!" Asuna stammered, tears starting to fill her eyes. "Itachi...even admitted it...! The reason he targeted me...h-he said it was because I'd be the easiest one to kill! And he...he was right...! N-Not just him, Tadao knew it too! I- I-!"

Finally, it seemed as if the gardener couldn't even stand anymore; she collapsed onto her knees, lowered her head as tears streamed down her face, and clutched her head as if having a migraine.

"I...I was weak...! I am weak...! Kaneki used to say th-that I had strength, b-but I don't!" Asuna sobbed, her shoulders trembling. "I-If I was really strong, then...then none of this would have happened!"

"Hey hey hey, Asuna...!" Hana began, also dropping down to the girl's level. "None of that was your fault! You had no control over what Itachi did, or-"

"Yes it is! There are...there are so many things I could have done differently!" the shorter Ultimate insisted, her cries not subsiding. "I-I could have known that note was suspicious, I-I could been stronger s-so I wouldn't have been a target, I could have...I could have...!"

The girl looked up slightly, softly adding, "I...I could have known...what was going on with Kaneki..."

"I-If I had known...that she was planning to confront the one who sent the note, o-or if I had known about what had happened with her sister, I could have...maybe I could have stopped her! Sh-She might not have...done what she did!" Asuna continued. "I-I'm not just weak, I-I'm a terrible best friend! B-Because of those two things, K-Kaneki's dead! H-How can that incident _not_ be my fault!?"

"Asuna, Asuna! Stop, calm down!" Hana commanded, gently grasping Asuna's shoulders in attempt to get her to calm down somewhat. "Asuna- look, listen to me, calm down."

The gardener went silent, save for her attempts to stifle more sobs.

"Asuna...I get why you're feeling this way, okay? I can't even imagine what that's like, knowing you could have easily been the victim instead of Kaneki," Hana told her. "But, you didn't...you didn't do anything. That was all a part of someone else's plan, that wasn't your doing."

"But...But still...y-you can't deny...the reason Itachi targeted me was because I'm the weakest one here..." Asuna pointed out. She then added, "Th-That's why...why I'm trying to follow Akira's advice..."

"Wait, what?" Hana asked, taken aback.

"Sh-She told me...after the trial, th-that I shouldn't let my grief overtake me..." Asuna explained. "S-So that's what I've...been trying to do. I-I'm trying to keep my feelings suppressed, e-even if it means pushing everyone away. I-I thought...that would help me...m-maybe I'd even become stronger if I did that..."

Hana furrowed her brow, and responded, "Asuna, I...I don't think that's what Akira meant when she told you that."

"Huh?" Asuna replied, her eyes widening a bit.

"Now, Hiroshi and I heard what she told you, and...I don't think she meant for you to completely ignore your feelings, per se," Hana explained.

"Wait, you and Hiroshi did what?" Asuna then inquired.

"Not important," the surfer dismissively responded before continuing, "Anyways...I know it sounds weird, coming from _Akira_ of all people, but...I think she was telling you that yes, you can grieve, you can feel sad or depressed or whatever. But in the end, 'do not let those feelings overtake you'- I think she meant not to let your grief control you or your actions. You know...moving _past_ it."

"Moving...past it..." Asuna told herself, before asking, "Th-Then-! What I've been doing these past few days, i-it's-!"

"...Yeeeah..." Hana admitted to her apologetically. "Kinda a self-fulfilling prophecy if you think about it, huh..."

Asuna went silent, most likely to contemplate the error of how she had been going about her coping...

 _Huh...letting go of that grief...it's definitely easier said than done, but I'm still surprised Akira was the one who brought it up... Maybe Hiroshi was right, and she really does know more about being sentimental than she lets on..._ Hana pondered to herself. _...Honestly, now that I think about it...I could probably take that advice too..._

That's when something else came to Hana's mind. Based on that thought, she turned her attention back to Asuna and told her, "Asuna. You remember what I said to you yesterday? About how I knew how you felt about what happened to Kaneki?"

"Y-Yeah, that's why I got so mad at you," Asuna confirmed.

"Well...you were right. I don't really know how you feel. Sure, I was friends with her too, and I was incredibly upset by the murder, but...I wasn't as close to her as you were. I wasn't Itachi's intended target, I wasn't the one nearly framed for the murder. So...in that case, you were right about me being clueless," Hana explained. "But...at the same time, you weren't entirely right either."

"I-I don't...understand..." Asuna stated, confused.

"I mean...I still know the overwhelming guilt you're feeling. The way you think about what you could have done differently, how you can't get the incident out of your mind, how you wish above everything else that the people who died were still alive!" Hana went on, her tone on a borderline ramble. "I know how that feels...because that's how I felt after Mikio and Azami died."

"M-Mikio? Azami, too?" Asuna asked in surprise.

"Of course. I wanted to get closer to Mikio, to be his friend...I was a big fan of his, and he was the first person who I met here and showed me around, he even tolerated my more- you know, fangirl-ish moments. And Azami? I was weirded out by her at first, but deep down...she really was kind, she just wanted some real friends, and she even put her trust in me," Hana explained, her own gaze going downwards. "And now, I'll...I'll never get a chance to know either of them even better. Not only are they gone, but I had to break that trust Azami put in me to get through the trial. So...yeah, all of that...pretty much weighed on me, and it _still_ is, honestly."

"O-Oh...I see..." Asuna responded, nodding.

"So...yes, I do know how you're feeling, in one way or another. But take it from me, you know how I am with my feelings- just suppressing them will NOT help you at all," Hana advised sternly. "Do you really think Kaneki would want you to keep feeling this way? Not even that, what if you _had_ died like Itachi planned? Do you think she would have taken that well in the slightest?"

"...I..." Asuna began, sniffling. "You know, I...after hearing Monokuma's story, a-and learning about what happened in Kaneki's past, I...I wondered if...if she _really_ saw me as a friend, or if she just...you know, wanted someone to fill that gap from her sister's death...I-I mean she cared, no doubt, b-but I wonder if-"

Something in Hana's mind went off at that. The surfer didn't know what it was, nor did she expect it, but at that moment she found herself swiftly responding, "No. That's not true."

"W-What?" Asuna asked, surprised by the response.

"Okay...maybe her friendship with you may have stemmed from what happened to her in the past, but in the end the bond you two had was genuine," Hana told her. The Ultimate felt like she had little control over what she was saying...and yet, she continued on, feeling oddly confident in her words. "Sure, some of what she did may have come from her past, but at the end of the day...you weren't just some replacement, Asuna, you two were real friends."

"H-How do you know...?" Asuna asked, frowning in doubt. "I-I want to believe you, but...you don't know what she was thinking, how can you be so certain...?"

"...I...don't really know..." Hana admitted, but vehemently continued, "But...and it may just be a gut feeling, but somehow, I know deep down Kaneki cared about you for real, no matter what happened in her past."

Hana put a hand on Asuna's shoulder again, concluding, "Kaneki loved you, Asuna, and that's why she wanted you to survive. Yeah, it may have also been that she didn't want history to repeat itself, but at the same time..."

"..." Asuna nodded in understanding, sniffling again. "I...I hope you're right..."

The gardener appeared to be on the verge of tears again, adding, "I-I mean...it does make sense...Kaneki r-really was good at looking after me, a-and encouraging me, a-and..."

Hana nodded in agreement. "Yeah...she was."

"I...I..." Asuna stammered, before she sobbed, "I...I miss her so much..!"

As the gardener devolved into crying yet again, Hana couldn't help feel a pang of sorrow watching her.

 _...Well, I came out here for a reason, there's no way I'm just gonna kneel here and do nothing._ Hana told herself, resolute. The Ultimate then moved forward a bit, getting a little closer to the gardener...before she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and pulled her into a tight embrace.

For a moment, it seemed as though Asuna was going to say something, as she appeared surprised by the sudden hug...but then the girl simply fell back into her sobbing, burying her face in Hana's shoulder to muffle her cries.

Asuna cried like that for a while. Hana had no idea how much time had passed, but that didn't matter to her- she was prepared to stay out in the courtyard all night if her classmate needed it. Even when the two heard the nighttime announcement play, neither of them moved from their spot. All the while, Hana remained silent, simply doing what she could to console the distraught gardener. As she did, hearing her classmate sobbing as well as reminiscing about the rest of the dead students gave Hana herself the urge to start crying alongside her. However, no matter how much her eyes started to sting, the surfer resisted, realizing she'd have plenty of time to cry after Asuna was feeling better.

After some time, Hana heard Asuna's sobbing had subsided, yet the gardener did not lift her head from her shoulder.

"Asuna...? You feeling-" Hana began, glancing at the other girl. She quickly found herself surprised, however, when she realized her smaller classmate had actually fallen asleep.

 _W-Wow...how long have we been out here...?_ Hana asked herself upon realizing Asuna's slumbering state. Looking over her classmate, she took notice once again of the darkness around her eyes and on her eyelids; it was then that it became painfully clear to Hana that the girl likely hadn't slept at all during the last few days, which would explain why she had fallen asleep now.

Realizing she couldn't let Asuna remain outside her bedroom, lest she get in trouble with Monokuma, Hana wasted little time picking up the Ultimate as gently as she could to avoid waking her up. In doing so, the pain from her bad leg seemed to intensify, likely due to the fact that she was now carrying another person (lightweight as Asuna was); however, Hana still didn't care about that, she could take some pain for the sake of a friend. And if worst came to worst and she ended up reinjuring herself...well, she could just lie and say she had done it in her sleep or something.

While carrying Asuna back into the castle, Hana glanced upwards towards the night sky once again. The stars really were beautiful, still shining as brightly as ever; the sky seemed almost too perfect in all honesty...but Hana chose not to focus on that, instead simply appreciating the sky for what it was. As she did, the surfer slowed her pace a bit as she contemplated.

 _...Are you guys there somewhere...? Mikio, Kaneki...no, not just you two, Azami and Itachi too..._ Hana thought, her gaze remaining glued upwards. _...Azami...Itachi...you both did something really, really stupid. You guys...killed Mikio and Kaneki, and that's...not something that'll ever go away. But...you really were our friends at one point...and I don't think either of you meant for any of this to happen, right? Azami, you weren't even planning a murder, and Itachi, you never meant for Shiro to end up in the state he's in now, right? And...it's clear you guys felt a lot of remorse for what you did...that counts for something, I think..._

Making her way up the steps and gently shouldering the doors open, the surfer continued to ponder, _I wonder...about what Hiroshi said...what would things be like if this killing game didn't happen? You two wouldn't have killed anyone, right...? No, no, I know you two wouldn't have done that. You guys...even if you did something so terrible, you were still my friends. Yeah...that's how I'll think about it- what you guys did an never be condoned, but...well, even if no one else does, I forgive you guys._

With that conclusion in her mind, Hana finally made her way to the door leading to Asuna's bedroom. For a moment, the surfer was worried the door would be locked; luckily, it would appear the Ultimate Gardener had neglected to lock it- maybe she hadn't planned on being gone so long? Either way, Hana quietly opened the door, didn't pay much mind to the interior, and placed her classmate on the bed gently enough to not wake her up.

Once that was done, Hana exited the bedroom and limped back to her own bedroom. However, as she did, her thoughts went to a different place...

 _I wonder...why did I say all those things about Kaneki...? Asuna was right, I didn't know what was going through her mind during those last days she was alive, for all I know I was completely off the mark..._ Hana pondered. _And yet...it didn't feel like my usual gut instincts. This felt like something more. Something a lot more...certain. But...why? Why do I feel so certain about how she felt...?_

Hana didn't have any answers to that question, but if it meant remembering her explorer friend in a more positive light, then she chose to accept it. Once she did, that combined with the knowledge that she had finally managed to seemingly bring Asuna back to her senses...it gave Hana a strong sense of hope, something that was much-needed after all that had happened today.

 _At this point, I don't even know how long this is gonna last...but for tonight, I'm just gonna savor it._ Hana told herself, a small smile making its way onto her face. With that, she entered her bedroom, ready and determined to have a peaceful and happy sleep.

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 **A/N: Aaaaaand there we go! A hopeful ending after a pair of parts full of depressing and near-death stuff! Anyways, sorry for the inconvenience- I didn't realize this part would be so long, and there's no way I'm making an effing Daily Life section any more than 20,000 words. ...No seriously, this part and Part 3 combined are a little over 25,000 words, do the math. See now why I split it up? Oof...**

 **Anyways, next time...well, who even knows at this point, the protagonist almost died, Shiro's lost his marbles, nobody knows what to do about the motive, who even knows what's normal anymore? But maybe things will get a little less crazy next time- I know I won't have a problem with the length like I did with this section, so no spontaneous splitting of parts next time! Most likely. Also next time, more FTEs! We got the usual two this time, and that means voting for two characters! Here's the code so you can go vote to your heart's content: dy6zphka**

 **Anyways, happy 2019 everyone, here's to a great new year! My goal is to have Fractured Fates completed by the end of the year- or at least get to Chapter 5, I'll settle for that if I have to. Either way, get excited for a great year of mystery everyone! Goodbye!~**


	24. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 5)

**A/N: Okay, here we are! The newest addition to Fractured Fates! Didn't think this Daily Life would be longer than four parts, but as I said previously, I'm super bad at planning and predicting word counts.**

 **But anyways, here we are, back on schedule, I don't think we should have a problem with that in the future. And anyways, not like it's affecting the plot, so no worries there. So, here we are- after everything that happened in the previous parts, what in the world could happen next? Hehe...you'll see. Yooooou'll see. Hehehe...uh, anyways, here you go! More Daily Life for you reading pleasure!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ I like the way you think! But as usual, I can't confirm or deny your theories, sooo...just you wait.**

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 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Daily Life (Part 5)**

 _Everything...was a blur. Hana didn't know what was going on, but...it didn't feel like anything good._

 _What she could tell for sure was that she was running. From what, she couldn't tell. She could hear something...flames? Explosions? Both? The surfer was unsure, but it appeared she was in some kind of city. But...something was very wrong. Hana looked around, and she saw the city's buildings had been reduced to ruins, flames erupted form every other structure, and the sky itself seemed to be a blood-red hue._

 _In spite of the post-apocalyptic conditions, Hana continued to run like her life depended on it. The air felt thick and hard to breathe in, as if the air itself was filled with smoke and other pollutes. The ground itself seemed to shake, but it didn't seem like an earthquake; the tremors were quick and rhythmic, as if something massive was pounding on the ground. Whatever it was, the Ultimate didn't feel too curious, so she continued to sprint away from an unseen danger._

 _Then, a massive explosion rocked the area, nearly throwing Hana off her feet. Upon regaining her balance, the girl looked around...and froze when she saw something massive appearing before her. It was nearly the size of a skyscraper, made entirely of metal, with a single glowing red eye on the right side of its face. It if weren't for the flames of destruction burning around it, one might think it was just a giant teddy bear...but somehow, Hana knew differently. Knew better._

 _The massive robot raised a metallic leg, preparing to bring it down on the street the Ultimate was currently on-!_

* * *

 _Ding-dong, bing-bong_

The familiar bell preceding the morning announcement pulled Hana from sleep, the Ultimate swiftly sitting up in shock. The girl looked around to make sense of her surroundings- no wrecked buildings, no hellish flames, no...giant Monokumas? No, it was still her normal bedroom, nothing had changed.

The teen sat there in her bed for a good minute or two as the announcement played over the TV monitor. Ultimately, only one conclusion crossed her mind:

 _That...That was a weird dream._

* * *

Having gotten ready as she normally did (although still somewhat hindered by the bandages on her leg), Hana didn't waste much time making her way to the dining room. Luckily, neither her head injury nor her leg injury had been reopened during the night, and it would appear her carrying Asuna to her room hadn't worsened her wounds either. This was fine by her- it meant one less angry lecture from Shiori.

 _Wait- speaking of Asuna..._ Hana thought to herself, stopping to look around the main chamber. _Where is she? I thought that talk went really good last night, is she not ready to go back to the meetings...?_

Realizing the gardener wasn't around, the surfer sighed and continued on her way- maybe she would be there a little later. At least, that's what Hana was hoping for.

As the surfer made her way down the hall leading to the dining room, she noticed two students standing against the wall next to the doorway: Hiroshi, who seemed to be talking to Shiori.

"Hey- morning, guys!" Hana cheerfully greeted her two classmates.

"Ah- hey there, Hana," Hiroshi returned the greeting with a nod. "I was just having a chat with Shiori here."

"I think that was obvious," Shiori stated, before turning to Hana herself. "Hey, how's your head? And your leg, too? You're not having too much trouble on it, are you?"

"Not really- I'm still kinda limping, but it's nothing as serious as when I first woke up," Hana explained.

"Noted- but still, it's only been about a day, and a stab wound like that doesn't heal overnight, so don't go trying to be Superman or something," Shiori told her. "Aside from that, though...feeling any kind of dizziness? Maybe nausea or confusion?"

"Again, not really," Hana responded. "How would those have anything to do with getting stabbed in the leg?"

"Not your leg, your head," Shiori replied. "Those are common symptoms that people with head injuries like that have experienced. So, if you _do_ end up feeling any of those- don't freak out, it's normal, just sit down until it goes away."

"Oh- I'll remember that, thanks," Hana responded, nodding in thanks.

Hiroshi let out a brief chuckle, remarking, "Attentive as ever, eh Shiori?"

"'A-Attentive'? Hey, it's not that, I'm just doing my job! Following the Hippocratic Oath!" Shiori quickly insisted, glaring at the coroner.

"...So, was helping me get to the dining room when I first woke up also part of that job?" Hana inquired with a slight teasing tone.

"...Okay, y'know what? I'd be long gone right now if I didn't have to be here," Shiori growled, visibly embarrassed.

"I mean, didn't you say you're trying not to be a part of Akira's leadership?" Hana pointed out.

"Yeah, but I ran into Rumi a little bit ago, and she insisted, and I mean _insisted_ that I be here for at least the first part of the meeting," Shiori explained. "So, I figured I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and do that. Not that I'll be in the room until she gets here, though- for now, I'll be standing out here."

"Really? She's not even here?" Hana asked, surprised. "That's so weird...what's she up to?"

"Hm- I wouldn't worry. It's Rumi, after all, I'm sure she's got some kind of plan," Hiroshi assured his two classmates.

"I'm not worried about that, I'm just worried if it'll be worth me standing here or not," Shiori stated dryly, crossing her arms.

"Just be patient, what could happen?" Hiroshi responded confidently.

"Yeah, great, famous last words right there," the surgeon muttered.

"Anyways, if you're just gonna be standing here, then I'm gonna head into the dining room," Hana stated. "Hiroshi? You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Hiroshi responded, following Hana into the dining room as Shiori gave the pair a nod of farewell.

With that, Hana and Hiroshi entered the dining room like they usually did. Hana noticed there weren't may others there yet- she could only see Akira, Saku, and Hinata at the table. She assumed Tadao was in the kitchen, maybe Ryoto was in the fitness room, and Shiro was...yeah.

"Ah, good morning you two," Saku greeted them with a nod. "I hope the night was not rough for either or you."

"We're fine, thanks for the concern," Hiroshi politely responded, taking a seat.

Noticing Hinata sitting as well, Hana asked him, "Hey, Hinata- did you remember anything from yesterday morning?"

"Not at all. I was kinda hoping something might come back to me in my dreams, buuut I got nothing," Hinata responded with a frown.

"Oh...well, maybe something'll come back today!" Hana suggested with a reassuring smile as she sat down.

"It'd better, I don't like weird things happening to my mind," the thief muttered, resting his chin on the table.

Not too long after that exchange, someone else entered the room. That person was none other than Ryoto Miura, and he seemed to be seething with frustration.

"Uh...Ryoto? Everything okay?" Hiroshi asked upon seeing the racecar driver.

"Well they WOULD be! If I hadn't spent five minutes trying to stop DEATH!" Ryoto shouted, angrily taking a seat himself.

"You did what?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow.

"I was trying to put my heroic voice to work and talk some sense into our death-seeking poet friend!" Ryoto explained, his eyes narrowed.

"You mean Koichi?" Akira translated.

"Yeah! I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't respond to me at ALL!" Ryoto shouted. "Here I am, trying to keep someone from making good on his murder offer, and I DON'T EVEN GET ACKNOWLEDGED! NOTHING!"

"Huh...so he is truly committing to not responding to anyone unless they have a murder plan...?" Saku observed, frowning worriedly. "I feared as much..."

"Gah! What are we gonna do!?" Ryoto yelled. "How are we gonna stop another murder from happening when it's like this!? Itachi LITERALLY ASKED US not to let another murder happen, AND LOW LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING!"

"I get your worries...but I don't think losing your cool like this is going to fix anything," Hiroshi told him.

"I WILL LOSE MY COOL AS MUCH AS I DAMN PLEASE!" Ryoto roared, slamming his fists on the table.

 _...Well at least I can be comfortable knowing I'm not the only one here who yells a lot._ Hana thought to herself.

"Would you get a hold of yourself, Miura?" Akira scolded him. "We have enough to deal with, and we don't need you to have a breakdown too."

"No no no, let him keep going, this is gold," Hinata added, watching Ryoto with stifled laughter.

"Hey, can you blame me!? You all can relate, right!?" Ryoto demanded, before shouting, "TALKING ABOUT YOU TOO, TADAO! YA FUCKING BASTARD!"

Hana glanced at the kitchen- nobody came out of it, cluing her in to the fact that Tadao hadn't heard Ryoto's shouts or was just ignoring them and that the Ultimate Racecar Driver's yelling was for naught.

"I...believe some calmness is necessary, like Akira said," Saku said, attempting to soothe his frustrated classmate. "We will bring Shiro back from his despairing state, that I can assure you. And in doing so, we will have greater success in preventing a murder, as we all want."

"Saku's right. We'll figure everything out, we just need to have faith in each other, like we always have," Hiroshi added, complete with his signature smile.

"Yes, 'faith' that caused two murders to happen," Akira pointed out. "Make no mistake, there won't be any more murders, but it'll take more than pure positivity and faith to make that happen."

"Well, staying positive wouldn't hurt..." Hana muttered, knowing full well the prosecutor would immediately refute her if she spoke aloud. However, it didn't stop her from thinking to herself, _Seriously, was she never hugged as a child, or...?_

Then, before the conversation could continue, the air was cut by the sound of somebody shouting, "You guuuuys!"

At that moment, a certain blue-haired scuba diver sprinted into the dining room, her eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"You guys! Everyone, sit down, I-" Rumi began, before she glanced to the side and quickly added, "Oh, hold on!"

Rumi then ran back into the hallway, then came back dragging Shiori into the room.

"You sit too!" the girl ordered her. Shiori grumbled something, giving the group a half-hearted wave of greeting before finding a seat.

"Uh- Asuna and Shiro aren't here?" Rumi inquired, looking around.

"As is usual these past few days- no, they're not," Akira told her, raising an eyebrow.

Rumi frowned, then inquired, "What about Tadao?"

"Kitchen, I think," Hana told her, gesturing to the door in question.

Before anyone could react, the Ultimate Scuba Diver ran into the kitchen without a word. Seconds later, she was shoving an incredibly annoyed Tadao out of the kitchen and towards the table.

"Have you lost your mind, Hamasaki!?" the waiter demanded, narrowing his blue-green eyes at her. "You'd better have a good reason for dragging me out here in the middle of my cooking!"

"I do! Trust me, you need to hear this too!" Rumi implored him, letting him go and running over to the table. "Guys! Everyone, listen!"

Hana furrowed her brow in confusion before asking, "What... _are_ you doing, Rumi?"

The scuba diver went silent, as if trying to figure out what to say next, before she then climbed up onto one of the empty chairs in order to step onto the table-

 _"Don't you dare,"_ Tadao hissed at her before she could climb onto the banquet table, his glare as sharp as daggers.

"..." The Ultimate stood frozen for a few seconds, then she simply contented herself with standing on the chair to make herself heard. "Everyone! I have an idea for...something! I've been thinking about this since last night, and..."

"Yeah?" Hiroshi stated, indicating for Rumi to continue.

"And...things have been bad lately. Four of our classmates are dead, two are basically depressed, we don't know what to do about the motive, a _third_ murder almost happened..." Rumi went on, looking down solemnly.

"What a way to lift spirits, Hamasaki," Tadao quipped, resulting in Hinata angrily shushing him.

"And, well, amongst _all_ this...when was the last time we all actually did anything as classmates?" Rumi then asked, looking around. "I mean, the breakfast and dinner meetings seem a lot more serious now. Aside from those, there was the time me and most of the other girls hung out in the library among other things, and...look, the point I'm trying to make is that it's been a while since we all actually acted like classmates, like we weren't in some killing game!"

"Well- that's not true, we-" Hana began...only to stop and actually think about what Rumi was saying. "...We, uh...there was...what about- huh..."

"See? It's sad! Our friends wouldn't want us to just stay like this, being all paranoid and afraid!" the Ultimate insisted. "That's why we need to do something about it, we need to do...something to make things a little better! And I know just the thing!"

"You do? What would that be?" Saku inquired curiously.

"Simple- we throw a party!" Rumi responded. "And I have it all planned out too. We can do it in the West Wing- the ballroom and that smaller banquet room next to it would be _perfect_ for it!"

"But...wouldn't we need fancy clothes for doing ballroom stuff?" Ryoto asked, frowning.

"Nuh-uh! It doesn't have to be anything formal, just us classmates having fun!" Rumi explained eagerly.

"What you call 'having fun', I call it 'wasting time'," Akira coldly responded. "Hamasaki, we have too many other issues to focus on, we cannot afford something like that."

"Hey, don't be a stick-in-the-mud, her idea's not bad," Hinata said to the prosecutor, frowning.

"...I mean, I'm not usually one for parties, but in this situation..." Shiori began. "I guess something like that wouldn't be so bad."

"That's an understatement! Parties are the fucking BEST!" Ryoto shouted cheerfully. "If we don't need anything flashy, then I'm down for it!"

"...Yeah, you're not one to talk about 'flashy'," Shiori deadpanned towards the racecar driver.

"I think it's a great idea too," Hiroshi added, smiling. "But how much of it have you figured out, other than location?"

"Well, the party wouldn't be anything to large, we've only got so much in this castle. It'll start at 5:30 this evening, then maybe end at about...7:00. We could have it today, too- after all, the only thing we'd need to set up would be food, and that shouldn't be a problem at all," Rumi explained. "Isn't that right, Tadao?"

"...You've got to be kidding me," Tadao groaned. "You honestly brought me out here so you could tell me that I'm going to be your caterer for this?"

"...Well to be honest, you already kinda do that on a daily basis," Hana pointed out to him.

"..." Tadao stopped, then looked down thoughtfully, as if actually considering this information...

"So, are we all in, then?" Rumi then asked, a hopeful tone in her voice. "This party's a go in a few hours?"

Hana looked around the room to try and gauge the others' reactions. For the most part, nobody appeared to feel too negative about it...

"Well...I think we should do it," Hiroshi spoke up. "I think unwinding a bit as classmates would be a great thing for all of us. And it's only for about an hour and a half- not too much time away from searching for the motive, eh Akira?"

"..." the prosecutor still appeared skeptical about the idea, then stated, "Well, you all seem to have your minds set on this...I suppose stronger morale will improve productivity for answer-searching anyways..."

"That is true, a positive mental state does lead to more motivation and improved quality of work," Saku confirmed.

"Well, I just want to see where something like this goes," Shiori stated, sounding almost amused at the idea. "A party full of Ultimates...there are only so many ways that can swing."

"Yeah! Parties are the BEST! AGAIN!" Ryoto repeated with gusto.

"I...suppose I have no choice, do I...?" Tadao begrudgingly stated. "Just don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with everyone, if anything I'll keep to the banquet area."

"If that's the case...then I too will attend," Akira conceded. "But not to socialize, I'll merely be keeping an eye on things to ensure nothing terrible happens. After all, so many of us in one place...it could be a prime opportunity for a killer to try and pull something."

"Wow, I even got Akira on board...? I didn't think I'd get _that_ far!" Rumi exclaimed joyfully. "This is better than I thought!"

Hana let out a small laugh, then spoke up, "Well, I'm definitely looking forward to it! I'm sure whatever you've got planned is great, Rumi!"

"Hooold on a sec!" Shiori suddenly exclaimed, turning her attention to the surfer. "Hana- sorry to burst your bubble, but you cannot go to the party."

"W-Wait, wha-?" Hana spluttered, completely caught off guard. "What? What do you mean I can't go to the party?"

"Exactly what you think it does. Hana, you've only had a _day_ of recovery, those injuries of yours are still kinda fresh," Shiori told her. "Now, my handiwork may be perfect, but the human body isn't quick. Some physical activity is fine, but doing stuff at a party? No way, out of the question."

"Wh- come on! I can handle it! My leg doesn't hurt that much, and I haven't really been feeling any of those symptoms you told me about earlier!" Hana angrily insisted.

"Listen, you may have a talent related to athletics, and that's good for helping you recover a little quicker, but you're not invincible," the surgeon went on sternly. "Seriously, I know your little heart is probably breaking from being able to do this, but going to that party would put you at way too much risk, and as a doctor I can't let you do that."

"But I'm telling you, I'll be fine! I could even-" Hana began, furiously jumping out of her seat to face Shiori- only for a horribly sharp pain to shoot through her leg the moment she put sudden weight on it, resulting in the surfer crying out, "OW!"

The girl didn't waste any time sitting back down, visibly embarrassed as she stated, "...Point taken."

"Mm-hm," Shiori replied with a look that seemed to say she expected that to happen.

"Aw...w-well, if that's what's best for you getting better, then I won't be too disappointed," Rumi stated with a sigh.

"Actually...I don't think I'll be able to go either," Hinata admitted somewhat hesitantly.

"Huh? You too, Hinata?" Rumi asked, the sorrow in her voice even more powerful.

"H-Hey, don't get me wrong, you know I'd love to go, but..." Hinata quickly explained upon realizing how disappointed Rumi sounded. "You know, we still don't know why I lost my memory yesterday, and doing party stuff...I dunno, what if I, like, relapse or something? That's a medical word, right?"

"So in other words, you're worried that you might go through that again, either during or because of the party?" Hiroshi guessed.

"Basically, yeah," Hinata confirmed.

"I mean...his memory loss is already really weird," Shiori said. "I don't know if it'll happen again, but since we know so little about it, it's not so out of the question..."

"S-So, Hana and Hinata are both out, huh...?" Rumi concluded, sounding more disheartened by the minute.

"Hey, it's just us two!" Hana tried to reassure her friend. "Everyone else'll be there!"

"..." Saku was silent for a moment, then spoke up, "I...can not say I will be there."

"Oh come on!" Hana shouted.

"I am sorry, Rumi, but the thing is...I have a prior engagement at the time of the party," Saku explained apologetically.

"'Prior engagement'? I don't know what that means, but from the times I've heard it, it means it's suspicious!" Ryoto shouted accusingly.

"I can assure you, it is nothing adverse. As a matter of fact, should time allow, I may very well be able to join the rest of you for the party later on," Saku assured his classmates with a smile. "But, for the beginning, I will not be there."

"S-Seriously...?" Rumi whispered, looking down sadly.

"On the subject of those who will not be there...what about Izumi and Koichi?" Tadao then inquired.

"Koichi actually wants someone to kill him, I highly doubt we can expect attendance from him," Akira told him. "As for Izumi...at this point, who knows?"

Upon the mention of Asuna, Hana quickly looked around again, turning her attention to the entrance of the dining room as if expecting the gardener to walk through at that moment. However, there was still no sign of her shorter classmate; to say Hana was disheartened herself would be an understatement.

"So...Hana, Hinata, Saku kinda, Shiro, and maybe Asuna are all out?" Rumi said, counting out the absentees. "That...doesn't leave a lot for a big party..."

"Hey, it'll be fine, we'll still have a good time," Hiroshi reassured her. "Six of us isn't so bad. And besides, Saku said he might join us later, so that might make seven at least."

"Yeah! It's gonna be great!" Ryoto shouted excitedly.

"Possibly, granted nothing happens," Akira pointed out. "But, so long as everything stays in order, I imagine things should go as Hamasaki plans."

She then turned her attention to Hana, Hinata, and Saku, scowling, "But just know...if something does happen, you three will be the first ones on my suspect list."

"Eh, story of my life," Hinata stated casually.

"I understand," Saku responded.

 _I have a head injury and a stab wound in my leg...what does Akira think_ I'm _gonna do...?_ Hana asked herself, baffled.

"Now, if that's sorted out, I need to get back to cooking," Tadao declared, before telling Rumi, "And get off that chair, would you Hamasaki?"

"Er- oh, right, sorry," Rumi responded, as if she had forgotten she was standing up on it.

As Tadao returned to the kitchen to finish breakfast, leaving the rest of the students to discuss what had been planned.

"I still wish I was able to go," Hana told Hiroshi not long after, resting her chin in her hand with a frown.

"Well, your health is more important than a hangout," Hiroshi responded. "Besides- once we all escape the castle, I'm sure there'll be plenty more opportunities for doing stuff like this with our classmates."

Hana very nearly found herself responding _'If_ we escape the castle', but she quickly caught herself and instead said, "I guess, yeah. That's definitely something to look forward to."

 _'If' we escape...? 'If'? God, what was that? Of course we're gonna escape, I know that! So why was I thinking like that just now...?_ Hana asked herself, frowning in visible discomfort.

"Hm? You okay?" Hiroshi inquired upon seeing her confused face.

"Ah...yeah, it's okay, just getting lost in thought," Hana explained with a little chuckle. _I think it's still just this killing game really getting to me...which would have made the party even better for me, but Shiori's still right in that I shouldn't push it._

The surfer glanced at the rest of her classmates; Rumi seemed to be eagerly discussing the details of the small event. Even Hinata, who wasn't even planning to attend, listened to what she had to say. Overall, save for Akira, everyone seemed to be in a positive mood.

And if her classmates were happy and moving past all the despair...well, that was enough for Hana to feel better about her situation.

* * *

Breakfast ended as usual, and the students dispersed to take care of their own business throughout the castle. Hana herself, who was one of the last people to leave save for the ones helping to clean, was making her way back to her room. However, it was somewhat slow-going, as the surfer was beginning to feel one of those symptoms Shiori had described earlier, specifically dizziness.

 _Ooh, I hate this...did I tempt fate by saying I wasn't feeling any of those symptoms...? Probably, why can't I keep my mouth shut?_ Hana asked herself, wincing as she made her way to the bedroom.

She didn't notice anyone in the main hall, believing most of the others were probably helping out with party preparations. Even if someone was, she wouldn't have spoken to them too long, simply trying to get to her room so she could rest and let the dizziness subside. Upon reaching the hallway, Hana didn't pay much more attention to her surroundings as she made her bedroom. Because of this, she didn't notice one of the doors opening and someone exiting, resulting in the two students colliding with each other.

"Gyah!" Hana cried out as she ran into someone, stumbling back and nearly collapsing due to her bad leg. Luckily, that didn't happen, as the person she had bumped into quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to her feet.

"Ah- I am sorry!" Saku quickly apologized. "I did not realize you would be right out there, and I was in a bit of a hurry."

"Nngh- it's okay, I wasn't paying attention either," Hana replied once she was stabilized. "Thanks for grabbing me, though."

Her eyes then went towards the ground, drawn to something lying there. Sure enough, on the hallway's floor between where the two were standing was a small piece of paper.

"Oh- hey, is this yours?" Hana asked, reaching down to pick it up.

"Ah-! Y-Yes, it is, please give it back," Saku quickly requested, holding out his large hand for the paper.

"Uh, sure-" Hana began, about to hand it back...before the folded paper opened slightly, enough for the surfer to see some of the words on the paper. Overcome with curiosity and confusion, she decided to quickly read over the rest of the note...

 _Shiro-_

 _You want someone to murder you? Fine then, you'll get your wish. I will be the one to kill you, just as you want. Meet me in the West Wing's sunroom today at 6:05 PM, and be sure to keep this a secret. I'm sure you wouldn't want someone trying to interfere with this. I'll give you more details once you arrive._

"..." Hana stared at the note, feeling as if time itself had stopped. She slowly turned her gaze upwards towards Saku; the Ultimate Kickboxer's usually closed eyes were now wide open, his countenance the physical embodiment of 'Oh crap'.

"...I, uh...I can explain-" Saku finally spoke up, clearly trying to choose his words carefully.

"YOU WERE PLANNING TO KILL SHIRO!?" Hana shouted with both fury and terror.

"N-No, I- shh, _shhh!"_ Saku quickly replied, frantically trying to shush the angered surfer.

"Have you lost your mind!? Are you crazy!? You, you're- WHY!? Why are you actually taking Shiro's crazy murder offer!?" Hana yelled- it would seem that blistering anger was the best remedy for her dizziness.

"I-I can assure you, it is not what you think!" the kickboxer insisted in a panic. "Please, calm down and let me explain-"

"Explain what!? That you were gonna fucking murder Shiro!?" Hana practically roared. "I can't believe you! What happened to not being violent, not liking conflict, THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF-"

Before Hana could continue her furious rant, Saku reached over and put a hand over her mouth to muffle her shouts. The surfer continued to yell at him for a few moments, not caring that her covered mouth would make it impossible for the words to be made out. All the while, Saku kept silent, patiently waiting for the Ultimate to calm down.

"..." Soon, Hana realized this endeavor was useless, and as such went silent.

"...Are you done?" Saku inquired. "May I explain now?"

"..." Hana nodded, but the look in her eyes was piercing.

The kickboxer nodded, removed his hand from her mouth, then began, "I am not planning on murdering Shiro."

"But this note-" Hana began.

"Listen. You heard Shiro last night- he made it clear he would only respond to those who agree to kill him," Saku went on. "I wrote this note last night, but I decided to wait and see if he would improve overnight. However, hearing about Ryoto's failed attempt at speaking to him, I realized that would not be the case...so I decided I would take matters into my own hands."

He gestured to the note, continuing, "That note was meant to get Shiro out of his room to the sunroom, where I am _not_ planning on killing on him. Instead, I was hoping I could talk to him, help him through these troubles of his. I am no therapist, but I cannot sit by while he suffers like this."

"...So...the note's just supposed to trick him out of his room so you can actually talk to him...?" Hana asked. "You're not...actually going to kill him?"

"Of course not. Murder is a terrible thing, and I would sooner be struck down myself than put everyone through a third trial," Saku assured her wholeheartedly. "That is why I am trying to help Shiro. Because he is our classmate, and I would not want someone to take advantage of his offer for real."

"I...guess that's- wait, wasn't it someone tricking him that made him so depressed in the first place?" Hana then pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"...Yes..." Saku conceded. "Unfortunately, desperate times call for desperate measures. I wish I didn't have to do something so underhanded, but..."

Hana nodded, then glanced down at the note she was still holding. Sighing, she handed the note to him and responded guiltily, "Here- sorry for getting so mad at you."

"It is fine, I understand," Saku replied, taking the paper. "But, ah, please try to keep this between us. I would not want the others to get the wrong idea- not everyone is as understanding as you."

"I get it- no worries, Saku, I won't tell anyone," Hana assured him with a nod. "...But...please don't make me regret it, okay? Don't actually commit murder, please?"

"You do not have to worry about anything, Hana. Will not kill, that I can say for certain," Saku promised with a nod.

"...I'll take your word for it," the surfer replied with a nod, before asking, "Is that why you decided to do it around the time of the party? So no one would interrupt you guys?"

"Actually, truth be told...I did not plan on that. I initially wrote this note later last night, I had no inkling of what Rumi was planning," Saku admitted. "Still, I supposed it worked out in a way, though I felt bad for having to turn her down like I did."

"Well, there's a good bit of time between 6:05 and 7- so maybe you will be able to join the others even if it's only for a little bit! Maybe you'll even get Shiro to want to come too!" Hana told him cheerfully.

The kickboxer chuckled, responding, "Perhaps, if all goes well."

"Alright, well- I'm going back to what I was doing, and that was going back to my bedroom," Hana told him, already about to make her way down the hallway. "Good luck with Shiro, Saku."

"Thank you. And remember- keep it between us, at least for right now," the muscular Ultimate reminded her, before looking over the note again and returning to his own business.

* * *

Following her encounter with Saku, Hana rested in her room for a few minutes- the dizziness she had been feeling returned not too long after reentering, which gave her all the more reason to lay down.

 _Well...I ought to get used to this, I'll probably be staying in here when the party gets underway._ Hana told herself with a sigh. She then grabbed her e-Handbook to check up on the time.

 _Mm...when did Rumi say it would start? 5:30 PM, right?_ the surfer reminded herself, sitting up. _I've got some time until then...I shouldn't sit here just yet, I should go move around now that I'm feeling better. And maybe I'll see who I can go talk to, too- everyone loves company, right?_

After making sure that she would fine to walk around, the surfer stood up and exited her bedroom to see who was around. As tempted as she was, the surfer wasn't about to attempt Shiro or Asuna- she didn't want to rush things with Asuna, and Shiro was...yeah. Still, the surfer wanted to see or at least do something; realizing there was one thing that might be good for her in her current condition, Hana walked across the main chamber towards the fitness room.

Upon approaching the metallic doors towards the end of the right hallway, the girl hesitated momentarily- it felt like ages since she herself had been in the fitness room, and even now it held far too many bad memories for her to head inside without hesitation. Even so, Hana gulped down her feelings and pushed open the doors; the room was the same as it had been since she had last been inside, with its equipment and tiled floor and the hatch that would connect to the furnace room. But then, to her surprise, the girl found that the room wasn't empty, as Hinata Yonade was inside and using the equipment.

"Huh...? Oh, hey Hana," Hinata greeted her. "Fancy seeing you in here- which is kinda weird, isn't your talent sports-based?"

"Ah, yeah, but- what are you doing in here?" Hana inquired.

"Well, you know how I've got this sudden amnesia, right?" Hinata explained. "I heard exercising improves memory, so I thought if I worked out a bit, something'll come back to me! Hey, maybe if you try it too, you might remember something from when you were attacked!"

 _I...don't think that's how that works...or is it?_ Hana asked herself, before thinking, _Either way, he seems a little busy right now- should I spend time with him anyways?_

Shrugging to herself, the Ultimate asked the thief, "Well, I may not be able to do as much as you're doing, but could I still help you with the working out."

"Hell yeah! Not sure how good at coaching surfers usually are, buuut you're the Ultimate one, so I'll trust ya," Hinata responded with a grin.

With that, Hana spent some time doing her best to 'coach' Hinata; though she wasn't sure this was improving either of their conditions, it seemed like the two of them grew a little closer.

"Hey...Hinata, I have a question for you," Hana began. "The last time we talked, you mentioned something about how being a thief was in your blood...what did you mean by that?"

"Huh...? Oh, that..." Hinata responded, sounding surprisingly hesitant. "That...ah, you shouldn't worry your head about it. That's just kinda something people say, you know?"

"Maybe, but...the way you said it before, it sounded like it was a bit more than that..." Hana pointed out, frowning in concern. "If something's wrong, you can talk to me about it, you know."

"Bah, the only thing 'wrong' is that I can't practice my skills as effectively in this castle..." Hinata spoke, frustrated. "Aside from the cameras everywhere, I could easily just take whatever I wanted from any room that's unlocked, right? But like- there's no challenge!"

Then, the Ultimate Thief grinned, a mischievous gleam entering his eyes. "That's right. That's what I need...a challenge!"

"Aha...I'm not sure if you should be so eager about something like that..." Hana responded with a small chuckle.

"What, nothing wrong with honing my talent, right?" Hinata inquired with a sly grin. "Hey, Hana. I want you to do something for me. Maybe, ah...use one of your shoes. Put it down somewhere around here, and like...guard it or something. Then I can try and take it without you catching me."

"Uh...? O...kay?" Hana responded, her confusion almost palpable. Nevertheless, the surfer obliged, sitting down and proceeding to untie one of her red-brown shoes.

 _I can see what Hinata's thinking...he wants to practice thieving on a harder target..._ Hana mentally conceded as she undid her shoe. _But still, what kind of...stealing exercise is this? And why does it have to be_ my _shoes, can't it be one of his?_

"Heeey, Hana," Hinata began from behind her.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got-" the surfer began, turning back to Hinata with the shoe...only to realize the young man was holding something in his hand. It looked like a necklace of some kind, a simple circular pendant of a gold color- wait a minute!

"Wh-What the-!? That's my necklace!" Hana yelped in shock. "H-How did you!?"

"Hahaha! Ah, it's so good to see I've still got it," the Ultimate Thief responded, playing with the necklace in his hand. "Man, you fell for that distraction hook, line, and sinker! You actually thought I'd do something weird like that to try and practice my stealing?"

"F-Forget the distraction! Gimme that back!" Hana shouted at him, struggling to put her shoe back on in her anger.

"Hey, calm down, would ya? I'm not holding to this...what even is this?" Hinata asked, scrutinizing over the necklace with a frown. "Is this even real gold? It's somethin', that's for sure, but like- I've seen real gold, and this doesn't seem like-"

"That was a birthday gift from when I was 14, now give it back or I'm gonna-! Gonna-!" Hana growled, clearly furious with the situation.

"Er- okay, okay, sorry," Hinata responded, handing the necklace back to its owner with an apologetic frown. "I get it, I wouldn't want anyone messing with my favorite thing either."

"What favorite thing?" Hana asked as she put her accessory back on.

"What do you mean? Come on, you know what I'm talking about, I've always got it on!" Hinata insisted. "You've seen me enough, don't tell me you honestly have no idea."

 _Huh...? Hinata's 'favorite item' that he's always got on...he's gotta be talking about..._ Hana thought to herself, before answering, "You mean that scarf?"

"Yeah- it may not be anything too special, I just found it one day and I thought it looked cool on me, but I've grown pretty attached to the thing," the Ultimate Thief explained. "So, I get why you got kinda upset- I may be the Ultimate Thief, but I've got standards too. I wouldn't want anyone taking my scarf, so I'm not gonna really steal something someone really cares about."

"Huh...well, I've heard of 'no honor among thieves', but I guess that makes you some kinda outlier," Hana observed.

"I guess, I dunno. Anyways, I'm just glad I'm not getting rusty at all, so thanks for that I guess. See ya around, Hana," Hinata said, nodding in farewell as he walked away.

It was just as Hinata left that Hana realized something- that whole time, the young man hadn't answered her question about what he had meant about thieving being in his blood. Had the change in topic caused Hinata to forget what they were talking about initially- or had he changed the subject by mentioning wanting to practice his skills on purpose?

Still wondering about both that and her original question, Hana returned to her bedroom.

* * *

After spending some time resting up for a bit, Hana checked her e-Handbook yet again- she still had a significant amount of time before the party actually started.

 _Well, if I've still got time, there's no reason for me to just sit around here doing nothing._ the surfer told herself. _There's gotta be someone else I can talk to for a bit, I'm sure not everyone's doing party preparations, right?_

With her strong desire for human interaction in mind, the Ultimate exited her bedroom again and entered the main area of the castle. Figuring there wouldn't be many people in the South Wing at this point, Hana decided the best course of action was to make for the West Wing. The girl made her way down the main chamber and through the doors leading to the courtyard, seeing as how heading through the courtyard would probably be quicker and less taxing on her physical health.

Entering through the doors leading to the ballroom, Hana looking around to see if anyone was there. Luckily, someone was- Shiori, who was standing in the center of the room and looking around.

"Hey! Shiori!" Hana eagerly called out, walking over to the surgeon.

"Hm? Hana, you'd better not be trying to help out with the preparations or anything," Shiori scolded her, frowning. "It's a nice gesture, but your able-bodied...ness isn't quite what it usually is, so I'd prefer if you didn't try something like that."

"Well...I wasn't trying to do that, I just wanted to talk to someone," Hana explained. "You're not busy, right?"

"Mm...nah, I was just making sure this place wasn't too dusty or something, who knows how old this damn castle is," Shiori responded.

Thus, Hana and Shiori spent some time in the ballroom- they didn't do too much, yet Hana felt like they grew a little closer regardless.

"Sooo Shiori-" Hana began.

Before she could even finish that, however, Shiori said, "You'd better not try and talk about other jobs I could go into."

"N-No, I wasn't gonna talk about that," Hana assured her with a frown. "I was just, you know, wondering...you're the best surgeon around, right?"

"Gee, what was your first clue?" Shiori asked, almost sounding annoyed by the question.

"No, it's just...so you can basically perform any type of surgery? On anyone?" Hana inquired curiously.

"Well, different surgeons have different specialties, you know, they don't just lump us all into one category," Shiori explained. "Sure, I myself can perform various types with ease- cardiac surgery, transplants, general surgery...but there's one type in particular that I haven't actually done before."

"Wait, really?" Hana asked.

"Yeah- neurological surgery, to be exact," Shiori answered. "You do know what that is, right?"

"Pfft, of course I do," Hana replied confidently...but was thinking to herself, _Shit, I- what's that again? I've heard of it, I know I have, just...'neurological' surgery..._

"That's...surgery on brains, right?" Hana inquired.

"Yeah. Many consider it to be to most difficult form of surgery, and with good reason," Shiori explained. "The brain is the most sensitive organ in the body, one wrong move could kill the patient. That's why you need to be _more_ than perfect when performing it, and that's why it takes only the most skillful of doctors to conduct it."

"Skillful, huh?" Hana asked. "Hey, you're skillful!"

"I am. In fact, my parents said that they'd put me through some instruction to become a neurosurgeon once I graduated Hope's Peak," Shiori explained. "Which...eh. Being the Ultimate Surgeon, I only end up working on a handful of surgeries anyways lest the other doctors lose their jobs. So, specifically being a brain surgeon wouldn't be so detrimental."

"But still, I think you'd do just fine at it, but...sounds like a lot of pressure, you know?" Hana stated. "You said one wrong move could kill someone, so..."

"Meh, I've performed all kinds of critical surgeries, I'm used to it," Shiori said.

"But even so, it sounds like you do enough already without having to poke at brains and stuff..." Hana responded thoughtfully. "Do you _have_ to become a ner- neruro- brain surgeon? I think you'd do just fine staying in your regular field."

"I'm gonna be going through instruction to be a neurosurgeon. It doesn't matter if I'd prefer to stay a regular doctor- I strive for perfection. I'm _supposed_ to strive for perfection," Shiori explained, her gaze going away from her companion. "Anything less, and my p- er, _I_ would _never_ accept that. So, I have to accept what comes to me to ensure that happens. If that means going into a higher profession with more mental pressure...then so be it."

"G-Geez, that's...kinda depressing..." Hana observed. "You're talking like you don't really have a choice in the matter...I'm sure if you talked to your parents about it, you guys could work something out."

"...That's won't be possible. Trust me," Shiori replied softly. She seemed like she was about to add more, but...the girl stopped herself, sighing and concluding, "I...just remembered there's something I need to take care of. See you later, Hana."

Before the surfer even had time to react, Shiori had abruptly ended their conversation and briskly left without another word.

 _Did I...hit a nerve or something...?_ Hana wondered, concerned. _What a weird conversation...but what I really don't get is what Shiori was talking about when she said she_ had _to strive for perfection...and the part about not being able to talk with her parents about it...and- oh, who am I kidding, I have a_ bunch _of questions!_

Now feeling frustrated by a distinct lack of answers from the surgeon, the Ultimate Surfer left the area.

* * *

It was later that evening, and Hana found herself wandering the grounds of the castle yet again. Spending time with some of her classmates had been nice, and the exercise had been good for her leg- though now the pain was starting to flare up again, so the surfer figured she should return to her room or make Shiori angered with worry. However...she wasn't ready for that, for there was one more thing she wanted to do before the party started.

 _Okay...dining room. What are the odds they'll be in there...?_ Hana asked herself, limping somewhat as she approached the dining hall. _Well, only one way to find out._

Once at the entrance, the Ultimate poked her head into the room, calling out, "Hellooo?"

To the girl's legitimate surprise, the room not only had students in it, but it had the student she was looking for.

"Huh-? Oh, Hana! Hey there!" Rumi Hamasaki greeted her classmate.

Of course, the scuba diver wasn't alone, as Shiori was also there with her. "Hm? Hana, what are you doing here? You'd better not try and talk me into changing my mind about what I said to you this morning."

"Uh, no, I've accepted that," Hana assured her. "What, can't I talk to you guys before the party starts, see how things are going? I mean I'm probably gonna just stay in my room the whole time, so I'd like to talk to someone at least once before then."

"Well, it's not like you'll be completely isolated- Hinata's not coming either, so you could always just do stuff with him or something," Shiori pointed out, shrugging. "Or you could go find Saku, see what he's up to to make him miss out on this."

 _Oh, right, Saku._ Hana thought to herself, immediately thinking of the time- nearly 5:30, when Rumi planned to start the party. _According to that note, he and Shiro are supposed to meet up at 6:05...I hope everything goes well for them._

"Oh, don't be like that- we've got a few minutes, she can talk with us!" Rumi chastised the surgeon, turning back to Hana. "We were just- Hana?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, just spaced out for a second," Hana responded, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Anyways, like I was saying, we were just grabbing some of the last few dishes that Tadao made for the party and bringing them to the other dining room," Rumi explained. "We're not gonna be eating them right away, but it'd be best to have them there for when we do, I'd imagine."

"Well, you're the party planner," Hana remarked with a nod. "So, sounds like you've basically got all this worked out, right?"

"That's right! I've had things figured out since last night, like I said," Rumi went on proudly. "First, we're gonna do some stuff in the ballroom- some dancing, I'm gonna see if I can figure out that piano because I took some piano lessons when I was little, then we're gonna actually eat some stuff, then-"

"Rumi, Rumi, don't forget she won't be able to actually show up," Shiori reminded her as the scuba diver went on rambling excitedly.

"It's alright- it's pretty nice to see you guys so eager," Hana replied with a smile.

"Though I'm sure Akira and Tadao are gonna be a bunch of assholes as usual..." Shiori muttered to herself bitterly.

"Well actually, Tadao's been pretty tame so far," Rumi added. "Maybe it's because so many of us are gonna be around, so he knows he can't really do anything?"

"What about Akira though?" Hana asked. "I mean, isn't she just focusing on making sure nothing goes wrong? Like, murders and all?"

"That's true...but we actually have a bit of a solution to that!" Rumi informed her. "A way to keep track of everyone during the party! That way, if something does happen, we might be able to narrow down some suspects!"

"Really? What is it?" Hana inquired, surprised.

"It's pretty simple, actually- we keep a log!" the Ultimate explained. "On paper. We write down who's going in and out of the party and at what times, and...yeah, that's about it!"

"Ooh, I get it- that sounds like a great idea!" Hana agreed with a nod. "Wow, you really did think of everything, huh?"

"Oh- I didn't come up with the log idea," Rumi clarified, shaking her head.

"You'll never guess who actually did," Shiori went on, crossing her arms.

"...I'm assuming it was someone unexpected...? Judging by your tone?" Hana asked, tilting her head somewhat in surprise.

"Uh-huh! It was actually Ryoto!" Rumi responded.

"Wait, Ryoto? _He_ came up with the log idea?" the Ultimate Surfer yelped in utter surprise.

"I know- I couldn't believe such a half-decent idea came from _Ryoto,_ of all people, either," Shiori remarked. "But, Rumi's being truthful. I don't know how he came up with it, but he just kinda ran in, excitedly told us about his idea...hell, even Akira agreed that it would be a good thing to have."

"He seemed really happy about it, too! I'm sure it'll be helpful, even if something bad doesn't happen!" Rumi added happily. "And, uh, here's hoping something bad doesn't _actually_ happen."

 _Shiori's sarcasm aside, I am still pretty surprised Ryoto was able to come up with something like that- nothing against him or anything!_ Hana thought to herself. _Still though, for him to come up with that...I guess that just goes to show how seriously he's taking the whole 'preventing a third murder' thing._

"Still, I really wish you could still come," Rumi told Hana. "I'm sure you'd have a good time, and the whole point of the party is to bring everyone together again..."

The scuba diver then added teasingly, "And besides, parties are a great way for two people to get closer together, and with you and Hiroshi..."

"R-Rumi! Not that again!" Hana yelped indignantly, her face burning red.

"What, it's true! You know, I've noticed he seemed a little disappointed that you wouldn't be there!" the blue-haired girl remarked with a giggle.

"Knock it off! I mean it, Rumi!" Hana yelled, her embarrassment giving way to anger. Meanwhile, Shiori appeared to be holding back laughter as she watched this play out- how supportive.

"'Denial' isn't just a river in Egypt!" Rumi declared right back, standing firm against her friend's denial.

"Oh I'm gonna- gonna- gonna take one of these chairs and wring your neck with it!" Hana shouted, fully believing her face was the color of a tomato at this point.

"That's not what you use chairs for!" the scuba diver retorted.

"My god, this whole conversation is a train wreck and I love it," Shiori chuckled.

"Oh- fine, but we are _not_ done with this conversation!" Rumi conceded with a 'hmph'.

"Oh yeah!? Well that's- oh, okay," Hana concluded as well, momentarily forgetting the conversation had ended.

 _...Is it sad that this little argument of ours is probably the most standard conversation we've had in a while?_ Hana asked herself. _Wait, no- not sad, refreshing. It's good that we can argue like this as friends! That means things are getting better, getting normal again!_

"Well, excitement aside...it's almost 5:30, we really need to get going and we've wasted enough time already," Shiori informed Rumi after checking her e-Handbook for the time.

"Alright, alright- well, it was nice being able to talk to you before the party started," the scuba diver said to Hana, nodding.

"Yeah- you guys have fun, alright?" Hana told them, nodding.

"Oh, and- if something medical does comes up, then...I dunno, try to let someone know, alright? We'll be in the West Wing, so maybe get Hinata," Shiori advised her, a subtle tone of concern entering her voice.

"Will do, but don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything too insane," Hana reassured the surgeon with a small chuckle.

From there, Hana was preparing to leave with a final farewell to her friends...but it was at that moment something unexpected happened.

"H-Hello? Guys? I heard some voices in here, and I don't know where everyone else is, and..." a familiar voice spoke up, another student stepping into the doorway of the dining room. Hana turned to where the voice came from- and would have done a spit-take had she been drinking something.

Standing in the entrance of the dining room, appearing somewhat hesitant to be seen, was none other than Asuna Izumi. Immediately, Hana could see something was different about her- the most obvious aspects being that her uniform was done like it was supposed to be, her hair was no longer disheveled and was back in its neat state, and she had donned her glasses once again. By all appearances, the young gardener looked like her usual self again...except for one thing: now, resting on the top of her head, was a certain tan fedora.

Hana was completely dumbfounded by Asuna's sudden appearance, so much so that she found herself unable to speak at all.

Luckily, Rumi filled the silence by turning to the doorway and asking, "Hm? Who's-"

Then, the scuba diver's own eyes widened upon seeing her shorter classmate. "A-Asuna!?"

The blonde girl seemed to hesitate for a few moments, before responding, "Yeah...h-hey, everyone. I, uh-"

Before she had a chance to continue, Rumi had run over to her with Hana and Shiori not too far behind.

"I-I can't believe this, Asuna, you're-!" Rumi began in disbelief, before immediately starting to look over the gardener. "Uh- your clothes are normal, your hair's normal, you've got your glasses, you're not yelling- er, fedora, that's new- but...!"

She turned to the other two girls and asked, "Shiori...? Hana? I'm not imagining things, aren't I?"

"If you're imaging things, then we're imagining it right with you," Shiori remarked, appearing just as surprised as her companions.

Hana wordlessly nodded in agreement- her silence coming not from a lack of words, but because she had so many thoughts now running through her mind that it was impossible for her to articulate any of them.

"Y-Yeah, I...get that this may be a little weird..." Asuna told them, looking downwards as if ashamed to face her friends. "And, uh...I don't really know where to start..."

"Well, I've got an idea..." Shiori began, walking over and examining the fedora on her head. "This- didn't this belong to...?"

"..." Asuna nodded. "Yeah. It...yeah."

Hana had recognized Kaneki's fedora right away, and she had also seen Akira bestow the hat to Asuna following the second trial, but that didn't alleviate the surprise of seeing the gardener actually wearing it.

"A-Anyways, it's...not _that_ big of a deal, I think..." Asuna began, adjusting the fedora somewhat.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not a _big_ deal..." Rumi responded, before adding with a smile, "But either way, I think it looks good on you."

"I-I, uh..." Asuna stammered, as if surprised by the compliment, before responding, "Thanks, Rumi."

Finally, Hana found her voice once again, and she asked, "What...are you doing here...?"

"Well, I...spent the day in my room, trying to figure out how to do this, and uh..." the Ultimate explained. "I...was hoping to talk to everyone. I...was hoping I could, you know...make things right with everyone, a-after the way I've been acting these last few days..."

The girl continued, "But- I haven't seen anyone at all...and then I heard you guys in here, and..."

"Well...everyone else is probably in the West Wing for the party-" Shiori began, only to realize her error. "Wait, you don't know about that, do you?"

"Party?" Asuna inquired, surprised.

"See, Rumi here was planning this sorta party in the West Wing to boost everyone's morale- it's actually supposed to start in just a few minutes," Hana explained to her, gesturing to Rumi.

Asuna's eyes widened somewhat, before taking a few moments to think and quickly asking, "H-Hey, if it's...if it's okay, do you think I could- you know, go to the party too?"

Rumi gasped softly before asking in return, "R-Really? Asuna, you mean it?"

Asuna was silent for a few moments, before nodding and replying, "Yeah. I'm...not gonna hide anymore, I-I want to make up for what I've been-"

The gardener didn't even have a chance to finish that sentence; at that moment, Rumi let out an overjoyed cheer and instantly had her classmate in an _extremely_ tight embrace, the Asuna's face pressed into the scuba diver's chest in the process.

"I-I can't believe it! Guys, this is going even better than I thought it would!" Rumi joyfully told Shiori and Hana, still embracing the Ultimate Gardener. "I mean, we haven't even started yet, and Asuna's back! She's actually back, she's fine, everything's getting better, oh my god I feel like I'm gonna cry!"

Hana felt happy as well- not just seeing Rumi so lighthearted, but the mere fact that Asuna was more or less back to her old self...well, it made her want to run over and hug the two of them herself.

 _I...I can't believe it, what I said to her last night, it worked! I didn't screw things up again, I didn't make things worse- Asuna, she's actually...! She's...!_ Hana told herself, the overwhelming relief of seeing her friend well making want to almost cry as well.

Of course, at that moment she noticed Asuna...struggling somewhat? The girl was also frantically tapping on Rumi's back, as if trying to get her attention, but the Ultimate was still talking and likely didn't notice. Still, upon seeing how Asuna was pressed against the taller Ultimate's body like she was, it didn't take long for Hana to realize why the gardener was starting to panic.

"Uh- Rumi?" Hana began, also trying to get the scuba diver's attention.

"-and I mean there's still Shiro, but if Asuna can come back from what she's been going through, then there's gotta be hope for him, right?" Rumi continued, still tightly hugging Asuna. "Ooh, I'm sorry, I'm just so happy, I'm so glad things are getting better!"

"Rumi..." Shiori, who evidently had also realized the problem, also stated.

"I'm sure the others are gonna be just as happy, it's gonna be great, the party's gonna be even better-" the scuba diver continued to ramble, her joy knowing no bounds. "-oooh, today is gonna be so great-"

"Rumi, she needs to _breathe!"_ Shiori finally shouted at her.

"Wha-?" Rumi began, glancing down- only to gasp in surprise, as if she had forgotten about Asuna entirely. "Sorry, sorry!"

She wasted no time releasing the poor girl, who immediately took a huge gasp of air once she was freed. "It's...It's okay...!"

"...Welcome back, I suppose," Shiori remarked once she was sure Asuna wasn't about to be suffocated via hugging.

Asuna nodded, still trying to catch her breath, whilst Rumi continued to apologize; this just made Hana figure that, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

"Well, if you guys are heading to the West Wing, I'll be heading back to my room," Hana told the trio, about to make her way back to her bedroom...

"Huh...? You're not coming?" Asuna asked.

Hana apologetically pointed to the bandages on her head as an explanation. "Shiori's orders."

"That's right. Better safe than sorry," the surgeon in question responded, shrugging. "You guys'll be thanking me later on."

"O-Oh, I see..." Asuna responded- despite her disappointed tone, she still nodded in understanding.

"Oh, it'll be fine! Come on, we gotta go tell the others, they'll be glad to see you!" Rumi insisted, grabbing Asuna's wrist and running off.

"W-What about- ah!" Asuna yelped as she was practically dragged away, having to grab the fedora with her free hand to keep it from flying off her head.

"W-Wait, Rumi! We still need to grab the dishes-!" Shiori called out to the scuba diver, but by that point the two girls were long out of earshot.

"..." the Ultimate Surgeon let out an exasperated sigh. "Ah...I guess I can't be too upset...Asuna finally came back to us, I guess it's only natural that she'd feel ecstatic."

She then turned her attention to Hana and told her, "Hey, don't try and offer to help me out with the plates with that leg of yours, I can handle it myself. Just go back to your room or whatever you were planning on doing."

"Yeesh, didn't even give me a chance that time..." Hana muttered, before responding, "Alright, will do. You guys have fun and be careful, alright?"

With one last farewell to one another, the surfer proceeded to return to her bedroom at long last.

* * *

By the time she was back in her room, it was about 5:30 PM, right around when the party was to start. Hana laid down on her bed, looking up towards the ceiling.

 _So...this is my evening, huh? Just...gonna be in here for about an hour and a half..._ Hana thought. _I guess I could just go see what Hinata's up to, but...I dunno. For all I know Rumi could tease me about doing stuff with_ him, _too._

The girl yawned, though not so much out of boredom as it was she was purely tired. The surfer wondered when the last time she had gotten a proper sleep was- a few days, maybe? Last night had been a pretty decent night, but even so the lack of sleep from previous nights seemed to cancel that out somewhat.

 _Well...there's nothing else going on right now, maybe I ought to take a nap or something...? That's something normal!_ Hana told herself, adjusting her position on the bed; she put one of her arms under the pillow in attempt to become more comfortable, only to feel something very familiar underneath it.

 _Huh-? Wait a second, this is..._ the surfer thought as she gripped the item and pulled it out. Sure enough, there it was, the photograph of her and her parents standing outside Hope's Peak Academy.

Hana sat up in her bed, looking down at the photo like she had done before. How long had it been since she last gazed at it? She didn't know, but that didn't matter right then; now, all she could think about was the smiling faces of her and her parents in that photo...the only reminder she had of when things were simpler. Before the murders, the trials, the heartbreak...when they thought she would just become a regular Ultimate, spending three years at the best school in the country.

 _...What would my family be thinking right now...? They're probably still worried about me, what with all of us being cut off from the outside and all..._ Hana thought to herself. _But still, I...what would they say about all of this? I know one thing, they'd probably have a pair of mini heart attacks if they found out I almost_ died _the day before..._

The surfer continued to gaze longingly at the photo, when that same pang of worry entered her heart- fear and worry for her parents and what had become of them over the time she and her classmates were trapped in here.

 _...What was that thing Kaneki said before...? We can't do anything for our families until we get out of here, so we shouldn't get too down._ Hana told herself, remembering her deceased classmate's words like it was yesterday. _Okay, looking back, that_ might _have been her just trying to avoid having to talk about her sister, but...I guess she was still right._

Even so, that didn't stop the surfer from wishing things could go back to the way they were before, and that she could be back her beloved family again...

"..."

As she stared at the photo...something else emerged. Deep in her chest, a pain formed- but it wasn't the same as she usually felt whenever she thought about her parents. This wasn't mere sorrow or longing, this was...something more. Something darker...something suffocating...was this grief? Depression? Something else?

 _I...I really need sleep, don't I...?_ Hana asked herself, immediately trying to banish those oppressive thoughts from her mind. Stashing the photo under her pillow yet again, the surfer rested her head on the pillow as she had been trying to do earlier. As she attempted to fall asleep, she still found herself with those choking thoughts running through her mind, despite her best efforts to block them out. It felt like an eternity, but eventually Hana did in fact drift off into a dreamless sleep...

* * *

 _Thud-thud-thud_

Hana had no idea how much time had passed- at the very least, she felt somewhat refreshed, and her mind felt back in order as well. However, the girl looked around in confusion...what exactly had awoken her?

 _Thud-thud-thud_

Suddenly, the surfer had her answer. Wondering who could be knocking at her door at this time, Hana stood up and made her way over to it.

"Hello?" Hana inquired, opening the door with a raised eyebrow.

Standing there in the hallway was none other than a certain Ultimate Surgeon, Shiori.

"Oh, uh- there you are. I was starting to wonder was taking you so long to answer- or if you were even in your room, for all I knew you could have wandered off somewhere," Shiori told her in greeting.

"Shiori? What are you doing here, aren't you supposed t be at the party?" Hana asked, curious.

"Yeah, and I'll be going back there in a minute- the thing is, er- _Hiroshi_ was feeling pretty worried about how you were doing, and would have come over to check up on you himself, but I told him I'd do it because I'm an actual doctor," Shiori explained, putting some odd emphasis on Hiroshi's name. "Not that I'm worried or anything, I'm sure you're doing just fine, but you know- medical stuff."

"He was?" Hana asked...only to then add, "...Wait, that was oddly specific."

"No it wasn't," Shiori replied, narrowing her eyes. "What, is so hard to believe your closest friend here is that worried about you?"

"Well, no, but- that other thing you said," Hana pointed out, skeptical.

"Well, it's true! We've got no nurses here, so I gotta fill in that role, what's so weird about that?" the surgeon replied, defensive.

"It's just that you've been doing stuff like this since yesterday, but you keep acting like you don't really care," Hana told her, chuckling somewhat. "Shiori, you can't expect me to _not_ think you care after everything you've done for me so far."

"Hey, quit it! Believe what you want, truth is truth!" Shiori indignantly responded, narrowing her eyes. "...But seriously, is everything going okay? No worsening symptoms?"

Hana had to stifle another small laugh, being able to see right through the surgeon's facade- maybe those trials really were making her more perceptive to stuff like this. Regardless, she responded, "No, I'm fine. I was actually taking a nap when you knocked on my door."

The surfer then asked, "Come to think of it...what time is it...?"

"The time? Um...I think it's about 6:35, maybe a little later," Shiori responded after doing some math in her head. "Time aside, though, good to see you're well- wouldn't want some kinda complication to happen while hardly anyone's around to help,"

"Oh, hey, while your here!" Hana spoke up, a thought suddenly surfacing. "How's the party going? Did everyone accept Asuna back into the group?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah- well, I didn't see what exactly happened, I was trying to bring those dishes down," Shiori explained. "But when I _did_ get there, everything seemed just fine with everyone. Hiroshi and Rumi were pretty happy, Ryoto was pretty eager, Akira only seemed mildly satisfied, and Tadao looked like he didn't give a shit."

"Oh, well- still sounds like things are going good for you guys!" Hana remarked with a smile. "I was a little worried, to be honest, but..."

"Well, no reason to be- things are actually surprisingly tame. Hell, even Ryoto's log thing is working," Shiori told her. "The only one who's not really participating at all's Tadao. He's just sorta...hiding back in the bar area. Can't say I'm surprised."

"...I'm still considering it a win!" Hana replied with a happy nod.

"Fair enough, I guess- at least Akira hasn't been too much of a bitch, she's just sorta...standing by," the other Ultimate explained, shrugging. "Speaking of the party...I should probably get back."

"Well, alright- thanks for checking up on me, anyways," Hana told her with a smile. "You may be a surgeon, but you do make a great nurse too."

"Mmph- for the last time, I'm doing my job as a medical professional, nothing more," Shiori firmly insisted one final time.

"Alright, whatever you say," Hana replied. "See you."

"Yeah, bye," the surgeon said, waving in farewell as she walked back down the hall.

With a little amused chuckle, Hana closed the door to her bedroom and made her way back to her bed. She pulled out her e-Handbook to confirm the time herself- sure enough, it read 6:37 PM, confirming what Shiori had told her.

 _Huh- looks like I actually slept a decent amount. That's pretty good!_ Hana thought to herself, satisfied. _There's only about 20 minutes left...I wonder what I should do now...?_

There was one thing she could think of- the surfer definitely needed to shower. After all, facing the horrible deaths of your classmates didn't mean one should shirk off their hygiene!

With this in mind, the surfer figured it would be a good time to take a quick shower- perhaps when she was done, the party would be done, and some of the others would be around to interact with.

* * *

When the shower was done and Hana was redressed, the girl sat back down on her bed.

 _Well, that was refreshing- but now what time is it?_ the surfer asked herself, going to grab her e-Handbook. The electronic gadget read 6:52 PM- Rumi's party would be over very shortly.

 _Hm...well, there's not that much time left..._ Hana pondered. _I wonder...maybe I_ should _go talk to Hinata for a bit. I'll bet he'd want some company- he's probably been in his own room for a while, too._

With that decision made, the surfer walked out of her room, cheerfully whistling to herself. In her mind, everything was completely normal- nothing too out of the ordinary, Hinata's door wasn't too far from where she currently was, and as such the girl made her way towards-

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

In a split second, she froze. That jingle...she recognized it all too well.

 _W-Wait a sec...wasn't that...!?_ she thought to herself, a rising terror in her gut.

Seconds later, her fears were confirmed when she heard Monokuma's voice from a monitor some distance away: "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

The area went silent, but Hana's mind was far from quiet. _N-No...! No way...! What- What the-!?_

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Hana screamed in horror. The girl immediately kicked into action, sprinting towards the door to Hinata's room as she shouted, "Hinata! _Hinata!"_

The moment she made it to his door, it opened and the Ultimate Thief in question ran out, nearly colliding with the surfer in the process.

"What the-!? Hana!? What are you doing out here!?" Hinata asked, his eyes wide with fright.

"I-I was on my way to pay you a visit, then I heard the body discovery announcement, and then I- I just-" Hana stammered, her voice laden with panic. "I-Is that why you're out here?"

"Of course it is! I heard the announcement too you know!" the thief shouted in response, also sounding terrified.

"W-Well- where did it come from!? Where's- who-" Hana stuttered, words spilling out of her mouth faster than her mind could register.

"Uh, well...everyone's in the West Wing, right? S-So maybe something happened over there!" Hinata guessed, shaking his head. "Aaah- come on, enough standing around! We gotta go!"

Allowing instinct to take hold, Hana ran alongside Hinata down the hallway and into the main chamber. After taking a moment to figure out which route to take, the duo practically sprinted up the stairs to take the route to the upper floor. From there, the two wasted little time making their way down the left hallway and towards the entrance to the West Wing.

"Okay, okay, okay, where are we-" Hinata began, only taking a few seconds to stop and look around. It was at that moment that he and Hana took notice of someone on the other end of the upper floor standing in front of the northern hallway- it was Rumi, who also looked rather panicked.

"Wh- Rumi? Rumi!" Hana called out from where she and Hinata were.

"Hana!? Hinata!? What are you two doing here!?" Rumi yelled back, clearly surprised to see the two of them.

"We heard the announcement!" Hinata explained, running over to the scuba diver with Hana following close behind. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine! I'm just trying to find out where some of the others went!" Rumi explained frantically.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hana asked, her concern only growing.

"Well, it was getting pretty late, and I was thinking...well, I was hoping we could get Saku there so he could at least be with everyone for the last few minutes of the party..." Rumi answered. "So, Hiroshi and Shiori went to go find him. But then we heard the announcement, and I panicked, and- here I am, trying to find them!"

"W-Well do you have _any_ ideas to where they could be!?" Hana asked her.

"No! I was just gonna start with the wine room or something! The announcement played only a few minutes after they left, they couldn't have gone _that_ far!" Rumi responded.

"Okay, then let's- AGH!" Hana began, about to be the first one down the hallway...but then a horrible pain shout through her injured leg, and she nearly fell over as a result.

"Wha- Hana! Are you okay?" Rumi quickly asked, moving over to help her friend.

"Ngh- I...probably shouldn't have sprinted here...!" Hana told them, wincing. But then, she shook her head and said, "F-Forget it, I'll be fine, we just need to find the others!"

"Uh...you sure? You probably shouldn't be sprinting around much more," Hinata said, furrowing his brow.

"I'll be alright! You just- go on ahead, I'll be right there!" Hana assured them, waving them off towards the hall.

"Uh-!? Okay, okay!" Rumi responded after a few moments of hesitation. With that, Rumi and Hinata ran down the hallway towards the wine room, leaving Hana by herself.

 _Oh- stupid stab wounds! Come on, something really bad's happening, just walk!_ Hana told herself in frustration. Fighting against the searing pain from her injury, the surfer quickly limped down the hallway after her classmates. She saw Rumi and Hinata at the end of the hall run into the wine room, the light inside being turned on...and a few seconds later, a horrified scream erupted from the room, courtesy of the Ultimate Scuba Diver.

"Rumi!?" Hana cried out, picking up the pace as fast as she could as she arrived in the wine room herself. "Guys, what happ-"

The surfer froze upon entering properly; at first, it was hard to make out what the two were looking at, as her two taller classmates somewhat crowded the doorframe. Once she found an opening between Hinata and Rumi, she was able to get a full view of the room...and as she did, a powerful chill went down her spine.

On the floor of the wine room were the broken remains of a rather large crate, pieces of wood big and small scattered about. One piece in particular, a chunk of the crate's corner, was covered in the familiar crimson liquid- blood. In fact, there was a large amount of blood splattered on the floor, and following the pattern of blood...would lead one's eye to something lying in a heap towards the far end of the room. And it didn't take long for Hana to realize who it was...

Crumpled on the hardwood floor and lying on his side, his silver hair matted with blood from an obvious head wound...was the Ultimate Poet, Shiro Koichi.

"Wh...!? W-Wh...!?" Hana stuttered, her eyes widening from pure shock.

"Th-That's...! That's Shiro...! That's Shiro!" Rumi cried, taking a few steps back out of horror.

"You...You've gotta be...!" Hinata gasped, his face going pale as he gazed at the young poet's body.

 _No...! No, Shiro...! Th-This wasn't...d-don't tell me someone actually...! Someone took him up on his murder offer...!_ Hana thought to herself, her legs starting to tremble. _But- he was supposed to meet with Saku! What happened to-_

In an instant, the trio's fear turned into shock as something else unexpected happened.

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

The monitor in the wine room came to life, and there was Monokuma's crown-clad figure onscreen as usual. Then, the bear gave the same announcement Hana heard several minutes before...

"A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

Hana's gaze went back to Shiro's corpse- as much as she wanted to look away, this time she just couldn't. It was like staring at a car accident- it was horrible, and nobody _wanted_ to watch it, yet...her eyes just wouldn't move away from it. But then, Hana was broken out of her horrified stupor when Rumi spoke up.

"Hey...guys...?" she began, slowly turning to her companions. "Why...was there a _second_ body discovery announcement...?"

At that moment...Hana realized Rumi was right. There had already been the first announcement, the one she had heard from the hallway, but now there was this one...

"But...if there were two announcements..." Hana began. "Does...Does that mean there are _two-"_

"N-No way! That can't happen!" Hinata shouted. "...C-Can it...?"

Suddenly, another set of a footsteps approached the room, and a voice called out, "Hey! Guys!"

Hana heard the familiar voice, and she stepped out of the wine room to see Hiroshi quickly running down the hallway towards them. "Hiroshi!?"

"What?" Rumi began, also stepping out of the room with Hinata not too far behind. Upon seeing Hiroshi, Rumi called out. "Oh! Hiroshi, there you are!"

"Yeah- what happened? I heard the second announcement, and I heard voices from in here..." Hiroshi inquired, looking at his classmates in concern.

"Uh...in there, there's...!" Hana began, pointing towards the wine room.

"What...?" Hiroshi began, walking over and poking his head into the room...then gasped upon seeing the scene inside. "What the...!? Shiro too...!?"

"Y-Yeah...he's dead! Oh my god, he's actually dead!" Rumi cried out.

"H-Hey...Hiroshi?" Hinata began. "What...did you mean by 'too'?"

"..." Hiroshi was silent, as if he had to figure out how to word his response...

"Hiroshi...we heard two announcements. What's going on?" Hana asked him, trying to swallow the dread in her throat.

"...Come with me. You guys...need to see this," Hiroshi responded solemnly, gesturing for the group to follow him.

* * *

Despite still reeling from the discovery of Shiro's corpse, Hana did her best to follow her friends to another part of the West Wing. To be more specific, the group found themselves in front of the door leading to the sunroom.

 _Wait...the sunroom...?_ Hana thought, her anxiety only spiking. _Wasn't this where...Saku and Shiro were supposed to meet...? No...don't tell me...!_

"Hey...wasn't Shiori with you when you guys went to find Saku?" Rumi asked, looking around.

"She was, but I told her to go back to the banquet room to fill everyone in on what had happened," Hiroshi explained, his hand already on the doorknob. "Just, ah...try to stay calm, okay?"

For a few seconds, everything was calm as Hiroshi opened the door to the sunroom. Once he did, he stepped aside so Hana and the other could get a good look at whatever was on the other side.

And as soon as he did...Hana's suspicions and fears were confirmed in an instant.

There was a large figure lying on the carpeted floor in front of the center table. His mouth was slightly agape, his brown hair usually in a ponytail but now completely down and obscuring the top of his face...but what caught Hana's attention the most was the bloody kitchen knife lying on the floor next to the body, next to an outstretched and muscular arm.

There was no doubt- they were staring at the body of Saku Yamamoto, lying on his back and with a massive, bloody gash in his stomach.

Hana didn't know how Hinata and Rumi reacted- at that point, everything had turned into a blur as the gravity of the situation set in. A murder had happened again...and it wasn't just one victim this time, there were two. _Two_ of her classmates were now dead...murdered by one of them...

In that moment, amongst all the emotions swirling within her, there was only one thing Hana could bring herself to say:

"...Are...you...kidding me...!?"

* * *

 **A/N: And so the Chapter 3 curse strikes again- not one, but two people have been murdered! Currently depressed poet Shiro and peaceful kickboxer Saku! I gotta say...I'm a little concerned about how this mystery will turn out, mainly based on the whole DR thing about the third trials being the worst. And yet...I don't know, I have a good feeling about mine. At the very least, I feel like this one will be kinda complicated- but, you know, in a good way. The kinda murder plan that seems confusing but makes sense once you wrap your head around it. And that's about all I'm gonna say about it, because saying anything more would be spoilers.**

 **But anyways, next time it'll be time for...the investigation! How will the class deal with a double murder? Find out next time! Or maybe I'll drown in schoolwork before then, and if that happens...then I'll be the true murder victim, imagine that.**


	25. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 6)

**A/N: Aaaaand welcome to the latest part of Fractured Fates! You excited? Well I am, because it's time to put my actual mystery-writing skills to the test once again...we've got another murder on our hands! And since this is Chapter 3, you know that means double murder! Yup, two victims this time: Shiro and Saku! Let's check in on how the 80th Class is handling this, shall we? It's time for Deadly Life!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 **...H-Holy crud, there's actually more than one review this time...? It's been 3,000 years since this happened! YAY, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Thank you! And I'd imagine there wouldn't be much evidence- the investigation hasn't even started yet. But that's gonna be remedied...right now!**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Yes, Shiro and Saku were both good bois (can we get an F in the reviews?), but alas...the Chapter 3 curse strikes. And I like your predictions,** **friend, let's see how they hold up with this first part of the investigation!**

 ** _Guest:_ Wow, two things, I see! Alright, where to start...first of all, thank you for the compliments and...what I think is constructive criticism, if by "confusing at best" you meant the way it was written made it confusing. In addition, in regards to Hiroshi being all calm...well, that's just how he is- even if it can be viewed as creepy, both in-universe and out-of-universe. **

**Lastly, in regards to your suspicions and questions, I can't really answer them lest I spoil stuff, so...I'm just gonna say read on, and we'll see how those suspicions hold up, as well as seeing if some your questions can be answered. Maybe not all of them, though...yet. And no worries, I don't plan on going on hiatus- school may be tough on my time, but it's not _that_ tough.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark** **Design- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

This couldn't be real.

This...had to be a dream. Another weird dream. No, not even a dream, a nightmare.

There was no way...that two classmates were now dead- right?

No, that was wrong. Those statements and more kept whirling around in Hana's mind as she tried in vain to comprehend what was happening. There, the scene in the sunroom was as real as the floor she was standing on- Saku, lying on his back with a bloody slit in his stomach and a kitchen knife next to him. Before that, there was Shiro, lying dead in the middle of the wine room with a single head wound. It was a nightmare scenario...except this was reality.

"...Are...you...kidding me...!?" Hana softly asked, feeling as though time itself had slowed down as she and her companions gazed at the scene.

Then, cold reality set in again, her mind finally wrapping itself around the true nature of the situation, and the surfer found herself crying out in horror, _"Are you kidding me!?"_

"N-No way...! This isn't...there's no way...!" Hinata stammered, the usually sly thief now shaking his head in disbelief.

"O-Of course there is! Look, it's right there, Saku's right-!" Rumi yelled frantically, tears building up in her eyes. "This- This wasn't to happen! Why- how could-!?"

"I don't know...I doubt anyone does right now, to be honest," Hiroshi responded- if he was as shocked as his classmates, he was doing a good job at hiding it. "But more than anything, now is _not_ the time to panic."

"What!? Of course it is! There's two people dead, how can we _not_ panic!?" Hana cried, forcing her eyes to not be drawn to the kickboxer's bloody body several feet away.

"Y-Yeah! Mikio getting axed was one thing, Kaneki was another- but this is _two_ people! What are we even supposed to do about this!?" Hinata inquired, visibly stressed.

"The...rules didn't say anything about _double_ murders, did they...?" Rumi then asked, only regaining some of her composure.

"No, they didn't..." Hiroshi responded. "But, knowing Monokuma, I'm sure he'll explain that when he arrives with the Monokuma File. So, we should-"

"You four! Ashi, Amari, Hamasaki, Yonade!" a commanding voice called out to them. Hana immediately recognized it, but at that moment she was the last person the surfer wanted to hear from.

Sure enough, Akira approached them from the end of the hallway, her mood clearly not in the best of places. "What are you all still doing up here?"

"Actually, we were just about to head down to the banquet room- that's where everyone else is, right?" Hiroshi responded, collected as ever.

"Yes, and that's where you four should be as well. So quit standing around freaking out like you do and get down there- we have a lot to figure out," Akira ordered with a frown.

"Understatement of the year..." Hinata muttered as he made his way down the hall, with Rumi and Akira not far behind. Hana was about to follow them as well, but the moment she took a step another terrible pain shot through her leg, nearly causing her to collapse right then and there.

"Wha-? Hey, Hana, what's wrong?" Hiroshi asked upon seeing the surfer's condition. "Is it your leg?"

"Ah- yeah, uh...I kinda ran up here with Hinata when the first body discovery announcement happened...probably should have taken it a bit slower..." Hana explained to him with a small grimace. "I-I'll be fine, though, I don't think I reopened it or anything. Just go, I'll be right behind you."

The coroner appeared somewhat hesitant to leave her there like that, but ultimately Hiroshi nodded and followed his other classmates.

It took a few moments, but soon enough Hana followed her classmates with a slight limp, thinking to herself, _Could be worse...my head injury could start acting up too, then I'd_ really _be in trouble..._

* * *

Entering the banquet room, Hana saw that all of the other students were, in fact, there. They were scattered about the room, but one thing was for sure- everyone was just as confused as those that had seen the bodies.

"Hey! HEY! You guys- can someone actually explain what the hell's happening!?" Ryoto demanded. "Shiori came in, told us Saku was dead, then- there was announcement, and-"

"Ryoto, dude, _we_ can barely believe what we saw, can ya cut the shouting already?" Hinata told him, taking a seat.

"Um- what he means is...that second announcement?" Rumi informed the group. "It because we- Hinata, Hana, and I- found...a second body."

"S-Second body!?" Asuna cried out in shock. "Who was the other-!?"

"...It was Shiro. He...was murdered too," Hana explained, the words coming out of her mouth feeling alien.

"W-What? So- it's Shiro _and_ Saku?" Shiori asked in shock.

"That's right," Akira replied, turning to the rest of the students and announcing, "There can be no mistaking it. Everyone- we have a double murder on our hands this time."

Several exclamations of shock were heard from the other students, and Hana couldn't blame them at all.

"N-No way! This can't be happening the party- this wasn't supposed to happen!' Ryoto cried. "Th-The log I kept, and- we were supposed to STOP a third murder from happening, it was foolproof!"

"The only 'fool' is you, Miura! I can't believe everyone thought that stupid paper of yours would work..." Tadao scowled at the racecar driver.

"But...still, a- a double murder...?" Shiori pondered to herself. "Someone...killing more than one person...forget 'is that possible', how about 'do the rules even allow that'?"

"Yeah! That's what I was saying!" Rumi added. "I don't think the rules address that, so... _is_ killing two people allowed...?"

"It's as allowed as I'm allowed to talk 'til your guys' ears fall off!" the high-pitched tone responded, as if summoned by Rumi's question.

"Aaand there he is," Hiroshi remarked as Monokuma himself popped into the room, looking excited as a child in a toy store.

"Sheesh, guy, contain your excitement! It's been a little while since we last met, hasn't it? I was getting worried I'd be relegated to an unimportant side character until another murder happened!" Monokuma cheerfully spoke. "And wouldn't you know it, one of you maniacs struck again! Knocking out not one, but _two_ of your classmates!"

"The way you're talking about it...does that mean killing more than one student _is_ permitted by the rules?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Puhuhu- why don't you look for yourself, Edgeworth?" the bear told her. "You could know the answers to your questions if you took a moment to actually _read_ the _rules!"_

"I think we're fully aware of the Graduation Clause at this point, thank you," Tadao responded. "To escape this castle, a student must murder another student and get away with it."

"That's true...but look again," Monokuma told the students. "Nowhere in the rules does it say a blackened can only have _one_ victim."

Hana's eyes widened- as she thought about the rules of the killing game again, she realized the robot bear was actually right. "S-So...you're saying one killer can murder as many people as they want?"

"Of course! It could be a double murder, triple murder, murder times four, they could even kill off _all_ of the other participants if they wanted!" Monokuma gleefully explained. "All they have to do is get away with it, one way or another."

This new information shocked Hana to her core. "W-Well that's...that's just terrible! That's a terrible rule!"

"Yeah, no one cares about your opinion, Surfboard," Monokuma flatly told her before turning his attention back to the rest of the class. "Soo, that's that! This murder is completely within the killing game regulations!"

"You...can't be serious...!" Hinata gasped.

"I'm assuming that's why you're so happy?" Hiroshi asked. "Because there have been two murders this time?"

"Well, that's part of it," Monokuma responded. "Double homicides are a nice way to spice up a mystery- well, if they can be done right, anyways... Though I'll be honest, I'm a little surprised to see Muscle Man as one of the victims- the burly ones usually last a little longer than this."

Before anyone could question that, the bear went on, "But no, that's not why this crime makes me all warm inside. No, _that_ reason...is someone finally made use of my motive!"

That seemed to catch everyone's attention. Akira was the first to speak up, asking, "Did...you say the motive?"

"I said the motive!" Monokuma confirmed. "It's a relief, too- I was starting to think it wouldn't be used at all, but this killer exceeded my expectations! It's such a wonderful feeling to know all your hard work wasn't for nothing."

"W-What is it!?" What was the motive!?" Ryoto immediately asked. "Tell us already, YA DAMN VILLAIN!"

"Hmm..well, since the murder's already been done, I guess there's no harm in explaining it after all this time," Monokuma conceded. "In fact...the killer actually left it nearby! Let's see here..."

Hana watched as Monokuma waddled over to the bar area, jumping with surprising skill onto the counter and then behind it.

"Hey! What are you doing back there?" Tadao called out to the bear in irritation.

"Hold your horses! I'm just- aha!" he then exclaimed, reappearing on the counter with something behind his back. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...the motive for this murder!"

With that dramatic declaration, Monokuma placed something on the surface. Hana didn't know what this mystery item motive could even be- a secret weapon? Blackmail letters? A bag full of cash?

The surfer looked to see what Monokuma had pulled out, braced for something horrible...but saw nothing but a glass bottle, not unlike the bottles in the wine room and on the shelf behind the bear.

"Well? Whaddaya think?" the bear inquired with a larger grin.

"..." The entire room fell into an awkward silence as they stared at the item Monokuma was so proud of.

 _...That's it?_ That's _the mysterious motive we spent, like, days searching for? A...A random bottle?_ Hana asked herself, completely dumbfounded.

"...That's just a bottle," Asuna finally spoke up, speaking what was probably on everyone else's minds.

"And it's not even a cool-looking one," Hinata added with a disappointed frown.

"Wait wait wait! What if it's...a MAGIC bottle!?" Ryoto shouted in suggestion. "YEAH! YOU CAN'T FOOL A MIURA!"

"True, rude, and no shut up," Monokuma replied, answering each respective response. "It's not the bottle itself, it's what's _in-_ or rather, what _was_ in the bottle!"

"I still don't see what's so significant about it," Hiroshi stated with a neutral expression on his face.

Monokuma's grin fell slightly, before he looked at the bottle again. "Hm...well, someone _did_ rip the label off...luckily, I made copies!"

The bear seemed to disappear behind the counter again, bottle in hand, before reappearing a few seconds later. This time, the bottle now had a sticker wrapped around the middle of the body- it was jet black, with a familiar red eye symbol on it.

"Ta-daaa! Now look at it!" the bear proudly proclaimed, setting the bottle down again.

"Oh! Uh...how...cool...?" Hana responded, having no idea how she was supposed to react to this.

"Wow, it's got a fancy label on it now, how revolutionary," Shiori deadpanned, not amused in the slightest.

Monokuma growled a bit in irritation, before continuing, "Anyways, this was your motive this time around! My very own creation, crafted with my own two paws with absolutely no suspicious chemicals whatsoever- the great-tasting, completely non-alcoholic...the Despair Drink!"

Suddenly, a laugh erupted from the other end of the room, courtesy of Hinata. "What the fuck? The 'Despair Drink', _that's_ what you named it? Oh my god, you actually expect us to take that seriously? Hahaha! That's the stupidest thing I've heard!"

"Uh, Hinata, maybe you shouldn't-" Rumi began in an attempt to warn the thief.

"Hm- tell me, Porcupine..." Monokuma began...before extending his claws. "How about we make this a triple murder after all?"

"..." Upon seeing the bear's vicious claws, Hinata went silent before stating, "I-I think it's a very catchy name, rolls off the tongue quite well."

"Good answer!" Monokuma responded, retracting his claws as she returned to his childish exterior.

"But...it still doesn't make any sense..." Akira muttered, approaching the counter so she could see the bottle up close. "How can this- 'Despair Drink', a _beverage, possibly_ be a motive for murder?"

"Puhuhuhu...that's for you guys to figure out! It wouldn't be an interesting mystery if I told you something so vital to the crime, now would it?" Monokuma replied. "But before I go...there's one last thing you guys need!"

"Is it what I think it is?" Hiroshi inquired curiously.

"You know it! It's- the Monokuma File!" Monokuma announced. Flourishing his paws yet again, the Monokuma File was uploaded to everyone's e-Handbooks with a quick notification sound.

"Now then, that's it from me! I'll see you guys again at the class trial!" the bear concluded, jumping down behind the counter and disappearing for good this time.

The room was silent for a few moments, most likely due to the others needing to think about what had just occurred.

"...So, uh...what now...?" Rumi spoke up. "We have two murders to solve now, so..."

"Well, uh- we need people to guard the crime scenes, right?" Ryoto suggested.

"No way- we have two rooms where someone died, we'd need two people _per_ room, that'd be four people on guard duty, and we can't afford that," Shiori refuted.

"Well...what if we just have two people guard the halls leading to the two scenes?" Hiroshi said.

"Guard the halls? What would that do?" Hinata asked, skeptical.

"See, the sunroom and the wine room are both at the end of different halls, both of which need to be accessed by the upper floor area," the coroner explained. "So, we have one person watch the sunroom's hallway and another watch the wine room's hallway. That way, they can see both each other and who goes in and out of the rooms."

"That could very well work, so long as the two guards make sure to remain observant of both each other and the hallways," Akira replied. "Shimaru, will you be on guard duty again."

"Oh, I suppose- if the rest of you fail to find the blackened, it'll be my head along with everyone else," Tadao replied. "Trouble is who the second guard will be, since Yamamoto is one of the victims this time."

"I'M GONNA DO IT!" Ryoto declared. "Because I'm pretty strong too! Also I don't trust you! Mostly that second one!"

"...Well, as long as you don't do anything rash, Miura," Akira conceded, although her tone of voice indicated she was more than hesitant about letting the Ultimate Racecar Driver be one of the guards.

"I'll handle autopsies again, but, hm..." Hiroshi frowned. "Two bodies...that might take a bit, and I'd still like to help with the investigation proper if I can..."

"Well- oh! Maybe Shiori could look at one of the bodies!" Hana suggested, gesturing to the surgeon in question.

"W-Wait, you want me to do what?" Shiori asked.

"I mean, you're a medical expert, right? Like Hiroshi?" Hana pointed out. "And if one of you were to look at one body each..."

"Hm...that could definitely work," Hiroshi agreed with a nod.

"Wh- oh, so just because I'm a medical professional that means I can _inherently_ perform autopsies?" Shiori growled, frowning.

"Don't worry, Shiori- once we look at the Monokuma File, we can figure out which one would be better for you to look at," Hiroshi assured her.

"Hey...actually, before we do that- can I ask you guys something?" Hana began. "While everyone's here?"

"What is it, Amari?" Akira asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Ah- just...you know, this party might be connected to the crime and all, and...if that's the case..." Hana began.

"Look, she's just saying that knowing what the party was all about might be helpful, you know?" Hinata finished. "That fine with all of you?"

"Hmph- I can't say that the party is connected to this until we actually start investigating, but..." Akira began, thinking it over. "I...see no reason not to tell you two."

"Well, I can start then- we started out in the ballroom, at 5:30," Rumi began. "Most of us were doing some dancing, I was trying to figure out the piano, it was fun."

Several responses of confirmation rang out from the rest of the group as Hana and Hinata listened.

The scuba diver continued, "Then, at...5:45 I think, we went in here to eat."

"The others were suspicious that I had tampered with the food and drinks, so I tested one of the drinks and had some of the food," Tadao added.

"Uh-huh. Once he did that, we started eating..." Rumi went on...then stopped. "...We...started eating..."

"Uh...Rumi?" Asuna spoke up. "Everything...okay?"

"...Ah...hehe...guys?" Rumi turned to the rest of those who had been at the party. "Does...anyone remember what happened after that...?"

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "W-What...?"

"That's weird! But luckily, _I_ remember!" Ryoto declared with a nod. "After that, we..."

The racecar driver froze. "We, uh...hold on, it's coming to me, we..."

"Dude...don't tell me you can't remember either..." Hinata stated, also looking taken aback.

"O-Of course I can! We, uh..." Ryoto insisted, trying his hardest to think.

"I'm...trying to think about it too, but..." Hiroshi spoke up. "My...mind's drawing a blank too..."

"Me...Me too!" Shiori cried. "I'm trying to come up with what happened, but...there's just this...blank spot in my mind! I can't remember a thing!"

"S-Same here!" Asuna yelped. "W-What happened after we started eating...I-I don't remember...!"

"T-Truly...!?" Akira began- even the usually levelheaded prosecutor appeared shocked by this turn of events. "E-Even me...the events following the start of eating...they've slipped my mind..."

"W...What's going on? Why can't we remember anything!?" Tadao demanded, a hint of panic entering his voice.

"Y-You're serious!?" Hana asked. "You guys can't remember _anything_ from the party?"

"It...looks like we can't..." Hiroshi began, before speaking up. "Hey...all of us who were at the party and now have amnesia...raise your hands."

Sure enough, the group who was at the party- Akira, Shiori, Ryoto, Asuna, Rumi, Tadao, and Hiroshi himself- all raised their hands in confirmation.

"Well...this complicates things..." Akira stated, somewhat regaining her composure.

"This is bad, REALLY bad!" Ryoto shouted. "How are we supposed to solve the murder when most of us have memory loss!?"

"Everyone, settle down!" Akira told the others. "This is a minor setback at best- surely, there's evidence that shows what went on during the time we're missing. So long as we investigate like we're supposed to, the truth will still come out."

"Yeah, but this whole amnesia thing just gives us more bullshit to deal with..." Hinata muttered.

"It doesn't matter if it's more work- for the sake of Saku and Shiro, and for the rest of us still alive, we still have to figure out the truth," Hiroshi told him. "That's what we have to do to survive."

"H-He's right...w-we can't get too discouraged by this..." Asuna added, trying to sound encouraging. She then reached up, as if to grasp her fedora, "We should-"

"..." Then, the gardener froze. She felt around her head frantically- and Hana immediately realized why. She hadn't noticed upon initially arriving in the banquet room due to all the panic and confusion, but now that things had calmed down somewhat...the surfer realized Asuna was missing something. Her fedora, the one that had been Kaneki's originally...was no longer on her head.

"Oh! The hat's gone!" Ryoto observed, despite the fact that everyone could see that.

"I-I know! W-Where is it!? Where'd it go!?" Asuna cried, immediately looking around in panic.

"Calm down, Izumi, it's not the end of the world," Tadao told her with a cold voice. "It's just a hat, even if it belonged to someone who's dead now."

"D-Don't say that! It's- It's-!" Asuna stammered.

Suddenly, a cry came from Rumi. "M-My bracelet! The one you gave me, Hinata- it's gone too!"

"What...? Your bracelet too?" Hinata asked, his eyes widening a bit.

Meanwhile, Asuna continued to frantically look around. "No, no no no...it's not in here...!"

Then, the Ultimate Gardener sprinted out of the room, shouting, "No no no no NO!"

"A-Asuna! W-Wait for meee!" Rumi cried, running off after her classmate.

"..." The group was silent for a few moments, as if unsure of how to react to Asuna and Rumi's panicking.

"...You know, I _could_ see why Izumi would be upset, what with that hat originally belonging to a friend of hers..." Tadao remarked. "But what exactly is Hamasaki's excuse?"

"It's a nice bracelet, that's what!" Hinata refuted, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, forget those two, we have enough to deal with..." Akira growled. "So, let's quit wasting time and get started already. Miura, Shimaru- head to your posts."

"Uh...alright then!" Ryoto affirmed with a nod, exiting the room.

"Well, amnesia aside...it shouldn't affect my guarding skills, so I will be on my way then," Tadao responded, following the racecar driver out of the room.

"And me and Shiori'll take a look at the bodies," Hiroshi stated, before turning to the surgeon in question. "We'll look at the Monokuma File, then figure out which one of us will look at which body. Sound good?"

"..." Shiori appeared hesitant, then sighed. "This is gonna be a mistake...but, if it helps with investigating, then...I'll put my medical skills to use."

"Good to hear," Hiroshi replied, nodding before turning his attention to Hana and asking, "Hey...you'll be fine to investigate, right? Your injuries aren't giving you any trouble?"

"No, I'll be alright. Even if I wasn't, I wouldn't let that stop me from solving this crime," Hana told him, determined.

"Heh- glad to hear you're willing. Just- you know, I'm sure Shiori's reminded you of this a million time already, but make sure you take of yourself, alright?" Hiroshi told her. "Determination is good, but you're still human- and Shiori only has so much medical stuff, so if something _really_ bad were to happen again..."

"I- I know, don't worry," Hana assured him, nodding. "I won't do anything too dangerous to myself, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, yeah," Hiroshi responded with a small smile, though something in his voice told her he wasn't entirely joking. Regardless, the coroner turned back to Shiori and said, "Sorry about that- alright, let's go."

Shiori simply gave a nod of response as she and Hiroshi exited the room; ultimately, the only ones left in the room were Hinata, Akira, and Hana herself. Akira said nothing to the others, instead pulling out her e-Handbook and taking a seat at one of the tables.

 _...So...it's that time again, huh...? We have to investigate, find the killer...a killer who's one of our friends..._ Hana thought, looking downward. _I just can't believe there were two murders...why would someone do that...? I thought we'd be able to stop a murder from happening again..._

That's when a memory popped into the surfer's head- something that Ryoto had been bringing up several times recently, and something that Hana herself had thought about before. To be more specific, she thought about the last class trial...about Itachi's final words to the class...

* * *

 _"...Don't ever repeat my mistakes," Itachi told them. "Don't ever let a killing like this happen again. That...is my final request."_

* * *

 _...Hey, Itachi...can you hear me...?_ Hana asked, not expecting an answer. _If you can, then...I'm sorry. I'm sorry...we couldn't fulfill your last wish. But...at the very least, we'll do what we can to find the killer. I won't hesitate, I won't be scared...I'll find the truth behind this case- for you, for Shiro, and for Saku!_

* * *

Hana pulled out her own e-Handbook; just like the last two times, she figured she should read the Monokuma File before anything else. Turning on the gadget, she saw the familiar Monokuma icon that had appeared to the side. Clicking on it, the screen changed to the same white "Monokuma File" screen- only this time, there was a red '#3' at the end of the text. Hana scrolled down to see the profile; this time, there were two pages depicting the physical profiles of the victims, one for Shiro and one for Saku. The last page was the autopsy report, and it read:

 **There are two victims in this case: Saku Yamamoto and Shiro Koichi. The exact times of death cannot be determined; however, it can be assumed that they were killed shortly after one another, between 6:30 PM and 6:40 PM. Shiro's cause of death was a single blow to the left side of the head with a heavy object; death was instant. Saku's cause of death cannot be determined; however, it should be noted that he sustained a massive laceration to the lower abdomen.**

 _W-What's this!? This isn't helpful at all!_ Hana thought, shocked by the content of the file. _What's Monokuma pulling? The last two times, the Monokuma Files were completely straightforward, they gave us the time and cause of death and everything! So why's_ this _one so vague!?_

Frustrated by the lack of information, the surfer figured this Monokuma File wouldn't be as useful as the previous ones- in spite of this, the file was still essential for providing a foundation for investigating. With this in mind, Hana exited out of the Monokuma File and returned to the writing application to make a note of the file's information.

"Well, this is gonna suck..." Hinata said to himself with a sigh.

"No kidding...even the Monokuma File isn't much help this time..." Hana agreed with a frown. "It doesn't mention how Saku died, and it doesn't say what order or when they died..."

"Not even that- everyone's got a raging case of amnesia, don't they?" the thief pointed out. "At least, everyone who was at the party."

"Yeah, that's-" Hana began...then remembered something. "Hey...Hinata? Yesterday...didn't you have some kinda memory loss too?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I did. Yesterday morning, the same morning you attacked by someone..." Hinata recalled, frowning.

"Do you mind telling me about what happened when you blacked out, again?" Hana asked. "It might help figure out what happened to the people at the party."

"Uh- if you say so. Not much to tell, though- weirdest thing about that morning was that you were missing," the Ultimate explained. "Not that I remembered that stuff- I was just sitting there, eating my breakfast, all that. I decided to play around with Ryoto a bit and took his juice and drank it, because why not. Then...next thing I knew, it was a bit later, and I was there in the main hall with Rumi and Hiroshi after they had brought you to Shiori's room to get patched up."

Hana nodded, then inquired, "So, that whole time...you don't remember anything?"

"Nope- and I still haven't remembered anything, in case you're wondering," Hinata added. "Can't say how long it actually was, though...I feel like it was a longer amount of time, but not like...really long, you know?"

"I...guess," the surfer responded, shrugging.

"Still, I can see what you're getting at- two cases of memory loss leading up to a murder, that's a bit weird," Hinata conceded.

Hana nodded, believing something like that should be remembered. As she took out her e-Handbook to make a note of it, she noticed Hinata was turning to leave the room.

"Huh...? Hinata, where are you going?" Hana asked him.

"Mm- there's just...a little something on my mind right now. I just...need to think about it for a bit, m'kay?" Hinata told her, appearing a little saddened.

"W-Wait, you're just gonna...leave me in here with- you know?" Hana asked fearfully, gesturing to the quietly pondering Akira.

"..." Hinata glanced at the prosecutor in question, then back at Hana...and responded, "Pretty much. I'll pray for you or something."

Before Hana could really object, the Ultimate Thief practically fled from the room to gather his thoughts. The surfer didn't have time to wonder what exactly was weighing on him, as she was now left in the room with a classmate who most likely wanted nothing to do with her. She realized she didn't have to look in this room just yet...but there was only so much time to investigate, and she was already in here, so it would be better to remain in here for the time being. She just had to not draw Akira's attention unless it was absolutely necessary.

 _Well...let's get started, I guess._ Hana told herself, looking around the room. The first thing she noticed right off the bat- a cluster of a few gold coins on the floor near one of the tables.

 _Hey...these look like the coins from the treasure room..._ the surfer observed, walking over and kneeling down to get a closer look at them. Aside from the fact that they were in the small banquet room and not the treasure room, nothing appeared to be too out of the ordinary with them. However, that didn't stop Hana from wondering just what they were doing in here to begin with; the coins themselves didn't seem like they'd be too useful to the case, but Hana surmised she should pay a visit to the treasure room later.

The next place the Ultimate took notice of was the counter itself, where the so-called motive stood. Hana walked over, taking notice of several other used dishes left on the surface- however, her main focus was the Despair Drink. The surfer examined the bottle itself, even picking it up; it was a rather tall bottle, made from regular clear glass. There was still a small amount of the beverage left in the bottle, but even Hana realized taking a swig of it to test if it had any strange effects would likely be a poor decision. Even so...there didn't seem to be anything threatening about the 'Despair Drink', ridiculous name aside. In fact, if not for the label, the surfer would have sooner thought this was some kind of juice before she thought it was a motive for murder.

 _Is this...honestly the motive we were so worried about...?_ Hana asked herself, frowning in skepticism. _Monokuma didn't seem like he was lying about this being the motive- and if he was, weird thing to use for it-_ _but I still don't get what could be so bad about some weird juice._

She turned the bottle over in her hands, and in doing so noticed a list of ingredients on the backside of the label. Hana had never been one to pay attention to that sort of thing on food products (and she didn't know of many people who did), but in this situation...she needed all the leads she could get. Thus, she began to read over the ingredients list, checking for anything that could be suspicious.

The first few ingredients were things Hana would have expected to see in beverages like this: water, high fructose corn syrup, several kinds of fruit juices, etc. But then there were more...unique additions. Vanilla extract was unique, but not too uncommon; then there was...glycerol, wasn't that used in vodka?; something called midazolam, that didn't sound healthy; vitamin D, wasn't that just sunlight?; and many more odd ingredients like that. However, the surfer was unsure if any of this could explain the beverage's motive status- as far as she could see, it was just some random beverage with some concerning ingredients.

Still, this _was_ the motive, so Hana believed it had to play some significance into the murder...right?

Shaking her head, the surfer took out her e-Handbook again and made note of the Despair Drink- hopefully, the mystery behind it would reveal itself in time for the trial.

Hana then looked at all the dishes on the counter. She presumed that Tadao would have washed these, but would no longer be able to now that they were forced into an investigation and soon a trial. Still, the surfer quickly glanced at all the plates and glasses, but didn't actually see anything out of the ordinary-

 _Waaaait a sec- what's that?_ Hana asked herself, catching something out of the corner of her eye. The Ultimate walked over to the counter and picked up one of the glasses; at first glance, it looked identical to the other glasses presumably used by the others during the party, nothing suspicious about it at all. But something was definitely off about this one, and a closer inspection revealed just what it was: a small, black mark of some kind on the bottom of the glass's interior. Furrowing her brow, Hana reached her finger in and scratched at it; it didn't come off at all, so did that mean it was permanent marker?

With a frown, Hana examined the other glasses, but they were all completely devoid of any such spots. Nope, that glass was the only one with that black mark drawn on it; for what reason, the surfer couldn't say, but surely it _had_ to be a clue. With this in mind, Hana made a note of that as well in her e-Handbook.

 _Okay...that might just be everything in here._ Hana told herself. She glanced at Akira- still quiet, likely still thinking on the Monokuma File and the sudden memory loss. It was at this moment that the surfer figured she'd best get going before Akira realized she was still there. Indeed, Hana was just about to make her exit, when suddenly...

Hana stopped suddenly, clutching her bandaged head and stifling a cry of pain. Her leg was one thing, but now the pain from her head injury was suddenly worsening too- but from what? Could it be stress-related? Whatever was causing it, the pain was undeniable, and Hana felt like she was about to faint.

 _Gh- stupid injuries...! Why,_ why _did I have to go out for that walk yesterday?_ Hana asked herself as the pain subsided. _But most of all- to whoever attacked me, screw them! They didn't have to almost kill me!_

That's when Hana had a thought- her assault in the wine room had occurred the day before Shiro and Saku's murders...could the timing be a coincidence?

 _...I can't just ignore it though. Is there is some kind of hidden connection between what happened to me and the murders...I need to at least consider it, right?_ the surfer told herself. She then pulled out her e-Handbook and typed out everything she could recall from that early morning assault:

 _Okay, so...yesterday, about an hour before the morning announcement, I went for a walk around the castle because I was having trouble sleeping...that's when I saw someone else, and I followed them into the wine room..._ Hana recalled as she typed. _I don't think the lights were working, were they...? No. Then...I don't know, something happened, but after whatever that was the person- they stabbed me first, didn't they? Then they knocked me out with one of those red wine bottles...and that was that._

The surfer frowned- she still couldn't remember much else beyond that, and least of all the identity of her would-be killer. Hana wondered if any of the others in the 'investigation' that followed may hold some answers, but Hiroshi and Shiori were busy with autopsies, which left one person...

"..." Hana gulped and turned to Akira, who hardly acknowledged her presence. Just her luck- she spent her entire investigation of the banquet room trying to avoid the prosecutor, only to find herself having no choice _but_ to speak with her in the end.

Steeling herself, the surfer approached the red-haired student and began, "H-Hey, uh- Akira?"

"What do you want? I have enough to deal with right now, so don't talk to me unless it's something important," Akira growled at her, not even glancing at the surfer.

"I-It is important though! Uh- you said you still knew some stuff about the incident with me being attacked, right? You said that to me yesterday?" Hana reminded her, trying not to sound too nervous. "I was just...wondering if now would be a good time to fill me in on what you knew."

"Why would I do that? Do you think what happened to you and today's incident are related?" Akira inquired, turning to the other Ultimate with a raised eyebrow.

Hana shook her head, responding, "I don't know. Maybe? Seems a little weird that they happened one day apart, so I figured..."

"..." Akira was silent at first, then said, "I'll tell you this- remember how I said I could definitively rule out Yamamoto, Koichi, and Izumi as suspects in your assault?"

"Uh-huh. You said that after I told you I didn't think the person was that short or that tall and burly," Hana responded, nodding.

"There's another reason I agreed with that notion- recall the condition of the bottle used to attack you," Akira told her. "It was broken, enough to spill the liquid inside, but it wasn't shattered. Koichi and Izumi, being the two smallest students, likely wouldn't have been able to muster the strength to even knock you out, let alone damage such a thick bottle. Meanwhile, Yamamoto likely would have had no trouble doing more damage to the bottle than just the large chip- you probably would have been killed had he been the one wielding the bottle."

"Oh, uh...okay? But...two of those three non-suspects are dead now, so it doesn't really help anything..." Hana replied hesitantly. "Think you can tell me more about what you know?"

Akira narrowed her red eyes, then answered with a blunt, "No."

Hana did a double take. "N-No...?"

"No," Akira repeated with a certain finality. "I have my reasons- partially related to my belief that the two incidents are _not_ connected, among others."

Hana couldn't hide her surprise- sure, she and Akira weren't exactly best friends, but she at least expected the other Ultimate to provide some information as both of their lives depended on winning the trial.

"B-But- what if they are?" Hana insisted. "You can't-"

"Then I'll cross that bridge when I get there, simple as that. Until then, it would be better for _you_ to stay out of my way this time," Akira responded confidently. "Because I have no intentions of losing again."

"Losing...? What are you...?" Hana began, confused.

Akira scoffed. "Have you forgotten? I'm talking about Tenmaru's trial. More specifically, about how _you_ made me look like a fool in that courtroom."

Hana's eyes widened. "Hey, hold on, I wasn't trying to make you...'look like a fool'! I was just trying to stop everyone from voting for the wrong killer! You were the one who was wrong, you even acknowledged that to Asuna!"

Akira glared daggers at the surfer, responding, "I understand that, _Amari._ While I loathe being wr- wro- mistaken in anything I do, I can at least accept it. What I can't accept...is that someone like _you_ was the one to prove me wrong."

Hana glared at her classmate, responding, "What's that supposed to mean? Look, my talent may not be all that useful, but I think I've proven that I'm at least _somewhat_ decent at solving mysteries! I helped solve two so far, haven't I?"

At first, Akira said nothing...but then her eyes lit up with anger, and before Hana could react, the Ultimate Prosecutor reached over and grabbed Hana by her necklace, puling her in slightly and eliciting a high-pitched yelp of terror from the surfer.

"I stand by what I said during that trial, Amari. You're no investigator- even your own talent is useless to everyone in this castle. You say you're 'decent at solving mysteries', but all I see is blind luck. That's all that's helped you solve those murders- luck! Not true skill, not true deduction, you just got lucky. And mark my words, Amari, that luck of yours will run out, and when it does, I will remind everyone why I'm known as the Ultimate Prosecutor," Akira hissed, her eyes burning into Hana's while the surfer stood in petrified fear.

Akira continued, still tightly gripping the necklace so Hana couldn't get away, "Understand, Amari? I have been surrounded by the inner mechanisms of the law my entire life, I have mastered its every nook and cranny from the time I could read, and I have stood against the best of the best when it comes to defense attorneys. So if you think I'm going to allow an inexperienced fool like you- you, who have probably never even _seen_ a law textbook in your whole life- to upstage me again, then you're going to be sore;y disappointed."

She released Hana at last, throwing the necklace back at her; Hana, meanwhile, wasted no time stumbling backwards to get out of arm's reach of Akira.

"I...I'm not trying to upstage you, Akira- I just want to find the truth behind the murders, that's it!" Hana told her, trying to regain her composure.

"As do I- but I have the skills to do so, while you- what are you going to do, surf your way to the truth?" Akira inquired with a condescending tone in her voice.

Hana narrowed her eyes, annoyed by the prosecutor's continued jabs at her. Letting her anger take hold, the surfer didn't bother to stop herself from shouting the first insulting thing that came into her mind.

"Oh yeah!? W-Well, I may just be a surfer, but-" Hana began, her face burning from rage. "-But at least my hair doesn't make me look like a tomato!"

"..." Akira slowly turned back to Hana, her eyes blazing with a rage of her own...but this was a different kind of rage. This wasn't just the Ultimate's usual death glare- this was an _advanced_ death glare, the kind that made Hana convinced she would literally drop dead right there from that look alone.

Upon seeing the murderous look in Akira's eyes...Hana wasted no time turning on her heel and bolting out of the banquet room as fast as her injured leg would allow before she became the next murder victim.

* * *

In her terror, Hana had no idea where she had ended up- but fortunately, it was nowhere unrecognizable. When she actually looked around, she found herself outside the ballroom in the central room of the West Wing, in front of the entrance to the treasure room. Stopping to catch her breath, the surfer leaned against the metallic door, telling herself, _So, insulting the girl who hates me...not a good idea, no way, better stay out of her way for now..._

Taking a deep breath, Hana righted herself and looked around. Now that she had finished her investigation of the banquet room (more or less), she figured now would be a good time to check out the two crime scenes before she did anything else. Though her leg was still somewhat sore from the running she just did, it didn't stop the surfer from making her way up the stairs to the upper levels of the floor. If there was one place she wanted to go first, it would definitely be wherever Hiroshi was.

"Hey, Tadao," Hana began, walking over to the waiter, who stood guard in front of the west hallway. "Did you or Ryoto see which crime scene Hiroshi or Shiori went to?"

"Which crime scene? Why do you care which one of them went to which room?" Tadao inquired, raising an eyebrow. "As long as you do what you need to do to ensure the blackened doesn't win, what does it matter?"

"I-I...guess it doesn't, b-but I'd still like to know..." Hana requested, now feeling a little foolish for specifically asking. But she had just had a near-death experience resulting from Akira's verbal abuse, why wouldn't she want to talk to someone who actually _believed_ in her abilities to solve murders?

"HEY! DON'T JUDGE HER YA BASTARD!" Ryoto yelled at Tadao from his post in front of the north hallway.

"Oh please, I'm not judging anyone," Tadao responded, rolling his eyes. "And honestly, we're not _that_ far apart from each other, you don't need to yell everything you say."

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I DON'T LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO KILL PEOPLE!" Ryoto roared.

"Oh, you...suspect Tadao? Again?" Hana remarked, glancing back and forth between the two Ultimates.

"Of course I do! He's an asshole and he keeps talking about killing people, it's GOTTA be him!" the racecar driver declared, pointing an accusatory finger at Tadao.

"Oh, you're not even _trying_ to form a logical argument!" the waiter cried in exasperation, glaring.

"SHUDDUP YOU MONSTROUS MURDERING MURDERER!" Ryoto shouted, his voice most likely going to all parts of the castle.

"Oh for- yes Miura, you've cracked the case! I'm the one who killed Koichi and the _literal champion athlete,_ it makes perfect sense!" the Ultimate Waiter retorted sarcastically.

"AHA! YOU CONFESSED!" Ryoto then shouted triumphantly.

 _...They forgot about me, didn't they?_ Hana asked herself as she listened to the two of them bickering. Decided to just take a guess, the surfer slipped away from the two young men and made her way towards the north hallway. From there, she silently walked down the hall towards the wine room; whether Hiroshi was in there or not, she still dreaded seeing the messy crime scene on the other side of the wooden door.

 _It's okay Hana...you've seen two pretty bloody crime scenes in the past few days...or weeks, I can't tell anymore...third time's the charm, I guess...?_ the surfer told herself, trying to still the rapid beating of her heart. _Just do what you did before...just go in there and...get this over with...!_

Just before she could enter, however, the girl felt another rush of pain in her pain, prompting her to grit her teeth and put a hand on the wall to steady herself. After a few moments of standing still, Hana fought through the headache and entered the wine room at last.

* * *

The room wasn't any less messy than it had been when Hana, Hinata, and Rumi had first seen it. The pieces of the broken crate were still scattered around the room, and Shiro's body still lay motionless near the far end of the room. Before anything, Hana looked around to try and see if Hiroshi was the one handling the poet's autopsy-

"Hm? What is it, I'm trying to-" a much different voice from Hiroshi's spoke, sounding somewhat irritated. The person stood up from where they were kneeling, confirming that it was not, in fact, the Ultimate Coroner; rather, it was the Ultimate Surgeon, Shiori. Not that Hana was that disappointed- after all, Shiori was still a friend, and a friend was really what she needed after the encounter at that moment, whether it was Hiroshi or Shiori.

"Er- sorry, Shiori, I just wanted to take a look a the crime scene in here real fast," Hana told her, closing the door behind her.

"Oh. Ah...I think that's fine. Just try not to mess up anything, okay?" Shiori told her, regaining her composure for the most part. "I'm already way too out of my area here, I'd rather not have to deal with a tampered crime scene on top of that."

Hana nodded understanding, looking around and asking, "So...you're the one in charge of looking at Shiro's body?"

"Geez, can't imagine what gave you _that_ idea," Shiori deadpanned, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

"Gah- sorry, sorry!" Hana immediately responded.

"Anyways...the only reason I'm in _here_ is because Hiroshi, seeing the Monokuma File, thought that Shiro's autopsy would be the more straightforward of the two," Shiori then explained, glancing at the poet's corpse.

Hana said nothing, simply nodding in understanding. _Well...I can see why Hiroshi would say that. Shiro's half of the File is the one that actually gives the cause of death, unlike Saku's, so I guess it's a little more straightforward._

"So, uh...what have you figured out so far?" the surfer asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Well...from the looks of it, the Monokuma File seems accurate," Shiori explained, walking over to Shiro's corpse. "He's only got that one injury to his head, no others, and it looks like a pretty deep one at that. I've treated severe trauma injuries before, but this...I have no doubt this wound would be lethal."

"At least that part's simple enough," Hana remarked. "Have you been able to figure out the murder weapon?"

Shiori hesitated for a moment, then went on, "This...may sound insane, but..."

She shook her head. "I looked at the head injury. It definitely had to be caused by something at least _somewhat_ heavy, like the File said. And, judging by the shape of it...I'd imagine it was something with some kind of cube-like shape. Sounds odd, but what's even more outlandish...is what I think that object could have been."

"Wait, really?" Hana asked. "What is it? What's the murder weapon?"

"Okay...see this broken crate here?" Shiori inquired, gesturing to the scattered chunks of bloodstained wood. "I think...this crate was the murder weapon."

"..." It took Hana a few moments, but she quickly realized the surgeon wasn't joking. "...Wait, you actually think the crate was the murder weapon?"

"Oh like you're one to talk about weird conclusions, Miss 'Asuna's innocent because Kaneki was standing upright when she was killed'," Shiori deadpanned, putting up air quotes at that last part.

"...Okay, point taken," Hana responded, her expression going neutral.

"Anyways...this crate looks like it came from the watchtower, and when they're full of all those supplies like we saw a few days ago..." the Ultimate went on. "Yeah, pretty damn hefty, in my opinion."

"But...I don't see any of those supplies in here, just the crate itself," Hana pointed out skeptically. "And I don't think the crate by itself would have been enough to actually kill someone with..."

"Hey, I don't have all the answers, I don't even know if I'm doing this autopsy thing right," Shiori sharply responded. "All I know is I can't think of much else aside from the blood-covered crate that would match Shiro's head wound and be heavy enough to instantly kill him. Maybe the culprit tried to clean up a bit and left the actual crate pieces behind, I don't know right now."

"Well, ah- keep at it, I'm sure you'll figure something else out," Hana encouraged her with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah...I'll do what I can to find evidence, but I'm not a coroner," Shiori responded with a sigh. "In the meantime, you can look around the room- but just make sure you don't tamper with the scene, alright?"

"Shiori, I've done this twice already," Hana told her confidently...before frowning and adding, "...I never thought I'd have to say that about murdered classmates, but I know to be careful."

The surgeon nodded, kneeling down to return to her makeshift autopsy, leaving Hana to investigate the entire wine room. Before she did, Hana glanced down at Shiro's corpse; though she didn't say anything, the sorrowful look in her eyes said it all.

 _I'm sorry, Shiro...I'm sorry we couldn't do more for you- no, we_ should _have done more for you. I don't know if it would have prevented you from being murdered, but..._ Hana thought. _I just hope whatever Saku did helped you in some way, even if it was only for a little bit..._

Then, Hana furrowed her brow as she then asked herself, _Hey...wasn't Shiro supposed to meet up with Saku in the sunroom...? So...what was he doing here in the wine room...?_

The surfer shook her head- she had a feeling this case had a lot of questions surrounding it, but she wouldn't be able to answer much of any of them yet. Thus, putting a pin in that thought, Hana looked around the wine room, hoping to see something out of the ordinary. However, aside from the broken crate and the bloodstains, she couldn't immediately see anything suspicious.

She then walked over to the shelves containing the different beverages- though Monokuma had claimed the Despair Drink was non-alcoholic, maybe looking at all of these drinks would give her a better idea of what exactly made the Drink a motive. However, all of the drinks in the wine room were actual and legit products, even if the students weren't allowed to consume them. In the end, looking at the other beverages proved nothing, aside from solidifying the fact that Monokuma's drink was a strange concoction indeed.

Hana's eyes then drifted over to the shelf containing the the unique red wine bottles.

 _I doubt these are any different from the rest of the drinks in here...aside from the fact that one of these was used to almost kill me._ Hana thought to herself with a frown. She took a closer look at the rack, observing the ten red bottles kept inside-

 _...Wait. Weren't there_ eleven _bottles in the rack before...?_ Hana asked herself, immediately looking over the shelf again. There were twelve openings in the rack for twelve red wine bottles; however, one of them was empty the day before, since one of the bottles had been used to knock Hana out that morning. But now...there was a second empty slot, and a second bottle having disappeared.

Hana frowned, pondering to herself, _Well...a second bottle going missing...that has to mean something, right...?_

The girl took out her e-Handbook and made a note about the red wine bottles before turning her attention to the rest of the room. Without much of a word to Shiori, Hana made her way to the other end of the wine room, stepping around Shiro's corpse as she did.

Hana looked around, scanning for anything that could be evidence- however, this side of the room didn't appear too different, aside from the dumbwaiter inserted in the wall opposite from the entrance.

 _I still can't believe_ _a dumbwaiter can be so spacious...I wonder if the killer hid evidence inside it? There's definitely enough room to hide a bunch of stuff, probably..._ Hana wondered. As she made her way over to the lift...she felt her foot bump against something.

"Wha-?" Hana began, immediately looking down at what she had bumped into. It would appear her foot had bumped against a loose floorboard, one of its corners sticking up from its spot in the floor.

Growling somewhat, the surfer knelt down and attempted to push the floorboard back in place- but upon gripping the wooden plank, Hana realized it was _much_ looser than it initially appeared. Frowning in confusion, the Ultimate grasped the board and pulled on it; ultimately, it wouldn't take much to pull the board loose, indicating that it had probably been pulled loose at some point earlier.

 _Huh...I know Monokuma said this place had some structural problems, but actual_ _removable floorboards? That just seems like-_ Hana began mentally, feeling along the edges of the wood absent-mindedly...

That was when a memory suddenly resurfaced. The night of the attack, her foot had bumped against something on the floor...wooden, rectangular, just like the floorboard she was holding at that moment. No, it wasn't _like_ the floorboard she was currently holding...

"IT WAS A FLOORBOARD!" Hana suddenly exclaimed as the memory resurfaced.

Shiori jumped as Hana suddenly cried out, immediately turning to the surfer. "Th-The fuck was that?"

"The morning I got attacked, before I was knocked out, my foot bumped against something-" Hana began eagerly. "-And I remembered what it was! It was a floorboard! Probably this exact one!"

"..." Shiori blinked a couple times, then inquired, "...Okay, but what does it mean?"

"...I have no idea!" Hana responded just as cheerfully. "But it's bound to be significant, I'm sure of it!"

"...Well, uh, how about you actually look at that board instead of talking about it, maybe that'll give you some clues," Shiori suggested, shaking her head as she returned to her own investigating.

"..." Hana went quiet, realizing the surgeon had a point. _Right...looking at the wood plank, that's a good idea._

At first glance, nothing appeared strange about the floorboard- it was just an old piece of wood. Then, she turned the board so she could look at its underside, and that was when she spotted what appeared to be...masking tape?

 _What? Why is there tape on the back of this?_ Hana asked herself, curiously poking at the dangling remains of the papery tape. That wasn't the only thing she saw on the board- she also saw, both on the tape and on the wood itself, what appeared to be traces of blood. Not fresh blood, no- the blood appeared to be a few hours, maybe even a day or two, old.

 _Well...it's got blood on it, even if it looks a little old, so that means it must be important!_ Hana concluded, setting the board back in its original spot in the floor. She didn't know _what_ it could mean, but then again that was how most evidence was until the trial. Thus, following her gut instincts, the surfer made a note of the removable floorboard, including the masking tape and dried blood.

Having finished examining the floorboard, Hana made her way over to the dumbwaiter so she could check the inside for any hidden evidence. When she opened the hatch, she saw the lift was actually lowered down to the banquet room, thus causing her to press the button on the side of the opening to bring the dumbwaiter up to the wine room. Once it did, the surfer wasted no time practically sticking her head into the metallic box so she could find some evidence. Unfortunately, the only thing the Ultimate found was confirmation that she herself could probably fit inside if she wanted to (seriously, who would build a dumbwaiter like this?).

In the end, the lift yielded no new clues, and neither did the rest of the wine room. Seeing as how there was nothing left to find in this first crime scene, Hana said a quick farewell to Shiori (who was more focused on her makeshift autopsy) as she exited the room. One crime scene down...one more to go.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you go! Part 1 of 2 of Deadly Life, completed! So, Hana found a good bit of evidence in this part, but needless to say- there's still a lot to investigate, and I didn't want to make this part too long since there was a lot of exposition to be had in the beginning, plus I didn't want to make you guys wait anymore for the new part. So, for now- do whatever speculating you like to do, and next time there'll be even more evidence to fuel the predictions! So until then- see you guys! Happy investigating!**


	26. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 7)

**A/N: Hello dear readers! It's that time again after life threw me enough curve balls to delay it by about a week, maybe a little longer I'm not keeping track at this point, and that time would be- update time! So, I don't have that much to say this time- it's the next part of the investigation, and while our dear hero Hana discovered a good amount last chapter, there are still many mysteries surrounding the double murder of Shiro and Saku. Will she be able to figure out the truth before the trial? Probably not, but a girl can try! Let's go!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Hm-hm-hm, the sweet scent of predictions...okay that sounded less weird in my head, ANYWAYS! Once again, I like the way of your brain and your gut! Maybe this latest half of the investigation will yield a few answers, hmm?**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well thank you- no spoilers or anything, but I do think this motive is one of my favorites in the story. Pretty neat speculating I see, and here's hoping I can continue to make the mystery interesting!**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ WHOA THAT'S A LOTTA TEXT. I-I never thought I'd see the day my story would get such a long review- heck, a long review that analyzes the murder so far in such an in-depth way! Great job! **

**Now, uh...well, normally I'd say "can't really confirm any of this but keep up the good work", but considering how much there is, I can say _some_ things in response to some of these. For one thing, I appreciate the listing of evidence like Truth Bullets, although I will say not all of these would be Truth Bullets if Fractured Fates were a game of something. Now, that's not to say the stuff you talked about isn't important- like in the actual DR games, some details don't become Truth Bullets, but still come up regardless.**

 **Also, that sure is a lot of** **suspicions. Which isn't a bad thing either- keeps your theories flexible for when new information comes out, so if one theory is shot down then there are others to fall back on. Speeeaking of new info...let's see how those theories hold up against the power of Deadly Life Part 2!**

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 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Deadly Life (Part 2)**

Leaving the scene in the wine room behind her, Hana stood in the hallway for a moment to collect her thoughts. At least, that was her plan- in reality, what actually happened was the surfer found herself experiencing another piercing headache and a wave of dizziness.

 _Gh-! Oh come on, not again!_ Hana thought to herself, immediately rubbing her temples in an attempt to stem the pain. _Of all the times for my concussion to start acting up...can't I get a break for once!? I'm a good person!_

As soon as the pain subsided again, the surfer wasted no time making her way back down the hall and back to the landing leading to the other hallway. Though her talk with Shiori had given her an idea of where to look for clues, she wanted to check both crime scenes before looking around the rest of the castle. As she made her way out of the north hallway, however...

"COME OVER AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, PENGUIN!"

"I _did_ say it to your face, you moron! Or are you deaf too!?"

Hana stopped and stood still in the doorway, watching Ryoto and Tadao continue to argue with each other. _Are they...are they_ still _going at it...?_

Rather than continue to listen to the Ultimates' bickering, the surfer simply (and stealthily) made her way across the landing towards the west hallway. If Ryoto or Tadao saw her, neither of them acknowledged her presence. Upon entering the hallway that would lead to the sunroom, Hana couldn't help but think to herself that putting Ryoto and Tadao together on guard duty probably wasn't the best of ideas...

Putting her concerns about the two aside, the Ultimate made her way down the hall and stopped in front of the door to the second crime. Hana hesitated for a brief moment- being forced to investigate one crime scene was bad enough in the past, but two? Would she be able to handle that...?

 _...Well, I don't think I have a choice, do I...?_ Hana told herself with a resigned sigh. Taking another deep breath to ready herself, the surfer gripped the doorknob and quickly entered the sunroom- the sooner she finished her investigation, the less time she would have to spend around a second classmate's corpse...

* * *

The sunroom's door opened with a slight _creak,_ but outside of that Hana entered relatively quietly. Much like the wine room, the sunroom did not look much different from when she had initially seen it earlier- Saku still lie dead on his back near the table, his right arm outstretched to the side and the bloody kitchen knife near his hand. Near the deceased kickboxer, kneeling down and examining the body's surroundings, was Hiroshi.

Upon hearing the door open, the young man turned his gray gaze upwards and his eyes landed on Hana. "Oh- hi, Hana. So, here to investigate?"

"You know it. I already went to the wine room, and uh...I don't really wanna look at _two_ bodies today, so I think I'll try to make this one quick," Hana responded as she closed the door behind her, trying not to look at Saku's body on the ground (though she had a feeling that would change if she wanted some answers).

"Well don't be _too_ quick about it, you wouldn't want to overlook something important," Hiroshi told her sternly, before adding with a more light-hearted tone, "Besides, it _was_ getting a little lonely in here, with only the dead to keep me company."

 _Trying to keep things positive, I see. I'm used to it by now, so it's not too creepy to me anymore- if anything, I'm still amazed he can keep his cool in a situation like this_ _..._ Hana thought to herself, envying the coroner's composure.

"So, what can you tell me about Saku?" Hana inquired, walking over to where Hiroshi was performing his own makeshift autopsy.

"Well...I know I've been at this for a little while already, but...you'll have to give me a moment to collect my thoughts and confirm a few things," Hiroshi told her, gesturing a gloved hand to the burly teen's body. "Until then, you should look around the rest of the room, see what you can find."

"Will do," Hana responded with a nod, walking towards the center of the room but around the area where Saku's body was. The first area she wanted to check was the glass table in the center of the sunroom; right off the bat, Hana noticed the white tablecloth covering its surface appeared...wrinkled, somewhat. Not to mention the girl could also make out small and faint stains on the cloth, as if a small amount of a drink had been spilled. But then again, a murder happened in this room, so the disturbance of the tablecloth wasn't too surprising.

No longer focusing on the tablecloth, Hana saw some objects lying on the table that she hadn't registered before. First, there was a bottle not unlike the ones down in the small banquet room, partially emptied; on the ends of the table, two glasses, also from the banquet room and with remnants of the beverage still in them.

Furrowing her brow, Hana examined all three of these items. The glasses were...just normal glasses, so nothing out of the ordinary there; the glass bottle looked like some kind of wine or champagne at first glance, but reading the label showed it was just normal grape juice made from green grapes (which would explain why it looked more like water), but there was still nothing immediately suspicious about it. Still, Hana had to wonder just why this was in here...maybe she could ask Tadao about it later?

There was something else sitting on the surface of the table, providing a contrast to the clear glasses adjacent to it: it was that Chinese dragon statue that she had seen when initially investigating the sunroom with Hiroshi days ago.

 _Oh hey, this thing- almost forgot about it._ Hana thought to herself, picking up the stone idol. Despite only being about a foot and a half in height, the surfer was immediately reminded of the surprising heft it had to it. An odd decoration for sure, but the craftsmanship behind it was unmistakable; though Hana thought it was somewhat odd to place it on the center table. Looking around, the girl noticed the second table- upon which a pair of flower pots stood- would have made a much better spot for it.

 _...Wait..._ Hana then thought, looking back and forth between the center table and the table at the end of the room. "...Hey, Hiroshi? This...statue right here- does it usually go on this table or that table?"

"Hm? The dragon statue? Well, it goes on-" Hiroshi began, not looking from his work...only to trail off and respond, "...I actually don't remember. I haven't been in here too often, so..."

Hana nodded, looking down at the dragon statue again. From what she could tell, nothing else caught her attention about it, so she simply shrugged and set it back down. The Ultimate looked around for anything else of interest. The taller potted plants in the corners? After quickly checking each, it became clear the killer hadn't buried any evidence in the soil like the previous killer had. The closet? She looked in there was well, but it was as empty as the first time she had checked inside days ago. Even the chairs themselves? ...Actually...

 _What the-? Why is this chair so...?_ Hana wondered, feeling around one of the cushioned chairs placed near the table; to her surprise, it felt rather...moist. Furrowing her brow, she examined the seat a little further, noticing a faint yet evidently recent stain on the back of the chair. It obviously wasn't blood or something similarly concerning- as far as Hana could tell, it seemed like water.

 _That's weird...I mean, how'd this chair get so wet...? Did Saku...maybe struggle against his killer? And during that struggle, something got spilled...?_ the surfer speculated, tilting her head as she thought. Although she couldn't exactly explain it...somehow, the moist chair gave her an odd feeling, enough for her to make a note of it in her e-Handbook.

The girl then glanced down to where Saku was; similar to the wine room and Shiro's body, the blood still appeared fresh...a little too fresh to cause anything but discomfort. Even still, the girl knew it was inevitable that she would have to be around the corpse, so she tried her best to suck up her feelings like before.

Her eyes followed Saku's outstretched arm and the blood spattered around him towards the kitchen knife lying next to his corpse. Hana leaned down so she could try and see the knife better without actually picking up the blood-soaked object (because she could only handle so much morbidity in one day); blood aside, it looked like an ordinary chef's knife...not that Hana would be able to look at any type of knife the same way again after the last murder.

"Hey, Hiroshi...did this knife come from the kitchen?" Hana inquired, glancing at the coroner.

"I can't think of anywhere else it could have come from, though I'd suggest asking Tadao to verify- you know how he's been in the kitchen more than any of us," Hiroshi responded. "Actually...speaking of that knife- notice anything else about it?"

"'Anything else'?" Hana asked, looking down at the knife again. "Uh...maybe if I looked at it a little more closely, but honestly I don't want to pick it up or anything..."

"No worries," Hiroshi replied, reaching over with a gloved hand and gingerly picking up the bloody knife. He then stood up and held the blade so Hana could get a better look at it. "See what I mean?"

Frowning, the girl examined the kitchen knife again... "Uh...well, I see... _something_ on the handle..."

Sure enough, there appeared to be small bits of 'something' stuck to the knife's black handle, but Hana couldn't quite tell what it was. It was some sort of white-yellow hue, and appeared almost paper-like in appearance. In Hana's mind, it looked like the remnants of...

"Is this...supposed to be tape?" Hana inquired.

"What's left of some, yeah- at least, from what I can see," Hiroshi confirmed with a nod. "Where it came from, and why it looks like there are only little bits left...that, I can't explain."

The coroner then added, "But, that's not the only thing weird about this knife. Look at the blade, and I think you'll see what I mean."

The surfer, despite her confusion, proceeded to scrutinize over the long blade of the kitchen knife. All she could see was Saku's blood staining the metal surface, as well as a second darker red stain underneath the more recent blood...wait, what?

"Uh...is that supposed to be blood...?" Hana asked, her eyes widening. "Like, under the blood from Saku, there's like...something darker, and...it looks kinda like..."

"Yup. Underneath the recent blood from this murder...was some dried blood," Hiroshi confirmed with a nod. "From my observations, the other blood seems to be...about a day old, I'd say."

Hana visibly cringed, shifting away from the knife. "Okay, that's uh...a little gross..."

"But an important detail, wouldn't you agree?" Hiroshi added, raising an eyebrow.

"That's, ah..." Hana began...only for realization to dawn on her and she responded, "Oh- oh yeah, that does sound important, yeah."

As Hiroshi set the knife back down where it had initially been, Hana pulled out her e-Handbook and made a note about the kitchen knife, both in regards to the adhesive on the handle and the older bloodstains on the knife blade.

Having finished typing that out, Hana turned her attention to Hiroshi yet again and asked, "So...think you can tell me about what you found out with Saku?"

After a moment of contemplation, the Ultimate Coroner nodded and stood up. "Well...alright, but I'm not sure you'll be satisfied with what I have to say."

"What do you mean?" Hana replied, concern rising in her mind.

"Well...let's start with the good news. Although I can't confirm the exact time of death with just my hands and wits, I can confirm Saku was killed _extremely_ recently, most likely around the time indicated by the Monokuma File," Hiroshi explained. "And as you can see, the File was most certainly not lying about the slit in his stomach."

Hana nodded, then added, "Well...yeah, that's the obvious stuff. But what about other things? Like, anything the Monokuma File didn't mention?"

"Ah, well..." Hiroshi began, thinking as if trying to figure out how to begin. "Let's begin up here."

He knelt down near Saku's head, gesturing for Hana to do the same; after some brief hesitation, the surfer obliged.

"Now, you can't really see it because Saku's hair is down and covering his head and face..." Hiroshi stated. "But, move the hair back, and..."

The coroner reached out and brushed some of the kickboxer's brown hair out of his face, exposing a part of his head that would have normally been visible with his hair in a ponytail. It was there that Hana quickly realized what Hiroshi wanted her to see- some kind of sizeable wound embedded into Saku's head. To her surprise, it didn't appear as bloody as she would have expected- the wound was rather clean, clean enough that you wouldn't see it under Saku's long hair.

"To answer your question- yes, once again there are some things the File omitted," Hiroshi began. "Firstly, this head wound."

Hana opened her mouth to say something, but Hiroshi held up his hand to indicate he wasn't done. "Next, look at his face- his nose, his mouth, and his ears."

"That's specific," Hana remarked, but looked over the areas anyways. Sure enough, around the nose, mouth, and ears appeared to be traces of blood. Upon seeing these, Hana felt herself tense up- bleeding from your mouth and nose is one thing, but the ears? That didn't seem pleasant...

"So, needless to say...the blood around the nose, mouth, and ears is a little strange," Hiroshi confirmed. "I can understand the mouth, considering his stomach was cut, but the nose and ears..."

Hana nodded in understanding.

"Lastly, I noticed something else about Saku's body- mainly, I noticed a...scent on him," the coroner went on. "Not the kind you'd expect on a body, but something kind of...alcoholic?"

"Really...?" Hana wondered aloud, deciding to try and get a whiff of the corpse herself (smelling a friend's dead body- this killing game was just full of firsts, wasn't it?)- indeed, she could detect a faint scent of something alcoholic- like wine or something.

"Okay...but what does all of this mean?" Hana then asked skeptically. "Yeah, the Monokuma File didn't actually mention the cause of death, but...it has to be the stomach wound, right?"

"...That could very well be the case, but..." Hiroshi began, looking down at the corpse skeptically.

Hana herself examined Saku's stomach area- despite the other damages to his body, she had little doubt that the cause of death had to be the slashed stomach...though there wasn't as much blood spattered around as she would have expected. After all, Itachi had committed suicide in a similar- no, exact- fashion, and...well, there had been much more blood. Perhaps this wound, despite being lethal, didn't go in as deep, and that was why there wasn't as much blood? Could that confusion be why Hiroshi appeared so skeptical?

Shaking her head slightly, Hana made a note in her handbook about the condition of Saku's body- the head wound, the blood around his ears and mouth and nose, and the odd alcoholic scent on him.

"Looks like you made a good call telling Shiori to handle Shiro's body- this scene definitely seems a _lot_ more complicated..." Hana remarked as she finished.

"I figured Saku's body would need some extra expertise- after all, Shiro's cause of death of listed while Saku's wasn't," Hiroshi pointed out. "Regardless, I have no doubt that I can figure out the mystery behind this death- and I'm sure Shiori will be able to find the truth of Shiro's death too, even if she's not so confident in her abilities."

Hana nodded in agreement, adding, "Well, that's obvious, you guys are probably some of the smartest ones here- I know I definitely wouldn't be able to handle this autopsy stuff. I'm better off just sticking to gathering evidence."

"Hey, you're smart, I'm sure you'd be able to handle it- well, should the need ever arise, anyways," Hiroshi told her encouragingly. "For now, though, I'll continue in here- eventually, I plan to talk with Shiori about what we found from our respective autopsies, and maybe that'll shed some light on any lingering questions from Shiro and Saku."

Hana nodded, adding, "If that's the case...I think I've found what I needed to in here. I'd better move on to other areas and see if there any clues around there."

"Alright then. Just remember not to reinjure yourself while investigating, okay? Shiori's already got enough to handle with looking over Shiro's body, I'm sure you wouldn't hear the end of it if she had to treat you in addition to that."

"You guys don't need to keep reminding me- what am I, some reckless idiot who'd fall down the stairs because I was in too much of a hurry or something?" Hana told him with a short scoff...before quickly adding, "Don't answer that."

Hiroshi smiled somewhat, then responded, "Fair enough. Good luck, Hana."

The surfer nodded in thanks, then exited the sunroom- it was time to look elsewhere for clues.

* * *

Making her way down the hall back to the landing, Hana thought about where to look next for evidence. The girl thought about what she had learned thus far; as of that moment, the only place she could definitively say might lead to something would be the watchtower, the source of the crate that, according to Shiori, had killed Shiro. Seeing as how she was on the second floor anyways, Hana decided she would look there first.

Upon making her way to the landing, the surfer was relieved to see Tadao and Ryoto had finally finished arguing, now simply watching their respective hallways with bitterness.

 _Hey, actually...now that they're done yelling at each other, I've got some stuff to ask Tadao, don't I?_ Hana asked herself, then approached the waiter. "Heeey, Tadao."

"What is it, Amari? It had better be important if you're interrupting me...again," Tadao told her, only giving her a side glance.

"Ah, well, it is, don't worry," Hana assured him. "It's technically two things, actually...first of all, did anything go missing from the kitchen recently? Like, I dunno...utensils, maybe? Maybe?"

"..." Raising an eyebrow, Tadao responded, "Now that you mention it, I did notice...one thing missing from the kitchen."

"What was it?" Hana then asked.

"A kitchen knife- or chef's knife, if you want the technical name," Tadao explained, adjusting his gloves as he spoke. "Hard to miss- long blade, black handle, looks just like the type of chef's knives you'd find in a restaurant."

Hana's eyes widened somewhat as she registered the information, before asking, "When did it go missing?"

"Oh, I noticed it was gone about...yesterday morning, while I was getting ready to make breakfast," the Ultimate went on. "I would have brought my concerns to Rimutsu or something, but that was the same morning _you_ decided to nearly get yourself killed, and well...let's just say under the circumstances, a missing kitchen utensil wasn't everyone's top priority."

 _Spoken like I had a choice in getting attacked..._ Hana thought to herself. _But still...a missing kitchen knife, and it sounds like it looked identical to the one next to Saku's body...so, it's gotta be the same knife. But still, if it went missing yesterday, and it didn't resurface until now with this crime...that's a pretty big gap in time..._

The surfer then inquired, "Okay...what about the banquet room? The one next to the ballroom? Anything oddly missing from in there too?"

Tadao opened his mouth to respond...then looked down in thought before responding, "Well...I wouldn't say 'missing' per se, but...there was something. And I hesitate to say 'missing' because, well, I know what happened to it. Not just me, but Hamasaki too."

"Rumi? What do you mean?" Hana then asked, curious.

"Listen well Amari, because I'm not going to repeat myself," Tadao responded. "Hamasaki was first taking me to the banquet room, talking my ear off in her usual fashion. But when we actually entered, who did we see- but Yamamoto, doing something behind the counter with the drinks."

"H-He was?" Hana quickly asked. "What happened?"

"Well, as I said, Hamasaki and I were headed to the banquet room..." the Ultimate Waiter began.

* * *

 _"...And we probably shouldn't go too crazy with the food, I mean I know we've got an unlimited supply but come on, not all of us are- you know, fancy types, you know?" Rumi went on, having been discussing the details of the party for what seemed to be hours._

 _"No, despite the fact that you've been chattering in my ear all this time, it did_ not _occur to me that not everyone would appreciate the finer tastes of dining," Tadao deadpanned, narrowing his blue-green eyes in irritation._

 _"Come on, at least try to lighten up a bit! You used to be so...slightly less cynical!" Rumi told him with a sad sigh. "Maybe this party'll be the perfect time for you to reconnect with everyone!"_

 _The scuba diver then gestured to the door to the banquet room, adding, "Here, see, I'll show you how I think we should organize the food- you've been in restaurants before, so you could give me some pointers!"_

 _Tadao simply rolled his eyes in response; Rumi pushed the door open, and the two students entered the smaller room. Just as the scuba diver was about to continue talking...she and Tadao both saw someone on the other side of the room near the drinks and glasses. Due to the person's large and muscular stature, there was no doubt who it was..._

 _"Huh? Saku?" Rumi called out, unable to hide her surprise._

 _"Wh- o-oh! Ah- Rumi, Tadao!" Saku began, seeming just as shocked to see his two classmates entering. "Wh-What a surprise to see you two here! Hello!"_

 _"Um- hi?" Rumi responded. "What are you doing in here? I thought you had something to do, so you couldn't go to the party."_

 _"That is correct, and ah, I assure you this has nothing to do with your party, Rumi," Saku told them with a nod...although he seemed to be holding some items, though he was trying to hide them from the duo._

 _Tadao, however, seemed to take notice of what Saku had with him- specifically, he was holding one of the bottles of non-alcoholic beverages in one hand while grasping a pair of glasses with his fingers in his other._

 _"What are you doing with that stuff, Yamamoto?" Tadao inquired._

 _"Yeah, and...what exactly_ were _you doing by all the drinks?" Rumi added quizzically._

 _"Ah, those are- that is...I am...planning to do some special exercises!" Saku told them. "Yes, in the fitness room- I have been concerned about my physical health these days in this castle, and I hope to remedy that. These drinks seem to be quite refreshing, so I figured I would take one of these in case I needed a drink while exercising."_

 _"...So why do you have_ two _glasses?" Tadao inquired, raising an eyebrow._

 _"Ah...two glasses, I...just in case I am..." Saku began, glancing down at the glasses he was holding._

 _"Ooh, is it in case you're_ extra _tired from an exercise and need two drinks at the same time?"_ _Rumi then asked._

 _"...Yes," Saku responded after a moment of thought. "A-And so, I would not wish to hold you two up any longer, s-so I will be on my way! I hope me taking these items will not be a problem?"_

 _"Well- no, it shouldn't be, we have plenty of spares," Tadao responded, glancing over at the bar area._

 _"Ah, excellent! Well then, I will see you two later!" Saku replied in farewell, squeezing his way past the two other Ultimates and exiting the banquet room._

* * *

"Needless to say, his behavior was...abnormal at best," Tadao stated. "Personally, I don't buy that story of his- though why he took that stuff and why he was seemingly tampering with the rest of the drinks- I have no idea. It could have been that he was just searching for a satisfactory beverage, but in these circumstances...it's best to stay vigilant."

 _Well,_ I _know why he took that stuff- no doubt, Saku was probably bringing that stuff to the sunroom for his meeting with Shiro..._ Hana concluded. _Still, maybe I should remember this, just in case of...well, I don't know, but I can't be too careful anymore._

As Hana took out her e-Handbook to make note of Tadao's account, the waiter added, "If you don't believe me, then ask Hamasaki, she was with me when that encounter happened."

"Well, I wasn't doubting you, but I'll keep that in mind," the surfer remarked as she finished. "Anyways, I...think that was about it. Thanks for listening, Tadao."

"Oh please, I'm cooperating because I know our lives ride on this, and I can't look for clues because I'm a guard," Tadao scowled. "If the blackened wins and we all die, I'm holding the rest of you personally responsible!"

 _Aaaaand he's back._ Hana thought to herself. "Uh...okay then...good luck with guarding!"

The Ultimate Surfer walked away from Tadao, heading for the northern hallway and the watchtower. She passed Ryoto, who seemed to be doing his best to keep a vigilant eye on the hallway. As Hana passed the racecar driver, a memory resurfaced- mainly, the fact that there had a been a log of who went in and out of the party. Maybe that could help sort out some alibis for the amnesic group...?

"Hey, Ryoto!" Hana called out, changing course from the hall to her classmate.

"Not now, Hana! I, Ryoto Miura, must keep a watchful eye over this hallway! That way NO ONE can tamper with evidence and get away with it!" Ryoto declared, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"..." Hana looked around, then stated, "B-But there's...no one coming this way."

"YOU NEVER KNOW!" Ryoto shouted.

"..." Hana shook her head, then inquired, "Look, I need to see something- do you have that log of yours on you? For the party?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course I do! I wouldn't just leave it lying around, someone could mess with it!" Ryoto responded resolutely.

"Great! Then can I have it? For the trial?" Hana then requested.

"'Have' it? No way, Hana Amari! I can't risk you being the killer and destroying evidence while my back's turned!" the racecar driver yelled. "Besides! You're not the only one looking for things, what if someone else needs it!?"

"Okay, then- can I at least _see_ it?" Hana then asked. "I can copy down the info in my e-Handook easily."

"Oh- okay then!" Ryoto agreed with a grin. He then reached into one of the pockets of his tracksuit and pulled out a piece of paper with writing on it. "Here you are!"

Hana leaned in to read the paper, pulling out her e-Handbook so she could copy the information...

 _Rumi, Asuna : 6:30 PM-6:40 PM_

 _Shiori : 6:31 PM-6:40 PM_

 _Hiroshi, Akira : 6:32 PM-6:37 PM_

Just her luck, everyone who left the party left during the time the Monokuma File said the murders occurred- between 6:30 PM and 6:40 PM. To make matters worse, the mass amnesia everyone had received made it immensely difficult to figure out what exactly everyone was doing at that time. Despite her disappointment, it was still vital information, so she copied it down all the same.

"Alright, I got what I needed- thanks, Ryoto," Hana told her classmate with a smile. "That really was a great idea of yours, Ryoto, that log. Amnesia or none, this should really help out with the investigation."

"I know, right? ...Well, okay, I didn't know the murder part, it was supposed to _stop_ a murder, but uh...glad it could still be useful!" Ryoto responded with a sheepish chuckle.

Hana nodded, then went on her way towards the watchtower. As she did, Hana now had to contemplate the different times on the log and how she would be able to figure out where everyone was during that time.

 _Actually...well, I think I already know at least one person's alibi..._ Hana realized as she reviewed the times from the log.

* * *

 _"Hello?" Hana inquired, opening the door with a raised eyebrow._

 _Standing there in the hallway was none other than a certain Ultimate Surgeon, Shiori._

 _"Oh, uh- there you are. I was starting to wonder was taking you so long to answer- or if you were even in your room, for all I knew you could have wandered off somewhere," Shiori told her in greeting._

 _"Shiori? What are you doing here, aren't you supposed t be at the party?" Hana asked, curious._

 _"Yeah, and I'll be going back there in a minute- the thing is, er-_ Hiroshi _was feeling pretty worried about how you were doing, and would have come over to check up on you himself, but I told him I'd do it because I'm an actual doctor," Shiori explained, putting some odd emphasis on Hiroshi's name. "Not that I'm worried or anything, I'm sure you're doing just fine, but you know- medical stuff."_

* * *

 _"Hey, quit it! Believe what you want, truth is truth!" Shiori indignantly responded, narrowing her eyes. "...But seriously, is everything going okay? No worsening symptoms?"_

 _Hana had to stifle another small laugh, being able to see right through the surgeon's facade- maybe those trials really were making her more perceptive to stuff like this. Regardless, she responded, "No, I'm fine. I was actually taking a nap when you knocked on my door."_

 _The surfer then asked, "Come to think of it...what time is it...?"_

 _"The time? Um...I think it's about 6:35, maybe a little later," Shiori responded after doing some math in her head. "Time aside, though, good to see you're well- wouldn't want some kinda complication to happen while hardly anyone's around to help."_

* * *

 _That's right...Shiori came to see how I was doing during the party- I checked the time after she left, it was around 6:37, and that basically confirmed what she told me..._ Hana told herself. _Well, it's an alibi, so I'd better remember it._

With that, the girl decided to make an actual note of the earlier encounter- sure, she had it locked in away in her own memory, but as some of her old teachers always said, text was more permanent than memory.

Having concluded that, the surfer found herself back in front of the door to the watchtower. Putting away her e-Handbook, she pushed open the thick door and walked into the dimly lit stone base of the western tower. Hana looked upwards to where the spiral steps led to the tower's pinnacle- although she wanted to see just what, if anything, had been done to the numerous crates sitting up there, she knew that would just be asking for her leg to be put through all sorts of pain.

Frowning, the surfer looked around the tower's base for something that could prove useful for the trial...and luckily, she didn't have to look far. At the base of the stairs lay several pieces of old food and tiny chunks of splintered wood- definitely new.

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Hana approached the debris. Kneeling down, she immediately looked over the various pieces lying on the stone floor; it didn't take long for her to recognize the various fruits as supplies stored in the crates up above. With this in mind, the surfer assumed the tiny pieces of broken wood also came from one of those crates. However, that conclusion just brought more questions; Hana wondered why this food had been taken out in the first place- surely, this couldn't actually be good to eat, right? So it wouldn't be used for the party- then why were they out, let alone left on the floor like this?

 _Well this is...definitely weird..._ the Ultimate Surfer thought with a frown. _I can't even begin to figure out what this debris here means...obviously, something had to have broken here, maybe one of the crates, but like- what, and why? Mostly why?_ Especially _why?_

Sighing, Hana took out her e-Handbook again and jotted down information about the debris in the watchtower- hopefully, this evidence would be worth something and looking here wasn't a waste of time. Hana glanced up at the stairs again- she was incredibly tempted to make her way up the steps to the top of the tower, leg injury be damned. However, she knew ascending such a long set out stairs would exacerbate that wound- not to mention she would have to _de_ scend the stairs after looking around up there, and there was no telling if she would even find anything up there or not.

It took a few moments of internal debate for the girl to make a decision, but ultimately (and begrudgingly) she decided to cut her losses and not look at the top of the watchtower. If she wasn't afflicted with a still-healing stab wound in her leg, the surfer wouldn't have hesitated to investigate up there- but under these circumstances, doing so would likely result in the anger/concern of a certain Ultimate Surgeon.

As Hana exited the watchtower, she thought to herself, _Well, I found, uh...one thing! That's something! Haha!_

At this point, there was only one more room in the West Wing to look, then after that...Hana didn't know where she would look afterwards. Perhaps the rooms of the victims would yield some clues?

Shaking her head, Hana made her way down the stairs to the ground floor of the wing. She then turned left and approached the door to the treasure room, already taking out her handbook so she could activate the scanner and enter, but at that moment...

 _Whoosh!_

Suddenly, the metallic door slid open by itself, and out stepped one purple-haired thief, Hinata Yonade.

The Ultimate didn't immediately notice Hana standing outside the entrance, but once he did, his eyes widened in surprise. "Wh- oh, Hana. When did you get here?"

"Ah- hey, Hinata. I just got here, actually, I was about to head into the treasure room," Hana replied, just as surprised to see that someone else was already in the room. She then asked, "Waaait...were you in there this whole time?"

"W-What? Nah, I was only in here for a...few minutes now! Y'know, finding clues and shit, heh..." Hinata responded with a sly grin. "Didn't find anything though."

"..." The look on Hana's face was a clear indicator that she wasn't buying his excuse at all.

"...Okay, so maybe I was in there a little longer," Hinata admitted with a frown. "But I was being honest about not seeing anything in there, so don't waste your time going in there."

"Really? Nothing at all?" Hana asked in surprise, looking behind him into the still open door to the treasure room.

"Hana, I've been in this room for a little bit now- if some killer had hid something under all that moolah, I would have found it by now," Hinata insisted with a frown. "Sorry to disappoint."

"Wh- well- that can't just be it...this is the last place I need to look, there's gotta be something that can help point to the killer!" Hana said in frustration. "Are you _absolutely_ sure there was nothing suspicious in there?"

"As sure as I'm sure the sky is blue," Hinata told her, seeming bored of the conversation. "Honestly, I'm not an idiot, I'd have been out of there a lot sooner if I found something important. The most suspicious thing about that room- aside from wondering how _I_ can so much money that I can just stockpile it in one place- is the scanners, really. I don't think there's anything there for ya here."

"Well I wouldn't say-" Hana began in protest...before something clicked in her mind. "Wait...wait, that's it! The scanners!"

Hana immediately walked over to the scanner on the outside of the room, explaining, "Monokuma- didn't he say that this scanner and the one inside the treasure room kept track of who went in and out of it, right?"

"Well, yeah, can't get in and out of the room without scanning your e-Handbook," Hinata confirmed.

Hana nodded, staring at the scanner intently before responding, "Monokuma also said he's the only one with access to those records, right? If that's true, then...I need to see those records! I _might_ be able to figure out some alibis if I do!"

"Okay, fair enough, but how are you gonna do that?" Hinata asked her skeptically. "I don't think you can do anything to the scanners, so..."

"Well...there is one pretty easy thing I could do. Granted, I don't really want to do it, but if it means getting a hold of those records..." Hana began. "Then I'll have to go right to the source."

"The source...? Hold on, you're not seriously gonna-" Hinata began.

"Hey! Monokuma! Get out here!" Hana shouted in challenge. She remembered Akira doing this same thing during the second investigation- at the time, she had been dumbfounded that the prosecutor had been able to practically summon the villainous bear like that, but this time Hana was hoping it would work just as well for her.

"G-God, you're trying to call him too?" Hinata asked in exasperation. "Evidence or no evidence, I wouldn't spend any more time around that thing if I didn't have to..."

"Well this is important so hush!" Hana yelled at him, looking around for the headmaster.

"Looks to me like he's not even gonna show up...what are the odds he even heard you?" Hinata inquired, crossing his arms.

"Oooh? Do I hear someone underestimating their amaaazing headmaster?" a high-pitched voice questioned from right behind the Ultimate Thief.

"What the-!?" Hinata cried, swiftly turning around to face the bear.

"W-Whoa! It worked!" Hana yelped, taking a step back from shock.

"Well of course! I'm like a genie when I wanna be- summon me, ask, and you shall receive!" Monokuma told them with a giggle. "But believe you me, chances are you'll pay for it."

"Isn't that more like a mob boss thing?" Hinata pointed out.

"Whatever- listen, I don't want you around longer than you need to be, so I'm gonna make this quick," Hana said to the bear with a frown.

"W-Wow! Such brutal honesty- that's cold, Antenna!" Monokuma growled at her in hurt- although its genuineness was questionable.

"Don't care, listen- you said you're the only one with access to the logs from the treasure room scanners, right?' Hana asked him. "Well, I need to see the ones for today- it's important."

"Puhuhu...and why should I give _you_ such sensitive information?" Monokuma inquired. "The most you can do is, like, surf your way to the truth or something- and you can't even do that in the literal sense!"

 _Y'know, if I had a nickel for every time someone called my talent useless..._ Hana thought to herself, the responded, "Well, even still- you do keep talking about keeping the trial fair, and withholding information doesn't really...do that...plus, can't you just make copies of the log if you need to give it to someone else?"

"...Bah! Curse you and your reminding me of the rules!" Monokuma shouted at her in frustration, before running off in disgruntlement.

"..." Hana couldn't help but stand silent; she didn't know what surprised her more- the fact that she had managed to talk Monokuma into letting her see the logs, or that she had managed to do so in such a quick manner.

"...Who says 'curse you' anymore...?" Hinata muttered to himself as Monokuma left. "Well, have fun dealing with the rest of this, I'm heading to the South Wing."

"Er- hold on, Hinata! While you're here and I'm waiting for Monokuma..." Hana began, stopping him. "Before, back in the banquet room...it seemed like something was bothering you. I've been meaning to ask you about it."

"Hm? Me, bothered? Nah, that concussion's making you see things," Hinata told her. "I'm fine, really."

"Really? You left in a pretty big hurry before..." the surfer reminded. "Plus, you literally said to me you had something on your mind."

The other Ultimate growled and responded, "These trials are making you too smart for your own good, you know that?"

"But am I wrong?" Hana inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Or...should I go find Rumi and get her to make you talk? I don't think you'd be so keen to lying to her, would you?"

"W-What? No, no need to get her involved!" Hinata quickly responded, blushing somewhat. "Sh-She's got enough to deal with with- losing her bracelet, and uh- murder stuff!"

He then sighed and conceded, "Fiiiiine! You're better at persuasion than you look- I'll tell you before Monokuma gets back."

The thief appeared hesitant for a moment, then explained, "Earlier, I...might have seen Shiro."

"Wait, you did?" Hana asked in shock. "W-When's 'earlier'!? And what happened!?"

"Calm down, I'm getting to that!" the Ultimate Thief snapped, before continuing, "So...I didn't spend all my time in my room, right? I got a little bored, and figured- hey, maybe I'll waste time by like- I dunno, doing stuff with paper. Practicing origami, that seems neat. But I didn't have any paper in my room, so I had to go to the study to grab some. Felt kinda weird going in, I mean someone _literally died_ in there, hell I'm amazed Ryoto can still handle the fitness room after what happened-"

"Hinata," Hana began, urging him to get back on track.

"Sorry. So, I left the study, I'm about to head back to my room, and who do I see heading into the West Wing-" the thief continued. "-but Shiro."

* * *

 _Having exited the study, papers in hand, the Ultimate Thief was ready to make his way back to his room, when he caught sight of a certain someone heading into the West Wing..._

 _"Wha- Shiro...?" Hinata began, his voice somewhat quiet from shock. But there was no mistaking it- the short stature, the silver hair, the light blue jacket...it was him. The thief then called out, "Shiro, Shiro! Hey!"_

 _The young man seemed to visibly flinch from shock, but he seemed to calm down upon seeing it was Hinata calling out to him. "Oh, er- hi, Hinata."_

 _"'Hi' yourself, what are you- you're actually out here?" Hinata asked, scanning his gold eyes over his classmate as if to make sure he wasn't a hallucination. "And you look- well, you still look kinda like a mess, but you look less crazed than last night."_

 _"Uh...thanks...?" Shiro began. "I, uh- guess I can't really blame you for being so surprised to see me. Especially after, well, you know-"_

 _"You mean your mad 'I want someone to murder me' ramblings from before?" Hinata stated dryly. "Sorry, just- I'm just trying to wrap my head around how- or I guess why- you're here. Not that I'm complaining, it's just you made it pretty clear that-"_

 _Then, something clicked in the thief's mind. "Waaait...someone's trying to kill you, right? That's why you're out here, isn't it?"_

 _"Uh- I can see why you'd think that, but actually-" Shiro began, attempting to sound less shaky._

 _"Okay, who is it? Is it Tadao? Did Akira finally snap, shoulda known was only a matter of time-"_

 _"No, no! No one's going to kill me!" Shiro quickly explained before the thief could act on any of his suspicions._

 _"What? But yesterday you were all-"_

 _"I know, I know about all that, and I'm..." the Ultimate Poet began, his silver gaze darting away. "I'm...still not entirely feeling like myself, but...I'm starting to feel a lot better, really I am."_

 _"Really...? Just- like that?" Hinata inquired, raising an eyebrow._

 _"Well, it's- there's...something I've been...doing for a little bit now. Seriously, I've only been at it for less than an hour..." Shiro explained rather cryptically. "And I had my doubts at first, I really did, and I was even kinda mad at first, but...this is actually helping me, it really is. I didn't think it would, but-"_

 _The young man then held up something he was holding- his trademark notebook. "I-I even had some ideas for new poems! I haven't had the inspiration to write in days, and now I-"_

 _Hinata was rendered_ _speechless- as he stood silent, he heard the faint sound of his classmates reveling about in the ballroom below (stupid memory loss from the day before- if it weren't for his concerns over that, he would be down there too)._

 _"I...well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see you in good spirits again," Hinata told him with a chuckle. "You must spending time at the party, right? Is that why you're feeling more like yourself?"_

 _"Actually, it's...something else, but-" Shiro began, before sighing and explaining, "I...can't really talk about that right now."_

 _Before Hinata could respond, the poet added, "But! Maybe later I can explain. Well...assuming this continues to go well, anyways..."_

 _The Ultimate Thief had several questions about what Shiro could be talking about...but even he knew better than to spoil his classmate's good mood with questions, and so he responded, "Well, uh...good luck with that, anyways."_

 _"Heh- thanks, Hinata! Next time we see each other, hopefully I'll be even better!" Shiro told him, waving farewell before making his way into the West Wing. At that point, the sound of the partying had died down- shrugging, Hinata fiddled with the paper for a few moments before making his way back to his bedroom._

* * *

"Looking back on it...as glad as I was that Shiro was starting to be like his old self again, I feel like I should have- I dunno, pried a little more, maybe use my mad sneaking skills to follow him to wherever he was going..." Hinata continued, gazing away from Hana. "I mean... _something_ happened after that, and now he's dead...and like, I might be the last person who saw him before he got killed, y'know? That kinda thing can weigh on anyone, I'll bet..."

"Well...if were in your shoes, I don't think I'd be handling it much better..." Hana admitted with a sad sigh. Though she wasn't about to reveal Saku's secret to Hinata, the surfer could guess what business Shiro had in the West Wing. And based on what her classmate had just told her...

 _If what Hinata's telling me is true, then...Saku's makeshift therapy session was working...?_ Hana asked herself, her sorrowful feelings returning in full. _It didn't sound like Shiro was completely back to his old self, but...but Saku was making more progress than any of us ever did...whatever he was doing, it was working to some extent, and...maybe, with a little more time, he could have-_

It was then that Hana's sadness gave in to more burning rage. For Shiro to be killed just as he was coming out of his despair, and for Saku to die for his troubles...who of their classmates could be so callous?

Then, the sound of someone snapping their fingers brought Hana back to reality, followed by Hinata saying, "Hellooo, earth to Hana? What, having a flashback of your own or something?"

"N-No, uh- sorry," Hana responded, shaking her head. "Thanks for telling me that, Hinata. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

"M'kay, whatever helps I suppose," Hinata responded with a shrug. "Now, unless you wanna interrogate me a little more..."

"No, I'm good. Unless you figured out something about that amnesia of yours..." the surfer began. "I'm good for now."

With a nod of acceptance, the Ultimate Thief turned to head out of the room, but not before saying, "Alright then. Well, good luck dealing with Monokuma and whatever you else you may need to- I'm going south."

With a casual wave of farewell, Hinata walked away as Hana whipped out her trusty handbook to make note of what he had told her; not every detail, just the fact that he had encountered Shiro at all, the context of the encounter, and the fact that it had happened during the party (based on Hinata mentioning being able to hear the others in the ballroom). With that recorded, Hana prepared to continue waiting for Monokuma to return-

"HEEEEERE'S 'KUMA!" Monokuma suddenly shouted from what Hana thought was right next to her ear.

"AAAH!"

Monokuma let out a boisterous laugh as he commented, "Sheesh, and here I thought you were all like 'you're not scaring me so much anymore'!"

"Sh-Shut up! You snuck up on me!" Hana shouted at him. "Anyways...what took you so long?"

"Hey now, technology is a...fickle beast. It can be incredibly useful...if you know how to control it, that is," Monokuma explained. "Unfortunately, I'm a little out of my element with the gadgets in this castle, so retrieving the logs took a bit longer than I thought it would. But regardless, I've delivered- and I even took the liberty of making copies in case your classmates want the same info!"

"Ah- cool?" Hana responded, furrowing her brow. "Look, can you just let me see the file? I'm guessing there's only so much time until the trial, so..."

"You'd guess right! And I'd appreciate it if you brats didn't keep interrupting me while I'm finishing up preparations!" Monokuma pointedly told her, tossing a piece of paper at her feet. "So, read it and weep! And if you need something else, please hesitate to ask!"

As Hana bent down to pick up the log, the robotic bear disappeared in his usual odd manner- not that the surfer cared, Hinata was right in that the less time she had to spend around their 'headmaster', the better.

 _Okay...these are the treasure room records for today, right...?_ Hana pondered as she read over the log...

 **Hinata Yonade- 10:05 AM/10:20 AM**

 **Hinata Yonade- 3:00 PM/3:10 PM**

 **Hinata Yonade- 4:45 PM/5:00 PM**

 **Hiroshi Ashi- 6:34 PM/6:36 PM**

 **Akira Rimutsu- 6:34 PM/6:36 PM**

 **Hinata Yonade- 7:00 PM/7:30 PM**

Hana wasn't surprised to see Hinata's name so many times, considering how fond he was of the gold-filled room. What did catch her attention, however, was the mention of Hiroshi and Akira's names on the log. Not only that, but based on the times, they had to have entered and exited together- but what were they doing in there in the first place? And around the time of the murders, no less? Still, perhaps it would connect to an alibi for the two, so Hana made a note of the treasure room scanners' log in her e-Handbook.

 _Okay...so that's everything in the West Wing...what now...?_ Hana asked herself with a frown. _I've got a lot of evidence, yeah, but...a lot of it doesn't even make any sense, or at least connect in any way...but then again, that's probably what the killer wanted, what with two victims and all...god, there's only so much time until the trial, how are we supposed to figure this out in time-!?_

Just as her anxiety seemed to shoot through the roof, her head pain flared back up again, causing her to stumble somewhat. _Oh, right, I'm still recovering...that won't screw me up during the trial, will it...?_

As soon as the pain subsided, something else caught her attention- or rather, someone. Or rather, _she_ evidently caught _their_ attention.

"Heeey! Hana!"

The surfer glanced over to the entrance to the ballroom, then saw the somewhat taller figure of Rumi approaching her.

"Ah- hey there, Rumi," Hana greeted the young woman. "Don't mind me, just uh- figuring out what to do with my own investigation is all-"

She then noticed a second classmate exiting the ballroom to follow Rumi- this was Asuna, who seemed momentarily surprised to see Hana, but approached regardless. "U-Uh- hey, Hana."

"And hello to you too, Asuna-" Hana then greeted the gardener...only to quickly notice something was much different about her from the last time she had seen Asuna.

"Oh! Asuna, you found your- uh, Kaneki's?- sorry, not really sure what to call it now...but you found the fedora!" Hana happily observed, gesturing to the shorter girl's fedora-clad head.

"O-Oh, uh- yeah, I did," Asuna responded with a nod, one hand going up to the brim of the hat.

"And...if you found the hat, does that mean Rumi-" Hana began, turning her attention to the Ultimate Scuba Diver.

As if reading the surfer's mind, Rumi held up her arm and moved the sleeve of her jacket down to show her wrist, where the pearl bracelet Hinata had gifted her was back in its proper place.

"Well, good for you guys!" Hana told them cheerfully...then asked, "Uh...wait. You guys didn't spend this whole time looking for your stuff, did you?"

"N-No! Of course not! W-We found our stuff pretty quickly actually, a-and we've been investigating ever since," Asuna quickly explained. "Although I myself was thinking of going to look at the crime scenes-"

"Wait what," Hana stated, pure shock preventing her voice from sounding anything but flat.

"-and I _don't_ want to do that, so I think I'll leave that to her," Rumi added with a sheepish chuckle.

"...You uh...gonna be okay with that?" Hana inquired of the gardener, still audibly shocked.

"I-I know it may seem kinda weird for me to do that, but uh..." Asuna began, shifting a bit anxiously. "Look, I haven't been...the most useful in the past, b-but- things are different now, you'll see! I'll find something important, even if-"

She gulped. "E-Even if uh...I have to be around dead bodies...b-bodies belonging to...my classmates..."

"...You _sure_ you'll-" Hana began again.

"Y-Yes, I'm sure. A-And if you're gonna try and talk me out of it, th-then I'll- I'll go right now!" Asuna responded, the most determined Hana had ever seen her. With that resolute declaration, the gardener gave a little farewell to her two classmates before making her way up the stairs to where the two crime scenes were.

"..." the surfer glanced at Rumi, who seemed strangely calm about all of this. "You're fine with this?"

"Well, she was telling me about how she wanted to look at the crime scenes a little while ago, so I guess I've had a little more time to get over my shock," Rumi explained with a small shrug. "Besides- even though it's Asuna, and her track record with handling this sorta thing isn't...as good..."

"Not that we're ones to talk."

"Fair enough, but as I was saying- let's trust her, alright? And besides, if anything happens, Ryoto and Tadao are around, plus Shiori and Hiroshi are looking at the bodies themselves," Rumi pointed out confidently.

"I'll...try it," Hana responded, glancing up at the landing in concern.

Hana did trust Asuna to be able to help investigate, that wasn't the problem; what _was_ the problem, however, was the surfer's concern for how the grisly sights of the murders would affect Asuna and her state of mind. It was only last night that the Ultimate Gardener had initially broken out of her depressed state of anger and ferociousness, and even beyond that it had only been mere days since the murder of her closest friend and the subsequent trial, which had caused her broken mindset in the first place. With all that in mind...would Asuna really be okay...?

"Now...do you have any ideas on where I should look...?" Rumi then asked with a chuckle. "I'm no expert on this, and uh...the West Wing seems pretty covered, so..."

"Uh- I don't know, I was just-" Hana began...only for several thoughts to resurface in her mind- specifically, some questions she had for the scuba diver, and since Rumi was here...

"Actually, Rumi, before you go- could I ask you something?" the surfer began. "I talked to Tadao a bit ago, and he told me you and him saw Saku in the banquet room a few hours ago. How Saku was doing stuff in the back, and left with some stuff after you and Tadao showed up."

"Oh! Did he mention how it was a bottle of one of the drinks? And how he took two glasses as well? And how he seemed kiiinda dodgy-"

"Nevermind, you told me what I needed to know," Hana replied with a nod. That confirmed what Tadao had told her before, so at the very least she knew he had (thankfully) been telling the truth. "Now, as for my other question...where did you and Asuna find your stuff?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?" Rumi inquired, tilting her head somewhat in confusion.

"Well...I already looked over everything in this part of the castle, and I'm trying to figure out where else I could find some leads," Hana explained. "...Plus, I'm just genuinely curious about how that happened."

"Oh- well, like Asuna said, it didn't take _that_ long for us to find our stuff," the Ultimate explained. "I followed Asuna into the South Wing, where we kinda looked around in a bit of a panic. But luckily, after a bit of looking around in our rooms a bit and trying to remember where we could have gone during the party, we went into the dining room and the kitchen, and- there they were! Just kinda...sitting there, on one of the counters. I mean, we didn't question it _too_ much, we were just happy to have our things back."

"The kitchen...? What were they doing in there?" Hana then asked with a frown.

"No idea. Like I said, we didn't question it too much, and even if we did...well, it seems like whenever they were left in there, it was during that chunk of time me and the rest of the partygoers don't remember..." the scuba diver went on. "So, I couldn't tell you anyways."

Hana nodded, still wondering what the implication could be for the fedora and the bracelet being left in the kitchen- maybe she should check there next?

She then questioned, "Okay...one more thing. About the party...I know you and everyone else who was there got mystery amnesia, but- think you can tell me about what was supposed to happen at the party? Like, a schedule or something?"

"Well, nothing written, but I did have a plan for what would happen," Rumi confirmed. "Ooh, I get it! You think if you knew what the plan for the party was, that might lead to some kinda clue?"

"Basically, yeah...not sure how, but I'll take anything here," Hana responded. "Whether it be alibis, figuring out time stuff, just...anything."

Rumi nodded in understanding, then explained, "Well, let's see...party was supposed to start at 5:30, right? We'd start by having some fun in the ballroom- I even tried to play that piano, and lemme tell you I was magnificent- until 5:45. Then we'd go and eat until 6:05- and it was during that dinnertime that the amnesia started, but I think you already know that- then we'd dance some more until 6:30. At that point, me and someone else would have to go to the dining room in the South Wing, then bring them back by 6:40. We'd eat, hang out, and have fun in the banquet hall until the party ended at 7:00."

As Rumi spoke, Hana had taken out her e-Handbook and was typing out the intended timeline of the party at the same time. The surfer then added, "But...Hiroshi and Shiori found Saku's body before the party ended, right?"

"Yeah...now that I think about, that's one of the first things I remember from after the memory blackout," Rumi responded. "I was feeling bad that Saku couldn't be there, even if he had some mysterious business to do. Hiroshi offered to go find him, he thought maybe Saku would be about finished by then, and I told Shiori to go find him. A few minutes later, we heard...well..."

Hana nodded in understanding as Rumi trailed off- no doubt she was talking about the Body Discovery Announcement. The girl also figured it would be safe to assume that was when Rumi had likely decided to leave the banquet room to look for them, encountering her and Hinata in the process and ultimately stumbling upon Shiro's corpse in the wine room.

Having finished typing everything she needed to know about the party's planned timeline, Hana nodded in thanks and said, "Thanks, Rumi. This should be a lot of help- with what, I don't know yet, but still."

"No problem, Hana- anything to help catch Saku and Shiro's killer," Rumi responded with a smile. "As for me, I'm gonna...uh, I have no idea where I could look that no one else has. Maybe the banquet hall..."

At that point, the scuba diver was talking more to herself than Hana as she walked off. The surfer thought about what she had learned from her conversation with Rumi...and, despite the new information, it really only gave her an idea for one place to look for clues. And she would have to be quick about it too- who knew how much time was left before the investigation period ended?

* * *

Having no other options, Hana soon found herself returning to the South Wing to check out the dining room and kitchen. After all, evidently Asuna and Rumi had left their belongings there during the period of amnesia, so perhaps something else would turn up there?

However, her search turned up completely fruitless; the dining room and the kitchen appeared completely normal (although a quick check of where the knives were kept revealed that, yes, one of the larger knives was missing as Tadao had said), and she could find no such evidence of something suspicious. In fact, the most suspicious thing about the kitchen was some uncleaned powdered sugar on one of the other counters- perhaps the others simply planned to clean the kitchen at a later time. She couldn't even find those dessert dishes Rumi had mentioned...although to be fair, the Ultimate Scuba Diver had said she and Asuna had brought them to the West Wing, so that wasn't too suspicious.

Despite having found nothing. Hana still thought about what Rumi had told her in regards to the belongings being left in the kitchen to begin with, and decided to make a note about that as well. After all, if the previous two trials had taught her anything, it was that anything could be related to the crime.

Exiting the dining room, Hana felt an odd sense of relief and concern. If there wasn't much left to consider suspicious, that meant she had found all the evidence there was to find, right? And before the investigation period ended, no less! However, reviewing the evidence she did have...a lot of it simply did not add up, at least not that she could see. She still had so many questions- why was the 'Despair Drink' the motive? What was causing all the amnesia? What exactly killed Saku? So many questions left unanswered, and the evidence by itself did nothing to clear her confusion.

As she found herself in the main hall yet again, she saw a familiar sight; on the other side of the chamber, down the hall that contained all the bedrooms...one of the bedroom doors was inconspicuously open.

"..." Hana narrowed her eyes as she saw the opened door- there could only be one student who would go into the rooms of the other students during an investigation...especially since he had done it twice before.

Striding over to the opened door, Hana could tell from the nameplate that the room belonged to Shiro. Poking her head into the room...

"Hana!"

The girl yelped, not actually expecting a response. Upon looking, she saw Hinata standing not too far away from the doorframe, as if he was on his way to leave.

"Hinata? You'd better not be trying to steal stuff again!" the surfer admonished him, stepping into the room herself.

As with the previous bedrooms she had been in, the basic layout of the room was identical to her own (minus the bedsheets being blue instead of pink), but the actual contents of the room were different. Laid out across the desk were stacks of books and other notebooks- probably spares in case Shiro filled up the one he usually carried. Set on the floor next to the desk was a portable plastic storage container with small drawers to keep writing and drawing supplies (although Shiro likely used it more for the former). Lastly, attached to the wall to the left of his bed was a...motivational poster with a cat on it? Somehow, seeing something like that in the poet's possession wasn't that surprising.

Just as Hana finished taking in her surroundings, Hinata quickly responded to her, "Okay, listen- I told myself I wouldn't just take stuff willy-nilly, that'd be bad, I may have tried in the past but I'm trying to move past _that_ stealing habit...but! I found something, and I can't _not_ do anything with it! So don't you get all mad at me!"

"..." Hana blinked at him in confusion, then stated, "I don't even know what what you're talking about...what did you take?"

"Nothing unhelpful! If this isn't evidence, I don't know what is!" Hinata responded...before his growl shifted into a grin as he added, "If anything, this might just be the biggest clue to what happened with Shiro and Saku."

"W-Wait, really?" Hana asked, her eyes widening with anticipation, all her suspicions towards the thief fading. "Can I see it real fast?"

"Sure, but make it quick, I gotta show it to someone else," Hinata stated, pulling something out of his hoodie- a folded piece of paper. He then unfolded it, then turned it so Hana could read its contents. The surfer leaned in somewhat so she could read it, hope for a lead strong in her mind...

 _Shiro-_

 _You want someone to murder you? Fine then, you'll get your wish. I will be the one to kill you, just as you want. Meet me in the West Wing's sunroom today at 6:05 PM, and be sure to keep this a secret. I'm sure you wouldn't want someone trying to interfere with this. I'll give you more details once you arrive._

In one instant, all that anticipation for a clue was shattered into a thousand pieces. It didn't take long at all for Hana to recognize what this paper was...the note that Saku had written to Shiro in the hopes of getting him out of his room and to the sunroom so Saku could try and help him. Now, all that eagerness was quickly transformed into dread. _Oh no. Ooooh no. Oooh no no no-_

"Shocked, aren't ya? Can't say I blame you- I mean, if this isn't a blatant clue to the killer, I don't know what is!" Hinata told her with a triumphant grin. "Look, they didn't even sign it! And as someone who's written suspicious letters before, that's a sign that the writer is clearly involved somehow. It's like they just gift wrapped the blackened for us! I can't believe it!"

Hana gulped in apprehension, realizing the situation was worse than she had initially believed. _Oh no- he doesn't know- I'm the only one Saku told about the letter, so Hinata and the others-!  
_

"Anyways, type out what you need to or whatever you do, I'm gonna find our good friend Ace Attorney and tell her about this," the Ultimate Thief said.

"A-Akira!? Why!?" Hana cried- and here she thought this situation couldn't get any worse...

"Weeeell, she already doesn't like me because of my talent. So I figure if I tell her about something that might help find the killer, she'll be- y'know, less hateful towards me," Hinata explained with a shrug. "I'm not gonna be like _you_ and get farther on her bad side constantly, that just seems like a recipe for disaster- if I see a way to make my life easier, I'm taking it, nothing personal."

"Okay, one- I don't _try_ to get farther on her bad side!" Hana told him. "Two- you can _not_ show her that note!"

Hinata furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"J-Just, it's- that note, it may...it may not be what you think!" Hana began, panic in her voice rising.

"It's not...hold on," the thief replied, his eyes widening in realization. "You know something about this note, don't you?"

"Maybe!" Hana blurted...before quickly adding, "I mean, uh...maybe you should just...think over what it could be talking about...a little more...?"

"Look, I've lied about a lot of things in my life, comes with being a master thief, so I can tell you're hiding something," Hinata told her, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna push you to tell me though- if you have something to say, you can do it during the trial. Now, I have to-"

Hinata started walking towards the door...only for Hana to sidestep and block his path.

"I said, I have to-" Hinata began again, trying to step around her, only for the surfer to block him again.

"Hinata, you have to listen to me, that note- I need to explain-" Hana spoke, the words spilling out of her mouth before she really had time to think.

"I told you, I'm not pressing for details- now get out of my way, would you?" the thief told her, trying to get around her again, but she blocked him yet again.

"No! It's important, just- let me explain! It's not what you think!" Hana yelled, trying to sound firm but being unable to stop her voice from wavering.

"Hana! Get outta the- y'know, any other time I'd love to be trapped in a room with a girl, but this-"

"Don't make this weird!"

"Weirder than it already is!?"

Realizing he couldn't get around his athletic classmate that easily, Hinata backed around to stand between the bed and the bathroom. Hana quickly pursued him, shouting, "Hinata, do _not_ run! Just let me explain-"

Not even giving her a chance to continue, Hinata threw himself onto the bed, rolled over its surface, then landed on the opposite side leading to the door. He then sprinted ahead before stopping in the doorway, yelling, "Hah! Next time, don't leave the spot your trying to guard open!"

Giving herself a mental facepalm for making such a stupid decision, Hana began to give pursuit to the thief- in an unconscious movement, Hana herself jumped onto the bed, then bounced off of the bed towards the open door (mentally apologizing to Shiro for standing on his bed with her shoes and likely messing it up)...but with this thoughtless maneuver, the surfer neglected to remember she was still recovering from a deep stab wound in her leg that she had received just yesterday. However, the girl was quickly reminded the moment her feet hit the floor...and a terrible pain shot through her thigh, nearly causing her to collapse.

"GYA-!" Hana cried out, but quickly bit back the rest of her shriek. Sharply inhaling from the pain, she quickly made her way to the door- which was made more difficult by the inflamed feeling in her leg. Still, the girl tried to ignore it for the sake of tracking down Hinata- she had to tell him about the note, about what it really was, otherwise the trial would likely be made all the more complicated by a misunderstanding.

Just as she stumbled out of Shiro's bedroom, she saw someone else in the hallway- not the Ultimate Thief she was looking for, but rather the Ultimate Gardener, Asuna.

"O-Oh! Hana there you are!" Asuna called out to her. "I was just looking for- well, I was looking for anyone who wasn't busy, b-but still! I-"

"Asuna! Hey, did you see Hinata?" Hana quickly asked the shorter girl, limping over to her.

"Wh-What? Why do you-" Asuna inquired, looking visibly apprehensive and confused- before concern took over and she added, "H-Hey, are you okay? You're walking kinda funny, did you?"

"Forget that! Did you see Hinata or not!?" Hana asked again, hoping the tone in her voice would be enough to convey how urgent this was.

"A-Ah-!? Uh...th-that way...?" the gardener began, shakily pointing down the hallway. "To the...West Wing...?"

"West Wing! Got it, thanks!" Hana responded, proceeding to make her way down the hall despite her bad leg.

"W-Wait! I-I found some-" Asuna began to call after her, but the surfer was out of earshot before she could finish that thought.

Finding herself in the main chamber, the surfer quickly looked around; seeing as how the stairs would only worsen the pain in her wounded leg, Hana decided to head to the West Wing through the courtyard. However, just as she was about halfway to the doors leading to the outside...

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

Hana eyes widened as she stopped, turning her attention to one of the TV monitors displayed in the main hall as it flickered to life...

"Look alive, students! I gave you a bit of an extended investigation period on the count of there being two victims this time around...but no matter how long you put it off, there's no escaping the class trial!" Monokuma declared once he appeared on the screen. "So, having said that, please make your way to the usual spot as soon as possible! Fail to comply, and...well, let's just say I'll make this night even bloodier!"

The monitor went black yet again, leaving Hana in a state of pain and fear. _You're joking...the trial's about to start, and..._

She had no doubt that Hinata, who was much faster and more agile that she was in her current state, had most likely tracked down the Ultimate Prosecutor and at least shown her the note. She didn't hold it against him- after all, his life was on the line during this trial too, of course he'd try to give evidence to someone else, not to mention Hana admitted to herself she could have been more tactful when trying to explain Saku's note. However, the effects that note would have on the trial were immense...

The surfer choked down a gulp of anxiety, then shakily walked the rest of the way towards the courtyard.

* * *

As she exited into the darkened outdoors, the stars already making their presence known through the dusk, Hana saw that several other students filing out of the doors of the West Wing. Some were still missing, but Hana was sure they would catch up soon enough.

 _Hinata thought that what the note said was suspicious, like to had to be written by someone who planned to kill Shiro...and I thought the same thing when I first saw the note, until Saku explained to me what it was really for..._ Hana admitted to herself as she limped down the stone steps. _But...Saku can't speak for himself now. And if two people thought that note was the foundation for a murder...what will the others think...? Are they gonna think Saku had something to do with all this? And...am I gonna be able to get them to think differently...?_

The girl stopped, then lowered her head with a soft sigh. _Oh, who am I kidding, it'll be my word against...whoever else, and while I can't say for certain if Saku was involved...I can't say for certain if he wasn't, either...and that note's just gonna make it seem like he was, and I won't be able to dispute just because-_

Hana winced again, still reeling from her leg- hopefully it wouldn't be too noticeable, the last thing she wanted was an angry/worried lecture from-

"Hey, Hana," Hiroshi greeted, walking over to the surfer with- speak of the devil- Shiori not too far behind him. "Guess you're ahead of us this time, huh?"

"Blame this guy for us being late, he likes to talk more than he lets on," Shiori added with a pointed glance at Hiroshi.

"I just thought it would be a good idea to share our findings with one another- though the announcement cut that short a bit," Hiroshi clarified, seeming undeterred by Shiori's irritation towards him. "So, are you ready for-"

Then, he seemed to notice something was off with his friend. "Hana...? Why are you standing so weirdly?"

Shiori's attention was immediately drawn to the surfer in question, and the surgeon looked over her classmate quickly...before she herself asked, "Hey! Did you- did you reinjure your leg?"

"Uh...I don't know if I'd say that, but I, uh..." Hana began hesitantly...before realizing it would be futile to lie to two people who were experts in the fields of anatomy and medical things, so she admitted, "Fine, fine. I don't know if I busted any stitches or anything, but...I did something, that's for sure."

"What!? Hana, that is the one thing Hiroshi and I told you NOT to do!" Shiori yelled. "I can't even take a look right now, because we're about to go into a trial, and afterwards it'll probably be nighttime, and- god, what were you thinking? What were you doing?"

Hana shook her head, hoping that would be enough of an indicator that what led to the injury didn't matter...

"..." While Hiroshi appeared as concerned and a little upset as Shiori at first, his features softened as he seemed to realize something else was wrong with Hana, and not in the physical sense. "...Something on your mind?"

"I hope it's related to the fact that you'll probably have to deal with that leg for a while until I can look at it," Shiori stated, crossing her arms with narrowed eyes.

Hana sighed. "Sorry, guys, I didn't mean to worry you both, it's..."

"Hey I never said I was _worried-"_

"I...I just think I might have...made things a little worse for the trial..." Hana told them, her head still lowered as she stared at the ground. "And...I'm not sure how to handle it..."

"What do you mean?" Hiroshi inquired, furrowing his brow.

"You see, I...there's something I probably should have told someone else a little earlier, I should have known it may connect to the murder or that it might lead to some kind of misunderstanding, and now-" Hana explained. "Now- it's too late, it's going to make the trial way more complicated than it needs to be, and it's all because- look, when it does come up, it may seem bad, but it's not! It's not what everyone's probably going to think it is, but I...I don't know if I'll be able to convince the others of that, because it'll be my word against who knows who else, and...and..."

"...You know, being all vague like that isn't helping us understand what your problem is..." Shiori pointed out. "But what I'm basically getting from this is that you screwed up? And that it may lead to the others suspecting the wrong person?"

"...Basically, yeah," Hana conceded with a nod.

"...Hana, you remember that saying I keep reminding you of, right?" Hiroshi began.

"Yeah I know, 'trust in the evidence'," Hana answered rather dismissively.

"So, if you're convinced that what the initial interpretation is wrong, then the evidence should support that," Hiroshi told her simply. "You may not be able to convince the others with words alone, as past trials have shown, but evidence is powerful- it points to the truth in one way or another, even if it seems to be pointing in the other direction at first glance. So, there's no need to be so scared- I know you did a thorough investigation, I believe that you have all the pieces, all that's left to do is put the pieces together."

 _Easy for you to say..._ Hana wanted to say, but kept it in her mind. _I can't make sense of this at all...nothing in this mystery fits together, how can I stop the others from coming to a wrong conclusion if I can't even figure out what the truth really is?_

"...Hey, uh- for what it's worth, and bear in mind I don't talk like a courtroom fortune cookie..." Shiori began, gesturing to Hiroshi.

"'Courtroom fortune cookie'...?" Hiroshi muttered to himself.

"But...look, I'll be the first to admit: you screw things up, Hana. You screw things up a lot. And I mean _a lot,_ whether it be small things or bigger things, you are far from a role model," Shiori told her.

"This is supposed to make me feel better...?" Hana inquired with a frown.

"But- I've noticed something about you. Whatever it is you screw up, big or small...you try to fix it, and you try your damnedest," the surgeon continued, her voice firm. "You try to fix your mistakes for the better, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of other people I've met. And don't try to deny it, I know I'm right- after all, you managed to make things right with Asuna, despite your huge misstep the first time."

Hana's eyes widened somewhat. "Wait, so- you actually, legitimately trusted me to be able to set things right with her? That night, when you clearly hinting at me to go talk to her, that wasn't just you trying to have plausible deniability?"

"Well no, it was...but it was also me being smart enough to know you'd try to make amends eventually, so I just gave you a little...push, is all," Shiori responded with a casual shrug, clearly trying to downplay her role in Hana reconciling with the gardener that night.

She then turned back to the surfer and continued, "And I can tell that this time around, with you and your stubbornness, that won't change. Even if everyone in this class is against you, I have a feeling you're gonna fight to the death to find the truth. And if it prevents the majority of the class from voting wrong and getting everyone but the blackened killed...then _please,_ by all means, be stubborn."

Hana couldn't believe what she was hearing from Shiori. She glanced at Hiroshi, thinking he would seem just as shocked...but instead, he was smiling his usual calm smile, nodding at Hana as if to say 'she's right'.

The Ultimate Surfer then looked back at Shiori, left speechless by what the surgeon had to say about her- to hear encouragement from Hiroshi would be one thing, he was basically Hana's closest friend in the class. And now, she was hearing belief in Shiori's words- distant, sarcastic, grouchy Shiori...was telling Hana that she believed in her, not unlike what Hiroshi would do.

Coming to that realization- well, the confirmation that someone else believed in her almost as much as Hiroshi did, especially at a point when Hana was feeling the most helpless and confused...it was enough to cause joyful tears to well in the surfer's eyes.

Seeing this, Shiori swiftly responded, "Hey, cut that out! Don't act like I just gave you the Nobel Peace Prize or whatever, I'm just being honest!"

"S-Sorry," Hana responded, blinking the mistiness out of her eyes.

"God, you're worse than Rumi when it comes to keeping emotions in check- and she cries fountains!" Shiori growled, returning to her usual prickly demeanor. "And by the way- be careful on that leg! For God's sake, the last thing you need is for that injury to take longer to heal because you can't control yourself..."

Still muttering to herself, Shiori walked off to join the rest of the class (seeing as how the stragglers had long since arrived during their conversation). Meanwhile, Hiroshi turned to Hana and asked, "Well? Feeling a little more prepared for the trial?"

"Prepared as I'll ever be, I guess," Hana replied.

Nodding with a smile, Hiroshi walked away as well- and as he did, Hana pulled out her e-Handbook to make one last note of evidence- the note Saku had written to Shiro, the one she had been sworn to secrecy about, the thing that Hinata had found in his search. She had no doubt it would be brought up during the trial, so it would be best to remember it in that case.

Finishing that, Hana began to make her way towards the fountain...only for another student to break away from the group and make her way towards the surfer- it was Asuna, once again.

"Hana! Hey, uh- I didn't get a chance to, uh, tell you back in the bedroom hall, but..." the fedora-clad gardener began. "There's something-"

"Ah...sorry, Asuna, but I'm trying to prepare myself for the trial..." Hana responded apologetically.

"B-But this _is_ trial-related..." Asuna began again hesitantly. "I-I found something, a-and I don't know if it-"

"Listen, I've got enough evidence to sort out myself, I'd rather not have anything to add to all that," Hana told her. "But, don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a chance to talk about it during the trial- after all, every piece of evidence counts, I'm sure."

With an encouraging nod, Hana walked off, leaving Asuna to stammer, "B-But this is...it might be...I-I don't know, maybe it's..."

Standing amongst her classmates in front of the fountain, nobody said a word. Hana glanced towards Hinata- had he mentioned the fiasco in Shiro's bedroom? _Would_ he mention it? As of then, he didn't significantly acknowledge the surfer's glance, so maybe there was some hope.

Seconds later, the ground quaked in its familiar fashion, and moments later the ornate fountain ceased to spout water. At that point, the mechanisms hidden in the ivory went to work, shifting and changing the structure from a fountain to the platform of an elevator. An elevator that would take them down to the trial room, where they would do battle against blackened as they had twice before...

 _I don't want to go down there again...I feel like I might pass out if I have to see that place again...but we don't have a choice, do we?_ Hana told herself with a gulp. _Who knows...maybe this'll be last time? Maybe after this, if the spotless win, no one else will want to commit any more murders...because we;ll have been through this three ties already. Morbid as it may be, maybe...third time'll be the charm...?_

"...What are we all waiting for?" Akira asked the others, being the first to step onto the metal platform. "Monokuma's not going to wait for us. Let's get this over with."

"Calling it right now- it was clearly Tadao! Just you guys see!" Ryoto shouted, sending a venomous glance the waiter's way as she followed Akira.

"I won't even grace that with a proper response..." Tadao replied, rolling his eyes as he too ascended to the elevator.

And so, one by one the nine remaining students stepped up to the elevator. Just as it had before, the metal gate closed, and soon the platform began its long descent to the underground. As usual, no conversation was made- after all, what could be said when two classmates had died before the trial even started, and soon that count would rise to three? Or maybe even four, who knew? For Hana, the terrible pain from her stab wound had begun to subside...or was she just numb to it by this point? Either way, a lack of physical strain would make the trial easier to manage, and needless to say the girl wanted as few complications as possible.

At last, the platform concluded its ride, and the gate opened to allow the 80th Class to step into the foreboding hallway preceding the trial room. Still torchlit and still leading to those large red doors, the hallway seemed almost like a _beacon_ of death...

Asuna audibly gulped as she stared down the hallway with her classmates, one hand going up to grip the brim of the fedora- maybe as a way to feel more secure?- as she said, "W-Well, uh...l-let's...go..."

"Y-Yeah...c'mon, we've done this twice now, we're...practically experts by now..." Hinata added with trembling confidence.

With that, the class strode towards the large doors, but Hana couldn't help but think to herself about the circumstances around this third trial...and about the two classmates they had lost to a killer in their midst.

 _Shiro Koichi...the Ultimate Poet. He may have been depressed and broken during his last days, but before that...he was one of the happiest people I had ever known. Even when he was saddened by the circumstances, he did his best to pick himself up and try to be a comforting light for the rest of us. He was kind, he was sensitive, and his writing could lift anyone's spirits. I like to think that maybe, if he had a little more time...maybe he could have returned to his old self, to even a small extent._

 _And...Saku Yamamoto, the Ultimate Kickboxer. He was the biggest and strongest out of all of us, he could probably best any of us in a fight if he wanted to- but despite all of that, he was softspoken. He hated conflict, he hardly ever took sides in our disagreements, but did his best to act as a voice of reason for everyone. And...he cared about us, he wanted to help the best he could. Honestly, his heart really was as big he himself was..._

 _Shiro's optimism...Saku's levelheadedness...we all really needed both of those- both of_ them. Hana thought with a sad sigh. _Why them...? Why both of them...? Neither of them deserved to die like this, in this hell of a castle..._

 _...But I guess that's just all the more reason to find the blackened, right? They may be one of us, but...killing two classmates...we can't let that go._

As she finished her thought, the doors to the trial room had been pushed open- it was time.

Upon entry to the room, the students would notice it had once again changed from the previous trial. The circle of podiums in the middle as well as Monokuma's throne remained the same, but everything else had been remade. Overall, the room seemed to have a Chinese inspiration to it, and was designed like a palace. Four red pillars with large bronze bases surrounded the podiums, and the floor was shiny and made of dozens of creamy white tiles (with the exception being the area underneath and around the podiums, which was covered in a circular red carpet). Hanging from the bronze, dome-shaped ceiling were several lanterns, glowing brightly and illuminating the trial room. The walls were primarily red, with a pair of bronze cylindrical protrusions running the circumference of the room with about a dozen curved, ornate bronze structures in between them and spread about evenly around the perimeter.

The interior wasn't the only new addition- just as before, new memorial portraits had joined the three from the previous trial, standing where the deceased students once had. Two belonged to Saku, his grey photo placed with a rather tall stand between Azami and Kaneki's portraits, and Shiro, his photo on a somewhat shorter stand between Hiroshi and Asuna. Their photos had the standard red 'X' painted over them, just like Mikio and Kaneki. There was a third new memorial stand as well- this one belonged to Itachi, having been placed between Akira and Hinata. Like Azami's portrait, his was unique; instead of the standard 'X', Itachi had a pair of red katanas crossed together in an 'X' shape over his face.

"Welcome, welcome, class!" Monokuma called from his seat overlooking the podiums. "No long speeches or things to point out this time- you all know the routine by now, so get to your positions and let's get this party started!"

He then chuckled and added, "Oops! Poor choice of words!"

Nobody seemed amused by the bear's dark comedy.

Hana, as well as the rest of her classmates, took to their podiums to await the beginning of the trial. Two victims...an odd motive...a party no one can remember...just what was this murder? And how would anyone be able to sort through the plethora of strange information, especially when all but two of the living students had a mysterious blackout of memory?

 _I don't know about any of this, but...it's too late to back down now. Just trust in the evidence...and be stubborn._ the surfer told herself, determined. No fear, no hesitation, just trust...that was the only way to find the truth amongst the twists and turns.

And thus, whether the class was ready or not...the curtain rose on their third murder case. A deadly mystery...a deadly betrayal...who was the blackened? The only way to find out was to survive the class trial- a class trial of life...or death.

* * *

 **A/N: OOOOOOOOOOOOOKAY. Wow, that was a long one! I usually prefer to keep the Deadly Life sections about the same length, and this is definitely NOT the case this time...but I'm not going to split this part up, me and my possible OCD will have to deal with it (because I'm sure you guys don't give a darn).**

 **Now...I am going to do something a little unique this time around. You have the evidence, you have the speculation...so let's see what you've got! Let's see who you think the blackened is! That's right, I'm making a poll to see what people think! Don't worry, it won't have any bearing on who the culprit will ultimately end up being, this is just purely for fun because I want to see what people think! ...Of course I could also do that via reading reviews, but eh polls are fun. So, here's the code to the poll: zpxs7skf**

 **And with this...I'll be straight with you guys, I uh...haven't entirely figured out how the trial is going to progress. I know what'll happen and how the students figure stuff out, but as for how to get from Point A to Point B...yeah, that's still in the works. So bear with me guys, I want to make this trial as good as the previous in order to show that "third case syndrome" is not at work here! This will be a good trial, I'll do my best to make it so! Even if it takes a little longer to write, so be it for the sake of quality! And with that, I leave you again- next time we meet, it will be at the trialgrounds! Hope to see you there!**


	27. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 8)

**A/N: Hehehehehe- welcome, readers! After all kinds of crud went down in both Daily and Deadly Life, the time has come to wrap it all up with the Class Trial! To recap- the Chapter 3 curse has struck again, and the class finds themselves with two victims: Shiro and Saku! Not only that, but this trial has a whole smorgasbord of questions- what's up with the motive? Why's everyone got amnesia? Could Saku be involved somehow? How long will Hana last before someone tries to roast her? And most of all- will I be able to write a quality third case?**

 **So- you people voted, and I was interested to see the results! It seems like the vote was split between Hinata and Tadao for who people think the blackened is (does it still count if only two people voted?)...but who is it truly, if it's even one of those two at all? The time has come to find out- strap in, the class trial is now in session!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Huh- interesting theory on how the Despair Drink could affect the murder, we'll have to see how that holds up in COURT! ...Also can we just, like, make "Tadao x Table-chan" the new meme? Is that allowed?**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well in his defense- actually, that might just be addressed during the trial, so I'll just let you see for yourself when that time comes. And another interesting theory on how and why things played out! And thanks for the understanding- regardless, I've been doing my best not to delay this part _too_ long, don't want all these hiatuses now.**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ ...Welp, chapter's cancelled guys! BloodyCarnage figured it out, it was Tadao in the penguin suit, my master plan has been foiled! **

**...Okay in all seriousness, I once again appreciate the long and analytical review, even if it you say it was "slightly shorter". Anyways, you've got some good analysis going here, and I like your theories- now it's time to put them to the test! (But let's face it, we all know it was Tadao with a penguin suit, case closed).**

 ** _Guest:_ The accusations are strong in this one- but they're all valid. Now let's see if they get addressed in the trial!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Class Trial (Part 1)**

 _ **Class Trial: START!**_

 _ **ALL RISE!**_

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma began, same as the previous two trials. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"Let's not mince words here, we have much to discuss this time around," Akira began, not allowing the group to run off on a tangent this time around. "And as such- I will start us off with a brief summary of the case."

Clearing her throat as if she had rehearsed this, the prosecutor began, "We're dealing with two murder victims this time: Shiro Koichi, the Ultimate Poet; and Saku Yamamoto, the Ultimate Kickboxer. According to the Monokuma File, their exact times of death could not be determined, but they were estimated to be between 6:30 and 6:40 PM. Both victims were found on the second floor of the West Wing, but in different rooms; Koichi was found in the wine room, while Yamamoto was discovered in the sunroom."

"Since there were two victims, I had some help when it came to looking over the bodies," Hiroshi explained, giving a nod towards Shiori.

"Yeah, I helped- despite my arguments," the surgeon responded with a sigh. "He looked at Saku, I examined Shiro, and we talked about what we figured out a little while before the trial started."

"With my examination of Saku...I'm sorry to say, but I actually couldn't figure out much more than what the Monokuma File mentioned," Hiroshi admitted. "I could confirm he had been murdered extremely recently, most likely around the time indicated on the File. As for the cause of death...well, there are several things it might have been aside from the obvious, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"I can't say my 'autopsy' turned up much more evidence," Shiori added. "Shiro looked like he hadn't even been dead for an hour, so I think the Monokuma File's right too. Plus, the only injury on his body was that head wound, so I think that confirms he died instantly, or at least near instantly."

"So...you guys didn't find out _anything_ from the bodies?" Rumi asked, sounding almost incredulous.

"No, there was evidence to be found regardless- but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves," Hiroshi reassured her. "There's a lot we should figure out before we can start to talk about the crime scenes and victims themselves."

"...U-Uh...if it helps, I have-" Asuna began, clearly trying to make herself heard despite her faltering tone.

"Yeah! We still can't even remember the fucking party!" Ryoto shouted, cutting off the gardener before anyone noticed.

"While I wouldn't have said it so barbarically, Miura seems to have the same idea," Akira stated. "The two murders, though we don't know who died first, both happened in the same range of time...which, incidentally, was during Hamasaki's party."

"Yeah, it was...during the party I planned..." Rumi agreed, her gaze drifting to the floor as her eyes filled with sorrow.

 _Poor Rumi...all she wanted to do was boost everyone's spirits after everything that's happened, I don't think she ever meant for_ this _to happen..._ Hana thought to herself as she gazed at her friend sympathetically.

"Well, if we're considering the fact that the murders occurred during the party..." Tadao spoke up. "If I may, I'd like to propose a little hypothesis."

Hana glanced at the waiter with a furrowed brow, asking, "Hypothesis? Of what?"

"Hey, you don't get to talk! You're probably the killer anyways!" Ryoto yelled at him with a glare.

"Besides, you didn't even investigate anything," Shiori said with a frown.

"I _couldn't_ investigate, because I was on guard duty if you recall," Tadao pointedly reminded her. "But when I wasn't exchanging words with Miura, I had a lot of time to think things over. Granted, it may not be the perfect theory, as I have only my own thoughts as evidence, but I'm willing to throw anything on the table if it means I get to live another day."

Adjusting his white gloves, the Ultimate went on, "Seeing as how the murder took place during the party...wouldn't it make sense to consider the two people who _didn't_ attend the party? ...And who weren't murdered?"

"...What are you saying, Tadao?" Hiroshi inquired, raising an eyebrow...although he didn't seem too happy with this 'hypothesis'.

"I think what I'm insinuating is clear, Ashi," Tadao responded. "I'm saying the two we should be suspecting right now are Amari and Yonade!"

That was something Hana wouldn't have suspected despite all her anxieties, and judging by the sight of Hinata doing a similar double-take he was in the same boat.

"What!?" Hinata cried in a combination of anger and shock.

"Y-You're suspecting _me!?"_ Hana yelped, her voice cracking from surprise.

"Aside from Yamamoto and Koichi, who are the victims in this case, you were the only two who weren't attending Hamasaki's party, and we wouldn't have expected to see either of you walking around," Tadao explained. "Considering the party itself would have been a major distraction for the rest of us, it's not hard to say one of you snuck into the West Wing during that time and somehow offed those two."

"Okay, there are a _bunch_ of things wrong with what you just said!" Hinata responded, his gold eyes blazing.

"It's not like I didn't go to the party willingly! I _wanted_ to be there! Shiori was the one who told me not to!" Hana shouted in exasperation. She couldn't believe it- was this actually a discussion they were having?

The surgeon in question shrugged, holding up a hand as if to say 'guilty as charged'.

"And even then- look at me! I almost _died_ yesterday, do you _honestly_ think I'd be able to kill two people after almost dying!?" the surfer continued furiously. At this point, her rage had taken over, but she didn't care all that much. "Saku was over a foot taller than me, I've still got a slight limp, I still get headaches, YOUR THEORY'S INVALID!"

"..." After waiting to see if Hana would calm down, Hiroshi chimed in, "While I appreciate the contribution to figuring out the murder, Tadao, I really don't think Hana would be capable of committing this crime. Yes, usually her athletic talent gives her some good physical capacity, but considering the injuries she received yesterday morning...I think those would be enough to prevent her from pulling off any kind of crime like this."

"Yeah, what he said!" Hana added, still visibly fuming.

"...Okay...like I said, not the perfect theory..." Tadao replied, appearing somewhat frightened by the surfer's rage. "But what excuse does that give Yonade, hm? If I remember correctly, he chose not to attend the party _willingly."_

"Yeah, because I had some amnesia of my own yesterday!" Hinata reminded him. "I didn't know what it was, still don't, and I didn't wanna risk, like, relapse or something worse!"

"Really? Well unlike Amari, I don't think you have any debilitating physical injuries," the Ultimate Waiter pointed out. "How can we take your word for it so easily?"

"Listen dude- I steal _things,_ not _lives,"_ the thief growled, leaning forward as he faced Tadao. "I don't have anyone to confirm my alibi, but I'm not the killer. Why would I kill either of them, huh? Or _both_ of them, while we're at it?"

Tadao shrugged. "Like I said, not perfect, but I believe you're the more likely suspect than Amari. Besides, petty theft could be considered a gateway to other forms of criminal acts..."

"Oh that's enough, Tadao!" Rumi yelled at him. "Hinata's no killer! I might not have fancy evidence to prove him innocent, but I know him! And I know he'd never do this!"

"Under the circumstances, Shimaru...while I can see where your perspective is coming from, and if I had supporting evidence I would be inclined to agree with you..." Akira began, having been observing the conversation in curiosity. "But in all honesty, I don't even consider Yonade one of my top suspects. That may change depending on what the evidence reveals, but he did provide me with some...interesting information earlier, and I doubt the blackened would do so in such a willing manner."

"Uh...what she said?" Hinata replied.

 _She's probably talking about the note from Saku..._ Hana predicted, internally cringing in anticipation for when it would come up...

Tadao scoffed and stated, "Well, I just thought it was something to consider, given the...special circumstances of this particular case."

"More like a waste of time right as the trial starts..." Shiori murmured. "Honestly, baseless accusations are Ryoto's thing, so the less people who join in the better, got it?"

"Yeah! Those are MY thing!" Ryoto loudly agreed...before realizing what he said and added, "...Wait."

Akira let out a frustrated sigh before continuing, "As I was going to say before that tangent...while I have my theories already, they mean nothing until we can figure out what exactly happened during the party."

"I-I guess, but...how can we do that?" Asuna asked in concern. "I don't think anyone who didn't have memory saw something, or..."

 _Well, if it's something to help sort out alibis during the time they can't remember, I think a certain someone can help with that..._ Hana thought to herself before speaking up, "Why not use that log Ryoto came up with? The one with the names of who left, when they left, and when they came back?"

"Oh yeah- he did come up with something like that, didn't he?" Hinata remarked, glancing at the racecar driver in question.

"Yeah, and even though it didn't work like he thought it would, it was a decent enough idea at the time," Shiori added. "Which I still can't believe, this is _Ryoto_ we're talking about."

"What's not to believe? Think there's nothing behind this pretty face of mine?" Ryoto inquired with a confident grin.

Shiori looked she was about to respond in her usual sarcastic way...before shaking her head and stating to herself, "Nah, too easy."

"The log itself is useful, yes...but not by itself," Akira said with a frown. "It lists names and times, but as for what those people were doing while gone from the party..."

"Not to mention, according to this paper, everyone who left the party...all left and returned at some points between 6:30 and 6:40 PM," Hiroshi pointed out.

"You mean the literal time frame of the murder?" Shiori inquired dryly.

"Yeah, it's not...perfect, but it's a start!" Hana attempted to assure her classmates.

"Well, it does confirm one thing..." Tadao spoke up. "Me and Miura were at the party the whole time. Our names aren't on the log at all."

"Of course not! I never would have left the party, I was basically on guard duty with my log and all!" Ryoto replied with a nod.

"And I basically forced Tadao into the party, plus I don't think Ryoto would have let _him_ leave for any reason..." Rumi added thoughtfully.

"O-Okay, that's two, but...what about the rest of us?" Asuna asked. "There are still five others- m-myself included, I guess- who _did_ leave..."

 _Well, that's the thing, isn't it...?_ Hana thought to herself. _We've got five people who were out and about around the time of the murder, and since everyone from the party has amnesia...yeah, that's not really a good combination, is it?_

"So, we need to sort out these alibis..." Akira began. "Yonade, Amari, are you sure you two didn't see anything out of the ordinary?"

"I didn't see any of you five, that's for sure," Hinata responded with a shrug.

"And I would hope Hana here actually listened to my orders and stayed in her room," Shiori pointedly stated, sending a narrowed glance the surfer's way.

"Even if they _saw_ something, it wouldn't really be...I dunno, concrete?" Rumi pointed out. "We should probably use something more like that to figure out some alibis, but...I don't think we have something like that, do we?"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted before the scuba diver could continue.

The Ultimate let out a frightened yelp before responded, "H-Hana! I'm right next to you, you don't have to shout like that!"

"Er- sorry Rumi," Hana immediately replied before continuing, "Anyways, I think there actually is something concrete we could use to confirm an alibi or two- the scanners for the treasure room."

"The scanners? But isn't Yonade basically the only person who really goes in there?" Tadao questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and today wasn't really any different..." Hana replied, before adding, "But today was a little different. I have the logs for who went in and out of the treasure room today, and while a bunch of them are Hinata...there are two that are different."

"How did you get the logs for the treasure room scanners?" Akira asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Monokuma," Hana stated, gesturing to the robot bear in question.

"Guilty!~" Monokuma confirmed, raising a paw.

"Well then, who went into the treasure room?" Hiroshi asked, turning his attention to the surfer.

"Actually...it was you, Hiroshi," Hana responded. "And you, Akira."

"Me?" Akira asked, her expression turning to one of confusion. "Hm- let me see those logs, Amari. And yours too, Miura- we need to cross-reference these."

Hana and Ryoto obeyed, passing the papers to the Ultimate Prosecutor. The young woman looked over both logs, then spoke up, "Well...Ashi and I left the party at 6:32, entered the treasure room at 6:34, left the treasure room at 6:36, then returned to the party at 6:37. Pretty concise timeline for the two of us, if you ask me."

"Yeah, it doesn't leave a lot of time at all for either of us to go and kill Shiro or Saku," Hiroshi confirmed.

"Not to mention, I saw some of those coins from the treasure room in the banquet room, so clearly _someone_ had to have brought them," Hana also added, remembering the sight of the gold coins on the floor of the banquet hall- an odd sight at first, but with this info it seemed to make sense now. "And it couldn't have been Hinata, so..."

"But still, why would Ashi and I have gone to the treasure room in the first place...?" Akira asked herself with a frown.

"I dunno, but I'm hoping I knew about those coins!" Ryoto spoke up cheerfully. "I know this great party trick with coins my sister taught me, you don't need that many, but basically what you do is you put these coins on your elbows and then you-"

The racecar driver trailed off when he saw Hiroshi staring at him with interest. The Ultimate Coroner then inquired, "Ryoto...would you have offered to do that trick during the party?"

"Probably, if I had the chance!" Ryoto replied. "Ryoto Miura never passes up a chance to show off his many skills!"

"Well, I think we have our answer to that question," Hiroshi concluded. "Ryoto probably wanted to show off his coin trick at some point, and so I probably offered to go to the treasure room to grab some."

"And I probably went with you to ensure you weren't planning anything suspicious," Akira guessed, staring down thoughtfully.

"Well that clears up you two," Tadao said. "But that still leaves the three other girls without explanations for where they went."

"Well, looking at the log...it looks like me and Asuna were together the whole time, at least," Rumi pointed out hopefully.

"No, it says you two left and returned at the same time," Akira refuted with a frown. "That doesn't necessarily mean you were together that whole time, anything could have happened."

"And having said that, it also says Shiori left a little bit after them, but still returned at the same time," Hiroshi observed. "6:31 for her as opposed to 6:30 for Rumi and Asuna."

"..." Shiori was silent for a moment, then said, "Well, don't ask me why I would have left, because I can't think of anything."

"One thing at a time," Akira replied, adjusting her glasses. "First, we need to figure out what went on with Hamasaki and Izumi, so let's discuss that first."

Hana kept silent, thinking to herself, _So then...Rumi and Asuna are next, huh? Trying to figure out_ their _alibis shouldn't be that challenging...right?_

"Uh...if we left and returned together at the same time, i-is it _that_ hard to believe we were together the whole time...?" Asuna asked worriedly.

"According to the log, that's a ten-minute gap for when you two were gone," Tadao pointed out. "A lot of things could happen in that time, and especially considering the amnesia problem...if one of you split off, the other wouldn't remember."

"But we _both_ lost our memories, same as everyone else at the party!" Rumi told him with a glare. "If we did split up, _neither_ of us would remember!"

"Well that just makes things more complicated, doesn't it?" Tadao replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Question is, is there a reason you both would have left like you did?" Hiroshi asked.

"Of course there is! Rumi's as responsible as they come!" Hinata insisted. He then calmed himself and added half-heartedly, "...Oh, and uh, Asuna too."

"The way I see it, there's no telling whether or not they stayed together the entire time they were gone!" Ryoto pointed out. "That's why, for all we know, it's pretty likely they split off as soon as they were able to!"

After listening to the back-and-forth between the students, something finally clicked in Hana's mind as she heard Ryoto's claim. Once that happened, the surfer yelled out, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"I actually agree with Rumi and Asuna- I think they stayed together for the ten minutes they left the party," Hana then proceeded to explain. "The proof of that was in the kitchen, at least according to those two. Remember how, just before we started investigating, they realized they had lost something of theirs? Asuna lost her fedora, and Rumi lost her bracelet."

"Y-Yeah, and it was even worse because of the memory blackout..." Asuna added with a downward glance. "I couldn't even imagine what could have happened to it...I-I'm just glad Rumi and I found it and her bracelet so quickly..."

"Okay- so what?" Tadao asked skeptically. "They may have left their stuff in the kitchen, but who's to say one of the two didn't plant both items in the kitchen to try and falsify an alibi? They could have conspired together-"

"HEY! LEAVE THE SUSPECTING TO ME, WOULD YA!?" Ryoto shouted at him.

"Besides, Rumi and Asuna had good reason to go into the kitchen," Hana clarified. "And I have something to prove it, to!"

The surfer then glanced at the Ultimate Scuba Diver and went on, "The, uh- 'schedule' for the party that Rumi told me about. She had the overall events of the party all planned out- and it just so happens that, at the time she and Asuna were gone, Rumi had planned for her and someone else to head to the kitchen to grab the desserts!"

"Oh! That's right!" Rumi exclaimed in confirmation. "Yeah, we would have gone back into the banquet room at 6:30 after some dancing in the ballroom, then we were gonna eat those desserts by 6:40 after me and another person would have gone to the South Wing's kitchen to grab the food."

"O-Oh! Maybe that's why I went with you!" Asuna realized. "T-To help you with the food!"

"Would you really have needed two people to bring the food in, though?" Tadao inquired.

"Yes! You made the stuff, you should know how big those plates are! I wouldn't be able to carry those by myself!" Rumi responded with a huff. "Shows what kind of gentleman _you_ are..."

"That still doesn't explain why your belongings were left in the kitchen," Akira pointed out, crossing her arms.

Hana frowned for a moment, trying to think of an explanation...before remembering something else she saw in the kitchen. "Hey...Tadao. The desserts you made...were any of them, like, messy in any way?"

"'Messy'? Well, one of the types I made had powdered sugar, so I suppose you could call it that," the waiter responded with a shrug.

"That's what I thought...especially since I saw some powdered sugar on one of the counters in the kitchen," Hana remarked. "So maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe you guys were worried about something getting on your hat or your bracelet? So you decided to put them there, then go back for them after bringing the food?"

"But of course, your suggestion to go find Saku after the memory blackout would have hindered that plan," Hiroshi added. "And it wouldn't have helped that, at the time you two were in the kitchen, everyone was still blacked out."

"That does make sense, yeah..." Asuna responded with a nod.

"So...that clears us, too?" Rumi asked hopefully.

"Seems that way...for now," Akira responded with a suspicious edge to her voice.

"And if that clears you two, then that just leaves..." Tadao began...before turning his attention to the last person without an alibi. "You, Sauchi."

Shiori seemed to tense up a bit, responding, "I'm not going to claim to have some excuse for why I left- because thanks to the amnesia, I don't have a clue."

"B-But the log says you came back to the party at the same time as me and Rumi," Asuna pointed out. "D-Doesn't that count for something?"

"As we just talked about, simply returning and leaving at the same times doesn't mean anything," Akira reminded the gardener. "What matters is what happened in between those times. And it seems to me that Sauchi doesn't have the benefit of having left with someone else."

"Oh yeah! She _is_ the only one who left by herself!" Ryoto realized, before accusingly shouting at the surgeon, "THAT'S SUSPICIOUS!"

Appearing to become more tense, Shiori responded, "Come on, you can't just suspect me because I left the party on my own...I don't remember why I would have, but I know one thing- I wouldn't have killed either Shiro or Saku."

"Well Sauchi, until you can come up with an explanation for what you were doing at that time, you're a more likely suspect than the rest of us at the party," Akira coldly responded.

The Ultimate Surgeon narrowed her eyes right back at her, but the look in them tipped off Hana to the fact that even Shiori herself wasn't sure...

 _Well, if it's an alibi for Shiori that they want...I might just know how to give them that._ Hana thought to herself.

"Hey, don't suspect her so fast, guys," Hana began, looking around at the other students.

"Oh what is it _now,_ Amari?" Akira asked in visible irritation.

"H-Hey, calm down, it's just- Shiori _does_ have an alibi," Hana explained, trying to sound firm against the prosecutor's angry gaze.

"I do?" Shiori asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Hana responded with a nod. _"I'm_ Shiori's alibi."

"You are?" Hinata then inquired.

"Uh-huh. I was in my room at the time, and around...6:37, Shiori came to visit me," Hana explained. "She told me, very specifically, that Hiroshi was worried about how I was doing, so she decided to come check on me to make sure I was okay."

"W-Well- it probably _was_ Hiroshi being worried!" Shiori hastily agreed with a nod. "Yeah, that sounds right! By the way Hiroshi, you're welcome...I guess."

The coroner in question furrowed his brow somewhat, as if wondering how he became dragged into this discussion of Shiori's alibi.

"But it's only your word, Amari- how can we be sure you're being honest?" Akira then inquired.

"I...can't prove _that,_ but- I'm just saying what's true. I'm hoping you guys'll take my word for this, if nothing else..." Hana replied candidly.

"It's not such a strange story, really," Hiroshi added. "Shiori's a doctor, Hana's technically her patient- it makes sense that a doctor would feel the need to check up on their patient to ensure their condition hasn't worsened."

"Aww, you do care!" Rumi happily said to Shiori.

"Hey, Hana said it was Hiroshi who was worried! I was just doing my job, it sounds like!" the surgeon insisted.

"Actually, _you_ told me it was Hiroshi who was worried- pretty specific denial that it was you," Hana pointed out with a small chuckle.

"Okay, enough of this- for now, we can accept Amari's testimony regarding Sauchi's alibi," Akira concluded. "But know that this alibi is on thin ice at best- if something comes up to contradict it, I won't hesitate to do so."

 _Sheesh, is Akira just doing her job...or is this a bit of spite towards Shiori?_ Hana wondered with a slight grimace.

"So...that clears up everyone, even if all the alibis aren't perfect," Hiroshi concluded.

"Great! Then that leaves our suspect list looking like..." Ryoto began...before his face fell. "N-No one."

"N-No one...?" Asuna began, visibly concerned.

"No...it looks like there's an explanation for where everyone was when they were out of the party..." Rumi said with a frown. "Not to mention Tadao and Ryoto didn't even leave at all, so...that doesn't really leave anyone..."

"Well, there's always the theory I proposed right at the beginning..." Tadao reminded everyone.

"And like we said at the beginning- Hinata was too concerned about his health to do too much outside of his room, and Hana's injuries would have kept her from killing anyone," Hiroshi then reminded the Ultimate Waiter.

"...W-Well, uh- I found something...while I was investigating..." Asuna softly began like she had before. "I-I think it might help-"

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you guys didn't have this blackout issue," Hinata remarked with a frown, interrupting the gardener once again.

"Like you're one to talk! You had some amnesia of your own yesterday!" Ryoto retorted with a glare.

"S-Seriously, I have something-" Asuna began again, trying to make herself heard again.

"Actually...maybe we _should_ figure that out..." Hana said (not realizing she had cut off her classmate yet again). "Why _did_ everyone at the party get amnesia? Did anyone find that out during the investigation?"

"I've been thinking about it while I worked on Shiro's body..." Shiori began. "And while I know of a lot of different causes for memory blackouts, the reason for so many of us to experience it at once...I can't imagine how that could be pulled off."

"Well, since the memory blackout is the biggest hindrance to us figuring out the sequence of events occurring during the murder..." Akira began after a moment of pondering. "Then uncovering the cause of it might just lead to a break."

 _Still, figuring out the cause of the amnesia might be easier said than done..._ Hana thought to herself worriedly. _I'm in the same boat as Shiori- one or two people having memory loss would be one thing, but_ seven _people? At the same time? How in the world do you pull_ that _off?_

"Shiori...you mentioned different causes of memory loss..." Rumi began. "What would those causes actually be?"

"A lot of things, really," Shiori explained. "Head injuries, some diseases, certain drugs like alcohol..."

"There are alcoholic drinks in the wine room..." Asuna remarked, before gasping and asking, "Oh no! D-Did we all drink something alcoholic by mistake!?"

"The drinks in the wine room and the non-alcoholic drinks in the banquet room are separate- there's no way I would have mistaken them," Tadao responded with a frown.

"Besides, I think we would have tasted the alcohol if it was wine or something," Hinata casually added.

"And we clearly weren't given concussions or anything..." Hiroshi stated. "During the time we forgot, we were evidently all up and about. So whatever was done to us, it had to have kept us conscious."

"What about drugs? The right kind would leave us conscious but amnesic- could someone have been given access to something like that?" Akira inquired, adjusting her glasses.

"Can't imagine how- _I_ don't even have access drugs that could cause blackouts, how could someone else come across those?" Shiori retorted.

The mention of drugs was enough to cause some gears to turn in Hana's head. Quickly deciding to act on her hunch, the Ultimate Surfer yelled out, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Actually...I don't think it's so impossible that drugs were used," Hana explained. "Well...at least, drugs in an more unique sense."

"Unique? What do you mean?" Shiori inquired, appearing to not appreciate being interrupted.

"I mean, it's not a drug in the traditional sense," Hana clarified. "It's...like a drug, or at least I think it is, at the very least it contains- oh who am I kidding, I'm talking about the Despair Drink!"

"The motive...?" Akira began. "Are you suggesting that beverage was what caused our mass amnesia?"

 _Don't let Akira make it sound dumb out loud, it's not like you've got much else to go on anyways..._ Hana firmly told herself before responding, "Well...yeah, I am. I mean, if you really think about it...there's nothing else it could have been, right?"

"Listen, I will concede that the motive surely plays a role in this crime, as Monokuma himself seemed to hint at," the Ultimate Prosecutor remarked. "But suggesting it was the cause of the amnesia...well, it seems a like a stretch to me."

"Well- I looked at the ingredients, wrote down some of them too," Hana went on, pulling out her e-Handbook so she could access the notes she had taken. "The point is that they were...pretty weird in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the ingredients was something that caused memory blackouts."

"...Well, don't keep us in suspense! What did you find?" Tadao demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"I didn't write down everything, just some of the most...out of place ingredients," Hana stated. "Well, there were a bunch of weird dyes, glycerol- you know, something in antifreeze I think, something called 'midazolam', Vitamin D..."

Shiori's brown eyes widened in an instant, and she immediately yelled out, "Hana! Say that again!"

"...Vitamin D...?" Hana began, visibly confused.

"No, the one before that!"

"Oh! Uh- midazolam? ...Am I saying that right...?"

Shiori went quiet as if thinking, then asked, "You...sure it said midazolam? Didn't misread it or anything?"

"I don't think so..."

"Shiori? Do...you know what that is?" Asuna asked.

"'Do I know what it is', would I have asked if I didn't?" Shiori retorted with a frown. "I know what midazolam is, I've worked with it a bit. It's a type of benzodiazephine, and it's _supposed_ to be a form of anesthetic or procedural sedation. It could also be used for treating seizures or insomnia."

"So?" Hinata then asked, sounding disinterested. "Who cares about that medical mumbo-jumbo, just another weird thing Monokuma threw into his drink thing."

"Read a book once in a while, would ya? I wouldn't be talking about this if I didn't think it was important," the Ultimate Surgeon scowled at him. "And it _is_ important. You know why? Because large enough doses of midazolam can have a lot of side effects...including blackouts of memory."

"Whoa, seriously?" Hana yelped in surprise. She had hoped her hunch would be correct, but for it to actually be confirmed in such a way- well, it was slightly jarring.

"No way! So the Despair Drink _did_ cause the amnesia?" Ryoto questioned, his eyes wide.

"Then...someone must have planted the Despair Drink in the banquet room on purpose, right?" Tadao swiftly inquired. "They were probably counting on a lot of us consuming it, and we did..."

"W-Wait, what...?" Rumi began, visibly baffled. "But- mm..."

"I...can actually agree with that idea, yeah," Hana said, a hint of surprise entering her voice- agreeing with Tadao? This really was a tough case... "I can't imagine anyone else but the killer putting the Despair Drink in the banquet room, and I also can't think of any other reason they'd do that other than-"

Suddenly, Hana was interrupted when Rumi exclaimed, _"The waters are clear!"_

The surfer did a visible double take as she turned to her classmate, asking in surprise, "W-What was _that?"_

"Oh! I wanted to try out that catchphrase thing you and some of the others do!" Rumi told her cheerfully.

"Stop saying I have catchphrases!" Hana yelled.

"Oh, but I really do have something to say, though," the Ultimate Scuba Diver quickly added, her face going serious. "Sorry Hana, but I really can't agree with you on this! And I'm gonna tell you why you're wrong!"

 _Another thing- why is it that every time someone brings up a good idea,_ I'm _the one that has to deal with the objections?_ the surfer asked herself with a sigh. _Well, I'd better do what I usually do and listen to what Rumi has to say- I might be able to find a contradiction or something._

"So, obviously the Despair Drink has some kind of role in why we lost our memories- I don't think Shiori's wrong about the midazolam thing, after all," Rumi began. "Still, I can't believe the amnesia was the exact reason the killer planted it. Obviously they meant to do- something to us, but maybe they weren't expecting the memory loss?"

"What? How could that not be what they were planning, 'midazolam' is listed right with the other ingredients!" Hana refuted once the scuba diver had finished.

"But that's the thing- not everyone here's a medical expert like Shiori. In fact, I'm pretty sure almost no one here knew what that drug was before she explained it!" Rumi shot back. "And chances are that includes the killer too. So even if it did cause a memory blackout, how do we know that's what the killer was actually planning? They couldn't have known that detail beforehand, and what are the odds Monokuma told them?"

Realizing the contradiction in her statement, Hana shouted in interruption, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

Rumi seemed to visibly tense up in fright from the exclamation, and she stated in a calmer tone, "Y-You know, if you disagree, you could just say so, no need to get so dramatic about it..."

"Well I guess I get caught up in the moment real easily!" Hana yelled as an explanation- only to realize she didn't need to shout anymore. Speaking in her own level voice, the surfer continued, "Anyways, I think it is possible the killer figured out how the Despair Drink works before the murders happened...because they tested it out on someone beforehand."

"Huh? The killer tested the Despair Drink?" Rumi asked. "How did they do that?"

"Simple- they just gave it to someone as a regular drink, and that person drank it without realizing it was anything suspicious," Hana explained. "And I think I know who they tested it on..."

The surfer then turned her attention to Hinata and spoke, "Hinata, I think _you_ were the one the killer was testing the Drink on."

"Me? Seriously?" Hinata responded, taken aback.

"Actually...you _did_ say you had some memory loss of your own the day before..." Shiori realized. "And thinking about _your_ amnesia...it's pretty damn similar to the amnesia that _we_ got during the party."

"We blacked out after we took a sip of a beverage, just like Yonade claims he did," Tadao added. "Among the other similarities...it's not so strange that the causes of the two cases of memory loss would be the same."

"Hey, wait a second- wasn't the thing that Hinata drank _my_ drink at first?" Ryoto pointed out with a frown. "Until he stole and drank it himself, anyways?"

"Oh yeah...Hinata did say he took your drink for himself, _then_ he got the amnesia..." Hana pondered.

"So- I guess that means the killer was intending on testing the Despair Drink on _Ryoto,_ not Hinata," Hiroshi concluded.

"Is that so...?" the Ultimate Thief murmured, before calling to Ryoto, "You're welcome, by the way!"

"I still ended up with amnesia anyways!" Ryoto shouted at him. "Just a day late! And once instead of twice!"

"Hm...if we have two cases of the Despair Drink at work, then maybe we can figure out more about how it works..." Akira pondered, before commanding Hinata, "Yonade! Tell us the details of what you experienced before and after the period you can't remember!"

"What I experienced...?" the thief muttered in confusion, before shrugging and explaining, "Well, I didn't feel anything weird, if that's what you're thinking. I took Ryoto's drink, chugged it down, everything was fine for a few seconds...then, the next thing I know, I'm _suddenly_ in the main hall with Hiroshi and Rumi, and they're talking about what happened with Hana, but I couldn't remember any of that!"

"I'm not sure if this would help, but Hinata wasn't acting any different from his usual self during the time he can't remember," Hiroshi added. "That's probably why everyone was so skeptical of him at first- externally, we couldn't tell a difference."

"Now that you mention it...when Shiori came to visit me before, she wasn't acting out of the ordinary either," Hana stated after a moment of thought. "And she did that while under the Drink's effects too- at least, I think, since she couldn't remember doing that."

"So then..the Despair Drink doesn't make people act all weird?" Rumi asked. "It literally just gives them memory loss?"

"Hm- Yonade, how long was the period of time in which you were amnesic?" Akira inquired, turning her red gaze towards the thief.

"I dunno- I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on, let alone the time," Hinata replied with a sigh. "I guess, maybe...an hour?"

Akira then turned to the others and asked, "What about during the party? What time did our collective blackout episode occur and end?"

"Uh...I think it started around the start of dinner- like, 5:45, maybe a bit later," Rumi explained.

"That's right- you all were suspicious of me due to my role of handing out the drinks, and Rimutsu insisted on me trying one of them first," Tadao elaborated. "So I did, and at first it seemed fine, so all was fine. Of course, evidence shows my judgement was wrong..."

"As for when it wore off...it was around the time Rumi and Asuna had already brought in the desserts, so it would have been after 6:40," Hiroshi added thoughtfully.

"So then...we lost an hour...?" Asuna guessed.

"That sounds about right- same thing as Hinata, again!" Ryoto exclaimed.

Taking into account everything the others said, Hana spoke, "So...we can at least say Hinata's amnesia and the memory loss you all got were both caused by the Despair Drink, right? With all the similarities and all?"

"I think we can conclude more than just that fact..." Akira muttered, before speaking up. "I think I understand why the Despair Drink was the motive."

"Think about it. A beverage, a beverage that looks like your average drink and could easily be confused for something harmless without that gaudy label," the Ultimate Prosecutor explained. "Think about how easy it would be for someone to trick another student into consuming it, and as a result put them into a state of memory loss- not just a state of amnesia, but a state of amnesia for an _hour._ Imagine what the killer could do during that time, especially if enough people were under the Drink's effect- they could commit the murder right in front of someone, and as long as the witness was under the Drink's influence, they wouldn't even remember!"

Nobody had much of a response to Akira's explanation- probably because the revelation and implications were rather disturbing.

Finally, Hiroshi spoke to Monokuma, "Hey, Monokuma. Is Akira right? Is that why you made this Despair Drink as a motive?"

"Puhuhuhu- no need for the suspense! Edgeworth here got it right on the money!" Monokuma confirmed with a laugh. "Yes, that's the truth behind your latest motive! I gave you all a means to create a setup for a perfect crime! Committing a murder while the possible witnesses are having memory problems- that's a golden opportunity if I've ever seen one! What soon-to-be killer would pass that up?"

 _Seriously...? The Despair Drink was the motive because it would have given someone the perfect opportunity to commit murder?_ Hana asked herself, frowning deeply. _It's not even, like, personal or anything like the last two motives were- it wouldn't even give the killer some kind of personal benefit other than an easier time killing someone! It's just, what's the phrase- 'a means to an end!' That's terrible, who would willingly accept that!?_

The surfer then answered that last question herself- the person who willingly took the opportunity the Despair Drink presented was the killer of Shiro and Saku, obviously.

"Okay...we finally figured out the motive, but there's no way that points to who the killer is, right?" Hinata asked.

"Of course it does! Tadao handled the drinks, both during the party and in general, so HE'S THE KILLER! I KNEW IT!" Ryoto shouted furiously.

"No I'm not! I just said I tested the one beverage during the party- unaware that it was the Despair Drink, might I add- in front of you all, so of course I was under its effects too!" Tadao retorted.

"Likely story! WE'LL SEE HOW THAT HOLDS UP IN A TRIAL!"

"We're _already_ in a trial!"

"Hold on, that's a good point," Akira interrupted them. "How _did_ the killer manage to sneak the Despair Drink into the party, as well causing all of us to consume it?"

"That's the big question, isn't it?" Shiori stated. "Well then, let's see if we can sort _that_ out too, we won't get anywhere otherwise."

 _Well, I can think of a few ways the killer could have done that..._ Hana pondered to herself. _But, I can't just go around shouting guesses, we need something solid._

"Tadao, how could you not realize you were giving us something bad?" Rumi asked accusingly. "You were the one in charge of that!"

"Like Rimutsu said- without that obviously suspicious label, I wouldn't have known it was anything suspicious!" Tadao insisted. "The bottle and the liquid inside didn't look any more suspicious than the rest of the drinks in the banquet room, I wouldn't have known what it really was!"

"That's...probably why the killer removed the label," Asuna pointed out.

"More importantly- it's clear the killer planted the Despair Drink amongst the party supplies in the hopes that Shimaru would grab it," Akira stated. "So the question is, when did the killer plant the Drink?"

"Before the party, clearly- but most likely during a time when no one was near or in the banquet room so they wouldn't be seen," Hiroshi explained.

"Well, there were tons of times when no one was around the banquet room," Rumi responded. "But I don't see how that would narrow down a suspect, since anyone could have gone in there while no one was near the room."

"You're right, it doesn't leave much room for speculation," Akira conceded with a frown. "Unless someone saw something, there isn't much to go off of."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted to interrupt the prosecutor- she was hoping to come up with something concrete during the debate, and Akira's comment gave her an idea. "Someone did see something!"

Akira raised an eyebrow and turned to the Ultimate Surfer, questioning, "Is that so?"

"Yeah- it was Tadao and Rumi, they saw something," Hana explained, glancing at the two students in question. "Isn't that right, you two?"

"Ah, yes, now that you mention it- Hamasaki and I _were_ on our way into the banquet room prior to the party's start to continue some preparations," Tadao confirmed with a nod.

"Uh-huh! I was there too, so I can corroborate that," Rumi added with a nod of certainty.

"Well, what did you two see?" Akira inquired, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Simple- we saw Yamamoto in the back of the room with the drinks," Tadao explained casually. "He wouldn't elaborate why he was there- in fact, he seemed rather...dodgy, when we were asking him what he was doing."

"Not only that, but he also left with one of the other drinks- and I think he was hoping he didn't see it," Rumi stated with a frown.

Akira's narrowed glare soon shifted into one of interest, an eyebrow raised in curiosity as she leaned in. "Is that so...?"

"Well, I did see one of the banquet room drinks in the sunroom," Hiroshi spoke up. "So, I suppose that gives their testimony further credibility."

"Really...?" the prosecutor murmured, then asked, "And you two say it was Yamamoto who was tampering with the drinks, right? And he was about done with...whatever business he had in there when you two arrived, right?"

"I suppose," Tadao responded with a shrug. "He seemed like he was in a hurry to leave, and I suppose he was just about done like you said. Although what he was doing aside from taking the one bottle of juice, neither me nor Hamasaki could tell you."

"Is that the story they told you, Amari?" Akira then asked, turning her attention to the surfer.

"Uh- yeah," Hana responded. _Weird...why is Akira so interested in Tadao and Rumi's testimony? I know we're trying to figure out how the Despair Drink ended up at the party, but I don't see how knowing that Saku was doing stuff with the drinks in the banquet room would-_

That's when cold, hard realization struck. _Oh...Oh no, I think I know where she's going with this..._

A smile appeared on Akira's face- but it was a cold, triumphant smile rather than a joyful one.

"...Very interesting," Akira responded, then regained her tall posture as she spoke, "Well- I suppose I should thank you, Amari, for bringing this information to my attention. And you too, Shimaru and Hamasaki, for your cooperation."

Despite Akira's tone, Hana felt anything but satisfied in what they had uncovered and was simply waiting for the prosecutor to finish her train of thought...

"I've been waiting for an opportunity to finally begin to lay out my own theory as to who I believe the blackened was- of course, we had to sort out the motive first and foremost, but once that was done I knew it wouldn't be the smartest move to simply blurt out my idea out of the blue," Akira explained, adjusting her glasses as she did. "So, I figured I would wait and see if someone brought up evidence I had yet to hear that would also further support my theory. And my patience was rewarded surprisingly quickly- so, once again, thank you for being your usual overdramatic self, Amari."

Hana clenched her teeth as Akira explained, thinking to herself, _I know, I know, you expected me to not think about what bringing up what Tadao and Rumi saw would imply, and I_ didn't _think that through- please just get on with it!_

"Hey, you gonna keep being all dramatic too, or are you going to tell us who you think the blackened is?" Shiori asked in her usual sarcastic tone.

"Of course. I believe the blackened of this case..." Akira began. "Was none other than one of the two victims: Saku Yamamoto!"

At last, the accusation came out, yet Hana still found herself tensing up as she heard it.

"Saku? But he's dead too!" Ryoto yelled in astonishment. "And even Ryoto Miura knows that zombies aren't real! ...Wait, unless- HAVE I BEEN WRONG ALL ALONG!?"

"No! Not the undead, you imbecile!" Akira shouted at him in response.

"Akira...are you suggesting..." Hiroshi began, a frown making its way onto his features. "Are you suggesting Saku committed a murder-suicide?"

"Precisely, Ashi," Akira confirmed with a confident smirk.

"B-But...how does what Rumi and Tadao saw prove that?" Asuna asked, also appearing rather disturbed by the accusation.

"Simple- Yamamoto was seen near the drinks, moving them around and generally tampering with them," the Ultimate Prosecutor explained. "We established that the Despair Drink had its label removed, and as a result it looked like any other bottle of juice or water on the shelf. Combine that with Yamamoto's suspicious behavior while speaking with Hamasaki and Shimaru, and anyone with a functioning brain cell would be able to conclude that Yamamoto's true intent was to swap out one of the beverages with the Despair Drink, with the expectation that Shimaru would serve that by mistake."

"What...!? That lout! And I fell right into that trap!" Tadao furiously snarled.

"Hey, hold on, let's slow down for a second!" Rumi quickly spoke up. "Okay, maybe his behavior was a little...off, but this is Saku we're talking about! He may have looked like he could crush our skulls with his bare hands, but he would never have hurt a fly, let alone murder another classmate!"

"Oh really? Well we all thought Kunata was the epitome of level-headed and rationality, but think about what _he_ did," Tadao pointed out coldly. "Honestly, enough of believing some of us are simply incapable of committing murder because of who they are- I keep telling you all no one here is above the temptation to kill, myself included."

"Yeah, we know _you're_ not," Shiori responded to him dryly. "Seriously though, if all you have to accuse someone who's not even alive to defend themselves is secondhand testimony, then-"

"Don't underestimate me, Sauchi, of course I have more evidence," Akira responded with a small glare. "In fact, since a good portion of you seem so keen on denying facts- perhaps I should reveal what I believe is the most damning piece of evidence of all."

"What...?" Shiori began, furrowing her brow.

Akira reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper- an all-too familiar piece of paper. "This paper here, which was brought to my attention by Yonade, should serve as a concrete piece of evidence towards Yamamoto's involvement in this crime. After all- it's a note in which the writer explicitly told the recipient, Koichi, that they would kill him."

A rock hard lump of apprehension formed in Hana's chest as Akira described the note- not that she needed to, as Hana knew exactly what she was referring to. The inevitable had finally come to pass, it would seem.

"What? You're not saying Saku wrote that note, are you!?" Ryoto asked, his eyes widening.

"Was it signed by him?" Hiroshi inquired skeptically.

"Not exactly, but it was found in Koichi's room, not to mention it was specifically addressed to him," Akira replied.

Hinata kept silent- honestly, it was hard to read his expression. As much as she wished he would have listened to her about the note, Hana couldn't blame him for wanting to try and stay on Akira's good side, not to mention he was just trying to help uncover the killer like everyone else.

"Besides, I do have evidence that suggests Yamamoto was the one who wrote the note," the Ultimate Prosecutor went on. "Starting with-"

"You don't need to do that, Akira," Hana spoke up, interrupting her.

Akira's triumphant look faltered as she turned to the surfer, asking, "Come again?"

 _Well, I knew this was coming- so, better face the music._ Hana told herself, resolute. _Sorry about this, Saku- I know you wanted me to keep it a secret, but I don't think I can afford to do that now._

"You're right- Saku did write that note to Shiro," Hana confirmed with a nod, trying to keep her voice steady.

"What? How do _you_ know this?" the prosecutor asked, sounding rather surprised by this turn of events.

"..." Hana took a deep breath, tried to calm herself, then confessed, "He told me. Saku told me about the note."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hiroshi and Shiori appear visibly surprised- perhaps they realized what Hana had been talking about prior to the start of the trial.

"W-What?" Rumi exclaimed. "This note that Akira's talking about, you knew about it?"

"And you didn't think to tell anyone!?" Tadao furiously added.

Hana lowered her head slightly, letting out a soft sigh before continuing, "Look, this morning...I ran into Saku, and he had the note with him. I saw it, and...at first, I thought it was legit, I really thought Saku was planning to murder Shiro. But he explained to me that, well- the only reason he wrote the note like that was because he needed to make sure Shiro would be willing to leave his room and go to the sunroom. And since Shiro refused to talk to anyone unless they planned to kill him..."

Akira narrowed her eyes, her crimson gaze almost burning into the Ultimate Surfer's soul. "Yamamoto told you this, right?"

Hana nodded. "Yeah."

"And you _believed_ him?" Akira exclaimed, also furious. "The person who wrote the note that states that they plan to kill the recipient- you believed him when he told you he _wasn't_ planning on killing Koichi!?"

"O-Of course I believed him! It's Saku, why would I not!?" Hana responded, raising her own voice.

"But if he wasn't gonna kill Shiro, then what _was_ he actually planning?" Ryoto then asked.

"Simple- he was gonna do some semi-therapy stuff with Shiro in the sunroom," Hana explained. "That's why he didn't go to the party. He was going to be in the sunroom trying to help Shiro come out of the depressed state he was in. That's also why he wanted me to keep it a secret

"I ask again- this explanation came from Yamamoto himself?" Akira asked once more, still appearing rather enraged.

"Yeah, it did- and yes, I believed him," Hana replied, clenching her fists in defiance of whatever the prosecutor would say next.

"Amari, I always knew you were an idiot, but somehow you continue to surpass my expectations of just how high your stupidity is," Akira told her, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Did it once, _once_ occur to you that maybe Yamamoto was lying? Of course he would say something like that, it was probably an attempt to mislead you while he went through with his murder plot!"

"But what if he was telling the truth!? I trusted Saku, and I still do!" Hana angrily responded. "Maybe I should have told someone about the note as soon we found the bodies, but...that doesn't matter now! Saku was no killer, he was one of the nicest students here, and you'll never prove his 'guilt' with just that note!"

"..." Akira's gaze sharpened as she gave Hana her signature death glare...but then, the prosecutor's facial countenance shifted as she responded, "Who said this note was my only piece of evidence?"

Hana's eyes widened. "What?"

"Word of advice, Amari- when you investigate with a suspect in mind, things start to fit together much more smoothly, and you don't have to run around like a decapitated chicken," Akira told her, regaining that confident smirk from before.

"Um...isn't that what you did last time...? Against me...?" Asuna pointed out. "A-And I was, you know- innocent?"

"Maybe so..." Akira responded in a low growl towards the short gardener. "But this time, the evidence doesn't lie."

 _And here I thought the note would be the worst of it...has Akira actually been suspecting Saku this whole time...?_ Hana asked herself, feeling more anxious by the second. _What in the world could she have against him aside from all that?_

"Akira...when you talked about investigating with a suspect in mind, does that mean you've suspected Saku from the beginning?" Hiroshi asked the prosecutor with a frown.

"I suspected everyone in the beginning. It's just the more I thought about the case, specifically the details that didn't seem to add up...well, suddenly the idea that one of the two had committed a murder-suicide didn't seem so far-fetched," Akira explained. "And the facts- well, I'll let it speak for itself, and by the time I'm done I doubt there will be much room for disagreement."

 _She's really gonna push for this murder-suicide theory, isn't she?_ Hana then thought with a frown. _But I'm still wondering just what she has to prove Saku's the blackened...I can't really refute anything until I know that..._

"First piece of evidence- Koichi's manner of death," Akira began. "As well as the weapon that was used to kill him."

"His cause of death- it was just like the Monokuma File said, bludgeoned with single blow to the head," Shiori explained with a shrug.

"Right, and what do you believe the murder weapon was?" Akira then asked, crossing her arms.

"...Okay, this may sound weird by itself, but since I'm being put on the spot- judging by the shape and depth of the wound..." the surgeon began reluctantly. "You know that broken crate in the wine room? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was used to kill him."

"Huh? The _crate_ was the murder weapon?" Hinata asked in shock. "How the hell do you kill someone with a crate?"

"Well, I have heard cases of boxes falling on people by accident in workplaces," Tadao claimed.

"Yeah, something tells me this is a little different," Shiori deadpanned.

"There's something else that bothers me about that, though...the crates up in the watchtower are super heavy, so how would anyone be able to use one that as a weapon?" Rumi then asked.

"Oh please, think outside the box for a moment, and you'll see what I'm driving at," Akira concluded, crossing her arms.

 _If we're talking about how Shiro was killed, then...yeah, there really is something wrong with that line of thinking._ Hana told herself. _I don't have the exact evidence, but if I think about what someone else said..._

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana then shouted as soon as she had her thoughts together. "Shiori brought up how the crate was the murder weapon, but- that can't be right! Because of what Rumi said- those crates from the watchtower are heavy, so it'd be nearly impossible for one person to be able to lift one, let alone use it to commit murder!"

Akira let out a small chuckle, then responded, "Oh, how refreshing it is to see you be the one in the wrong, Amari. You see, I'm not talking about _anyone_ lifting up that crate- I'm talking about _Yamamoto_ being able to lift one of those hefty crates."

"Saku...?" Hana began. "W-Well, he was, uh..."

"He was strong, strongest of everyone here. Though he was a kickboxer, meaning his strength mostly lied in his legs, I think we can all agree his physical fitness was rather even throughout his body," Akira explained. "In other words- for a person as fit and burly as Yamamoto, lifting up one of those crates and striking someone in the head with it wouldn't have been much of a challenge."

The prosecutor then pointed dramatically and added, "If anything, Yamamoto was the _only_ one who could have used the crate as a murder weapon without assistance!"

"But who the hell would use a random to kill someone! That's weird as fuck!" Ryoto shouted in opposition.

"I don't claim to know that- perhaps Yamamoto wanted to be certain that Koichi would be killed as quickly as possible?" Akira guessed. "Whatever his reasoning was, you can't deny what I've already talked about."

 _Well...I didn't think of that- if the crate_ was _the murder weapon, the only person who could have really pulled that off would be Saku..._ Hana reluctantly conceded.

"My second point would have to be the testimony given by Shimaru, backed up by Hamasaki- that is, Yamamoto being seen moving the various bottles around," Akira continued, adjusting her glasses. "But we've already talked at length about that topic, so I'll just reiterate that we can now assume that was when Yamamoto was planting the Despair Drink amongst the other beverages, which would explain his nervous behavior when Shimaru and Hamasaki entered."

"Thirdly, there's the matter of how Yamamoto himself died," the Ultimate Prosecutor then began. "Ashi, you handled his autopsy, didn't you?"

"I did," Hiroshi replied. "Although, sorry to say, I couldn't solidify just what his cause of death was. I have ideas, but-"

"No need- I think we can say for a fact that the slash wound to his stomach was what killed him," Akira replied, waving off the coroner.

"W-Well, that- _could_ be a possibility," Hiroshi replied sheepishly. "But I think-"

"Ashi- the knife found at the scene matched the wound, right?" Akira inquired impatiently.

"It did, the size and depth were consistent, so the knife definitely caused the slash wound," the coroner confirmed.

"And the knife was found near Yamamoto's body, right? Near his hand, as if it had been dropped there by him when he died?"

"Also true."

"So how much doubt could there be?"

"Well, it's just-"

"Ashi, use your head, you know as well as I do that the cause of death is self-evident."

"Hey, quit interrupting him! He knows more about death stuff than you do!" Hana angrily shouted at Akira.

"But have I contradicted anything he said?" the prosecutor then asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"..." Hana glanced at Hiroshi for an answer, but the Ultimate Coroner simply shrugged as if to say 'She has a point'.

"W-Why does _Saku's_ cause of death even matter...?" Asuna asked with a frown. "S-Sure, you're saying he committed suicide, but- why does it matter how he did it?"

"The manner in which he took his own life only further confirms the fact that it was a suicide, Izumi," Akira explained matter-of-factly. "To further explain this- if we assume Yamamoto's cause of death was the stomach wound, and if it was a suicide- it means the wound was self-inflicted, correct?"

"That's literally what suicide means," Hinata remarked.

"Well, a self-inflicted wound to the stomach with a blade...where have we seen that before?" the prosecutor then inquired with a tiny smirk.

 _A self-inflicted gut wound...? I remember that...I've seen that before, someone else did that to themselves..._ Hana pondered, before that terrible memory resurfaced in her mind. "Are you...are you talking about what Itachi did?"

"Itachi? Why are we bringing him up, he's dead!" Rumi asked in shock.

"He didn't just die, and he wasn't just executed either..." Hiroshi recalled, a muscle working in his jaw indicating he was clenching his teeth. "He killed himself. And he did it in a seppuku fashion- slitting his own stomach. Remember? We talked about it and everything..."

* * *

 _I-I cannot believe this...! He...He actually performed a seppuku...!?" Saku asked himself, just as shocked._

 _"W-What? What does that mean?" Rumi asked, appearing just as nauseated._

 _"I...learned about it in school," Hiroshi explained, sounding like he was struggling to keep his own composure. "It...was an ancient form of suicide, used by samurais as a form of atonement."_

* * *

"So...you're saying Yamamoto did the same thing?" Tadao inquired of Akira. "He too did this...seppuku thing?"

Akira began, "Well, think about like this..."

"Yamamoto lured Koichi out of his bedroom using this note, knowing that Koichi had readily offered himself as a murder victim the night before and would therefore answer the note without hesitation. Prior to their actual meeting, Yamamoto placed the Despair Drink in with the rest of the beverages in the banquet room so Shimaru would unknowingly serve it during the party, rendering the attendees amnesic for an hour. Perhaps he was even the one who tested the Drink beforehand on Miura, though Yonade ended up drinking it and being affected in his place."

"Then, Koichi arrived at the sunroom, and from there they moved to the wine room- for what reason, I can't say- where the murder would occur. I believe Yamamoto may have prepared the watchtower crate in advance- the crate that he then picked up and smashed into Koichi's head, killing him instantly. At that point, perhaps Yamamoto's conscience got the better of him- I will say he was moral, not to mention his religious beliefs would have also played a factor in his probable guilt. That's why I believe he took that kitchen knife, which he may have taken at some point beforehand as well- maybe in case he needed a second weapon aside from the crate?- and, once back in the sunroom...he sliced his own stomach in a seppuku, hoping to atone for the murder that he had committed."

"That is how I believe this murder happened, a concise version anyways," Akira concluded, adjusting her glasses. "And I conclude by once again saying: Saku Yamamoto was the blackened who murdered Shiro Koichi, then took his own life!"

"..." The courtroom was silent for a few moments, as if everyone was trying to think about what Akira had just explained.

Unsurprisingly, it was Hana who broke the silence by asking, "Did...Did you just copy that case summary thing I usually do?"

"Maybe I did," Akira responded with a challenging look, then continued, "I don't suppose anyone has any objections to what I proposed, do they?"

"Me! Me, I object!" Hana shouted.

"Well of course _you_ do..." Tadao muttered with a sigh.

"I mean, like- there are still so many things that don't add up!" Hana insisted.

"What, pray tell, doesn't add up?" Akira asked coldly. "Go on, I'll wait."

"Well, it's..." Hana began, attempting to come up with a good piece of evidence that would poke a hole in the prosecutor's theory...but at that present time, she couldn't think of anything.

"I mean...if the blackened's already dead, what do we do then?" Hinata asked. "Do we still have to vote for them?"

"Of _course_ you have to vote for them! The whole point of the class trial is to uncover the blackened among the spotless!" Monokuma explained. "I mean the only difference is that we wouldn't have an execution- because let's face it, executing a corpse just isn't as fun, you know what I mean?"

"No one ever knows what you mean," Shiori deadpanned, glaring at him.

 _I mean...Akira's theory does seem logical...it ties up a lot of confusing parts of this mystery, especially the question of why there were two victims..._ Hana thought to herself. _And...maybe Saku_ was _lying about his true intentions...? Like, of course he would tell me that he wasn't actually gonna kill Shiro, he probably would have said anything to get me off his back..._

 _What are you saying? This is Saku Yamamoto, the guy who could crush you with his thighs if he wanted to, and yet he never did anything to harm his friends! You know he was being genuine when he was telling you about the note, you know his intentions are pure, and you_ know _he's_ not _the murdering type!_

Hana furrowed her brow somewhat, trying to figure where _that_ train of thought came from. However, even as she tried to dismiss it...she couldn't. It was a feeling similar to when she had chosen to believe in Asuna's innocence during the last trial, but somehow this time it felt even...stronger? Like she was more certain now than she was back then- but why? Choosing to believe in Saku would be one thing, but why did she feel so strong about it?

Whatever the reason, Hana came to one realization: if this was what her instincts were calling for, then it would be best for her to follow them- even if it went against what the rest of the class chose to believe.

"Sorry Akira- it's a good theory, but I can't agree with it," Hana told the prosecutor firmly. "Saku can't be here to defend himself, but I'll do it for him! And in saying that, I can't let you or anyone else here vote for him!"

"Oh give it a rest, Amari..." Tadao told her. "Rimutsu knows what she's talking about, and her theory is sound enough for me."

"...I-I agree with Hana..." Asuna softly added, shifting in her spot somewhat.

"Nobody cares, Izumi," was the Ultimate Waiter's response.

"Well, Amari, if you're so keen on disproving my conclusion, care to present some evidence of your own?" Akira challenged as she stared down the surfer.

"Th-That is, I..." Hana stammered in response, half-expecting Akira to launch into another one-on-one debate with her like last time.

"In fact, if anyone has evidence to prove me wrong, then I insist, the floor is yours," the prosecutor spoke up, looking around at the rest of the class.

Asuna's eyes widened immediately, and she began to respond, "A-Actually, I might..."

"I still say it was Tadao!" Ryoto shouted accusingly, unknowingly cutting off the gardener. "I'd sooner believe he'd kill two people than believe Saku would kill someone and then off himself!"

"As if I need to respond to your asinine accusations at this point," Tadao asked in a condescending tone.

"H-Hey, guys, I have..." Asuna began again, clearly attempting to make herself heard once again.

"You know, there are certainly more ways to look at evidence," Hiroshi told Akira, his trademark calm smile returning to his face. "Are you sure that yours is the one that'll lead to the truth, Akira?"

"Of course I am, I wouldn't have summarized the case if I wasn't," the prosecutor told him.

"I'm just saying, you know- the dead still hold many mysteries- if those mysteries stay buried, it could spell doom for the rest of us," Hiroshi admonished her.

"Yeah! Like I said, there are still things that I don't think add up, and that makes me thing Saku's innocent!" Hana yelled. "That, and the fact that he was a great guy!"

"Guys...I-I have...something to-"

"Would you be quiet already, Amari?" Akira growled at the surfer. "Face it, you've lost, I've uncovered the truth of this case, and all we have to do is vote for the blackened!"

"But he's not the blackened!" Hana shouted. "This is a mistake, I'm sure of it!"

"Yamamoto literally wrote a note telling Koichi that he would kill him! You yourself even confirmed that he was the one who wrote it!" Akira yelled.

"He was trying to _help_ Shiro, not kill him-!" Hana yelled right back, her anger only growing by the second- it would probably lead to a massive headache on the count of her concussion, but the surfer didn't care at that moment.

 _"I HAVE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!"_

That single outburst was all it took to silence everyone in the trial room. Slowly, everyone turned their attention to the source of the outburst- and an unlikely source it was.

"..." Asuna, who had initially appeared rather furious...now seemed to realize that all eyes were on her, and as a result she shrunk back slightly and tilted the fedora down as if to try and hide her face.

"A-Asuna? Was- that _you?"_ Hana asked, utterly dumbfounded.

"Uh...y-yes...?" the gardener began, before shaking her head somewhat and standing up a bit more, still gripping her hat as she spoke, "Y-Yeah, yeah! That _was_ me!"

"Oh god! She's relapsing!" Rumi cried in fear and worry.

"N-No! I'm not relapsing!" Asuna quickly assured her, putting up her hands innocently. "I-I've been trying to tell you guys all trial that I-I have something! I have evidence!"

Akira did a visible double take before asking, "Wait, _what?"_

"You do? Since when?" Shiori questioned, as astonished as the rest of her classmates.

"Since a little bit before the trial started...?" Asuna responded with a frown.

"Really? Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Hana asked, relief evident in her voice.

"I _tried!_ A-A bunch of times!" Asuna indignantly responded. "But _you_ were busy, a-and everyone else just kept cutting me off!"

"...Oh," Hana replied with a sheepish chuckle. _Now that she mentions it...didn't she try to talk to me about something before the trial started...? That's...my bad, I guess._

Akira, however, seemed to regain her composure and responded, "I don't see how this matters any, Izumi- what difference could one thing make against my theory?"

"I...disagree!" Asuna retorted, still trying to sound resolute. "I have a feeling this could make a big difference! O-Otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up!"

"Whoa, look who's growing a spine," Hinata remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Akira- you want to find the truth of the case as much as we do, right?" Hiroshi asked the prosecutor with a leveled stare and his usual smile. "So why not listen to what Asuna has to say? If it confirms your theory, great; if it doesn't, then it might just help us reach the real truth."

"Oh this is ridiculous- it's obvious Yamamoto is the killer, why are we considering this?" Tadao growled, turning to Akira. "Rimutsu, you're not honestly considering this, are you?"

"..." Akira's gaze was calm and thoughtful, as if she was pondering what this piece of evidence could mean...before she replied, "Okay, Izumi. Let's see this evidence you found."

 _Oh thank god for Hiroshi and Asuna,_ Hana thought to herself, letting out a small sigh of relief at Akira'a agreement.

Asuna blinked in surprise, before immediately responding with, "O-Okay, uh, where- okay. It's, uh...it's this."

At that moment, the Ultimate Gardener held up something- rectangular, a blue and white cover with a pen sticking out of one of the pages...a composition notebook?

"AHA! A NOTEBOOK!" Ryoto declared upon seeing it.

"Gee, thanks for summarizing what we can all see," Shiori responded flatly.

"...That's it? That's your decisive evidence?" Tadao asked, dumbfounded before scoffing, "I knew this was a waste of time..."

Hiroshi stared at the notebook for a moment, before his eyes widened in realization. "No- that's not _a_ notebook, that's...that's _Shiro's_ notebook!"

"It is!?" Hana yelped, immediately trying to get a better look at the notebook Asuna was holding. "Oh! It is!"

"Where did you find Koichi's notebook?" Akira asked, seeming surprised once again.

"Uh- I found in in the wine room," Asuna explained. "You know, w-where Shiro's body was?"

"But...I was in there for practically the whole investigation, and I never saw his notebook in there," Shiori pointed out with a shake of her head.

"W-Well, it was kinda...hidden?" the gardener explained. "See, I was looking around, a-and- you know those big barrels in the wine room? And those shelves that hold them up? Well, I-I wondered if something maybe fell underneath those shelves, so I looked and- I saw his notebook and his pen, pretty far back underneath actually."

"But the space underneath the shelves is little- none of us would be able to crawl underneath to retrieve the notebook," Tadao replied.

"Ah, but this is Asuna is we're talking about- she's so small she could fit into a mouse hole if she wanted!" Hinata quipped with a grin.

"Absolutely unlikely!" Asuna indignantly responded...before adding, "B-But you do actually have a point, I-I do think the only reason I was able to crawl underneath that opening and grab the notebook and pen was because I'm smaller than everyone else."

"But still- it's just Shiro's notebook, right?" Rumi spoke up. "Why's that important?"

"Y-You see, when I got out from under the shelf and looked at it...I saw it was opened to a page," Asuna explained. "I...I think Shiro wrote a dying message."

"A dying message!?" Ryoto cried. "Well what are we waiting for!? We gotta read it before it dies!"

"...N-No, Ryoto, a dying message means a victim of a crime wrote it just before they died," Hiroshi explained to the racecar driver before anyone could respond in a more exasperated manner.

"And if Shiro wrote one, then..." Hana began, trying to think. "Does that mean it could lead us to the killer!?"

"M-Maybe...? I-It looked like he was killed before he finished writing it, but..." Asuna began, before shaking her head. "H-Here, just...see for yourselves."

The Ultimate opened the notebook to the page that was marked with the pen, then turned it so the rest of her classmates could read it.

The page in question had some somewhat dry blood spatter on it, and there was a skewed pen line next to the completed word on the page- both indicating that Shiro likely was struck and killed as he was writing. Despite this, the page was still legible, and there was one complete word on the paper- the last thing the Ultimate Poet had ever written. Could this be the piece of evidence to prove Saku's innocence? Hana certainly hoped so- otherwise...well, she didn't even know.

As such, she and the rest of her classmates stared at the page intently, reading over the dying message Shiro had left behind, a single word written in a rather rushed print:

 _'Aquamarine'_

* * *

 **A/N: Well I dunno about you guys, but I feel like this is as good as a place to stop, wouldn't you agree? Cliffhangers, aren't they the best? But hey, now you guys have all sorts of things to theorize about! And man you guys are good at that- that's the joy of writing a mystery I suppose, seeing people trying to fit the pieces together. Warms my heart, really.**

 **At any rate- spring break for me! Not sure if that'll give me the chance to get the next part of the trial out quicker- I mean I'm hoping it does, I don't go back until April 3rd, but then again I was given some schoolwork to do over break and...at the very least, the progress on the next part will be significant, so who knows? In the meantime, leave a review, and make some predictions if you'd like! Is Saku truly the killer? If not him, then who is the true blackened? And what is the meaning of Shiro's dying message, 'Aquamarine'? All this and more will be answered, next time on Dragon Ba- wait wrong anime. In the next part of Fractured Fates!**


	28. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 9)

**A/N: IIIIIIIT'S TIME AGAIN! The wait is over, and it's time again for the continuation of the third class trial! Who's ready for more debate action!?**

 **So, what did we learn last time? Well: Hana made mistakes, Saku is the prime suspect, Akira is probably still salty about what happened during Chapter 2's trial, Asuna has had enough, and Shiro may have left behind a clue to the killer's identity! How will it affect the outcome of the trial? And who could the blackened really be? Well don't look at me, read to find out!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ I smell sorrow from this one...and I am a demon who feeds on the sadness of those reading this fic, so I'm glad to know I'm doing something right in my storytelling. Now, whether you're correct or not...that's a whole different situation, one that can only be resolved by you reading this next part!**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Yeah, well, I didn't have as much trouble writing it as I thought I would. Now, this part, on the other hand...I did kinda have some issues sorting things out, so if this one is later than the previous one...that's why. Anyways, neat change of theories with the new revelations in the last part, still pretty interesting to see someone's train of thought...but, uh- I myself don't see how Rumi's behavior was 'unsettling', I certainly didn't intend to write her like that, so that may be my bad. Other than that, I like these predictions- but will they survive this latest part of the trial? Let's find out!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well, that was the idea as you'll soon see- can't make these big clues _too_ obvious now! And yes, there are still quite a few questions to be answered, but I'm glad you're liking it so far!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Class Trial (Part 2)**

 _'Aquamarine'_

That was the sole word scrawled on the blood-splattered page, and it was the last thing ever written by the notebook's owner, Shiro. Maybe the last thing he wrote as his killer struck the fatal blow- and Hana knew it was probably the biggest clue they had to uncovering the mystery of who the blackened was. In fact, she was sure most of the other students had the same feeling about the Ultimate Poet's dying message...

But that didn't mean it was easy to make sense of.

"...That's...That's it?" Hinata spoke up. "It's just...that? Just 'aquamarine', _that's all_ he wrote?"

"Y-Yeah...? I checked the other pages, but- this was it, e-everything else was either blank or had other poems that he had written in the past," Asuna explained as she continued to hold up the notebook for the others to see.

"To be fair, Shiro probably _intended_ to write more," Hiroshi guessed. "But he was killed before he could; that's probably where that stray pen line came from, he was probably bludgeoned to death as he was writing."

"It doesn't matter what he intended to do, what matters is what he managed to jot on the page," Tadao responded. "And what he put down...is cryptic at best."

"What I wanna know is why the killer left the message alone at all," Hinata then said, furrowing his brow. "If I was the killer- which, heh, I'm not- I'd try and get rid of any death messages that could point to me."

"Well...if Shiro was hit while he was writing..." Hana began. "And thinking about how his body looked when we found it...maybe the impact of being hit and killed instantly caused him to like- fly to the side as he died? And because of that, the notebook and the pen flew out his hand and slid underneath the shelf?"

"That's possible- people can be knocked down or back when struck hard enough with something, like a punch," Hiroshi added with a nod. "And the idea of the notebook being thrown under the shelf by mistake would explain why the killer couldn't do anything about it, since we talked about how Asuna is the only one of us who could reach under there far enough to retrieve it."

"But what about _before_ he was killed?" Rumi then asked. "Wouldn't the killer have seen him writing? Why didn't they get the notebook from his first, _then_ kill him?"

"Wow- dark, Rumi," Shiori quipped as the scuba diver spoke.

"I-I'm sorry! I don't _like_ talking about this sorta thing, but what choice do we have?" Rumi responded indignantly.

"Hamasaki brings up a valid point, though," Akira pointed out. "It _is_ strange that the killer murdered Koichi before taking the notebook, thereby allowing it to become lost under the shelf in the first place."

 _Well...if we're trying to figure out why the killer let the dying message go, I think I have an idea of why that was..._ Hana thought to herself.

Gathering her thoughts, the surfer spoke up, "What if...the killer _could_ _n't_ see Shiro writing in his notebook?"

"How? The wine room's only so big, the killer would have to be blind to not see the one other guy in there writing in a notebook," Hinata stated.

"No, that's the thing- see, the wine room has this...thing, where the lights won't always turn on if you flip the switch," Hana explained. "And the wine room is _incredibly_ dark without that light, even if you have the door open."

"That's true...in fact, the light was off when Hinata and I first found Shiro's body," Rumi confirmed. "It did take a few tries to get it to turn on, yeah..."

"If that's the case...then when the killer murdered Shiro, they probably had to do it in the dark due to the lighting issues," Hiroshi summarized. "With this in mind...it's possible that the killer simply didn't realize their victim had been writing something when he was killed, let alone that it had been flung under the shelf due to the impact of being bludgeoned."

"Huh...so this would be the first time the killer's seeing this dying message," Shiori remarked, raising an eyebrow.

 _Yeah...I wonder what they're thinking right now?_ Hana asked herself curiously. _Are they...panicking? Scared? I don't see anyone who looks worried about the message- but then again, the killer's probably just hiding it to look less suspicious. I know if I were the killer, I'd be freaked out..._

"Okay...so there's validity to the fact that this in fact a dying message from Koichi, no tampering from the blackened," Akira stated.

"In my opinion though, we're not really asking the right questions regarding the message," Hiroshi spoke up. "What we should be asking is...does it implicate Saku in any way?"

When the coroner said that, Hana thought she saw the faintest glance in her direction from him- was he subtly directing the question at her? It wouldn't be too surprising- after all, she was the one vehemently defending Saku from the murder accusations, and Hiroshi hadn't exactly been disagreeing with her.

"...I don't think it does," Hana answered after a moment of thought. "And I'm not just saying that, I really don't see how 'aquamarine' fits with Saku in any way."

"Yeah- 'aquamarine', it's...like, water-related! I think!" Ryoto observed, before shouting, "THAT MEANS THE KILLER IS RUMI, NOT SAKU!"

"Hey, wanna say that again, jackass?" Hinata snarled at the racecar driver.

"W-Why are _you_ getting mad?" Ryoto asked, sounding somewhat frightened by the Ultimate Thief's response.

"What kind of reasoning is that!? I'm not the killer at all!" Rumi responded, sounding just as angered by the accusation. "...Besides, isn't aquamarine just a color?"

"Y-Yeah- to be more specific, aquamarine is in the blue-green spectrum of the color wheel, it's a green with a bluish or light-bluish tint," Asuna explained, putting down the notebook. "It's also referred to as sea-green or cyan, if it's darker or lighter respectively."

"...How do you know so much about colors...?" Hana asked the gardener, momentarily silent with surprise.

"When, uh- when you work with making gardens that are both friendly to the plants and that generally look pleasing, you, uh, start to learn a thing or two about color theory," Asuna answered with a sheepish chuckle.

"..." Hana then turned to the other students and gestured to Asuna, remarking, "Well there you go, guys."

"So Shiro was probably talking about the color, not the stone," Shiori concluded. "Did Saku have any, like, blue-green stuff on him that would be recognizable?"

"His shorts were, I'm fairly certain, Yamamoto's most identifying item," Akira remarked. "But...they were a normal shade of blue, no green tints or shades to it if I recall."

"What about his physical attributes?" Tadao guessed. "His eyes, for example."

"How would anyone know that? The guy always had his eyes practically closed most of the time- can't imagine how he could see anything like that," Hinata pointed out.

Hiroshi, however, shook his head. "No, his eyes were green. Even if you've never seen his eyes fully, the Monokuma File lists his physical traits- and it confirms that his eyes are green. Not blue-green, mind you, just a regular shade of green."

"And I don't think there was anything else of Saku's that would warrant Shiro specifically writing 'aquamarine', especially as he was about to be killed," Hana concluded.

"Well, we established the message was most likely incomplete," Tadao reminded the group. "For that reason, we can't use it to reliably rule out Yamamoto, especially when you take into consideration Rimutsu's theory and evidence."

"Maybe not...but it _will_ be useful for figuring out who the real killer is, since I'm sure we can all agree Shiro probably wrote this with the intent of helping us uncover the blackened," Hiroshi responded with a smile. "And right now, it doesn't look like he was referring to Saku- kind of casts a lot of doubt on the murder-suicide theory, doesn't it?"

He then turned to Asuna and remarked, "So- thank you, Asuna. I think you really did find an important piece of evidence, and it'll help us immensely- even if not by itself."

The blonde gardener almost looked like she would burst into tears from the praise, but she quickly shook her head and responded, "Th-Thank you, I-I'm glad I was able to help."

 _Oh thank god for Hiroshi and Asuna..._ Hana thought to herself, finally able to relax somewhat as she made a mental note of Shiro's notebook and the message it contained. Thanks to their support, there was now a much higher chance of proving Saku's innocence and finding the real killer, in spite of all the confusing evidence still lingering.

Speaking of lingering evidence...

"It's just as Shimaru said- the dying message is vague, unintentional as that may have been, and as a result it does not completely disprove the idea that Yamamoto is the killer," Akira spoke up. "Does it contradict the note? The crate? What Shimaru and Hamasaki saw? Or maybe the method of Yamamoto's death?"

 _...Oh, right, she still has more evidence..._ Hana thought to herself as she lost that relieved feeling. _I don't understand how I keep forgetting how persistent Akira is..._

"I mean...what if Saku _was_ telling the truth...?" Rumi spoke up. "He told Hana he only wrote the note like that because Shiro would only answer to someone who agreed to kill him, but he didn't _really_ want to kill him. We keep thinking he was lying, but...what if he wasn't?"

Akira scoffed. "With everything else we've discussed? Unlikely."

"Yeah I mean, someone actually being _honest_ like a normal person? _So_ unlikely, absolutely _no_ chance of that," Shiori deadpanned in response to Akira's remark.

Akira narrowed her eyes in annoyance, retorting, "When you take all the evidence into account, Sauchi, it doesn't exactly stack up in Yamamoto's favor. Besides, what proof is there that Yamamoto _was_ being truthful, and that he truly was attempting an impromptu therapy session with Koichi?"

 _Okay, back to this I see...guess we're still fighting an uphill battle, huh...?_ Hana thought to herself with a worried frown. _Still, I can't back out now- Saku can't defend himself, so it's up to me to do that...I just need to think about what I've seen, could I prove Saku really was just meeting with Shiro in the sunroom like he told me he would...?_

"...Hold up, Akira," Hinata spoke up after some thoughtful silence. "I kinda agree with 'em- I don't think Saku was lying either."

"Wha- Hinata?" Hana said in astonishment- just what was the thief doing?

Akira, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes. "Good for you, Yonade, but-"

"No, really. In fact, you could even say I've got evidence," Hinata added with a sly grin.

"Do you now?" the Ultimate Prosecutor inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it? What's your evidence?" Hana quickly asked- it was still hard to fathom the fact that Hinata was now defending Saku, but she wasn't about to complain.

"Aah, c'mon Hana- you know what I'm talking about. You pressed me for details and everything," Hinata told her, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

 _...Oh. Uh- now that he mentions it, yeah...I know what he's talking about..._ Hana realized with some level of embarrassment towards her forgetfulness.

"Yeah...you're talking about how you saw Shiro before the murders, right?" the Ultimate Surfer asked.

"Wait- _what?"_ Akira also inquired, her composure once again disturbed.

Hinata chuckled at the prosecutor's response then said, "There ya go. Yeah, I admit it- I saw Shiro before the murders."

"A-And you're just mentioning it _now!?"_ Ryoto cried out.

"Yeah, why didn't you talk about it earlier?" Hana asked- before adding, more directed at Hinata himself, "And...I thought you said you were gonna try and stay on Akira's side. What made you, you know- change your mind...?"

"Hey, listen- seeing the note for the first time was one thing, that was just me thinking I could do something that would earn me some points with Akira," Hinata explained (earning a disapproving scowl from Akira). "Then I heard all that evidence against Saku, and- well, I kinda started to believe it, even after what I saw."

He then added with a little smirk towards Hana, "Well, until the whole dying message was brought up. Then I kinda thought, y'know- maybe I've got this wrong. So uh, yeah- maybe I shoulda mentioned this before, but at least you can't say I didn't have my reasons for not doing that."

 _Hinata...!_ Hana thought to herself, surprised by Hinata's change of heart- but she was incredibly grateful for it.

"W-Well then...don't be vague, Yonade, tell us what you saw," Akira told the Ultimate Thief.

Hinata nodded, then explained, "So...I wasn't in my room the entire time, okay? At some point while the party was going on, I went to the storage room to grab some stuff to keep myself occupied. Then I ran into Shiro as I was leaving- and...he seemed different. But, like, in a good way. He was out and about, and he was acting a _little_ more like he usually did. I-In fact, I even thought he was about to be murdered, but...he told me that wasn't it. He said he was doing...'something', and that it was working, and he said he even had inspiration for some poetry."

"Koichi told you all of that?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Hinata's telling you the same thing he told me- so, he hasn't changed his story," Hana told the prosecutor in defense of Hinata.

"And...this is supposed to prove Yamamoto's innocence...how?" Tadao inquired.

"Well, clearly the 'something' Shiro mentioned was Saku's semi-therapy," Hiroshi explained. "I can't imagine what else it could have been- it'd be more strange if Shiro had a sudden of heart instead of Saku's plan to help him being the cause."

"Besides- it looked like he was going into the West Wing, and the note told him to head to the sunroom," Hinata pointed out.

"So then...Saku really was telling the truth?" Shiori began in surprise.

"Then...we did it! We know Saku's not the killer now!" Rumi joyfully concluded. "Thank you, Hinata!"

Hinata appeared visibly dumbfounded by the scuba diver's sudden thanks, and Hana thought she could see the faintest hints of...a blush?

Tadao, on the other hand, scoffed. "Come on, don't be so naive. What time was this?"

"What...time?" the Ultimate Thief began, being brought out of his stupor. "I dunno, Shiro said he had been at it for 'less than an hour'...what that means, I have no idea."

"Well...the note told him to head to the sunroom by 6:05..." Hana began.

"A-And didn't the Monokuma File say the time of death was between 6:30 and 6:40?" Asuna reminded everyone.

"But 'less than an hour' could be, I dunno, five minutes or something!" Ryoto yelled. "We can't prove a thing if we can't figure out when Hinata saw Shiro!"

"You honestly couldn't bother to check the time while you were out?" Shiori told Hinata with a disapproving frown.

"Well excuse me for not predicting the future, Doc!" Hinata snapped at the surgeon.

"Okay, okay, maybe we...have something that could narrow down the time," Hana tried. _Although what that thing could be...I'm not too sure..._

It took a moment to think her answer through, but soon enough the surfer responded, "Maybe...we could use the party schedule to figure it out?"

"The schedule? How would that help?" Asuna asked.

Hiroshi, however, seemed to understand Hana's train of thought. "I think I know- you're thinking maybe Hinata heard something from the party, and then we could reference that with the schedule to narrow down a time?"

"Basically, yeah," Hana confirmed with a nod.

"The only way Yonade would have heard anything from in the South Wing would be if we were all out in the ballroom," Akira stated with a furrowed brow.

"Well, there were some points where we _would_ be out in the ballroom," Rumi informed her. "The first time would be around 5:30 until 5:45, the next time would be 6:05 until 6:30- not that we'd remember that one because of the Despair Drink, but it _probably_ happened!"

 _So Hinata would have had to have seen Shiro either between 5:30-5:45 or 6:05-6:30...but which one would it have been?_ Hana asked herself once Rumi had explained. Thinking it over, the surfer replied, "I mean...it had to be the second time, right? Saku and Shiro weren't supposed to meet until 6:05, and the murders happened at 6:30 at the earliest."

"In fact, Hinata probably saw Shiro around 6:30 to be more specific- since he _did_ tell Hinata he had been with Saku for a little while at that point," Hiroshi added. "At least long enough that he would regain his motivation to write, which I imagine would take a little while."

"Hey, Tadao- why'd you even ask about the time anyways?" Shiori asked. "I don't see how it would matter when Hinata actually saw Shiro, it adds _some_ validity to the note Saku wrote regardless."

"Well if that's the case...isn't it more likely that Koichi was killed first?" Tadao pointed out. "If he was still alive at 6:30, and the latest the murders would have happened would have been at 6:40, then considering the other evidence-"

"That's assuming Saku's the killer and that it was a murder-suicide," Hana interrupted him. "Which, by the way, is wrong!"

"Besides, what if _Saku_ died first?" Hinata stated. "Then that just sinks the whole theory right off the bat."

"But there's no proof of who died first- Koichi or Yamamoto," Akira pointed. "All we can do is piece together the order of the deaths based on the corpses and the manners of death, as we discussed earlier."

"That could be mistaken, though," Hana countered. "I'm assuming they died pretty close to each other time-wise, so I don't think there'd be any clues on their bodies to who died earlier or later."

"That's true- we examined the bodies less than an hour after the murders, which isn't as much time for physiological signs of decay to appear, so I'd agree that determining exact death order would be near impossible with our current resources," Hiroshi responded with a nod. "Besides, I myself didn't get to see Shiro's body, and I don't think Shiori saw Saku's."

 _So we have to figure out the death order, huh...? Depending on how we answer this, it could completely change the direction of this trial...and one of those directions does not help Saku in the slightest..._ Hana pondered worriedly. _So...is there anything we could use to figure out who was killed first...? Anything at all?_

At first, Hana couldn't think of anything that would pinpoint the order of the deaths, at least not with the evidence she had gathered in the investigation. Could something else be used, then?

That's when the surfer had an idea- not even an idea, but a hunch. However, following her gut instincts hadn't been _too_ detrimental in the previous trials (minus this time, in which acting in instinct gave Akira the opportunity to discuss the evidence against Saku in the first place), and most of all she didn't have anything else to go on.

"Maybe...the body discovery announcement could be a clue," Hana spoke up.

"The announcement? How would that be useful?" Akira questioned. "It's only purpose is to alert the rest of us to when a corpse has been found- how could it be used for deduction?"

"Well...didn't Monokuma say the body discovery announcement would only be triggered when three or more people, not including the killer, found a body?" Hana asked.

"Oooh, I did say that," Monokuma remarked from his seat.

"That's what happened- when we found Shiro's body, it was me, you, and Hinata," Rumi reminded her classmate.

"But what about Saku?" Hana then inquired.

"That was me and Hiroshi," Shiori replied.

"Wait... _just_ you and Ashi...?" Tadao asked, surprised.

"That's not right! TWO DOESN'T EQUAL THREE!" Ryoto shouted accusingly. "Unless Monokuma forgot how to count!"

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm very particular about keeping track of details like that! Especially if it's counting how many spotless found a body!" Monokuma yelled defensively.

"So it was no mistake...and that means someone else saw Yamamoto's body prior to Ashi and Sauchi," Akira observed, looking towards her podium thoughtfully.

"Uh...what if someone saw the body while they were under the Despair Drink's influence?" Asuna then asked. "S-So they wouldn't even remember seeing the corpse...would it still count?"

"Would that person be the killer?" Monokuma asked right back.

"...I guess not...?" the gardener, adjusting her fedora somewhat as if trying to hide from Monokuma's gaze.

"Then it would count! Simple as that!" the robot declared.

"Actually, I don't think we need to worry about that, Asuna," Hana told her. "Because, believe it or not...I think I know who that first person was."

"Do you?" Akira began, raising an eyebrow. "Well, do tell us Amari- just who was this student who supposedly found Yamamoto's body before Ashi and Sauchi?"

Ignoring the condescending tone of the prosecutor's, Hana thought to herself, _I can't be too sure about this- after all, it's just instinct, but...the more I think about it, and the more I think about what everyone else was doing at the time of the murders, the more I realize the only one who could have seen Saku's body before Hiroshi and Shiori did was this person._

With a small nod of resolution, Hana answered aloud, "The one who first saw Saku's body, other than the killer themselves...it had to have been Shiro."

"...Okay if I had known you would say something so-" Akira began, clearly preparing an insult.

"Hear me out, hear me out!" Hana cried, interrupting the Ultimate mid-insult. "If you _really_ think about, Shiro's the only possibility!"

For a brief, anxiety-inducing moment, the Ultimate Prosecutor appeared ready to disregard her claim...but then stopped herself and asked suspiciously, "...What makes you so sure?"

"Well...it definitely wasn't me who saw Saku's body before...Hinata didn't say anything about following Shiro back to the West Wing..." Hana began. "And we already talked about where everyone was during the time stretch when the murders took place- and everyone was occupied with _something_ at that time, so it would have left no time for anyone to go into the sunroom and find Saku's corpse."

"..." Akira crossed her arms, closing her eyes in thought...before letting out a small gasp of realization and speaking up, "Wait a second...if that's true, then...that might also explain..."

"Huh? Explain what?" Hana began, surprised by Akira's reaction.

"What you're proposing...it also explains why both Yamamoto _and_ Koichi were killed, like my theory does," the prosecutor explained. "Consider the timeline- Yonade saw Koichi near 6:30, the earliest the murders would have taken place. He would have returned to the sunroom after that, which may have taken him...not long, maybe two minutes at most. Seeing as how Yamamoto would have also been killed during that time, and that isn't much time after 6:30...what if Koichi didn't just find Yamamoto's body initially? What if...he witnessed the murder take place?"

"W-Witnessed the murder!?" Ryoto cried out.

"That...makes sense too," Hiroshi responded, furrowing his brow. "After all, the fact that he wrote a dying message has to mean he saw the killer before he died- and since 'aquamarine' doesn't apply to Saku in any way..."

"So...basically, the killer was just trying to get rid of any witnesses?" Rumi summarized.

"It...would seem plausible," Akira conceded. "Even with half of us blacked out due to the Despair Drink, having an actual witness to the crime would be catastrophic to whatever they were planning..."

"Sheesh- is it me, or are unplanned murders some kinda common theme in these trials?" Hinata remarked.

"So...you agree then? Saku was killed first, and Shiro died second?" Hana asked the prosecutor. _Man...I was just trying to sort out the death order, I didn't think it would lead to_ this _rabbit hole. Shiro...I guess he was just...in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh... I thought losing two classmates by itself was unfair, but this is-_

"Don't be naive!" came a sudden interjection from the other end of the trial room- and its source was none other than a certain black-haired waiter.

"No, we're not done with Yamamoto yet," Tadao said, his blue-green gaze leveled at Hana.

"Wha-? Tadao? What are you doing?" Hana asked, dumbfounded.

"What am I doing? Well, obviously I'm trying to stop you all from coming to a false conclusion- since it'll be my head as well if you do," Tadao told her, his eyes narrowing. "That's why I'm going to prove the folly in your conclusion right now!"

 _Okay, is it me, or is Tadao being more...aggressive than usual?_ Hana asked herself, furrowing her brow in confusion. _Nevermind, guess I'll just...do this again. Who knows, maybe I'll figure out something else to prove Saku's innocence even more._

"This entire discussion of the body discovery announcement, who was killed when- it's all meaningless, really. Nothing but red herrings and fallacies to make us forget what's right in front of us," Tadao spoke, his voice level but with its usual smug undertones. "All you're doing is confusing everyone- in reality, this so-called theory of yours is nothing but assumptions. The truth lies in what we discussed already- Yamamoto had to be the second one to die, because only he could have killed Koichi in the way we know he was murdered."

"Only he could have killed Shiro'- are you talking about the murder weapon?" Hana asked once Tadao had finished.

"Don't be daft, of _course_ I'm talking about the murder weapon," the Ultimate Waiter replied, exasperated. "Look at the facts- the broken crate matched the shape of Koichi's wound. Blood was found on one of the corners of said crate. The crate came from the watchtower, and the crates in there are quite heavy. Therefore, only Yamamoto would have had the means to utilize it as a weapon- no one else could have smashed a large crate over someone else's head and shattered it like that."

 _Tadao's argument is hinging on the murder weapon- that only Saku could have broken the crate over Shiro's head and killed him._ Hana told herself as she thought about what the waiter had just said. _...I wonder...maybe that in itself is wrong. What did Hiroshi tell me again- that evidence can looked at from a different angle? Maybe...I need to look at this crate problem like that._

It took a moment of thinking over what the young man had claimed, but after pondering the evidence once more...the surfer realized the contradiction in Tadao's statement, and responded with a resounding, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

"I think...we've just been all wrong about the crate," Hana refuted. "All this time, we've been thinking the crate was broken by being smashed on Shiro's head with a lot of strength, but...maybe that's not what happened."

"What? You saw the crime scene, how could that not be what happened?" Tadao inquired.

"Hear her out, Tadao- _I'd_ like to see where this is going," Hiroshi told the waiter, giving Hana an encouraging nod to urge her forward.

"I went into the watchtower during the investigation- and while I couldn't check the top because of my leg, I didn't need to- I saw something at the bottom of the stairs," Hana explained. "More specifically, some smaller pieces of broken wood and some old food...stuff."

"Old food...like the kind in the crates?" Rumi asked, and Hana nodded in response.

"Wood debris...food from the crates..." Akira pondered to herself, then questioned, "Are you suggesting that a crate was broken inside the watchtower?"

"Not _a_ crate- the same one that was in the wine room," the surfer corrected her. "The crate was broken in the watchtower, and then the bigger chunks were taken into the wine room."

"...I... _did_ think it was a little weird that the crate's contents weren't anywhere in the wine room, even though it looked like it was broken in there..." Asuna admitted.

"So then- OF COURSE! Shiro wasn't killed in the wine room, HE WAS KILLED IN THE WATCHTOWER!" Ryoto declared.

"No, that's not where I was going with that," Hana told him with a frown.

"You're not explaining how this matters," Tadao told her. "How exactly does is this proof of our previous thoughts being wrong?"

"Well, I think the question is- why was the debris there, and if the crate wasn't used on Shiro, then how _did_ it get broken?" Hiroshi offered. Glancing at Hana, he went on, "But, you've got the answer to those, don't you?"

"Sure I do! Do I ever bring up things I can't answer myself?" Hana asked. "...Okay don't answer that and let me just explain this."

 _Right...the crate wasn't broken because it was bashed over someone's head- the killer did something else to smash it..._ the surfer told herself, trying to gather her thoughts before speaking again. "The crate was broken, not because it was used as a weapon, but because the killer pushed it down the stairs."

"...Not the most outlandish thing you could have said, honestly," Akira admitted, raising an eyebrow.

"See, we all know the crates are at the top of the watchtower- it would be really hard for anyone besides Saku to carry it down all those stairs," Hana explained. "That's why the killer just _pushed_ it down the stairs; in fact, pushing it down the stairs was probably to intentionally smash it anyways, that way they could use the bigger pieces to make it look like Shiro had gotten hit in the head with it."

"Ah- that would also explain why the killer left behind the rest of the debris," Hiroshi added with a nod. "Or at least somewhat, anyways."

"..." Tadao narrowed his eyes into a slight glare, yet he had no more objections. As he did, Hana noticed Akira glancing over at the defeated waiter, her gaze narrowing ever so slightly...

"..." Shiori shook her head, speaking. "Hold on...think about what you're saying here, Hana."

"Wha- Shiori! Not you too!" Hana cried in dismay. "You're with Tadao on this one?"

"Hey, listen..." Shiori began, leaning forward a bit. "I'm in agreement with everyone that Tadao is a complete snake-"

"E-Excuse me!?"

"-but you can't just say 'the murder weapon isn't the real murder weapon' without some kinda alternative," Shiori continued. "I don't want to think the killer played me like a fiddle, but- look, if you think something else was the weapon, then what was it, huh?"

"...Um..." Hana began, her eyes widening in concern. "W-Well, uh...see, I- you know, it's- I uh...wasn't sure if I'd get this far...? So I...don't know the actual murder weapon could have been...?"

"...You know it's great you're keeping everything in balance," Shiori informed her. "For every intelligent thing you say, you say something else completely idiotic."

"I know..." Hana responded dejectedly, looking down. "But! I'm sure it wasn't the crate, I know that much!"

"Well if you're so confident, then provide an alternative," Akira commanded her, evidently having returned her attention to the rest of the class. "If you can't...then it would be a major blow to your claims, wouldn't it?"

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Hana muttered to herself, soft enough so that the prosecutor wouldn't hear.

"In her defense- there are a lot of- how'd you describe it again? Cube-like or something?" Rumi began. "I think there are a lot of things in the castle that could fit that."

"Not just cubic- the weapon would have had to have been able to be used by anyone, not just Saku, but also dense enough to kill Shiro in a single blow if the killer struck hard enough," Hiroshi added. Glancing at Hana, the coroner added, "You looked around the West Wing a lot- I'm certain you saw something that could fit that description, right?"

As usual, Hiroshi seemed to have a little too much faith in Hana's deduction skills- although it would seem there wasn't much of a choice if they wanted to clear Saku's name.

 _Alright alright- come on, just focus. There..._ has _to be something else that could have been the murder weapon, assuming I'm right abo_ _ut the crate..._ Hana told herself. _There's gotta be something that matches what Hiroshi talked about, right...? Better yet, maybe something in the West Wing itself?_

For a few moments, the Ultimate had to contemplate what the true murder weapon could have been...but soon enough, an idea was formed in her mind, and seeing as how it was the likeliest answer, she decided to run with it.

"...Could it have been the dragon statue?" Hana asked aloud.

"...You mean that stone statuette in the sunroom?" Hinata inquired. "The one that's...a snake-dragon or something?"

"Chinese dragon, actually," Hana corrected him. "And, yeah. It's kinda tall, and it's got some heft to it- but it's not _so_ heavy that you'd need to be as strong as Saku to lift it up."

"Not to mention...doesn't that dragon statue have a rectangular base?" Akira inquired, though the tone in her voice indicated the question was rhetorical.

"Oh! And there was probably blood on it or something too, right?" Rumi eagerly asked.

"...I, uh...never said that..." Hana sheepishly responded. "No, it was...clean."

"Then how do you know it was used?" Tadao questioned skeptically.

"W-Well- what else could it have been, right?" Hana responded nervously. "It was just- you know, sitting there on the center table, so-"

"...The center table, you say?" Akira asked, stopping the surfer in her tracks. After a second to think, the prosecutor went on, "Well, that explains it."

"...Explains...what?" Asuna spoke up.

"The statuette that Amari is referring to- it's not usually placed on the center table," Akira elaborated. "It's supposed to be on the table at the end of the room, in between the two small potted plants."

"SO!?" Ryoto suddenly shouted.

"So, it was moved," the Ultimate concluded. "There's no reason for the statuette to be in a different spot like that..."

"Unless the person who used it couldn't remember where it had been placed beforehand," Hiroshi stated. "Think about it- if the culprit murdered Shiro in the heat of the moment, then they likely grabbed the statue without even thinking about it. Because of that, they probably couldn't remember which of the two tables the statue had originally been placed, especially if they hadn't been in the sunroom that often. So they probably just...took a 50/50 chance."

"Well, looks like the odds were _not_ in their favor," Rumi remarked.

"So, we're all in agreement then? The crate wasn't the weapon that killed Shiro, but the dragon statuette was?" Hana then asked with a hopeful tone.

"...It would seem your reasoning is sound- for once," Akira remarked, which probably meant she too was (miraculously) in agreement.

"Hah, look at that! Hana Amari, you were right about the crate the first time!" Ryoto congratulated the surfer.

"...In addition to that, it also means I ended up playing right into the killer's hands, didn't I..." Shiori spoke up, though it was hard to tell is she was talking to the class or herself. "...Huh."

"Well...you did warn us that autopsies weren't your strong suit," Hiroshi reassured her. "You just came to a conclusion that you thought was best, it wasn't-"

"Don't patronize me, Hiroshi!" Shiori snapped at the coroner. "We found out what actually happened to Shiro when he died, we know it probably wasn't Saku after all, we know the real murder weapon was, so can we just move on already!?"

"But...what about what Tadao and I saw in the banquet room before the party?" Rumi pointed out. "When Saku was doing stuff with the drinks or whatever?"

"I mean...there _was_ an actual bottle of juice from the banquet room in the sunroom, along with those two glasses," Hana pointed out. "And we know Saku was gonna be in there with Shiro for a little while...so maybe he wasn't _actually_ doing anything bad, he was literally just grabbing some sorta refreshment for the two of them."

"And the fact that he wanted to keep the meeting between the two of them a secret would also explain his dodgy behavior," Hiroshi added.

"So, uh...I think we can chalk up what Rumi and Tadao saw as a coincidence," Asuna suggested. "We should probably move on from that."

"Well, we may have sorted out Koichi's death...but what about Yamamoto?" Tadao asked. "If he was the first one to die, are you also suggesting he didn't actually commit suicide?"

"Of course he didn't! He'd have no reason to!" Hana responded.

"What about...that giant gash on his stomach?" Shiori pointed out (somewhat hesitantly, strangely enough).

"Ah yeah, that...that's been bothering me for a bit now," Hiroshi admitted. "Something about that wound just seems...off to me. It was a deep slice, no doubt- caused by that kitchen knife, and it definitely could have killed Saku. And yet, when I visualize the wound...something just doesn't seem right with it."

 _Geez, must be something big if it's got even_ Hiroshi _stumped..._ Hana thought to herself. She then tried to remember how Saku looked as well, pondering, _Maybe I can figure out something. If I try to remember how the wound was, maybe I can pick on what has Hiroshi so bothered. The thing that's wrong with the gut wound is..._

After a few moments of thinking...the surfer recalled something else. Something from a past trial...but Hana had a feeling it would explain what Hiroshi was talking about. She just hoped bringing up something like that wouldn't cause _too_ much strife...

"I...think I know what the problem is, Hiroshi," Hana began. She then turned to the rest of the class and asked, "Uh...sorry to bring something like this up at a time like this, but...do you guys remember Kaneki's trial?"

That caused a few double-takes from some of the other students- and honestly, Hana was expecting a reaction like that.

"W-Why...are you bringing that up...?" Asuna asked, her face going pale somewhat.

"Yes, do explain- that trial has nothing to do with this one, so why are you mentioning it?" Akira inquired with a narrowed gaze.

"Er- sorry guys, I just...don't know any other way to explain this," Hana apologized. "Anyways...during that trial- I think we were talking about stab wounds, Hiroshi brought up something. It was about blood flow, and how a pulse affects a living and a dead person's bleeding."

* * *

 _"And aside from that, I'm certain those stab wounds were inflicted before death. The proof of that is the wounds themselves," Hiroshi explained. "Due to the size of the bloodstain on Kaneki's back, it was clear that there had been a significant amount of bleeding around those stab wounds. An amount that wouldn't have possible if she was dead when the killer stabbed her."_

 _"Why not?" Shiro then asked._

 _"Because- think about what indicates and causes blood flow- your pulse, and the beat of your heart respectively. I don't think this is news to anyone, but when someone dies, their heart stops beating. When the heart stops, blood no longer flows through the vessels; as a result, there is very little bleeding from a cadaver compared to a living person," Hiroshi explained. "No pulse- no blood flow. No blood flow- no bleeding. Simple."_

* * *

"Yeah, science!" Ryoto eagerly shouted.

"There's a time and a place for call-backs, Miura! Neither of which is now!" Akira scolded him, before turning her red gaze back to Hana. "Yes, I do remember Ashi's little anatomy lessons during that trial- but what do they matter now?"

"Because that concept of no pulse leading to no blood flow is what explains the problem with Saku's stomach wound!" Hana responded. "Back then, we proved the stab wounds were inflicted before death because of all the evidence of bleeding. But this time...I think it's the opposite."

"...And that means...?" Hinata began, frowning.

Realization seemed to strike Hiroshi like a bolt of lighting, and he responded. "It means- there's not _enough_ blood around the injury."

"That's it!" Hana agreed. "If Saku's stomach had been sliced while he was still alive, it'd be a bloodbath! But at the crime scene in the sunroom- yeah, there was blood spatter, but it was...kinda a conservative amount for an injury like that, now that I think about it."

"So then- you're saying Saku's stomach was cut... _after_ he was already dead?" Asuna asked.

"Then there's no way he could have killed himself, right?" Hinata then added.

"THAT'S RIGHT! Dead people can't kill themselves!" Ryoto yelled triumphantly as if what he said wasn't completely obvious.

"And...that also means the killer must have sliced his stomach themselves!" Rumi concluded. "They were trying to play us the whole time!"

Tadao let out a short, frustrated breath before asking, "Well then, pray tell, what _did_ kill him? Assuming it really was some third party all along- the Monokuma File doesn't give us any answers, and if the gash was a false lead, then where does that leave?"

"Then let's discuss it, Shimaru," Akira pointedly responded. "We'll be able to reach a conclusion much faster that way if we do that, instead of whining about it."

Seeming to realize who that last phrase was directed towards, the Ultimate Waiter promptly went silent.

 _Well, figuring out what happened to Shiro was half the mystery...and we're still no closer to finding the real killer. Maybe if we can sort out how Saku was killed...that'll turn up some kind of lead._ Hana told herself. _...At least, it'd better lead somewhere..._

"There's one thing we know for certain..." Ryoto began. "Saku was murdered- by ONE OF US!"

"Wow, can't imagine how you figured _that_ out..." Shiori deadpanned.

"I mean...he had a drink with him from the banquet room," Hinata pointed out. "Maybe the killer used the Despair Drink somehow?"

"B-But I thought the Despair Drink just gives you a memory blackout..." Asuna reminded him. "It doesn't, you know, poison them too..."

"The one thing we can say for certain is that Yamamoto was likely killed when Koichi left the sunroom to retrieve his notebook," Akira observed. "So the method of killing him didn't necessarily have to be quick and instant."

"Still, to bring down someone like Yamamoto...how would any of us even go about that?" Tadao wondered aloud.

"Well...maybe it _was_ something like poison?" Rumi suggested. "Other than the gash on his stomach, there was nothing else weird on Saku's corpse, was there?"

"Wait, that wrong!" Hana immediately refuted- she didn't even need to think it over to figure out what was wrong with that statement. "Just a second, Rumi- there was more to Saku's corpse than what the Monokuma File said. Hiroshi can attest to that."

"Yeah- just like the times prior, the Monokuma File left out a few details regarding the condition of the body itself," Hiroshi confirmed. "In Saku's case...he had a single wound on his head, which was initially hidden by his undone hair, and some blood traces around his nose, mouth, and ears."

"He was bleeding from his- ew! That's, like, something from a horror movie!" Rumi exclaimed.

"Bleeding from all those spots at once...not a lot of things can cause that, you know," Shiori remarked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"So, he was either bludgeoned like Shiro, or...whatever makes people bleed from their ears or something," Hinata concluded, shaking his head.

"Actually, I don't think the head injury is what killed him," Hiroshi replied. "It might have turned fatal if left untreated for a time- not unlike what happened to Hana yesterday morning- but as it was when I looked at it, I don't think it would have killed him immediately."

 _Oh come on, I was trying not to focus my near-death experience..._ Hana miserably thought to herself, one hand going up to the bandages wrapped around her head injury.

"So that just leaves the blood spots as our only clue to what happened to Yamamoto," Akira remarked. "Ashi, Sauchi, you two seem like you'd have the best ideas as to what could have caused such bleeding."

"Bleeding from your nose and mouth would be one thing- but ears?" Shiori began. "No way, there aren't too many things that could cause that. The most common would be a ruptured ear drum. Otherwise, it could be some foreign object being caught in there or a severe skull fracture- the latter of which doesn't seem _that_ unlikely given what we're talking about- or worst case scenario, some disease like viral hemorrhagic fever."

"In addition to all those causes, the fact is that Saku was bleeding from his nose and mouth as _well_ as his ears," Hiroshi added. "And that...leads me to one other conclusion. Saku died via asphyxiation."

Ryoto let out a shocked gasp...before stating, "Wait, I dunno what that means."

"It means he suffocated," Shiori translated, resulting in Ryoto gasping yet again.

"Not just suffocation..." Hiroshi went on. "I'd go as far to say he might have been _strangled_ to death."

"S-Strangled?" Hana stammered in astonishment. "But that's a little- you know-!"

The frown on Hiroshi's face indicated he didn't quite like it either, but he continued, "Now, it may sound like I'm jumping to conclusions by saying he was strangled- after all, that's not the only way to suffocate someone- but after looking over the body, I couldn't find any other evidence of other methods of asphyxia. To avoid listing those out, just take my word that strangulation is the last and most likeliest option."

"Uh...I-I've read mystery books, and uh..." Asuna began. "When someone's strangled...aren't there supposed to be- you know, bruises or marks on their throat?"

"Not if the victim is strangled with a ligature made of soft material," Akira responded.

"Since no marks were seen on Saku's throat...I can imagine that's exactly what the killer did," Hiroshi stated with a nod. "Only question is what the killer could have used- i.e., the other murder weapon."

Hana thought about the discussion thus far, telling herself, _Okay, strangulation with...something soft, enough that it didn't leave behind any marks... I didn't find anything like that when I was investigating, and nobody else is bringing up something- so that means either the killer hid the weapon really well or they destroyed it. Or...maybe we- and by extension, I- just overlooked it..._

Having come to that conclusion, the surfer spoke up, "Well...if Saku was killed in the sunroom, and the thing used to kill him was soft enough to not leave behind any marks...I'm guessing the tablecloth was used to strangle him."

"The tablecloth? That's a bit random, don't you think?" Rumi asked.

"Not really- the tablecloth was pretty wrinkled when I saw it during the investigation, like someone had rolled it up or folded it a bunch of times," Hana explained. "Besides, wouldn't it be super convenient for the killer? They wouldn't need to bring something with to the sunroom or set something up beforehand- if their plan was to strangle Saku, then they've got a good weapon right in the sunroom!"

"And before anyone asks...yes, it would be possible to use the tablecloth as a weapon," Hiroshi spoke. "If you roll it up enough, you could use it as a makeshift garrote."

"So the killer's reasoning for using it would not only be because of the convenience factor..." Akira summarized. "But also because it would allow them to more easily hide Yamamoto's true cause of death."

"Man, death by tablecloth..." Hinata said to himself. "What a way to go."

"HOLD UP! You guys are forgetting something big!" Ryoto suddenly shouted. "Saku was the Ultimate Kickboxer! He was the biggest and strongest out of everyone here! YOU DON'T JUST STRANGLE THE BIGGEST PERSON HERE!"

"By some miracle, I agree with Miura," Tadao responded.

That, however, resulted in the racecar driver roaring, "WHO GAVE _YOU_ THE RIGHT TO AGREE WITH-"

"Yamamoto may have tried to avoid conflict and fighting at all costs, but I doubt he would have sat idly by while someone was trying to strangle him to death," Tadao continued, ignoring Ryoto. "None of us still alive would have stood a chance against his athletic strength- so even if it was convenient, murder via strangulation is far beyond impractical in this case."

"Well...I'm sure the killer knew that..." Hana began. "So maybe...they did something to get some kind of advantage over Saku?"

"That makes sense," Hiroshi responded approvingly. "But what that could have been...well, the evidence should tell the story, don't you think?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Hana agreed. _At least I'm assuming it does. Well, trusting in the evidence hasn't steered me wrong too many times, so here I go again. The evidence that shows how the killer managed to strangle Saku...it's gotta be..._

"...Call me crazy, but...I think the evidence is on Saku's corpse again," Hana concluded. "It's that head injury he had."

"Hm...oh, I think I see what you're getting at," Shiori spoke up. "You're suggesting Saku was knocked out first, right?"

"Exactly!" Hana replied. "The killer must have snuck up on Saku somehow, and then using another weapon they probably brought with them, they whacked him on the head and knocked him out! That's how he got that wound, and it would also allow the killer to strangle him without resistance!"

"That's also probably why Saku's hair was let down- to try and hide the head injury," Hiroshi inferred. "I myself initially didn't see it until I moved his hair out of the way."

"But the sunroom is only so big, and the only entrance is through the one door," Akira pointed out.

"So then the killer went into the sunroom before 6:05, when nobody was there yet, simple as that," Hana responded, feeling confident in her reasoning for a change.

"...The sunroom is small, _Amari,_ so where would the killer have hidden to surprise attack Yamamoto?" Akira inquired with a glare. "Answer that one, why don't you?"

Suddenly, that confident felling was dampened significantly.

"Hey, no matter the room, anywhere can be a hiding spot if you try hard enough," Hinata quipped with a little grin.

"Uh...thanks for the advice, Hinata," Hana responded, before beginning to think. _The sunroom is small, but...there has to be_ somewhere _the killer could have hid, right...? Where would that have been...?_

After thinking over the layout of the sunroom, the Ultimate realized there was only one location that would make the most sense as a hiding spot. Choosing to run with this logic, Hana spoke, "The only place I can think of that the killer could have hid...would have been the closet."

"O-Oh, yeah, there is a closet in the sunroom," Asuna realized. "But I don't think anyone uses it."

"All the better for the killer, I suppose," Hiroshi pointed out. The closet may not be the biggest, but it would certainly work as a hiding place for a time. I doubt Saku or Shiro would have had reason to go into it, plus it would have allowed the killer a good vantage to see who was in the room."

"...That's possible," Akira conceded. "It's likely Yamamoto's seat was facing away from the closet. So, when Koichi left before 6:30 the sunroom to, presumably, find his notebook- that was when the killer took the opportunity to slip out of the closet, sneak up behind Yamamoto, then strike him on the head to knock him out."

"Yeah- then the killer took the tablecloth off the center table, rolled it up, and strangled him while he was out," Hinata added.

"Great! Now we know how Saku and Shiro both died!" Rumi eagerly commented. "We're so close to finding the killer, I can feel it!"

"Just a second- maybe we should figure out the weapon the killer used on Saku," Hiroshi then suggested.

"What?" Hana asked him, surprised by the suggestion. "Why would we do that, we already know the details of how Saku was killed."

"Come on, Hana, you know better than that," Hiroshi told her. "We can't just overlook things like this, anything could be a lead to the killer. And besides- I don't think we're any closer to finding the blackened, even if we _have_ figured out the way the victims died."

"...Okay, fair enough," Hana responded with a nod. _Okay, I guess we're talking about this now...I'm sure Hiroshi knows what he's doing, but still- how are we even supposed to figure out what the killer used to knock out Saku?_

"Yamamoto was the most physically fit of all of us- would being struck in the head truly be enough to render him unconscious?" Tadao skeptically inquired.

"Yamamoto was strong, but he wasn't invincible," Akira pointed out. "Obviously, the weapon would have had to have been particularly dense to bring someone like him down."

"What if the killer just used the dragon statue again?" Hinata suggested.

Hiroshi, however, refuted this by saying, "No, the shape of the wound wasn't consistent with something like that statuette."

"Was one of the pots broken?" Rumi asked. "Maybe Saku was hit with one of those!"

"Uh...I don't think any of the pots in the sunroom were damaged..." Asuna told her. "I-In fact, aside from the body...there wasn't anything _that_ seemed that messy..."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted upon hearing the gardener; she wasn't sure if this would be what Hiroshi was talking about, but it was a contradiction nonetheless. "Actually, Asuna- there _was_ something weird about the scene. The fact is- one of the chairs was wet."

"It was...wet?" Asuna began. "L-Like, someone spilled a drink on it or something?"

"Something like that, but it seemed like a bit more than just a small spill," Hana told her. "In fact, not only was the chair itself pretty wet, but...it definitely wasn't from the drink Saku brought from the banquet room. It was more...alcohol-smelling."

"Then it was from the wine room! Yeah!" Ryoto concluded.

"It wasn't just on the chair- Saku seemed to have traces of that substance on him, too," Hiroshi added. "I could tell because he also had that alcoholic scent left on him."

"So...head wound that was severe enough to render the victim unconscious, a substance of some kind left on the victim and some the area around them, and an alcoholic scent due to said substance..." The coroner summarized; he then smiled in his usual knowing way, asking, "Hey Hana- that sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"W-What? Why are you asking...?" Hana began, not expecting Hiroshi to direct his reasoning towards her. He didn't sound accusatory or malicious, however- still, Hana had no idea what he was up to.

 _Those things he listed..._ do _they sound familiar to me...?_ Hana wondered, turning over the words in her mind...before realization dawned on her. _No way...I know exactly what he's talking about...but, he doesn't mean-!_

"Hiroshi...you're talking about what happened to me, right?" the surfer asked. "When I was attacked in the wine room yesterday morning?"

"That? Why that all of sudden, that was a completely different incident," Tadao pointed out.

 _"Completely_ different? I don't think so," Hiroshi responded. "In fact, in saying that...it's pretty clear what the killer used to knock out Saku now, isn't it?"

"If...you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then..." Hana began, furrowing her brow. "Then, that means- the killer used-"

"No- do _not_ say it aloud!" Akira ordered. "I know what you mean, Ashi, but you know as well as I do why that's been kept secret up to now. If now was the time to reveal the details, I would say so- but now is not that time."

"The fuck? What are you talking about?" Hinata asked, visibly confused.

"Really? Keeping secrets from everyone? When we're supposed to be solving a _literal murder_ otherwise we'll _die?"_ Shiori spoke angrily. "You honestly think that's a good idea?"

"Hey, calm down- Akira has her reasons for swearing us to secrecy, and they're pretty good reasons. I just got a little eager is all," Hiroshi responded. "Hana- why not be a little more...generic when you tell them what the weapon was?"

"Uh- alright, but don't get mad if I give too much away," Hana replied, more to Hiroshi than anyone. "The weapon that was used against Saku was a bottle from the wine room. Well- not the exact same bottle that was used on me, but- a bottle that was identical to the one used against me yesterday. There are a few of those bottles in the wine room, and before today only one of them was gone- but during the investigation, I noticed a _second_ one was missing too."

 _God, why do I have to be so vague about this? Why can't I just say 'those red wine bottles', everyone'll have a better idea of what I'm talking about!_ Hana asked herself frustratedly. _I think they still get the gist in spite of that, but still..._

"But...that's a pretty specific weapon to use, I'm guessing..." Rumi began, before gasping in shock. "Wait! Are you saying that maybe...the killer could be...!?"

"Yeah. My theory is that the person who attacked Hana and the person who killed Saku and Shiro..." Hiroshi responded. "Are one in the same."

Hana's eyes widened in shock as she heard Hiroshi's theory. _Hiroshi...he probably suspected it from the beginning, didn't he? That's why he wanted to talk about the weapon used on Saku, and the ties between his murder and what happened to me. Man...wish I could have that level of tact..._

"...That's understandable," Akira responded. "The similarities between the incidents are uncanny. Not to mention, prior to this trial, only four people knew about the weapon that was used to knock out Amari: her, Ashi, myself, and the assailant."

"Then all we gotta do is find out who attacked Hana!" Ryoto declared. "QUICK, HANA! Who attacked you?"

"What the-!? I didn't remember who it was yesterday, what makes you think I'd remember today!?" Hana demanded.

"BECAUSE THE FATE OF THE TRIAL DEPENDS ON IT!" Ryoto shouted dramatically.

"...To put it in words that won't kill our eardrums..." Shiori muttered. "Hana, have you recalled... _anything_ else since yesterday? I'm sure even something small could help."

"Uh...I'll try to think, but...no promises..." Hana responded, closing her eyes as she tried to visualize the events leading up to the assault in the wine room.

 _I was planning to walk around the castle for a bit because I couldn't sleep...but when I got to the main hall, I saw someone up on the second floor. I followed them into the West Wing, and eventually the wine room. The lights wouldn't work, so it was pitch black in there; my foot kinda bumped into something...that removeable floorboard, I think...but just after I picked it up, the person...the person stabbed me in the leg with something... I turned around, I was gonna run, and I saw...I saw...who the hell did I see...!?_

No matter how hard she pressed her mind for answers, nothing came back to her. It was the same foggy, useless memory of an unknown classmate in the dark.

"I...I'm sorry guys, I'm really trying, but I- I just can't remember who it was..." Hana finally informed the class with a sigh. "I don't even know if I really saw them, the wine room was pitch black when I was attacked, so..."

"What!? You're kidding!" Ryoto yelped in dismay.

"H-Hey! If it helps, I don't remember the person being particularly big or small!" Hana pointed. "S-So, uh- it wasn't Saku, Shiro, or Asuna!"

"Perfect! Took out three suspects, two of which we're having a trial for!" Shiori responded with mock joy.

"In other words- it does NOT help, Amari," Tadao growled at the surfer. "Useless, much like your talent throughout this killing game..."

"W-Was that really necessary...?" Hana sadly asked, shrinking back a bit. "I know you're disappointed, but I'm trying here...and for the record, my skills on a surfboard are _magnificent!"_

"Come on, it's not her fault she can't remember every detail," Asuna told everyone with a frown.

"And even if she can't, it's still highly likely that her attacker and our current blackened are the same person," Hiroshi reminded everyone. "We shouldn't disqualify that idea."

"Maybe not...but it leaves at a dead end, does it not?" Akira pointed out. "The identity of the one who tried to kill Amari before would be a massive breakthrough, but since her head injury seems to be an impediment to that..."

 _Well, at least she's not blaming_ me _specifically..._ Hana told herself, which brought very little reassurance.

With a sigh of minor frustration, the Ultimate Prosecutor went on, "So...it seems we don't have much of a choice. We need to look at this case once again, from the very beginning."

Hinata let out a loud groan, asking, "Ya serious, Akira? We're gonna be here forever at this rate!"

"Not forever! Just until I get bored!" Monokuma told the group. "And when that happens, I'll give the victory to the blackened by default, so make it snappy!"

Upon hearing this, Ryoto cried out in panic, "You heard the bear! MAKE IT SNAPPY GUYS!"

"But where would we even start f we're going back to the beginning?" Rumi asked in worry. "We already talked about the party and the motive and the alibis..."

"Precisely, Hamasaki," the Ultimate Prosecutor responded. "Amari- with some assistance- has made it... _abundantly_ clear how Yamamoto is likely not the culprit as initially thought."

Akira shot a dagger-sharp glare at Hana, who could only offer a sheepish smile in response as if to say 'No hard feelings?'.

"Due to that development, there is one logical conclusion to make in regards to the rest of the suspects..." the red-haired teen continued, before declaring, "Someone's alibi is wrong!"

"That...is the most likely option..." Hiroshi muttered. "It wasn't murder-suicide, and we proved that Shiro was murdered after Saku so _he's_ probably not the killer..."

"Well if we're talking about alibis again...may I suggest my first two suspects once again?" Tadao spoke up. "Amari and Yonade were the only two not at the party, and I believe their alibis are shaky at best."

"Oh not this again..." Hana groaned.

"Tadao, are you fucking with us right now?" Hinata growled.

"I most certainly am not. The killer attacked Yamamoto from behind, so a strength difference wouldn't mean anything. And the statuette that was used to kill Koichi could have been wielded by anyone here," Tadao explained, gesturing to the rest of the students. "So Amari's injuries wouldn't have been much of a hindrance, and Yonade admitted to not being in his room the entirety of the party."

"Not much a hindrance? Shiro was killed in the heat of the moment! The killer probably _chased_ him into the wine room! He didn't even have time to finish his dying message!" Hana shouted at the waiter. "How would I have caught up to him so quickly with a stab wound in my leg, huh!?"

"And yeah, I admit it; I saw Shiro just before or even during Saku's murder, and I left my room at one point! But I'm saying that because I've got nothing to hide!" Hinata also yelled at the other young man. "Why would I admit to something that would make me a suspect if I'm the actual culprit!?"

"Damn, I don't even need to jump in here- I can just sit back and watch," Shiori remarked, appearing visibly amused by Hana and Hinata's verbal assault on Tadao.

"While your theory is...appreciated..." Akira began, her tone indicating the appreciation was a stretch. "We have better to do than try and resurrect dead theories."

Tadao scoffed, but responded, "Oh, fair enough- I simply thought the information we scrounged together would give my initial theory some more ground."

"..." Akira continued to gaze at him, as if trying to read his mind, before shaking her read subtly and stating, "Let's discuss the center of this whole case: the party, and where we all went during our respective ventures outside of it."

 _Didn't think we'd be talking about this again- or maybe I should have expected it, I basically destroyed any suspicion towards Saku._ Hana thought to herself. _Not even that, but...everyone at the party had the Despair Drink, right? So...how are we supposed to sort out whose alibi is wrong?_

"Well, we can rule out me and Miura immediately," Tadao began. "According to the log, we never left the party at all."

"Akira and I have alibis that are pretty tight- so it's unlikely that either of us would be able to commit the murders," Hiroshi rationalized thoughtfully.

"Then...it's just me, Rumi, and Shiori?" Asuna asked, then cried in a panic, "Oh god! N-None of us are the killers, I swear!"

"Y'know, I feel like it'd be a little hard to kill someone if you don't remember doing it," Hinata said. "The Despair Drink, remember?"

"Maybe the killer was just _that_ dedicated to making themselves seem like less of a suspect?" Rumi suggested. "So they _did_ drink it? So we'd suspect them less?"

"No, to put themselves into a blackout state for an hour would be too much of a risk for them," Akira refuted.

"Well, I saw everyone take a drink of that damn motive," Ryoto spoke up. "So, maybe Hinata's right! No one faked drinking anything, do you know how hard that would be to do!?"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana cried out before the debate could continue; somehow, the idea of faking consuming a drink would explain a certain, strange piece of evidence she had found during the investigation.

"Hard, maybe, but...not impossible," Hana told her classmates. "At the very least, I don't think _faked_ drinking the Despair Drink, at least not in the traditional sense. They did drink something during the party...but it wasn't the Despair Drink."

"Huh? How do you know _that?"_ Ryoto inquired, crossing his arms with a frown.

"Because when I was looking around the banquet room during the investigation, I saw something weird with one of the glasses," the surfer explained. "There was this...black mark on the bottom of it, like from a permanent marker or something."

"Well, that's just vandalism of a perfectly good cup!" Tadao remarked sharply.

"But it's also weird, isn't it?" Hana asked. "Obviously someone drew the mark on there, and in a spot where anyone who wasn't drinking from it probably wouldn't see it. So...why would someone do that...?"

"I think I get it," Hiroshi spoke up. "You guys all saw the Despair Drink, right? And we all know how, without the label, we'd probably mistake it for just another beverage, right?"

"We said that about 20 times now, so can one of you get to the point?" Shiori asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Uh- point is, maybe the killer gave the Despair Drink to everyone else..." Hana began. "But what if they used a different but identical drink in their own glass? And they marked that glass so they'd know which one was safe?"

"A simple plan- but effective, I'd say, especially considering how unassuming the Despair Drink looks by itself," Akira conceded. "It would also explain how everyone had a drink prior to the memory blackout, yet one of us was still able to leave and commit murder."

"S-So we have to figure out who had the marked glass!" Asuna exclaimed.

"In this situation, normally I'd suggest performing a series of DNA tests on the glass..." Hiroshi responded. "But, ah, needless to say I don't have that kind of equipment in this castle."

"Pfft, you guys are overthinking this," Hinata told them. "Just look at whoever handed out the drinks. Unless you guys all grabbed your own, and in that case- yeah, we're screwed."

 _That actually makes sense- I mean, assuming there was a specific server._ Hana agreed with a slight nod to herself. _And if that was the case, then the only person who I can think of would be-_

 _..._ Hana froze, both physically and mentally. _...No way. You...You have_ got _to be kidding me...!_

Before she could allow her train of thought to go too far ahead, the surfer quickly reminded herself what the question at hand was- best to focus on that, then deal with the implications.

"...There's only one person who I can see being the one to serve the drinks," Hana finally said. "That was you, right Tadao?"

Tadao's eyes widened slightly, but the young man simply responded, "I can't say that's too much of an insane conclusion, but why would you say that?"

"...But you _did_ serve the drinks," Rumi pointed out, crossing her arms. "Ask anyone who was at the party, they'll agree with me."

In response to this, the Ultimate Waiter made some kind of choking sound as if he had been punched in the gut, but his composure had returned as quickly as it had left.

"That's right...you did serve the drinks, Shimaru," Akira confirmed, her fierce gaze now directed at Tadao. "And that includes the glass with the mark, doesn't it?"

"AHA! I WAS RIGHT THE WHOLE TIME!" Ryoto shouted. "TADAO'S THE KILLER!"

"N-No I'm not!" Tadao swiftly responded. "You all...are jumping to conclusions rather quickly, aren't you?"

"I mean, how could the person serving the drinks _not_ notice the mark on one of the glasses?" Hana asked accusingly. "And besides, you're the Ultimate Waiter, you of all people should have noticed something like that!"

"Amari- would you kindly be quiet?" Tadao asked, attempting to sound courteous (but there was a clear growl to his tone).

"No, she's right, so maybe _you_ should be the one being quiet, eh?" Shiori shot back at the waiter.

"Yes, it _is_ strange how you of all people could be so careless..." Akira also agreed. "So strange, in fact, that it can't be anything but purposeful. Which can only mean either you drank from the marked yourself and you're the blackened, or you gave the glass to the killer and you're an accomplice."

"Gh..." Tadao growled to himself, before once again regaining his calm and responding, "I can assure you, I was just as shocked to hear about the mark on the glass- perhaps the killer simply relied on luck to ensure that I would give them the correct glass?"

"Man, I wish someone here had that kinda luck- and that they would pass some of it to me," Hinata remarked.

"In other words, you can't really wave this away with simple luck, Tadao," Hiroshi told his classmate with a subtly grim tone.

"I...listen! I understand how this looks for me, but I can assure you this is all a misunderstanding!" Tadao insisted.

"Yeah right! You've been going on about how you wanted to kill someone for days now!" Ryoto yelled at him. "I can practically SMELL the blood on your hands!"

"And you suspected me of murder in the last trial, and look how that turned out!" the waiter refuted. "The point is, if you're going to accuse me of being the blackened, you'll have to do better than just some ink on glass!"

"...Challenge accepted, Shimaru," Akira stated, gaining that confident smirk she had earlier in the trial. She then turned her attention to Asuna and ordered, "Izumi! Show us Koichi's dying message again!"

"Uh- sure," Asuna responded, quickly holding up the light blue notebook and turning it to the blood-spattered page once again.

There it was again for Hana and her classmates to see- Shiro's final message to the class and a direct clue to the killer, the word 'aquamarine' hastily written on the page. Hana furrowed her brow, then looked over at Tadao; how could 'aquamarine', in any of its meanings, possibly apply to the Ultimate Waiter? Tadao, on the other hand, seemed to be having a difficult time keeping a level head- in fact, from the clenched teeth to the death grip on the podium, it was clear _something_ about the message now had him perturbed.

"Everyone- take a good look at Shimaru, and I'm certain the answer to Koichi's message will be as clear as day," Akira told the other Ultimates, gesturing to the young man in question.

 _I'm trying to, but...I can't really make it out..._ Hana began mentally, narrowing her eyes somewhat at the waiter; she scrutinized his clothes, his face, what he might own- wait a second.

Hana looked at Tadao a little more closely...and the answer made itself clear to her, just as Akira said it would. "Hey, Tadao...your eyes. They're...blue-green."

Tadao said nothing, although he did try to avoid eye contact with anyone as if trying to hide his irises without actually closing his eyes.

"W-Wait...yeah, Tadao's eyes!" Asuna spoke up. "They're like a...sea-green! A-And sea-green, that's...that's another name for aquamarine! W-Which is weird because they're not exactly the same shade, but still!"

"So...when he wrote 'aquamarine', Shiro was talking about his killer's eye color?" Hinata asked. "Guess it's not so complicated after all."

"Glad to see some of you do have functioning brain cells," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses. "Considering what we've discussed regarding the glass, the alibis, and the dying message..."

She then turned her ruby-colored eyes on Tadao and added, "Not to mention your entire behavior throughout this trial has been completely out of character for you- the arguments, the accusations, the overall aggressiveness, did you honestly think I wouldn't notice? At first I thought it was simple desperation to find the culprit, but now that Yamamoto has been cleared...I have a new suspect."

With an accusatory tone, Akira pointed at her suspect and declared, "Tadao Shimaru is the blackened who murdered Yamamoto and Koichi!"

Ryoto then punctuated the accusation with a resounding, "I KNEW IT!"

Hana clenched her own fists, a mixture of anger and sadness welling up in her. _I can't believe this...Tadao actually did it- he actually pulled off a murder...!_

Her thoughts, however, were broken with an exclamation from the other side of the trialroom.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Tadao yelled out before more voices could join in. "Rimutsu, everyone, don't- don't just jump to conclusions like that! The mark on the glass, it..."

He shook his head. "I...have no explanation for that. As for Koichi's message, it- he was killed before he finished writing it! Yes, 'aquamarine' was the only thing he finished writing, but who's to say that was his entire intended message? No one can say that!"

"Right, because arguing even more desperately is doing _wonders_ for your defense," Shiori deadpanned.

 _It's a miracle, but...I'm starting to agree with Akira. Tadao being the killer makes the most sense after everything we talked about..._ Hana thought. _I wish we could just end this trial here and now, but...there's gotta be a better way to prove it aside from just the message and the glass._

"Just admit dude! You're the killer!" Ryoto shouted at the waiter yet again.

"I am not! I swear on my life that I was unaware of the mark on the glass!" Tadao insisted. "And 'aquamarine' could apply to so many things beyond just _my_ eye color!"

"Yet the way you've been acting thus far raises several red flags," Akira reminded. "So desperate to throw suspicion onto others...yet you make no substantial suggestions of your own."

"Besides, it's not like you're the least likely suspect," Rumi added. "Like, we said that anyone could have picked up the statue that killed Shiro, so in that case..."

"And I dunno about you, but I don't know anything or anyone else that's..." Hinata began. "What was it...sea-green or whatever?"

"Oh, so what, two pieces of circumstantial evidence?" Tadao refuted. "What else do you possibly have against me, huh?"

A condescending edge entering his voice, the waiter asked, "Could it be the crate that was broken in the watchtower? Or maybe the tablecloth from the sunroom that you say killed Yamamoto? Or what about the red wine bottle that supposedly knocked him out beforehand!?"

It seemed that Tadao was about to continue, but Hana caught the contradiction in his statement and shouted, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Gah-!? You _again,_ Amari!?" Tadao snarled as he was interrupted.

"Yeah, it's me again!" Hana yelled back at him. "And what I want to know is...how did you know what color the wine bottle was?"

"...Eh?" was the only response a clearly baffled Tadao could muster.

"Yeah, we talked about how one of the bottles from the wine room was used to knock out Saku- the same type of bottle that was used on me the day before," Hana explained. "But! No one actually described what either bottle looked like, let alone what color one of them was!"\

Tadao's eyes widened somewhat as he realized the blunder he had made in the heat of the moment. Conversely, Akira appeared _extremely_ satisfied by this turn of events, like a chess player that had was on the verge of checkmating their opponent.

 _Huh...this must be what Akira wanted all along- she kept the details vague because she was counting on the culprit slipping up and mentioning something they shouldn't have known..._ Hana pondered. _Guess that's why she wouldn't let me talk before._

"Now, who did I say knew the finer details of the wine room incident yesterday?" Akira inquired again. "Myself, Amari, Ashi...and the one who attempted to murder Amari."

"That's right! And the fact that you knew that can only mean one thing!" Hana then added. "Tadao, you had to have been the one who attacked me in the wine room!"

Only as the words left her mouth did the surfer actually begin to comprehend them. _...Wait...Tadao...was the one who attacked me. Tadao...was the one who-_

"...Tadao? Is she right?" Hiroshi asked. "Are you the one who attacked her?"

At first, Tadao was dead silent, barely able to keep his calm. Then, after a few moments of contemplation, the waiter let out a small breath and responded, "Okay...Okay, I...suppose I'm already under scrutiny, so hiding something like this would make my case even worse..."

He then looked directly at Hana and confessed, "I admit it. The one who attacked you in the wine room just before the end of nighttime, and the one you saw wandering the castle that hour...was me."

Hana's eyes widened as her thoughts were not only confirmed, but blatantly repeated nearly word for word. If there was any other noise in the courtroom following this revelation, she didn't hear it; she was too busy trying to come to terms with what had just happened. There he was, Tadao Shimaru, the one who had nearly killed her a day earlier- the reason she had had a brush with death, and had been in quite a bit of pain despite her survival.

Due to this, several thoughts and emotions were whirling in her mind- shock, confusion, apprehension, and everything in between...but those soon gave away to pure, blazing rage, and that rage manifested into one quick exclamation from the Ultimate Surfer:

 _"TADAO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"_

That wrathful cry caused several, if not all, of the other students to jump in shock, but Hana didn't care. She also didn't care about her injuries from the attack- the girl was acting purely on furious instinct, and that instinct fueled her to practically sprint away from her podium towards Tadao's.

"HANA, NO!" Rumi cried, immediately moving from her own spot and grabbing the surfer by her arms before she could get very far. At the same time, Tadao let out a frightened cry as he reflexively crouched down, as if trying to hide behind the podium.

"Lemme at him! I'm gonna see how HE likes it!" Hana roared, viciously struggling against Rumi's grip- sure, the scuba diver was a few inches taller than her, but Hana was the one with the athletic-themed talent.

"No! You are _not_ beating up anyone!" Rumi forcefully responded, yet it seemed she was having trouble keeping the surfer restrained.

"A-Amari! Don't you think we should, y-you know- talk this out civilly?" Tadao suggested, slowly rising yet again. "You and I, we're both Ultimates after all, and I'm certain we can come to a-"

"SHUT UP! YOU ALMOST _KILLED_ ME!" Hana shouted at him, her eyes burning with white-hot rage.

"Y-Yes! Almost! You're still here, aren't you?" Tadao attempted to rationalize.

"I ALMOST DIED!" Hana cried out, once again trying to jerk away from Rumi. "You didn't just knock me out, you STABBED me too! I almost bled out! If Rumi and Hiroshi hadn't found me, I wouldn't be here right now! AND EVEN THEN, Shiori still had a hard time trying to fix me! AND IT'S ALL _YOUR_ FAULT!"

"Hana, come on, you need to calm down," Hiroshi scolded her, his gray gaze hard. "This isn't what the trial's about."

Ryoto, on the other hand, yelled out, "YEAH! Kick his ass, Hana!"

"Don't encourage her!" Rumi shouted at the racecar driver in response.

"My intent was to defend myself! I had no idea why you had followed me, for I all know you-" Tadao began. "You might have been planning to kill me! I wasn't about to take that chance!"

"Kill you!? I had no idea what was going on! I didn't know it was you! I was about to chalk it up to a hallucination when you FUCKING STABBED ME!" Hana shouted, glaring daggers at the waiter.

"H-Hana! Cut it out already, my arms are getting tired!" Rumi pleaded with her friend. "Can one of you help me here!?"

"I dunno, Rumi- seems like he kinda has it coming," Hinata responded with a shrug, though the sly look on his face indicated he was simply enjoying the idea of Tadao receiving a beatdown from Hana.

"As a doctor, I'd advise against beating the shit out of someone when you've still got a healing gash in your leg..." Shiori began...but then added, "But as someone with actual common sense- yeah, no, I'd say give him what he deserves."

"Y-You guys are terrible! We can't just beat each other up like that!" Asuna cried, shakily gripping her fedora as she fearfully watched the scene unfold.

"I didn't know that at the time! I was focused on my own self-preservation!" Tadao yelled right back at her. "If anything, you are partially at fault for leaving before morning as well! And it takes two to make an accident, you know!"

"DON'T TRY TO PLAY THE VICTIM! YOU attacked ME!" Hana countered. "Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up and find out you're bleeding to death!? Do you know what it's like to have to walk to another part of the castle with a sliced leg!? Can you imagine what it's like to have these headaches every time you're really stressed!? CAN YOU!?"

"Would both of you get a grip already!? We're supposed to be solving a double murder here!" Akira shouted at Tadao and Hana. "If this were a real courtroom, I would-"

Suddenly, Akira was interrupted when a deafening, mechanical sound echoes throughout the courtroom.

 _TSEEEEEER!_

All attention was turned to the source of the sound- Monokuma and his throne. It would appear that, as Hana and Tadao were arguing, Monokuma had opened some kind of small covering on one of the armrests, revealing a small control panel of some kind. Pressing one of the larger buttons on the panel was what generated the noise, and right after that something shot out from the back of the throne. Five somethings, actually: five metallic arms of some kind revealed themselves from behind the throne, and each arm had a larger-than-average spear gun attacked to the end; loaded spear guns, each one having an intimidating dark silver spear ready to be fired.

The entire class was stunned into silence as they stared at the device- even Hana felt her earlier rage extinguish into nothingness as she set her eyes on the five mounted spear guns. All the while, Monokuma was silently gazing out at the students, a sadistically amused grin plastered onto his black and white face.

"...What, uh...whatcha got there...?" Hinata asked, attempting and failing to sound casual instead of fearful.

"Oh, these? Just a little something my higher-ups installed for me in case you rascals became a little too...out of control for my liking," Momokuma explained, pressing a few of the buttons and moving a little joystick around to individually move some of the arms. "I call 'em the Arms of Gungnir! Pretty cool, eh?"

Unsurprisingly, nobody said anything.

"Now, unless you all want a live and personal demonstration on how they work, or if you just wanna help me with target practice..." the bear went on. "Then I suggest you all settle down and get back to your spots! You can brawl it out all you want _after_ the trial! No one wants a trial to be derailed any longer than it needs to be, and that especially goes for me!"

As he spoke, Hana had the sinking feeling that his gaze was directed right at her- and, as if to confirm, she could tell some of the "Arms of Gungnir" had been slightly aimed in her direction. As all the color drain from her face as she gazed at the imposing spear guns, she felt Rumi hesitantly release her grip on her. Of course, the scuba diver's trepidation was unfounded, as Hana then slowly backed away towards her podium, still keeping her gaze locked on the Arms as if they might fire at any moment.

Once Hana was back in her podium, Monokuma pressed another button on the control panel again, and one by one the mechanical arms folded into the back of the throne. When they were finished, the Arms had retracted in such a way that they were completely hidden by the back of the throne from the perspective of the circle of students in front of it- no wonder this was the first time they were seeing them.

"Thank you for the cooperation! As much fun as it would have been to watch Blondie beat the crap outta Penguin, I think you'll agree there are more pressing matters to take care of!" Monokuma informed them. "Come on everyone! We're nearing the epic climax, the case's ultimate breaking point! One last showdown between blackened and spotless- _hop to it!"_

"...Th-That is...we..." Akira began- even the iron-willed Ultimate Prosecutor was completely dumbfounded by this turn of events, and she too found difficulty in peeling her eyes away from where the Arms had once been. "We...truly _should_ go on with the case...since we've made another breakthrough..."

"H-How are we supposed to go on from _that...?"_ Ryoto whimpered.

 _I'm with him, I don't know how we're supposed to deal with knowing that Monokuma just has a bunch of spear guns attached to his throne..._ Hana wondered, certain that her face was still pale from fright. _As if these trials weren't stressful enough..._

"So...Shimaru...you confess then? You are the one who attacked Amari in the wine room?" Akira inquired yet again in an attempt to steer the trial back on course.

"Yes, I-" Tadao began, glancing at Hana as if to ensure she wouldn't lose her temper again before continuing, "I did that."

Regaining her lost footing, the surfer didn't try to attack Tadao again, but sent another furious glare his way to make her feelings clear.

"What were you even doing in the wine room during nighttime anyways?" Rumi asked the waiter, flexing her wrists as if they were sore from restraining Hana (the surfer made a mental note to apologize to Rumi later).

"Well, truth be told...it's quite simple," Tadao explained. "I, too, went for a walk throughout the castle...and I found myself in the wine room because it reminded me of the classy and homey restaurants that I would find myself working in. Believe it or not, I too need a reprieve from time to time."

"From what, being an asshole?" Shiori inquired.

"No!" Tadao snapped in response. "Honestly, I tire of all this suspicion against me! All of this has been a waste of time, this entire talk we've had is completely...! Utterly...!"

At that moment, the Ultimate Waiter seemed to calm himself yet again (a miracle, considering everything that had just happened) as he finished, "...Irrelevant."

"I-Irrelevant?" Hana stammered, surprised by Tadao's casual response.

"Yes- that's why I confessed to being the attacker, for I have nothing else to hide," the waiter explained. "This is a trial to find out who murdered Yamamoto and Koichi- what happened between me and Amari has nothing to do with it!"

"But what about the wine bottles?" Hiroshi pointed out. "We established that another one of the red wine bottles was used to knock out Saku prior to his death. Since that's a specific weapon, and you already knew it would be an effective weapon based on what you did to Hana..."

"That was a coincidence!" Tadao refuted. "Honestly, anyone would think a glass bottle of that size and thickness would be an efficient weapon- I did, that's the whole reason I used one in the first place without even thinking about it! Who's to say someone else didn't have the same idea by chance!?"

The waiter then calmed himself yet again, speaking out with confidence, "Face it- I may have been the one who almost killed Amari the day before, but I did not kill Yamamoto and Koichi. There is no connection between this murder and the previous incident- and _that_ is the truth!"

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 **A/N: Oh boy, things sure got crazy, didn't they? But I really had fun writing angery Hana- well, Hana's fun to write in general, but raging protagonist is a special kind of fun. Also Monokuma has spear guns, just a- little casual reminder.**

 **So! It seems that nearly all of the mysteries are falling into place, we even found out who attacked Hana in the wine room at the end of Daily Life Part 2: Tadao, that murderous son of a gun! But now, it seems the trial is reaching its end- but we still have several questions left to answer, questions that will no doubt prove once and for all whether or not Tadao is truly the blackened or not! And the question that I'll leave y'all to speculate right now is: Is there another way to connect the attack in the wine room with the current murders aside from the red wine bottle?**

 **Now, talking meta here for a sec, uh- school is gonna be a little hectic in the coming week(s), due to some projects that I gotta deal with, so the next part and finale of Chapter 3 may be slightly delayed. Not sure by how much, heck I may even be able to get it out on time, but if not- blame school.**

 **Also for next time: the post-trial section is not gonna be (or at least it shouldn't be) _nearly_ as long as Chapter 2's was, which is why it's not going to have its own separate part. Nope, the finale of the class trial and the post-trial/execution stuff will be in the same chapter, so look forward to that! And if either of those somehow become longer than I thought they'd be, well...you're just gonna have an extra-long part for next time, so you'll hafta deal with it. **

**Okay, that should be all for announcements- next time, whenever that may be, the end of Chapter 3! I look forward to any lingering speculations in the reviews or whatnot, and hope to see you again next time! Bye!~**


	29. Chapter 3: A Dark Design (Part 10)

**A/N: Hehehehe- it's time, everyone. The time has come to end this trial once and for all! I'm actually surprised how quickly I managed to get this part out- like, it's been a little over a week? When usually I take about two weeks? Haha, and here I thought I'd be running _late_ with this! Incredible how life works out, eh? **

**Now...the truth is within the reach of the 80th Class (or what's left of it), they just gotta go for it! Last time, a lot of revelations were made, including the identity of who tried to kill Hana at the end of Daily Life Part 2! In related news, angry Hana is scary in-universe but** ** _so_** **much fun to write in real life.**

 **Now, I feel the killer is pretty self-evident at this point, and it seems most of the class has it figured out too- but there are still a few more mysteries to sort out before they can come to a clear answer. Did Tadao Shimaru truly make good on his earlier threats and become the blackened? Or could there still be one more nasty twist to this trial? The end of Chapter 3 begins...now!**

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 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Honestly? I don't think Hana would mind that. Anyways, still seems like you have your doubts on who the true killer is, but don't you worry- by the end of this part, those questions will be answered and more!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ You would think, and honestly I think he's considered it, but- you know. And regarding the message- like Hiroshi said, Shiro was probably trying to write more than just the culprit's eye color, but he was killed before he could finish, and thus 'aquamarine' was what the class was left with. And as for the other things you speculated...well, this part should wrap up any lingering questions!**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Oooh, lotsa stuff to unpack with this one! So where to start...well first of all, I think the chances of you being right about Tadao are 99% at this point, and if this part should wrap it all up in one last murderous package, so look forward to that! **

**And, oh my...is that shipping I see? Awesome, this story has officially entered the phase where people ship the characters (and no, Rumi doesn't count), that's great! ...I say that now, but I think we all know how crazy shipping can get, but I have hope things won't get too insane with this story! Oh, also- is that an OT3 I smell? ...Well, not gonna deny what you wanna ship, so go for it! And as for Akira...well, I'm not gonna say anything about that, you'll just have to let time tell where her relations with Hana will end up.**

 **And lastly, regarding reviewer stuff- the only things I really 'draw' from reviews would be, like, ideas for jokes and such (for example, Tadao being called "Penguin"). More plot-related stuff, not so much- like, Tadao being called out for his strangely aggressive behavior, for example, was planned all along, you guys were just perceptive enough to pick up on it as well (which is not a bad thing- this _is_ a mystery story after all, and what fun would it be if the readers have no idea what's going on?). All in all- solid stuff you've got going on here, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion to this trial and chapter!**

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 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- Class Trial (Part 3)**

"It's irrelevant! It's all completely irrelevant!" Tadao shouted at his classmates. "I may have been the one to attack Amari the day before, but I did _not_ kill Yamamoto or Koichi!"

Hana said nothing, but narrowed her eyes with a rage that was sill smoldering within her, despite the (slightly) diffused situation. This trial had been stressful enough- from the deaths of, not one, but two classmates, Saku unintentionally complicating the trial from beyond the grave with his note to Shiro (but then again, Hana realized she hadn't been much better, keeping the note a secret until the last second), the killer's attempts to frame said kickboxer and Hana fighting an uphill battle to clear his name...but this? Uncovering the identity of the student who had nearly killed her the day before? That had been the straw that broke the camel's back, and she had nearly paid for it with Monokuma's bunch of spear guns (which she still couldn't wrap her head around, and the fact that he had those gave her no security at all).

And now, here she was- staring down Tadao Shimaru, her attacker and the current prime suspect of the double homicide. The path to get to this point had been a long one, not unlike the last two trials, but now the truth was within their grasp...hopefully.

"Tadao, you can't just chalk up everything to be either coincidences or unrelated," Hiroshi told him with a disapproving frown.

"And even still- the knowledge that you were the one that attacked Amari the morning before..." Akira remarked to herself, before telling him in a threatening tone, "If you do turn out to be innocent, Shimaru, you'll have to answer for that too, you know."

"Fine, fine, I don't care- as long as you realize I'm not the killer!" Tadao insisted yet again. "Until you can provide more proof that the two incidents are connected, I cannot be voted as the blackened!"

 _I don't see how it could be anyone but Tadao at this point, what with all the evidence against him..._ Hana thought to herself. _But he's still got a point- the fact that the wine bottle was used both times_ could _be a coincidence. One hell of a coincidence, in my opinion, but still...if we can find something else to connect what happened to me with the murders, then that should be enough. Shouldn't it?_

"You attacked Hana the day before Saku and Shiro died!" Ryoto shouted at Tadao. "That CAN'T be a coincidence!"

"It is! How was I supposed to know a murder would happen the next day!?" Tadao refuted.

"You've got a lot of nerve, you know!" Rumi angrily told the waiter. "First you try to kill Hana, then you accused her right off the bat? I may have stopped her from beating you up, but that doesn't mean I like what you did!"

"Honestly, what he did to Hana was bad, but that alone doesn't prove he's the killer this time..." Hiroshi rationalized. "The wine bottle, on the other hand..."

"Oh enough of that, Ashi! I already said that doesn't truly prove anything!" Tadao yelled at the coroner.

"Well, you were the one who used it the first time," Asuna said. "And then the same weapon was used on Saku..."

"Slow down a sec- how'd we prove the wine bottle was the thing used to K.O. Saku again?" Hinata inquired. "Something about shelves?"

"Seriously? Do you have the attention span of a goldfish?" Shiori snapped at the thief. "The shelf in the wine room was missing another red wine bottle, when before there had only been one missing."

"Okay...but what about other weapons?" Hinata then asked. "Nothing else was used besides the wine bottle, right?"

With a clear contradiction heard, Hana interrupted the Ultimate Thief and called out, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Hold on, Hinata- the wine bottle wasn't the only thing I was attacked with," the surfer informed him.

"Really? Ah, you know I don't remember that morning, thanks to that damn motive..." Hinata responded, muttering to himself bitterly.

"Anyways, before I was knocked out with the bottle, I was stabbed in the leg too," Hana explained. "Right, guys?"

"As the one who treated you, I can confirm," Shiori responded. "The stab went directly into the right thigh, even severing the femoral artery- with a wound like that, you very easily could have bled out if the others had found you later."

"S-Stabbed too!?" Asuna yelped. "Tadao, why!?"

"S-Self defense! I- brought a knife with me in case someone tried to murder me," Tadao explained. "Like I said, I thought that was why Amari had followed me into the wine room- obviously, I was wrong, but at the time..."

"Don't 'at the time' us, I thought _I_ was the one about to be murdered!" Hana snapped at the waiter before he could finish. "For someone who thought he had to defend himself, you sure did a hell of a job _jamming a knife through my leg!"_

"Hana, Hana, watch your temper- don't want to make Monokuma angry again," Hiroshi admonished her. He then said, possibly in an attempt to change the subject, "Uh- weren't you going to talk about the knife, Hana?"

"O-Oh, yeah, I was," Hana replied, quickly trying to calm herself down.

"On the topic of the knife used on Amari...we never found it," Akira spoke up. "But, I believe I managed to come up with a good idea of what it might have been. I asked Shimaru the day of the attack if anything had been missing from the kitchen-"

"And I was honest with her to deflect suspicion towards me- I told her a chef's knife had gone missing," Tadao confirmed. "You asked me something similar during the investigation, Amari."

"The depth of the stab wound seemed to confirm this- from what I could gather, I'd say the blade was about...eight and a half inches long," Shiori explained. "So, yeah, seems about right for something like a chef's knife."

"Well- what if I said that knife had been found?" Hana then told the others, leaning forward slightly. "Not just by me, but by anyone who saw the scene in the sunroom."

"The sunroom? But the only things that were in there were Saku's body, the knife, the-" Ryoto began...before he realized what Hana was getting at, and he loudly declared, "WAIT A SECOND!"

"So...your second attempt at connecting what I did to these murders is the knife that was used on Yamamoto?" Tadao inquired, skeptical. "What, are you going to say it's the same knife?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm saying!" Hana confirmed. "That knife the killer used to slit Saku's stomach was the same knife that _you_ used to stab me!"

"Gah-!? Don't say something so asinine without proof!" Tadao retorted. "It's not like there was only one knife of that type in the kitchen, maybe-"

"Actually...I noticed something about the knife in the sunroom," Hiroshi spoke up. "Now, the blade was covered in Saku's blood, yes...but I also found traces of more blood beneath that. Older blood, I'd say about a day old at that point."

"Ew!" Rumi yelped. "God, I could never handle doing your job, Hiroshi..."

"Gross, but important," Hiroshi added. "Because that means the knife had been used at least one other time prior to the murders. And look at that- someone _was_ severely stabbed a little over 24 hours before this incident- interesting timing, wouldn't you agree?"

"But that wasn't the only thing weird about the knife," Hana went on. "On the handle, there was...something. Like, little pieces of something sticking to it. Looking back on it, I...think it might have been tape. Like, masking tape."

"Masking tape?" Hinata asked. "Well that's weird- why were there pieces of tape on the handle?"

"And does it actually tie the incident yesterday to the incident today?" Shiori also inquired.

"I think it does," Hana responded with a nod. _That's right...if what was stuck to the knife was really masking tape, then the evidence that ties my attack to Saku and Shiro's murders is..._

"Shiori...during the investigation, remember when I found that floorboard in the wine room?" Hana asked the surgeon. "The one that was loose, and you could just take it out?"

"Oh yeah- you were pretty damn ecstatic about it," Shiori confirmed. "Something about how, just before you were attacked the day before, you...bumped your foot into it or something. In fact, you didn't remember what exactly it had been until that moment from what I could gather."

"Well, yeah- finding it during the investigation was what made me remember," Hana told her. "But at the time, I didn't know what it meant...but now I think I do."

The surfer went on, "See, on the back of that floorboard, I found some torn strips of masking tape. Not even that, but on the tape- and kinda on the floorboard itself- there were older bloodstains. And that, plus the torn tape on the knife handle...makes me think the knife that was used on me had been hidden under the floorboard, then the killer went and grabbed so they could use it on Saku!"

"But who the hell just has masking tape lying around?" Hinata asked.

"And why did they just leave the knife all bloody instead of cleaning it?" Rumi also questioned.

"W-Well...the storage room has, like, supplies and stuff- like, paper and pencils and other office stuff..." Asuna responded. "Masking tape would probably fit into that category too, a-and it's not like the storage is locked 24/7- I should know, I'm the one who locks it- so..."

"And as for why the knife wasn't cleaned..." Shiori pondered. "Well, the kitchen's locked at night so there's no accessing dishwashing stuff, and washing a bloody knife in your bathroom sink wouldn't be as effective, not to mention carrying around a bloody knife is suspicious enough- yeah, I guess it would just be the least riskiest move to just leave the knife, bloody or not."

"...I wonder..." Akira muttered to herself. "Amari? When you went to the wine room that morning, and your foot hit the floorboard...was it already removed at that time?"

"...Uh...I think...?" Hana responded, trying to wrack her head for the memory. "When I first hit it, it didn't seem like it was evenly in the floor. Plus, I picked it up pretty easily, like it was already lying there, removed. So...I guess yes, it was? Maybe?"

"...Perhaps, Shimaru..." Akira began, turning back to the waiter in question. "Perhaps _that_ was the real reason you went to the wine room that morning."

"W-What are you saying, Rimutsu?" Tadao asked, narrowing his eyes somewhat.

"I'm saying- assuming you _are_ the killer- you've been planning this murder for a little while now," the prosecutor explained. "Seeking out the motive, exploring the West Wing like you were, even going so far as to test out the motive on one of the others. Who's to say, as part of your preparations, you didn't plan on hiding a potential murder weapon somewhere in the Wing? And when Amari walked in on you, you attacked her out of fear that she would figure out what you were doing?"

"Th-That is...! I...!" Tadao stammered, clearly caught off guard by the accusation.

"And by the way- don't try to deny anything about the attack, because you confessed beyond all doubt that you were the one who attacked Amari," Akira then added, crossing her arms. "Stabbing and bludgeoning and all."

Tadao's eyes widened in horror as the realization of what he had done by confessing dawned on him. His hands began to shake, his breathing grew rather quick, and his usual composure was evidently beginning to break down.

"Which I wouldn't have, by the way!" Hana then added with a glare. "Seriously, you didn't have to-"

"Oh, shut UP, Amari!" Tadao snapped at the surfer. "I already confessed to being the attacker! And now you all intend to pin me as the murderer too!? Desperation is what this is! You all just have no other leads, so you've been listening to that idiot lead us all down a rabbit hole!"

"The evidence doesn't lie, Tadao," Hiroshi told him. "Listen, it's not that we like doing this, but-"

"Hah! Well, if you love your evidence so much, then maybe you should look again!" Tadao rudely responded. "Don't you realize this entire story you've concocted is completely impossible!?"

"It's not impossible!" Hana shouted at him. "You had to have known about the marked glass, Shiro's dying message was talking about your eye color, you were the only one besides me and Hiroshi and Akira who knew about the wine bottle, you _also_ had to have known about the knife-"

"Knock it off! God, don't you ever know when to shut up?!" Tadao shouted at the surfer- apparently, any fear he may have had towards Hana following her outburst had evaporated with his rage. "This is all your fault, you know! If you hadn't brought up what happened in the wine room, the discussion wouldn't have come to this! You've screwed up everyone's perception of this case with an impossible theory!"

"Do you hear me!? The idea that _I'm_ the killer is impossible!" Tadao cried out. "Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible!"

"We heard you the first time, thanks," Shiori stated flatly.

"Why do you keep saying it's impossible!?" Hana yelled right back at him.

"Look at the evidence!" Tadao responded. "The alibis! Or have you forgotten about those!?"

"HEY! Don't bring my _brilliant_ idea into YOUR BULLSHIT!" Ryoto shouted at the waiter.

"But look again! We've established from the very beginning that I was one of the two people who never once left Hamasaki's party!" Tadao explained with an arrogant grin. "Riddle me that Amari, since you seem so intent on pinning this on me, is there some way I could have left the party without anyone noticing?"

Hana's eyes widened as she stuttered, "W-Well, you-"

"No, even better- let's say, by some miracle, I _did_ leave the party before anyone noticed!" Tadao rambled on. "I would have had to have left before 6:05 in order to make it to the sunroom before Yamamoto and/or Koichi arrived, correct? The Despair Drink took effect at a little after 5:45, so that would be no issue, right?"

"Well, maybe-"

"But then I had to wait until- what, after 6:30 to kill Yamamoto? And then I spent even more time having to chase down Koichi and killing _him_ too?" Tadao demanded. "What would that leave me- about ten minutes to stage two crime scenes, then return to the banquet room before the Despair Drink would have worn off and thus causing everyone to realize I was gone!?"

"You're honestly saying that I knocked out Yamamoto, strangled him, chased Koichi, killed _him,_ took the knife and slit Yamamoto's stomach, climbed up the watchtower, pushed the crate down the stairs, took the debris into the wine room, _and_ returned to the banquet room before the Despair Drink even wore off!? In the span of less than ten minutes!?" Tadao continued. "What kind of divine intervention do you think was assisting me!?"

Hana grit her teeth, yet she still had no explanation for what Tadao was describing.

 _"That_ is why this entire story is impossible!" the Ultimate concluded. "There's no way I could have done all of that and make it back to the party in time!"

All the while, Hana kept silent as she thought about Tadao's final argument. _He's the killer. I know deep down that Tadao's the one who murdered Saku and Shiro. But, even with all this evidence...it doesn't change the point Tadao's been making. Yeah, it does seem weird that he could do all that and make it back to the banquet room before everyone's blackout ended. But, for him to be the killer...that has to have been what happened! So there's gotta be a way for that to have happened! That's the only way to end this damn trial once and for all!_

The girl thought hard, and she thought quickly to try and come up with an answer. She thought about the layout of the West Wing, anything that could have allowed Tadao to get from the top floor of the West Wing back down to the banquet room in time- it had to be possible, right?

 _...Wait a second..._ Hana thought to. The more she thought about it...there was one thing he could have used to make the trip back downstairs, and make it quickly. _I wonder...could he have used that thing...? No way, that seems pretty weird, but...I mean, it's possible, isn't it...?_

"...I think there _is_ something you could have used, Tadao," Hana answered. "And it doesn't just explain how you made it back to the party before the Despair Drink wore off, but it also kinda explains how you snuck out in the first place."

"What...!?" Tadao gasped, his eyes wide. "There is _no way..."_

"There _is_ a way- you used the dumbwaiter, didn't you?" Hana asked him with an accusing tone. "The one that goes between the wine room and the banquet room!"

"The...dumbwaiter...?" Shiori spoke. "Not to rain on your parade Hana, but those are typically used to move _items,_ not _people."_

"I dunno Doc, I saw that dumbwaiter myself..." Hinata responded. "And honestly, it seemed a bit bigger than your average lift. Seriously, I can see someone Tadao's size squeezing themselves into it."

"Plus...it seems like a more sophisticated type of dumbwaiter, what with it having a motor and all..." Asuna added. "It probably could have held up if a person was inside it."

"Yeah- and if you used that, you could cut the time it would take to get between the two floors into _seconds,"_ Hana explained. "Definitely enough time to return to the party before the Despair Drink wore off. Even if you cut it super close, using the dumbwaiter would make all kinds of difference."

Narrowing her eyes, the surfer inquired, "So, how about it, Tadao? You being the killer doesn't seem too impossible now, does it?"

"I...I refuse to accept this..." Tadao hissed, clenching his gloved hands. "You have no place accusing me, do you understand? You...You don't even know what you're saying! You're a fool, you're an idiot! You don't know the first thing about proper investigation, you honestly think I'm going to listen to _your_ arguments!?"

"Hey! I've made some breakthroughs in the last two trials, didn't I!?" Hana pointed out. "I may be an athlete, but-"

"Luck! That's all it was! You're no detective, your talent is completely useless to everyone here!" the waiter retorted. "So just shut up, would you!? _Your_ opinion means nothing! I refuse to acknowledge the arguments of a fool like you!"

"Then how about you acknowledge _my_ arguments- will that suffice, Shimaru?" Akira suddenly spoke up, cutting off both Tadao and Amari.

"R-Rimutsu...?" Tadao began, his arrogance vanishing yet again as he faced the Ultimate Prosecutor.

"I agree that Amari is far from detective material, and her victories in the past were based on nothing but luck and instincts," Akira conceded, speaking as if the surfer in question wasn't even in the room.

 _"Luck"...? "Instincts"...? I mean yeah,_ some _of it, but come on..._ Hana sadly told herself. _What's a girl gotta do to get some validation around here...?_

"But I cannot ignore the argument that has been made," Akira went on. "Thinking about that dumbwaiter...while it may seem somewhat unorthodox and unsafe, especially considering the other examples of questionable structural integrity in this castle, I have to agree with what Amari is saying."

"You do!?" Tadao yelped in shock.

"Dumbwaiters are built to be able to hold and transport items like food and such. A larger lift would mean stronger cables, especially if they would have to be able to last against being spun around a motor," the young woman explained. "So, to have to carry a person who is about...5'5", and only two times at that...the lift would survive."

"So in other words, it's entirely possible for Tadao to have used the dumbwaiter to get between the two floors?" Hiroshi summarized, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not just possible, it's the only way he could have snuck out and returned on time," Hana concluded.

At last, Tadao went silent, but the Ultimate Waiter was clearly seething from the revelations.

"Well then, unless anyone has any other objections..." Akira spoke up. "I believe we finally have all the information we need to piece together the events of the murder and identify the blackened."

"Hey, Hana- do you want to handle this?" Hiroshi asked the surfer. "After all, in a sense, you yourself were somewhat of a victim of this case too. If we didn't have Shiori's talent, you might not be standing here right now."

"No need to remind me..." Hana responded, taking a deep breath. "But...yeah. I'll do it."

 _Well, it's finally time again...I just need to put together the pieces of the murder itself using the evidence, just like I've done before._ Hana told herself to assure herself. _Okay...this is for Saku, and for Shiro...but I guess it's also a little bit for myself, too. I wanted to know who tried to kill me, and who killed Saku and Shiro...but I never would have guessed they'd be the same person..._

Resolving herself yet again, Hana declared, "Here's what I think happened!"

"The killer was actually planning these murders a while in advance, by at least a day or two- and I think it all began when they found Monokuma's motive hidden in the West Wing. It was a beverage that he called the "Despair Drink", and whatever it did, it would help the culprit with their murder plot. But the killer probably didn't know what the Drink actually did, so they planned to test it out on one of their classmates during one of the meetings. At that point, the culprit probably hid the motive somewhere they could access it and where nobody would try to look for it- they also tore the label off too, since Monokuma said the motive would have his eye symbol on it."

"In addition to using the Despair Drink, the culprit also evidently wanted to utilize the West Wing into their plan. So, the morning before they planned to test out the Despair Drink, the killer also went into the West Wing a little while before the morning announcement played. Their plan was to make more preparations for their murder plot- specifically, they were going to hide a potential murder weapon in the wine room: a knife from the kitchen. They brought the knife and some masking tape from the South Wing's storage room, then proceeded to remove a loose board from the wine room's floor. But before they could finish setting up the knife...something happened."

"The killer didn't realize this, but I was having trouble sleeping at that time, and I decided to go for a walk around the castle while everyone else was asleep. And when I did, I saw the culprit on the second floor of the South Wing, and I ultimately followed them into the wine room. The lights in the wine room don't work too well, so I couldn't turn them on, so as far as I knew nobody was actually there. But when I went a little farther into the wine room...my foot bumped against that floorboard that the killer had removed. Probably afraid that I would realize something was wrong, they attacked me right after. They used the kitchen knife to stab me in the leg, and then, before I could even figure out what was going on, they grabbed one of the large red wine bottles that was kept in a rack full of eleven other identical bottles and bashed me over the head with it. I was knocked out, and the bottle was broken slightly, causing the drink inside to spill on me and the floor.

"Now, the culprit could have killed me right there...but for some reason, they didn't. I can only imagine it was because they wanted to incorporate the Despair Drink into a more elaborate murder plan somehow, which wouldn't happen if they killed me like that. So, the killer got rid of the broken bottle and finished taping the now bloody knife to the bottom of the board, putting it back in its spot on the floor, and left before the end of nighttime."

"That morning, before the others realized I was missing, the culprit made good on their plan to test out the Despair Drink. Because the drink itself doesn't look that suspicious, it would have been easy for them to simply serve it to one of the others, who would be none the wiser. They chose to give the Despair Drink to Ryoto- which I think was a bit of spite on the killer's part- but Hinata swiped it during breakfast and drank it himself. Not that it really deterred the killer; either way, seeing how Hinata acted during and after the effects took place allowed them to figure out just what the Despair Drink would do. To be more specific: the Despair Drink has this drug in it called midazolam, and that ingredient is what causes whoever ingested the Drink to have a memory blackout, although it doesn't make them act any different than they normally would. And based on what Hinata could and couldn't remember from that morning when Rumi and Hiroshi and found me, the killer was also able to figure out the effects lasted for an hour."

"So, they had the motive sorted out and a possible weapon hidden- now they needed a target and an opportunity. The day after the incident in the wine room, Saku provided the target; I can only assume the culprit must have overheard him telling me about the 'threatening' note he had written to Shiro, though Saku only wrote it that way because Shiro, in his depressed state, refused to talk to anyone unless they planned to murder him. From that conversation, the killer was able to figure out when Saku and Shiro would be by themselves, that they would be in the sunroom, and that they would meet at 6:05 PM. As for the opportunity...well, Rumi unintentionally provided that when she told the rest of the class about her plans to throw a party in the West Wing. With a good chunk of the students gathered like that, it would be easy for the killer to serve them glasses of the Despair Drink and render all of them blacked out, leaving the perfect opportunity to leave and commit a murder."

"So, at little after 5:45 PM while the party was underway, the killer got to work. Being the Ultimate Waiter, it only made sense that they would be the ones handing out the food and drinks- and it gave them the chance to pour the Despair Drink into everyone's glasses. Well, almost everyone's glasses; the killer wanted everyone else to think that they had also been under the Drink's effects, so they filled their own glass with a similar-looking but different drink. How did they know which glass was safe? Simple- they used a marker, which they also probably got from the storage room, to draw a dot on the bottom of one the glasses to show which one didn't have the Despair Drink in it. The others at the party- Akira, Hiroshi, Rumi, Shiori, Ryoto, and Asuna- thinking the drinks were safe, all drank from their glasses, and wound up under the Drink's influence not long after. After the killer was sure they were all under its effects and waiting until they wouldn't be missed, they snuck out of the party using a...unique way of transport."

"Between the banquet room on the ground floor and the wine room on the second floor, there's a larger-than-usual dumbwaiter powered by a motor. The killer climbed into the lift, pressed the button on the side, and was transported to the second floor just like that. Before heading to the sunroom, they took another one of the red wine bottles from the wine room- identical to the one they had used to attack me. Making their way into the sunroom before anyone else arrived, the killer hid themselves in the closet, and waited for an opportunity to attack. That chance came a little while before 6:30, when Shiro left the room to go and grab his notebook. Once Saku was alone, the killer slipped out of the closet, snuck up behind him...and smashed the wine bottle over his head. And the killer knew the red wine bottle would make a good weapon, because they had used the exact same weapon on me the day before!"

"And also just like the attack in the wine room, the wine bottle worked; Saku was knocked out, and some of the contents of the bottle spilled out onto him and the chair he was sitting on. From there, the killer moved in to finish him off- and they didn't need to prepare a weapon beforehand, because they had one right in the sunroom. The culprit took the tablecloth off the middle table, and...while their victim was lying there unconscious, the killer used the tablecloth to strangle him to death. But as Saku's last breath was suffocated out of him...something that the killer did NOT prepare for happened."

"Shiro returned to the sunroom after retrieving his notebook, probably expecting to see Saku waiting there for him, only to see the culprit having just finished him off. Having regained his will to live and realizing that he, too, would be in danger, Shiro fled the scene. The Despair Drink was a good way to create a cover for their crime, but having an actual witness to the murder would be disastrous to the culprit. Thinking fast, they grabbed the first thing they saw that could have been a weapon- the stone dragon statuette placed on the sunroom's other table. Shiro ran into the wine room, chased by the killer; he probably realized he may not survive, so he began to write a description of the killer in his notebook. But he only managed to write down the killer's eye color- 'aquamarine'- before they caught up to him. The killer ran into the wine room, which was dark again because of the faulty lights, and bludgeoned Shiro with the stone statuette- he was killed in one hit. Fortunately, the impact of the statue sent Shiro flying, and it caused his notebook to slide underneath one of the wine room's shelves. Because of that and the darkness, I don't think the killer even knew about the dying message until this trial."

"But now the killer had a problem- they had to deal with _two_ victims instead of one. But despite this, the culprit wasn't about to give up, and they formed a new plan. They went to the back of the wine room and removed the loose floorboard again, ripping the knife from the tape and putting the board back before heading back to the sunroom where Saku's corpse was. Using the same chef's knife they had used to stab me, the killer made a deep slice across Saku's stomach in a way reminiscent of a seppuku to make it look like a suicide- in fact, the killer probably got the idea from how Itachi died in the last trial. After that, they put the tablecloth back in its proper place and was going to do the same with the statuette- but the killer probably hadn't visited the sunroom that often and couldn't remember which of the two tables the statue was supposed to be on, so they just put it on the center table in the hopes that it would be correct. Which it wasn't, that was how we figured out the statuette had been moved in the first place. After that, they probably cleaned up any other obvious blood spots from the strangling, let down Saku's hair to hide the head injury, and put the knife near one of his hands, all to make it look like the stomach wound was the cause of death."

"After staging the scene in the sunroom, the killer had to tamper with the scene of Shiro's murder next- specifically, making it look like Saku was the killer. They made their way up the watchtower where a bunch of big and heave wooden crates are kept. The culprit took one of those crates, and they pushed it down the tower's steps- the stone steps and the stone floor of the tower's base did a number on the crate, and it was broken apart effortlessly. From there, the killer took the largest chunks of the broken crate, leaving behind the smaller pieces of debris, and put them in the wine room. The killer also made sure to dip some of the pieces in Shiro's blood to make the crate seem like the murder weapon- and since the crate was so heavy, it would put even more suspicion onto Saku."

"With the deaths staged, the killer had to get back down to the banquet room before the Despair Drink wore off, and chances were they didn't have much time left after having to tamper with all that evidence. But luckily for the killer, they still had a way to move between the two floors quickly- the dumbwaiter. Just like they had used it to leave the party, now they'd use it to head back to the party. Normally, the trip to the banquet room from the wine room would take a minute or two, but with the dumbwaiter the trip could be made in seconds. And sure enough, the killer was back in the banquet room, and if anyone had noticed their disappearance...well, that changed when the Despair Drink wore off. Everyone's blackout had ended, they had no memory of the past hour, and the killer could act like they had also lost their memory while being at the party the whole time, and the others wouldn't suspect anything due to memory loss."

"And...that's how this whole case played out. It was complicated and cold-hearted, but somehow we were able to figure out who set up this whole plot and killed both Saku and Shiro," Hana concluded, facing the blackened student head-on. "So then...have I got everything right, Tadao?"

Tadao's eyes were narrowed towards the surfer, and she was sure he was about to try and make some rebuttal.

"And for the record, Amari's summarizing of the case sounds plausible, so I second it," Akira stated, crossing her arms. "Any objections?"

Ryoto was glaring daggers at Tadao, and judging by the fury in his eyes he agreed with the surfer too.

"I think that about covers it too," Hiroshi also stated, nodding at Hana in agreement.

Tadao glanced around the room and, realizing everyone else seemed to be in agreement, calmed himself enough to respond, "Fine then...so that's the end of it, isn't it? Hmph..."

He adjusted his gloves and straightened himself into a dignified posture. "Very well then. You're all in agreement, and there is nothing else I can say. So then...I suppose it's time to close off this trial."

"That it is," Akira replied, before turning her attention to Monokuma. "Monokuma. We're ready- let's start the voting time."

"Phew! That climax was quite the rush! Such emotion, such anger- I'd love to see you all at each other's throats some more, but all things must come to an end!" Monokuma replied. "You know the drill- pull the lever next to your podium to cast your vote on who you believe the guilty party is! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

Loudly declaring in exuberant enthusiasm, "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

This time around, while Hana still had a few reservations- after all, they were sentencing someone to death- her hesitation was less than it had been the previous times, and as a result she pulled the lever and made her vote quickly.

Finally, everyone had cast their votes, and the familiar large monitor descended from the ceiling for the class to see. Moments later, it came to life in a flash of static like it had in the past, depicting the flashing slot machine with the massive 'VOTE' glowing above it. Then, the three slots began to rapidly spin (and despite the speed, Hana could still make out more grayed-out faces of the deceased students), finally stopping after a few seconds. And when the slots stopped...they all showed a graphic of Tadao's face. The word 'GUILTY'! flashed colorfully above the slot machine, countless coins flew out of from the machine to signify victory, and the screen went black as the fanfare ended.

* * *

The voting time having ended, Monokuma stood up on his throne and said, "Well, as the old saying goes, third time's the charm...for the spotless, that is!"

He hopped off the throne, declaring, "That's right! The blackened student who murdered two of his classmates was the one and only: Tadao Shimaru!"

The Ultimate Waiter in question kept a straight face, looking over his classmates as he spoke up, "Well...I suppose congratulations are in order. I thought I had created the perfect murder- a way to create a false alibi, a pair of students that I would make perfect targets..."

Hana let out a soft sigh- well, there was no more doubt. Tadao was the true killer all along. Somehow, unlike the previous blackened students, she didn't feel that shocked or betrayed by this revelation...perhaps that was due to Tadao's earlier murder threats?

"Seriously dude...? Killing one person wasn't good enough, you had to go and kill two?" Hinata began. "The hell is wrong with you!?"

Tadao glared and responded, "Well I didn't plan on killing two people. My plan was to murder either Koichi _or_ Yamamoto, then frame the other for the crime. But, as you all figured out...things went wrong."

The waiter shook his head, bitterly adding, "To think...I spent all that time planning things out in advance, and I _still_ had to improvise..."

"So, what, you don't feel bad about what happened at all?" Shiori asked him, crossing her arms. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me..."

"Not exactly. Like I said, I would have preferred to only kill one of them- if someone had to die, I would have preferred to have some form of purpose to it," Tadao explained. "But alas, I couldn't just allow a witness like Koichi to tell the others what he had seen, in spite of the motive."

 _Doesn't sound very regretful to me..._ Hana told herself, narrowing her eyes at the Ultimate Waiter.

"If you want to know what I regret most, however..." Tadao continued. "Looking back on it...I shouldn't have left the wine room like I did the day before."

"...What?" Hana began, taken aback by what the waiter was saying. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...I was too hasty. I thought your previous two successes in the class trials were just flukes- that if you lived, you wouldn't be able to figure out the murder that I planned to commit," Tadao explained, his voice growing more frustrated. "But now I know...I should have killed you right then and there, Despair Drink be damned. It would have been easy, too- you were unconscious, I had a knife, everyone was asleep...!"

With a furious growl, he shouted, "You're no Ultimate Detective, you're a surfer! What right do you think _you_ have to make all these accusations against me!? Rimutsu or Ashi would be one thing, but _you!?"_

"And you know what I should have done!? I shoulda beat the CRAP out of you ages ago!" Ryoto furiously shouted. "I knew you were up to no good all along!"

"Hey, Ryoto! If you're gonna beat him into a pulp, save some for me!" Hana yelled as well, her earlier fury towards Tadao resurfacing.

"Hana, Ryoto! Don't," Hiroshi scolded the duo. "He's going to be executed soon...it's not worth it."

 _Extremely_ begrudgingly, the duo backed off. Still, Hana furiously glared at the waiter to make her feelings about what he had done to her, Saku, and Shiro clear as day.

"I...can't understand this at all..." Rumi began, her voice quavering like she was on the verge of tears. She then yelled at the waiter, "This wasn't supposed to happen! The party was supposed to bring us all together again! It was supposed to be fun and happy, and you...you used it for your stupid murder plan!"

"Oh come on! This is some murder game, did you honestly think throwing a party _wouldn't_ open up an opportunity for a killing?" Tadao retorted harshly.

Rumi's hands curled into fists as she visibly attempted to hold back tears, responding shakily, "I...hoped it wouldn't come to that. I...really didn't think it would..."

"Hey! _You_ were the only one who took advantage of her party you asshole!" Hinata yelled at the Ultimate Waiter, seeming outraged at what he was saying to Rumi.

"S-Seriously, can you quit being so...unpleasant?" Asuna asked, trying to restrain her aggrieved tone.

"Excuse me, but I'm about to be sent to my death," the waiter told her, contempt. "Why should I care who I offend in my final moments?"

"...Tadao. Before you, you know...get executed, can you at least tell us one other thing?" Hana then asked, taking a step towards her classmate. "Why did you do all this? Monokuma's motive, it was...just a way to make it easier to commit a murder, wasn't it?"

"That's true- the motive this time was far from typical, simply being a means to an end," Akira added. "It wasn't anything psychological like the first motive, nor did it have ties to our lives on the outside like the second motive. So what exactly was your endgame here, Shimaru? Were you simply that desperate to escape this place that you gave in?"

Tadao was silent for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to tell the group about his motivation, before he stated, "Come on now, you've proven how good your memory is. I've told you all before- I have big plans for my life after graduation. I may be trapped in this damn castle with the rest of you, but I have not once given up on my ambitions. Understand?"

Hana's eyes widened somewhat. _That again...I remember him mentioning something about that the day after Mikio's trial, yeah...and I think he might have mentioned it somewhat a few times after that..._

"Yeah? So do I, but you don't see me killing people," Shiori critically spoke. "What the hell could you want that's worth committing murder?"

Tadao chuckled slightly, a sinister grin forming as he responded, "Oh believe me- when I say 'big plans', I really do aim high for my goals."

"See, for years now...I've always wanted to open my own restaurant. And no, not just any restaurant- but the largest, cleanest, most pristine restaurant in the country. It would be staffed with the most skilled cooks crafting the most delicious meals, the most skilled waiters like yours truly, filled with the most prestigious clientele. Why, the highest class individuals from all over the world would flock to my restaurant just to experience it- prime ministers, presidents, queens, kings, you name it! And as for me- well, I would be the owner of all kinds of riches, known as the founder and owner of such an exquisite establishment- I might even rival the wealth of, say, the Togami corporation!"

 _"That_ has been my one true goal in life for years- why do you think I'm a waiter? I'm learning every aspect of the food industry, working my way up. Attending and then graduating Hope's Peak Academy would have only accelerated that process, honestly. I have dreamed of that achievement for as long as I can remember, I have worked myself in so many ways to make fantasy a reality. Imagine what my restaurant would have accomplished, what it would have contributed..."

Tadao then turned his attention back to the others and demanded, "Do you honestly, _honestly_ believe I would throw that dream away for _you_ people!?"

"..." Hana was completely dumbfounded. She did not think anything else in this trial would shock her so badly, and yet hearing Tadao's motivation accomplihsed the impossible. "That's...That's it..? You murdered...two people..."

She then furiously cried out, _"You murdered two people so you could_ _open a restaurant!?_ Are you insane!?"

The smile faded from Tadao's face; the waiter softly sighed and responded, "Oh, I should have known none of you would understand. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter- you all wanted to know my motivation, and I explained- I can't help it if no one likes what they've heard, and honestly I don't care."

The more her fellow Ultimate talked, the angrier the entire situation made Hana. She had wondered just what could have led Tadao to act the way he did, to want to kill someone so badly- to find out it was all for a restaurant was like another blow to the head.

"That's not the problem, you motherfucking murderer!" Ryoto snarled at the waiter. "You killed two of your own classmates! You caused ANOTHER murder! Even after what Itachi said before he died, you STILL did all of this! AND ALL FOR SOMETHING SO STUPID!"

"Would you knock it off, Miura!?" Tadao demanded in frustration. "Do you honestly think I ever gave a damn about Kunata's 'dying wish' or what-have-you? I dare even say I was somewhat glad to see him gone- if it hadn't been for him murdering Tenmaru, I probably would have been able to pull off a murder much sooner..."

"...Uh, come again?" Hinata spoke, doing a small double take as Tadao made that remark.

"Mmph, I suppose there's no harm in admitting this, too..." Tadao mused to himself before elaborating, "Truth is, I was planning a murder back when the second floor of the South Wing first opened up."

"W-Wha-!?" Asuna stammered in surprise.

Hana, just as shocked nearly fell over at that point. "Y-You were!? You _actually_ were!?"

"Get real- his threats were serious before _this_ murder, what makes you think he was being any less serious back then?" Akira pointed out, her eyes narrowing in a subdued fury- not exactly her trademark death glare, but close enough.

"W-WAIT! Then...the night the murder happened, when we were arguing in the dining room..." Ryoto stammered, appearing to speak faster than his mind could keep up. "I was RIGHT!? I mean I knew I was right, but seriously, I WAS RIGHT!?"

"He was _right?"_ Shiori yelped at the same time, staring at the Ultimate Racecar Driver.

"Yes, he was- now I wasn't planning to kill that exact night, but the facts are the same," Tadao confirmed in an inappropriately casual tone.

"So let me get this straight- Ryoto had good reason to suspect you, even if it wasn't at the right time...he was right to suspect you _this_ time, even if he didn't have real evidence to back it up...and he had the actual decent idea of that log...?" Shiori said to herself, before crying out (in genuine bewilderment, no less), "What is this, some kind of alternate universe where Ryoto is semi-intelligent!?"

"HELL YEAH! See, I'm more than just a pretty face!" Ryoto declared...before his triumphant mood fell and he added, "Well, I would have preferred to be right _and_ be able to stop you from killing someone, Tadao."

"But, you didn't- just like I told you back then, you wouldn't be able to stop me if I killed someone right in front in you," Tadao told the other Ultimate with a dark grin. "And with the motive, I could have easily done that."

"You are REALLY making me wish we had let Ryoto drop you from the tower when he had the chance," Hana growled at the Ultimate Waiter. It took all of her willpower and the memory of Monokuma's Arms of Gungnir to keep her from launching at Tadao and beating him like she had attempted to do during the trial.

"Like I said- I'm about to die, so I really have no concerns over who I offend with my last words," Tadao repeated haughtily. "Whether they be living _or_ dead."

"Silence, Shimaru," Akira growled at the waiter- this time, it _was_ her signature death glare, and it shut even Tadao right up. "Kurobe was one thing, Kunata was another...but you? I despise criminals, but those as selfish as you I loathe the most."

"...I'm selfish?" Tadao inquired, before chuckling softly. "I'm the selfish one? Haha..."

"Well yeah- you killed for a restaurant," Hinata pointed out.

The Ultimate Waiter, however, still appeared amused. "Oh, fair enough I suppose. I killed for something that would benefit me and me alone- so, you're right Rimutsu, I am very selfish. But, ah...answer me this- anyone, really, can answer this..."

He then turned his attention to the other students and asked one simple question: "Why did Kurobe kill Nakamura?"

Hana's eyes widened slightly. "What...? Hey, what kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it, someone," Tadao said again. "And in the same line of reasoning, a follow-up question: Why did Kunata kill Tenmaru?"

"W-Why that too?" Asuna asked herself, visibly tensing.

"Azami...was scared by the first motive. She...thought Mikio was going to kill her when he was actually trying to calm her down, and in her frenzy of panic, she..." Hiroshi recapped, trailing off as he realized he didn't need to explain beyond that.

Hana furrowed her brow in confusion- why was Hiroshi going along with this? And what was Tadao's point?

"As for Itachi...he hoped to graduate Hope's Peak so he could restore his family's name. He thought the second motive would make that goal a reality, in spite of not being in Hope's Peak itself," Hiroshi went on, answering the second part of the question.

"So- saving your own life and restoring your family's honor..." Tadao summarized. "Tell me, are either of those any less selfish than what I've done?"

"Excuse you, Shimaru, _I_ never said those two were any more innocent," Akira reminded him with an annoyed scowl. "But unlike you, I can somewhat see how someone would argue the sympathy factor of what they did- not that I'd agree with them, obviously. But you? There's no chance."

"Selfish is selfish, and it cost people their lives," Tadao replied as if he hadn't heard the prosecutor. "Kurobe and Kunata were as selfish in their crimes as I was with mine- the only difference is that _I_ admit to it."

"...Tadao...can you please stop talking like this?" Hiroshi asked the waiter- to Hana's surprise, he was the only one who wasn't looking at Tadao with any form of anger or resentment. If anything, the look in his eyes was almost...pitying?

"I know you're going to be executed, and you want to die with no regrets, but...do you have to make things worse with everyone? Committing a double murder was bad enough, and the way you isolated yourself everyone before..." the coroner spoke, his voice strained from trying to keep his emotions in check. "Why do you want to die with everyone hating you? We're your classmates, Tadao- so were Saku and Shiro. Your motive is one thing, but-"

"Stop calling me your classmate!" Tadao snapped once again. "None of us are classmates!"

"What!? Of course we are! We were all going to be a part of the same class at Hope's Peak Academy!" Rumi quickly responded.

"We were _going to be._ But thanks to whoever kidnapped us and forced us into this damned killing game, that never happened. We never once set foot in Hope's Peak, let alone once as a class!" Tadao refuted. "That is why I don't care what you all think of me, nor will I feel much positivity for any of you- as far as I'm concerned, we're nothing but strangers. Sure, some of us may have formed friendships, and we have 'Ultimate' titles...but that doesn't change how, before coming to this castle, we never even met one another."

"..." Hana glanced at Hiroshi once again, but his saddened look did not subside or give way to resentment. She then looked at Tadao again- not appearing completely joyful or fearful of his position, instead looking rather tired, dare even say irritated.

The surfer shook her head- all the rage in the world wouldn't bring Saku or Shiro back, so maybe it was time to take a page from Hiroshi's book yet again.

"...That's not completely true, Tadao," Hana told the waiter. "Maybe we never got to attend Hope's Peak like we were supposed to. But even still...that doesn't make how we feel about each other any less real!"

"The amount I care for my friends is real! The joy whenever I get to spend time with them is real! The pain I feel every time I lose one of them is real! We may not have been able to become classmates, but we're still _friends!"_ the surfer shouted at Tadao, her prior rage replaced by the all-too familiar sting of grief- instead of her willpower holding back her anger, it was now holding back the urge to break down and cry. "I...I'm pretty sure you used to feel the same way, didn't you...? At first, anyways...before the first murder happened..."

"..." For a moment, Tadao's countenance remained stony...but Hana could swear she saw his face soften just a bit. However, if he was starting to feel any form of regret, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it.

"...Maybe so. As cynical as I was in the beginning, I did believe working together was the sensible thing to do," the waiter admitted with a frown. "After all, fifteen heads were better than one."

He then shook his head with a soft growl as he added, "I was naive then, though. A part of me actually believed we might be better than the temptation to kill. But after that first murder, that trial, the execution...I knew we were all just pipe dreaming. We're not as strong as we believe- Kurobe was proof of that. And I...I learned my lesson."

"...It...really didn't have to be this way, Tadao," Hiroshi then said. "Azami and Itachi made their choices. And you...you had a choice too. We could have found a way to escape, and then you could have realized your dream that way. But this way...you just doomed yourself."

"..." Tadao was quiet again, his face contemplative. He then asked, his face unreadable. "That's easy to say now, but...even if that first murder hadn't happened, would you have the same opinion in a few weeks? What about months, or what if we were trapped in here for years? Even now, it is uncertain. And that uncertainty, the idea that all I've worked for would ultimately be for nothing..."

"That doesn't matter," Akira told him. "We can and _will_ find a way to escape this hell of a castle- and rest assured, we will not resort to murder to do so. Take that knowledge with you when you go to your execution."

"...And just so you know, Tadao- the killing game's been hard on all of us," Hana added with a sigh, glancing down. "It's not like no one would have understood what you were feeling."

"...I have another question," the waiter suddenly spoke, his blue-green gaze going steely. "Can any of you, _any_ one of you say, with absolute and unyielding certainty, that there is another way to escape this castle besides the Graduation Clause? And don't tell me 'if there is, we'll find it' or something like that, I want something concrete."

Hana was about to respond right then and there...only to realize all her possible responses were exactly what Tadao did not want out of an answer. They were hopeful and optimistic, sure, but...they weren't facts. She had no concrete way to know if there really was an alternate escape from the castle...and judging by the deafening silence in the room, no one else did either.

"..." Tadao looked around at all the silent faces, gave a solemn nod, and flatly stated, "That's what I thought."

He then turned to the other end of the courtroom and said, "We're done here, Monokuma. Would you kindly start the execution? I'm sure a majority of the people here are eager to see it."

 _I'm_ never _eager to watch someone die..._ Hana answered to herself with a deep frown. Tadao had nearly killed her, and coldly murdered Saku and Shiro...yet hearing his hopeless mindset made her wonder if he himself was, in one way or another, somewhat of a victim of this killing game as well, much like the two blackened students before him. Not that it was easy to forgive what the waiter had done, especially after she herself had nearly died by his hand.

"Oh? Just like that?" Monokuma inquired. "Nothing else to say? No cries for forgiveness? Or are you going to say that you won't die on my terms either?"

"No, no, none of that," Tadao told the bear. "I'm not going to sit down and cry like Kurobe did, nor will I try and defy it like Kunata did. I will go to my execution, I will face what ever fresh torture you have for me, but I _will_ be content knowing that I will go down with dignity."

"Go out with dignity, eh?" Monokuma remarked. "Man, that's disappointing...well, at least _I'll_ be happy seeing that composure crumble to tiny pieces at the very end!"

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Tadao Shimaru, the Ultimate Waiter!" the robotic bear then declared, speaking to the class as a whole. "Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"...Well- farewell, everyone. I suppose you all weren't the _worst_ customers I've ever served," Tadao said to the group, doing one last bow for farewell. "I wonder...will that optimism of yours truly pay off in the end...?"

He then turned his back to them, unable to make eye contact with anyone. "...I can't say I believe it will."

Monokuma hopped back into his throne, and in that instant the foreboding red button arose from the courtroom floor, on its cubic base and held up by a metallic pole. The bear grasped his gavel and slammed it onto the button with gusto; one resounding 'click' later, the small screen beneath the button came on. Like before, it depicted a pixellated environment with a sprite resembling Tadao standing in the middle, only to be dragged away by Monokuma seconds later with text appearing.

 _ **GAME**_ ** _OVER_**

 _ **Tadao has been found guilty.**_

 _ **Time for the punishment!**_

* * *

The large TV monitor displayed what appeared to be the outside of a fancy, five-star restaurant- a Monokuma-themed, fancy, five-star restaurant. The camera then sped forward, bursting through the front doors and zooming in front of a table in the center of the expansive dining room. The other tables were packed with well-dressed men and women wearing masks resembling Monokuma's face- but the one in focus was seated with only a single person. It was Tadao Shimaru, his hands behind the chair and tied together while his ankles were bound to the chair legs; he was effectively immobilized, though he didn't make any motions to escape. If anything, he seemed almost mildly irritated, as if he'd prefer not to go through the hassle of one of Monokuma's dramatic executions.

Suddenly, a man wearing the same type of mask and a waiter's uniform came up to Tadao's table, carrying a covered silver dish. The man set the platter down, lifted up the lid, and on the plate was...another red button? Moments later, the masked man slammed his hand down on the button, causing a hole to open up in the floor beneath Tadao and the chair he was bound to.

The Ultimate Waiter and the chair plummeted down the dark opening, landing in a dim room with a _thud-_ somehow, the chair remained upright and intact, while Tadao looked around to try and figure out what was happening. Then, the room erupted into light, illuminated by what appeared to be spotlights on the ceiling. This revealed that Tadao was now on top of a giant countertop, a plethora of oversized ingredients spread out across its surface. A shadow appeared over Tadao and the counter- it was a giant Monokuma, dressed as a chef and staring down intently at the uncooked food. An audience, their seating surrounding the cooking area, let out a roaring cheer; the scene was clear- this was meant to emulate some kind of cooking show.

 _ **Execution: Fit For A**_ ** _King_**

A loud buzzer sounded, and a timer began to count down. Chef Monokuma wasted no time going for the first set of ingredients- an assortment of vegetables. He swept the vegetables from their spot onto a cutting board- and Tadao ended up swept along with them, ending up on the board himself. Not to mention, he was now lying on his side, and due to being tied to a chair he could not right himself. Chef Monokuma whipped out a large knife and began to chop up the vegetables at lightning speed. Once he was done with one, he would move on to the next, and the knife got closer and closer to Tadao each time. Then the final vegetable, which was right next to the Ultimate, was minced to bits- and the final chop came mere _inches_ from slicing Tadao. Somehow, he managed to keep his composure during the whole ordeal- though the slight blueness to his face indicated it wasn't the easiest task.

Chef Monokuma swept the sliced vegetables to the side, once again taking Tadao with them and actually sending the waiter flying towards the second part of the dish: a few uncooked chicken breasts. The meat was then picked up- again, Tadao was mistakenly grabbed as well- and then dropped into a large plastic bag that was zipped shut, likely cutting off any oxygen to the waiter. Chef Monokuma then proceeded to grab a meat mallet and pound on the sealed meat rather viciously- and yet the bear seemed to deliberately miss any spot Tadao was, sometimes just barely managing to avoid crushing the suffocating waiter with the mallet.

Finally, Chef Monokuma appeared satisfied and opened the bag, dumping the tenderized meat and Tadao into a baking dish. The force of the impact was enough to finally smash the chair, effectively freeing Tadao; however, the Ultimate Waiter was busy gulping down large amounts of air as a result of being trapped in the plastic bag. Not that it would matter in a few moments- Chef Monokuma added olive oil (much of which got on Tadao as well) and seasoning to the chicken, added the vegetables he had chopped up before, then picked up the dish and placed into an oven just as Tadao regained his bearings. The door was shut, and the chef proceeded to turn up the heat on the oven...so the chicken would be cooking at _999_ degrees.

The interior of the oven began to heat up almost instantly, the dish itself starting to glow a bright red. Sweat began to form on Tadao, who was looking around in growing panic- there was no other escape from the oven's inside, and he would be unable to open the giant oven door. More heat built up, and flames began to erupt from the bottom of the oven, licking the bottom of the dish and making it even hotter. Finally, the oil on the chicken and Tadao began to react to the heat, and the Ultimate Waiter let out a pained scream as his body and clothes began to burn. The young man made a break for the edge of the dish, in spite of the horrific heat; he grasped the edge of the silvery dish and hoisted himself up to the edge of the brim, though the now glowing orange metal burned right through his gloves and pants, searing his hands and knees.

The dish was close enough to the door that Tadao could lean over and place his burned hands on the glass- which is exactly what he did, even going so far as to desperately pound on the door while he burned and cried out in agony. Finally, the oven seemed unable to take the immense heat, and the flames engulfed the entire interior- including Tadao. Then, the top of the oven seemed to practically explode as a smoking platform ascended from the same spot, carrying the chicken dish with it. The platform then burst through the ceiling of the studio, stopping...in a throne room?

A second Monokuma dressed in a large crown and a fur cape sat in a massive throne looked down at the freshly-delivered food. By some miracle, the baked chicken and vegetable dish looked utterly perfect and delicious, despite the intense heat and flames that destroyed the oven. There was only one thing off about the king Monokuma's food:

The charred skeleton of Tadao Shimaru that lay slumped over the side of the baking dish, the scraps of his burned clothing just barely clinging to his remains.

* * *

The courtroom kept silent as the execution ended and the TV went dark again. Once it did, Hana felt as if she had been holding her breath the entire time she watched the execution- not that the feeling she was left with was much better. It was over- Tadao had been found out, Saku and Shiro were avenged, the spotless get to live another day...but like before, there was no sense of reward or triumph. In fact, watching such a gruesome death made Hana feel somewhat sick to her stomach, and she was certain the others would be able to tell if they saw her.

"Aaaand that's all, folks!" Monokuma declared as he reentered the courtroom (carrying the dish of baked chicken and vegetables from the execution- minus the skeleton, of course). "Didn't that just get your blood pumping? Your adrenaline racing? Lemme tell you, this definitely made up for that disappointment of an execution we got last time, am I right?"

He then added, "And the best part- _I_ was the one who was right! What'd he say before the execution? Something about dying with dignity? Ahahaha! Look how _that_ worked out for him!"

Hana refused to look up and see Monokuma- she had enough to deal with, in trying to sort out her conflicted feelings, the last thing she wanted was to look at the smug grin of their 'headmaster'.

"...Get out of here, would you?" Hiroshi said to Monokuma, an uncharacteristic amount of anger entering his voice. "You got what you wanted, the trial's over. We've been through enough today, we don't need you to add to it."

"How dare you use that tone of voice with me? _You_ don't tell _me_ to leave, _I_ tell _you all_ to leave!" Monokuma growled at the coroner. "Besides, what are you getting so snippy for? I highly doubt anyone here really liked that guy, if anything I thought you'd all be glad to see him dead..."

Hana let out a low growl, responding, "Still...what you put him through while he died was terrible...no one should have to go through that while they die!"

"And don't try to say it was justice, either- because getting a conviction for a criminal is justice, but those executions of yours are nothing short of cruel and unusual," Akira added. "They should spend a considerable amount of time in prison, not be slaughtered so brutally."

"Oh, like you're one to tell me how to treat the killers, you hate all of them!" Monokuma pointed out with narrowed eyes. "Buuut I'm not gonna debate ethics with you. Like I said, I tell you all to leave, so...leave! This trial _is_ over, so there's nothing left for you all! So, get out of here- as you can imagine by now, you're gonna be busy tomorrow, so get all the rest you can!"

With a last, dark laugh resounding through the walls of the trial room, Monokuma left with the food in hand. When he did, Hana had to bite back any and all retorts towards him- there really was nothing else to be done.

"...Still can't believe _this_ guy was right the whole time," Hinata muttered, gesturing to Ryoto before telling him directly, "So uh...good job, I guess?"

"..." Ryoto frowned, then told him, "Y'know what? Yeah, I was right about Tadao's threats, and I was right to suspect him this time. But...honestly? If it was a choice between being right and stopping Saku and Shiro from dying, then..."

With a frustrated shout, the Ultimate Racecar Driver finished, "Dammit, I would have preferred to be wrong again!"

Before anyone could add anything more, Ryoto stormed out of the room, filling it once again with awkward silence.

"...Guys. I, uh...still kinda feel like this whole thing was my fault, for coming up with the idea of the party..." Rumi then spoke up, looking away and rubbing her arm. "S-So...I'm really sorry-"

"Hey, come on, it wasn't your fault what Tadao decided to do. The idea was great! I'm sure it would have worked if _he_ hadn't pulled all that," Hinata reassured her, crossing his arms.

Akira, on the other hand, spoke up, "Personally, I myself had my doubts about the party. Still, I wouldn't put the blame on you, Hamasaki- if anything, we all could have done more to keep a third murder from happening- myself included..."

Adjusting her glasses, the prosecutor went on, "But...maybe we can finally learn something from all of this. Don't let what Shimaru said at the end get to you all- we will escape from this place without a murder, or my name isn't Akira Rimutsu."

"Right, and _you're_ just the pinnacle of unity," Shiori growled at her. "Like I said a few days ago- you're no great leader, and to be perfectly honest the way you handled this case hasn't changed my opinion much."

The surgeon turned away before Akira could respond, adding dryly, "Whatever...do whatever you guys need to do, I'll be at the lift."

Shiori exited right after that, ignoring any attempts to talk to her from her peers. Rumi grimaced and followed her out soon after; Hinata frowned, glanced back and forth between where Rumi went and where the rest of the class stood, ultimately choosing to follow the former. This left four people in the trial room- Hana, Hiroshi, Akira, and Asuna.

"..." Asuna awkwardly cleared her throat, remarking as she began to exit as well, "We, uh...shouldn't stay here too long, otherwise Monokuma, h-he'll get mad at us, so..."

Akira still appeared rather bitter about what Shiori had to say, before stating, "You're right- there's nothing left for us here. We found the killer, and that's all there is to it, perversion of justice notwithstanding."

"But, still...it's bad enough Saku and Shiro died, but...now even Tadao's dead..." Hana remarked with a wince.

"...I know not everyone's gonna agree with this, but...I think looking on the bright side will do us all some good right now," Hiroshi spoke up. "And the way I see it...I think trial proved something. Hana, Akira- you guys really can cooperate when you need to."

That took Hana by surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Excuse me, Ashi?" Akira inquired with a glare.

"J-Just saying-" Hiroshi began, turning away from the prosecutor's glare. "-You both made great strides in being able to solve the murder. Hana's memory of the attack and Akira's plan to keep a lot of the information on the incident between the three of us, among other things. If the two of you kept that up, well..."

Hana furrowed her brow in thought; it would be nice to have the Ultimate Prosecutor's respect after all this time, and not feeling like she was poking a bear every time she spoke to her would put her mind more at ease. Hana turned to Akira to see if she seemed to feel the same way...

"..." Akira glanced down at Hana...then narrowed her eyes in annoyance, haughtily turning away from her and Hiroshi before leaving the trial room to join the others.

"...You couldn't have thought that would work," Hana told Hiroshi with a frown. "That Akira...she's too prideful to actually consider me an equal, especially after the times I ended up being the one in the right with her in the wrong."

Hiroshi shrugged. "I'll agree, she can hard to approach. But...I still stand by what I said."

The coroner gazed at one of the portraits of a deceased student- Hana couldn't quite tell who- before he added, "I...just think we could use something positive to latch onto, you know? Finding a silver lining in this whole mess- that's the only way to move forward, I believe. And moving forward is all we really can do. For Saku, Shiro...and yes, even Tadao."

With that, Hiroshi made his way towards the exit of the trial room, leaving Hana slightly more confused. She always knew Hiroshi was the forgiving type, but...Tadao still murdered two people, _nearly_ killed her prior to that, and had a purely self-centered motivation. Even Hana, who had come to grips with how she would view her previous two blackened classmates had mixed feelings about the waiter's fate.

Hiroshi- just when it seemed like Hana understood what his mindset was, he threw something new into the loop.

Shaking her head slightly, Hana made her way out of the trial room as well, still mulling over what Hiroshi had told her. Find a silver lining- easier said than done, considering the circumstances. The surfer walked to where the remaining students awaited the elevator, not too far behind Hiroshi; as usual, the group was almost dead silent. Not too surprising, what with the strenuous ordeal of a class trial and the fact that it had to be far past 10 PM by now, plus everyone seemed to be dealing with their own personal emotional baggage...

Then, she noticed Asuna standing amongst the group- she, too, was silent and seemed to be focusing on her own thoughts. However, Hana couldn't help but think back to the trial, and how the revelation of Shiro's dying message had affected its direction.

 _That's right...the dying message what was really helped prove Saku's innocence, or at least start to prove it._ Hana thought. _If Asuna hadn't found that, who knows how long it would have taken me to start putting the right pieces together, and by that point...well, who knows if the group would have even listened to me by then?_

Hana kept quiet for a few more moments...before coming to a decision and approaching the Ultimate Gardener, whispering, "...Psst- hey, Asuna."

The shorter girl nearly jumped out of her skin from the sudden voice, swiftly turning around before softly responding, "O-Oh- it's just you, Hana."

Looking over the surfer, Asuna then asked, "Hey, h-how are you feeling? I'm no expert on head injuries, b-but all the stress from the trial couldn't have been good for you..."

"Oh, uh..." Hana awkwardly began. "Actually...it hasn't been too bad. Maybe the trial just distracted me and I'll be feeling some kind of pain later on, but right now- I could feel worse."

Shaking her head, the Ultimate went on, "But, I'm not here to talk to you about that."

"I-I figured, uh..." Asuna began. "What... _are_ you trying to talk about, then?"

"Well...I wanted to say thanks," Hana told her with a smile. "If it hadn't been for you finding Shiro's message, who knows how long it would have taken to prove Saku wasn't the killer. So, I'm pretty grateful you did that- I just wished I had listened to what you had to say sooner, I think it would have saved both of us some hassle."

Asuna blinked a few times in surprise, sheepishly responding, "N-No, you don't need to _thank_ me, it's just...I-I knew something like that was important, s-so that's why I tried so hard to bring it up, and uh..."

She fiddled with the fedora on her head, adding, "Honestly, I...didn't think I had it in me to make myself heard like that. Th-The days after the last trial were one thing, but that...I-I kinda surprised _myself,_ honestly."

"Well, I'm still glad you did it," Hana responded with a nod. "See? You really _are_ a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

This, too, seemed to catch Asuna off-guard...but the girl soon responded with a small, somewhat sad smile. "Thank you."

After a moment of silence, the Ultimate went on, "I...I decided last night, after you and I talked...th-that I wasn't going to run anymore. I-I've been running from things for so long, a-and...I can't afford to do that anymore. I-I'm alive right now...I'm alive right now because my best friend put her own life at risk to save mine."

With determination in her voice, Asuna concluded, "I...I won't let it go to waste! I-I'm going to survive this killing game, and I'll do it with you and the rest of our classmates! Th-That's a promise! I guess...this trial was me starting to make good on that promise?"

Hana was silent for a moment, surprised by the gardener's newfound determination, but the surfer then returned the smile and gave a nod of response. "Well...I'm really glad to hear that, Asuna."

The two went quiet again after that, but as the elevator finally descended to return the students to the surface, Hana found her saddened mood had improved quite a bit. A pretty incredible feat, considering the day's events. Still...it appeared finding something to feel hopeful about, despite the terrible day, wasn't so hard after all; and just as Hiroshi said, it really did make a difference.

* * *

Returning to her bedroom, Hana's earlier prediction regarding her injuries came true; the pain in her head was returning like wildfire, but at least her leg injury wasn't bothering her. Still, even after collapsing onto her bed to rest, the pain still refused to subside- she told herself that she would have to talk to Shiori tomorrow.

With a small sigh, Hana rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. The party, the murders, the trial...had all of that truly happened in the span of one day? Shiro and Saku had been _alive_ this morning, and now both them _and_ Tadao were gone. Though seeing Asuna's heavily improved mental state had given her a sense of hope for the future, she still couldn't help but think about who had been lost today. A part of her still wanted to cry for her lost friends...but her eyes remained dry. At this point, she just felt...tired, yet she couldn't fall asleep. Her thoughts were far too intrusive.

"..." That's when Hana remembered something Saku had told her a few days ago- she had had a lot on her mind back then too, and Saku had told her about meditation as a way to clear her head and calm herself. At the time, she had failed miserably, but maybe this time...

She shook her head and sat up on the bed, getting into the same cross-legged position the kickboxer had shown her before.

 _Saku, this is for you- sorry I couldn't figure it out the first time._ Hana thought, hoping her deceased classmate would hear her.

She then closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind while trying to remain still. It proved difficult due to the pain still throbbing in her head, but she did her best to ignore it; trying to focus her mind was still as difficult as it had been the last time, but this time Hana had an idea to try and focus. She tried to put herself into the same mindset she had during a trial, where she had come to learn focus was key; it was easier said than done, since there was no longer a threat...but eventually, Hana found herself finally able to clear her mind enough to find a state of calmness.

It would seem Saku had been right- it really did help Hana clear her mind. And it probably would have worked more...if Hana hadn't been interrupted by something else.

 _Bleep...bleep...bleep..._

Hana let out a soft growl of frustration as she opened her eyes. She recognized the annoying beeping sound and looked around for the source- only to realize she still had her e-Handbook on her and never set it down anywhere.

She quickly grabbed it, asking herself, _Seriously...? This again? What, is this going to be a regular thing now or something?_

Once again, the usually blue screen flashing green and continuing to beep. A few more moments of this passed before the screen went black, code flashed up faster than Hana could read it, and green text scrolled across the dark screen.

 _ **Hey there, Hana- me again...not that you know who I am, and I have no idea when that'll change. In fact, if you're seeing this third message of mine, I doubt you and the others are much closer to finding a way out of the killing game. If anything, I'm hoping you don't see this message, or the ones I programmed to come after- because if that's the case, then it means you and the others escaped! Yay!**_

 _ **Okay, okay, I can't waste much time here. I'm not going to go too crazy with what I have to show you this time- mainly because I don't want to overwhelm you too badly, I have no idea what's happened in there by the time you see this message. So...one last, kinda lighthearted picture; like I said, I'm hoping this will be the kick you need to figure out how to end the killing game. If not...then I hope you and the others survive long enough to see the next message.**_

Just as before, a file appeared beneath the text- another picture? Unsure of what else her mysterious messenger would have to show her, Hana tapped the file with her finger to open it.

Like the message implied, there was only one photo to be seen...but it still caused Hana to tense up as she viewed it.

The scene was a classroom, one that Hana only recognized from the previous message's photos- well, it probably wasn't the exact same, but the similar interior design made her think it was from the same location. And the people in the picture- she recognized them immediately. They were everyone in the 80th Class- herself, Akira, everyone; they also all wore the same brown uniform with the Hope's Peak insignia that Hana had seen in the previous photos. What really caught her attention and sent a pang of sadness into her heart, however...everyone looked pretty happy. The only person who looked slightly less happy was Akira, and even then she didn't seem nearly as annoyed with everyone as she usually did.

Tadao's words came back to Hana as she looked over the photo...

* * *

 _"We were_ going _to be. But thanks to whoever kidnapped us and forced us into this damned killing game, that never happened. We never once set foot in Hope's Peak, let alone once as a class!"_

* * *

Hana furrowed her brow- she still didn't remember taking any of these photos, even though she herself was in many of them. And yet...something instinctively told her these pictures were real. So then...had Tadao been wrong? Had they actually been a class at one point? But then how come she couldn't remember what happened in any of these pictures?

She stared down at the photo one more time, and two things caught her attention. First of all, she focused her attention on Hiroshi- specifically, his appearance. Uniform aside...he looked very different; Hana hadn't noticed his appearance in the last photos, but she was sure he likely had the same look in those. His hair was much shorter, he didn't have that calm and collected countenance she associated with him, and he actually appeared somewhat shorter than his current height. Overall, he looked...younger? If anything, Hana might not have recognized him at first glance if not for his deep gray eyes. Just why did Hiroshi look so different in these photos?

Hiroshi's strange appearance, however, was nothing compared to the biggest elephant in the room- the return of the mysterious green-haired girl from the other photos. It was the same person all right- same bright green hair dyed with neon blue, same large ponytail, same purple eyes, same bracelet with a circuit design. She was leaning on one of the desks, one arm propping her up while she grinned at the camera. She alone was the largest question Hana had regarding all these confusing photos- did they honestly have a sixteenth student that nobody remembered? How could that even-

 _Nanako._

Hana blinked in shock at her own thoughts. Where did _that_ name come from-

 _Nanako Tokumei._

Hana stared down at the green-haired girl in the photo- no, Nanako?- in even more bafflement than before. For all she knew, this was a random name...but a part of her told this was far from random. That girl's name was Nanako Tokumei...but Hana still had no idea how she suddenly remembered it. Last time, she was completely dumbfounded by her existence, but now- here she was, sitting on a bed with a head injury, staring down at a mysterious photo...

Then, a realization came to her, and she reached up to touch the bandages on her head. Could that have been it? Could the head injury she received have something to do with her sudden knowledge of the green-haired girl's identity?

 _No...no, that's crazy, that sorta thing only happens in cartoons! You don't bash someone with memory loss on the head and they suddenly remember things!_ Hana told herself, shaking her head. _...W-Well, that's assuming I do have memory loss._ Do _I have memory loss...? Do the others have memory loss!? Or...can I try and remember something else...?_

Hana then tried to focus her mind on any other things that may surface in her mind...mostly in relation to Nanako. Her talent, her relationships with the other students, something that might give Hana an idea of why she wasn't in the killing game...but nothing else came to her. All she could remember at this point was the girl's name: Nanako Tokumei.

Then, Hana was brought back to reality when she went back to the black text-riddled screen and she realized more text had appeared.

 _ **So, maybe you were expecting something more, and if this really didn't help you remember much of anything...well, I'm sorry about that, but when you see the next message- you'll thank me for giving you a break, I can only imagine how you felt about that first batch of photos. You never did like being**_ ** _confused, Hana- which is why I feel even worse for not being able to just tell you everything outright, but I need you to trust that I have reasons for doing that. And...keep trying, alright? Don't ever think that there's not a way out other than murder, because there is. I'm telling you right now, there IS a way. And you can find it- I know you can._**

 _ **All you have to do is remember everything.**_

 _ **Remember the class.**_

 _ **Remember your own role.**_

With that, the text disappeared, and Hana's e-Handbook returned to normal, leaving the Ultimate Surfer reeling. She fell backwards onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling again- Hana was certain no amount of meditation would be able to calm her after seeing that photograph. The remembrance of Nanako Tokumei's name and the partial memory of her identity, not to mention Hiroshi's strange appearance, had led to all kinds of dark implications about the class's past...

But even so, Hana thought about what else the message had said- that there was, in fact, a way to escape without murder.

Hana turned onto her side, staring at one of the walls of her room. _If there is a way to get out...why does this person keep telling me_ I'm _the one that can find it? Who's to say, like, Hiroshi or Akira won't be able to find a way out? I can barely handle these murders and trials, why do I need_ this _added pressure!?_

 _Why...do I..._

Hana turned again as she recalled the final question Tadao had asked the class just before his execution...

* * *

 _"...I have another question," the waiter suddenly spoke, his blue-green gaze going steely. "Can any of you, any one of you say, with absolute and unyielding certainty, that there is another way to escape this castle besides the Graduation Clause? And don't tell me 'if there is, we'll find it' or something like that, I want something concrete."_

 _Hana was about to respond right then and there...only to realize all her possible responses were exactly what Tadao did not want out of an answer. They were hopeful and optimistic, sure, but...they weren't facts. She had no concrete way to know if there really was an alternate escape from the castle...and judging by the deafening silence in the room, no one else did either._

* * *

Her hands curled into fists as she thought about him, and the other blackened students as well- her classmates, her friends, who had all given in to a desire to kill because they believed it it was the only way out (among other reasons). If it weren't for the "you have to kill someone and get away with it if you want to escape" rule, Hana was certain there wouldn't be nearly as many deceased students as there were now. Tadao's final words had brought that terrible reality to light- that they didn't truly know if there was another way to escape.

 _...No. No, there is a way- I know there is. I don't know who messed with my e-Handbook to have those messages show up every few days, but if they're right, then..._ Hana pondered to herself, the fire of determination reigniting within her.

 _You'll see...Tadao, if you can hear me, then just you wait! I'll prove that you were wrong about this killing game- there's a way out of here, and it doesn't mean killing people, and I'll find it!_ Hana mentally declared to whoever might be listening- but most of all, she vowed it to herself. What was that Hiroshi had told her to do again- find a silver lining, something to grasp onto?

Well, this latest message, whether that was the intent or not, had given her that. She still had so many questions about "Nanako", what Hiroshi's strange appearance could mean, and whether or not the class really did have some kind of mass memory loss...but they were overpowered by her sheer desire to see this killing game ended, and ended without more death.

 _Yeah...that'll be_ my _promise. Whatever way of ending this killing game there is, I'll find it. Maybe not even what the message was specifically talking about, I'll take anything if it means stopping the mastermind and saving everyone else._ Hana vowed, resolute. _And I mean that, too...if I ever get the chance to end this killing game and save everyone, whatever it might cost me..._

 _I'm going to take it!_

 **Chapter 3: A Dark Design- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 8**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

 **A/N: And so, another chapter ended, and ended on a different note than the last ones. Last ones were sad and mysterious, this one's mysterious but determined! And even _slightly_ hopeful! And it would seem we finally have a name to the mystery girl's face: Nanako Tokumei! Who is she? What's her talent? No one knows yet! Also Hiroshi- lookin' a little weird in those photos, cause for concern perhaps? Only time will tell...**

 **Sooo...how about the conclusion to this case, huh? I gotta say- if nothing else, I just hope I managed to avoid the whole "third case syndrome" thing that plagues so many murder mystery games- including Danganronpa, though in my opinion it could be worse in canon's case (say what you want about the games and their Chapter 3s, I will defend Case 1-3 until the day I die...even if it's not my favorite case in the game). But I digress- this case may not be perfect, none of these three murders that have been written so far are, but I sincerely hope it's not despised like the third cases in the canon games. Well, I can _hope_ it'll be well-received as a whole, but whether or not that happens...I'll just have to wait and see. **

**On another note- in relation to the execution (which I very much like how it turned out, Tadao can now join the likes of Celeste and Korekiyo in "killers with fire-related executions")...didya notice how the things Tadao was put through mirror the things he did to victims? The knife that was used to cut up the vegetables- he stabbed Hana and slit Saku's stomach with a knife (the same one, no less); the meat mallet, he bludgeoned Shiro to death (but not with a mallet...although originally, I had planned to have Tadao use a hammer to kill Shiro instead of the statuette); the plastic bag, Tadao was nearly suffocated like he himself suffocated Saku.**

 **Aaah, executions- they really are fun for these ironic reasons, no wonder so many people are so passionate about analyzing and making their own, they can be so creative!**

 **But, with Chapter 3 done, this means Chapter 4's gonna start up, right? Well...not exactly. See, next time, we're gonna have a little...intermission before the start of Chapter 4. What do I mean by that? ...You'll see. Yooouuu'll seeeee...~ Until then...thank you all for reading and the continued support, it really does mean a lot to know people really do care about this story of mine and enjoy it enough to keep coming back to it. Stay tuned for more, because...I think we're about halfway through? We might be about halfway through. So...hooray, milestones!**

 **P.S. Is it me, or do these Closing Argument sections get longer and longer with each chapter? Chapter 1's was five paragraphs, Chapter 2's was effing _ten,_ and this one's was _thirteen._ I know I said it in Chapter 2, but- eat your heart out, V3's Closing Arguments! Gosh, what in the world does this mean for Chapter 4...?**

 **P.S.S. I'm still surprised there were people who were suspecting Rumi for a good portion of the trial- heck, some even after the end of the last part! Not shaming those people or anything, I know full well what it's like to feel strongly about a prediction and yet still be wrong, but like- cut the poor girl some slack, guys! She just wanted to throw a nice party, she didn't want two of her classmates to be murdered!**


	30. Chapter ? ? ?: Eyes and Ears

**A/N: Why hello again readers! So, no anger towards the third case? Nothing to indicate it fell victim to the reputation of its canon counterparts? Maybe I should stop bringing up so much and tell my anxiety of shut the eff up...**

 **Anyways! We're back with a new part and- oh? What's this? This** ** _isn't_** **the beginning of Chapter 4? Well you're probably wondering, "X what the heck are you on right now?" Well, I** ** _did_** **mention this particular was going to be a little intermission-like thingy. I...can't really explain it that well myself, you'll just have to read for yourselves. Short chapter, probably the shortest in the whole story (even more than the beginning of the Prologue), but I think you'll find its contents to be...interesting.**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Yeah, I was pretty surprised at myself for being able to get the chapter out so quickly- but hey, it means less suspense for you and the other readers! **

**Anyways- yes, Tadao is our resident double killer, and maybe in another timeline we might have seen what he had planned in Chapter 2- but alas, that is not this timeline (but luckily, headcanons exist). And that's a lotta people to speculate that are going to die- and, well, there are about two more murders left (theoretically), sooo...let's see where these predictions go!**

 **And...that's about all I can say about these predictions, both about possible future deaths and the revelations made last chapter, but boy do I enjoy seeing what readers like you have to say about where the plot could be going! It really does feel great to see people care enough about this story to think up predictions like this.**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Well, he did kill two good bois, so I can't say I blame ya.**

* * *

 **Chapter ? ? ?: Eyes and Ears**

They had long since last track of time. They were tried, they felt their eyelids growing heavy, and their body was telling them it was _late._ Trials- the observer had learned it was a pointless endeavor to try and keep track of how long it took for the participants to reach a verdict. They'd find the blackened when they did, and unless it would appear the students were at a legitimate impasse, the observer did not have to do much prior to voting besides have Monokuma make the occasional remark or answer a question. They were surprised when they had to bring out the Arms of Gungnir during this latest trial- although it was quite the treat to see the faces on the students in reaction.

Now, they watched as the last of the students went to their rooms- and they were unlikely to leave again following a trial, especially considering how chaotic this latest one had been. Well...chaotic in the best way, in the observer's opinion.

 _Man, what a nasty way to see the next life._ they observed as they turned their attention back to the camera showing the most recent death inside the Castle of Mutual Killing. _Hm- always so fitting, though. I think I've found my second favorite pass time- I just wish it would happen more often, fucking cowards not taking any initiative..._

Well, there was one aspect of the executions they weren't quite fond of- the cleanup. Azami's body as well as Itachi's had been one thing, at least _their_ bodies were basically in one piece- but Tadao was reduced to a well-dressed skeleton! The observer couldn't even imagine how cumbersome it would be to move bones around; and it wasn't like they could go down there and move the remains themselves, they'd have to use Monokuma.

...Well, they _could,_ but they were too tired to bother.

They let out a loud yawn, stretching out in the leathery chair they sat in. _Is it too much to ask for a nap once in a while...? God, when was the last time I actually slept for a little while? I mean, I doubt anyone's going out after what happened, so_ maybe _I could sneak in a few z's-?_

Those dreams were quickly dashed, however, when the room's silence was shattered by a beeping sound- a familiar beeping sound. The observer immediately scrambled around to answer the call- they pulled up a secondary screen on their desk, as well as grabbing a pair of headphones with a microphone attachment and plugging it into the side of the monitor. They then turned their attention to the screen itself; it was jet black, but had a symbol rhythmically flashing upon it with each beat- a red outline resembling a hand with its palm open and facing the screen, and inside that palm area was an eye symbol that was a more jagged, crueler version of Monokuma's left eye.

The observer tapped the screen to answer the call; once they did, the black screen cleared away, revealing the person on the other side of the call. It would seem that they, too, were in a sparsely lit room, as the observer could only make out their short hair and broad shoulders; in spite of this, their gleaming red eyes were still somewhat more visible than the rest of their features in the darkness.

"Oh! Hey there, Boss!" the observer greeted the mysterious, not at all intimidated by their dark and imposing appearance. "Fancy seeing you call at a time like this. Or were you just that impressed with the trial today? Nothing like seeing three people bite the dust in one day to shake things up a bit!"

 _"..."_ The headphones the observer wore ensured that they were the only ones that would be able to hear what their superior was saying- not that it was likely anyone else would be listening in, but one could never be too sure.

The observer sighed and responded, "Aw man, you're no fun..."

Sitting back in their seat, they continued, "So, what did you call for? You're not one to contact me like this for nothing."

 _"...?"_

"No, everything's running completely smoothly," the observer answered matter-of-factly. "Don't believe me, you can just tune in to the game yourself, I know you have access to the security cameras too- wherever you are."

 _"...?"_

"Any- what? No, of course no one's acting _really_ off- well, not the way you're talking about," the observer responded, furrowing their brow. "What'd you say this was about again?"

 _"..."_

"Wha...? Oooh! Is _that_ what this is all about?" the observer inquired with a chuckle. "Boss, I think you've been watching waaaay too many old shows. That sorta thing doesn't happen in real life!"

 _"..."_

"Look, I'm telling you- she's not gonna suddenly remember anything just because she got clonked over the head with something," the observer assured their superior, rolling their eyes. "And, if I can be so bold, _sir-_ what if she does?"

They maliciously chuckled to themselves at the thought, adding, "Honestly, I think it'd be hilarious. Can you imagine the look on her face if she found out-"

 _"!"_

The observer nearly fell out of their seat from their boss's angry shouts in their ears, and they quickly responded, "Okay, okay! God, I was just saying, it's not like I was actually suggesting it."

 _"..."_

As their superior proceeded to give them the same spiel they had heard several times before, so much so that they proceeded to say along, "'Our goal is not to spread despair nor to live in chaos, but to bring about order and the evolution of man's strength through the killing of hope'. I know, you've only drilled _that_ into my head a few dozen times." _Stupid, paranoid old man...he knows full well how I feel about all_ that, _why does he even bother?_

 _"..."_

"Right, right...as always, I won't do anything to try and interfere unless given direct to do so, blah blah blah," the observer replied, their irreverent tone still palpable. "Speaking of...which place did you say was the next to be opened, again? The East Wing, right?"

 _"..."_

The observer sat up immediately and demanded, "What? Another job? You know I have my hands full trying to move those remains, and I already had the trial to deal with-"

 _"!"_

The observer winced again- it was easy to forget their superior would only take so much backtalk from them. "Okay, okay- but really, what could you need me to do before opening up the East Wing?"

 _"..."_

"The banners? Seriously?" the observer asked with an irritated sigh. "Look, the carving in the sunroom was one thing, but- really, what's looking at a symbol gonna do to them? It's not gonna suddenly trigger their memories by seeing it- and besides, it was your guys' design idea, wasn't _my_ idea to plaster the group's symbol on a bunch of banners in one of the wings."

 _"..."_

The observer angrily narrowed their eyes and replied, "Oh believe me, _sir,_ no one knows more about those 'unforeseen circumstances' than me."

 _"..."_

Biting back a growl in their throat, the observer responded, "Fine. I'll have those banners down and hidden by the time nighttime ends."

 _"..."_

With that farewell, the dark man ended the call, and the screen went dark again. Taking off their headphones, the observer proceeded to furiously slam them down on the desk in front of them, then angrily pound on the leather seat they sat in.

 _Fucking- god, why do_ I _have to be the one to keep cleaning up their messes!? Wasn't my fault things went wrong, wasn't my fault one of the workers decided to carve the group's symbol in the sunroom's floor, wasn't my fault they decided to set up a bunch of banners with the same symbol- but nooo, here I am, having to fix their own mistakes for them!_

Having finally released all their frustration, the observer sat back for a few moments to recollect their bearings. _Well, looks like this night is going to be even longer than I thought- where're those controls, it's time for Monokuma to pay a little visit to the East-_

Then, the observer stopped their search, telling themselves, _No, you know what? I can do that myself._

They pushed back their chair and stood up, stretching out for a moment before taking a look at the cameras showing the students' bedrooms. Everyone was asleep by now, and since they were all the way in the South Wing, the chances of the observer being caught would be slim to nothing. Plus, the exercise would keep them awake for a little while longer, at least enough to be able to use Monokuma to clean up the latest blackened's remains.

Just before they left, however...their gaze settled on a screen showing the bedroom of one of the students, the student who their boss had initially called about.

They softly chuckled to themselves as they watched Hana Amari sleep like a log. She always seemed to sleep the heaviest when she was at her most stressed or drained- when you act as a castle's eyes and ears (and the observer used 'castle' in the loosest of terms), you start to pick up on things like that.

"Well Ms. Amari, you and your buddies sure had a long day, didn't you?" they said to the screen, knowing full well there would be no response- and they didn't really want one. "But don't you worry- if you think your troubles are over now that that ambitious little sociopath is gone, well...you'd be wrong. I'll make sure of it- oh, how I'm going to make sure of it."

"Crazy boss _,_ a group with equally crazy beliefs, sleepless nights, having to meticulously maintain this little game we have...but you? Why, you make it all worth it," they went on...before letting out another cruel chuckle. "Because with each passing day, I get to watch _you."_

The observer then laughed- but not a laugh of joy, rather a laugh of pure madness. "I get to watch you squirm, to watch you break, to watch as everyone you cared about falls one by one _._ And the chance to see all of that, every day, why- _that_ is makes all the _shit_ that gets thrown my way worth it."

"Whatever happens in the future, trust me when I say I know only one thing for sure..."

They finished with a growl laced with utter insanity, "And it's that I cannot _wait_ to keep watching you _suffer."_

* * *

 **A/N: See, I told you it was gonna be a short one. Now, as for what just happened...well, I won't spell it out for ya. I'd say it'll all make sense in due time, but I think that's kinda a given- so, yeah! I think this is a nice little way to give you a nice, mysterious glimpse into what's going on with this killing game- heck, we even have a name for it now! Or rather, the location- the Castle of Mutual Killing! Not the most creative name in the world, but it's in line with the names of other Killing Games, more or less.**

 **Also, I discovered Fanfiction does not allow for series of punctuation unless their ellipses, ellipses plus question mark, or if the punctuation has spaces in between- so, if you're wondering why the title looks so weird with the spaced question marks...that's why (which is weird because it worked just fine when I was naming the document, I don't see why it wouldn't work in here).**

 **Now...does this mark the halfway point of the story? I think it does- possibly, I have a hard time predicting how long this will ultimately end up being number-wise, sooo...for right now, let's consider this the halfway point of the story! To the readers who have remained by this story, whether you were here since July or you're a newer reader, I say- thank you! Fractured Fates is but a passion project at its core, and I think I've made it clear I'm not in this for massive popularity at the end of the day, but still- having such great fans and readers is definitely a nice feeling.**

 **As for next time...Chapter 4 TRULY begins! And I won't give away too much about it, but I will say this: If you thought Chapter 2's case was tragedy incarnate... _you haven't seen anything yet._**


	31. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 1)

**A/N: ... _*deeeeeep breath in*_ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

 **Welcome back, folks! It's a new day, and the start of a new chapter! After, uh...waaaaay too long of a wait.**

 **So- progress on this part has been a little...strange. I mean, I went on another big ol' hiatus, so that's kinda obvious. It was...quite a few things, honestly. First, it was weather causing damage to my house and me having to help clean it all up, that was the start of it. Then there were some...emotional issues sapping away my motivation, but I won't go into _that,_ but it's been...affecting me for a good chunk of me writing this. Plus, I've found it's just difficult in general to get back into the groove of Daily Life after the twists and turns of a class trial- minor burnout, maybe? I don't know. But bottom line, shockingly enough- school has only been a _tiny_ portion of what's been holding me up. Considering it's nearly the end of the year for me, that's even more surprising. **

**But alas, I am alive still, and I FINALLY bring to you the start of a new chapter...literally! So, no more petty excuses and beating around the bush; here we go- the start of Chapter 4, after all the chaos of Chapter 3! Was the wait worth it? I certainly hope so, and I think it will be!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Aaah yes, this plot is thickening quite nicely, isn't it? Well, the wait for the new chapter is over, at long last! I don't really think it'll give you the _exact_ answers you're looking for, but it'll give you something else! Actual, _non_ -mysterious plot!**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ _...Have_ I made a 'thicc' joke yet regarding the plot's current state? I dunno, don't feel like checking at this point.**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Yes there is, and I love throwing out fuel for theories. And speaking of speculation...you've got some pretty interesting ones here. I do think it's interesting that you're speculating a connection to V3, I don't think I've seen anyone try and guess something like that before.**

 **But, there is something I think I need to clarify- regarding the observer choosing to do a certain job (if you recall, removing some banners in the East Wing) themselves. You see- the observer didn't _have_ to go and take down the banners manually. They could have easily used Monokuma to do the job- heck, they _were_ going to use Monokuma, but then decided to do it themselves, with the reasoning that the exercise would keep them from falling asleep. So, that's why the observer did the manual work themselves this time around rather than use Monokuma. I thought the last part made that clear, but- I dunno, maybe not so much. Either way, I hope that clarified some things. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Halls of** **Regret- Daily Life (Part 1)**

It had to be about 3 in the morning. Normally, the surviving members of the 80th would all be sound asleep, dealing with whatever mental ramifications of the day before in their dreams (or, more likely, nightmares).

But this night...two students were wide awake.

Someone tiptoed down the hallway leading to the South Wing's dining room, trying to be as stealthy as humanly possible. Sure, they were far enough away from the bedrooms that it would be extremely unlikely for anyone else to hear them, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The student cautiously poked their head into the empty dining room, scanning their surroundings...

"Y'know Rumi, you don't have to sneak around like a spy," Hinata jokingly whispered to his classmate, practically materializing right next to her.

Rumi visibly jumped from surprise, only to immediately calm herself and respond indignantly, "W-Well, _excuse_ me for being cautious! Who knows if anyone's lurking around, we can't get caught like this!"

Hinata chuckled and remarked, "Well look at you, I didn't think you had such a dark side."

"No, I just want this to be a surprise for everyone," Rumi told him, crossing his arms. "Believe me, you'll know when I'm really trying to be a rebel."

"Really now? What, am I rubbing off on you or something?" the thief inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Rumi turned to him and frowned. "Oh, don't talk like that- you are _far_ from a bad influence. Did you forget that _I_ asked _you_ to help me with this?"

"Haha- I know, I know," Hinata told her. "Just, y'know, can't help myself."

Then, he held up something in his hands- a small stack of blank papers from the study. "Oh, speaking of...you gonna tell me what these papers and those coloring things are for? You were still pretty vague about it when you first asked about it, so..."

"Oh! Well, I'll explain in a minute," Rumi told him, holding up the supplies that she herself had brought. "I still can't believe the storage room had these- otherwise, we'd have to settle for pencils or something."

"And I'd say we're just lucky Asuna forgot to lock the storage room up after the trial," Hinata added with a shrug. "Not that it would have affected getting the paper itself."

"I mean, can you blame her?" Rumi asked him, raising an eyebrow. "After everything that happened in the trial..."

The scuba diver then shook her head, then went on with more determination, "But! That's exactly why we're doing this- trust me, this is gonna be something everyone'll like."

"Even Akira?" her partner in crime inquired, raising an eyebrow.

To that, Rumi went noticeably quiet, before cheerfully continuing as if he hadn't spoken, "And this is how we're gonna start! With the power...of _art!"_

"Art?" Hinata asked, furrowing his brow as he looked down at the papers. "We're gonna be drawing?"

"Yeah- but it doesn't have to be perfect," Rumi assured him, leading him into the dining room.

The Ultimate Thief followed her, asking, "How'd you even get in here, anyways? I thought the dining room was closed at night."

"The _kitchen_ is closed, not the dining room," his classmate responded, raising a finger matter-of-factly. "Which is good, because I wouldn't know where else to do this."

Hinata nodded, continuing to follow her towards the banquet table. He then asked, "So...is drawing the only part of this? Because I get the feeling it's not."

"You'd be right! But I'll tell you more about that once we're done with this part," Rumi told him, stopping beside one of the chairs. "Hey, you've got good upper body strength, right?"

"What...? I mean, I guess, I do a lot of running around, so..." Hinata responded with a shrug.

"Great! No reason in particular that I'm asking about it," the scuba diver innocently responded, before adding dismissively, "It's just we maaaay have to move a piece of furniture or two."

"W-Wait, what?" Hinata quickly inquired, beginning to _truly_ question just what he had agreed to.

"You'll see!~"

* * *

 _The air was acrid with the stench of smoke. The air was hot with flames, and the sound of men and women screaming in terror was deafening. Despite all the sensory overload...it was still hard to tell what exactly was going on. To Hana, things were a blur- it felt as if time itself was being manipulated, like it was moving too fast for her to comprehend what was happening. Somehow, she could tell something terrible was happening- her heart was pounding like a jackhammer, the muscles in her legs were burning from fatigue, her ears were ringing from sounds she couldn't exactly make out._

 _As the nightmarish scenario continued, Hana would find herself...hiding? She moved with decision, and yet it still felt like her mind was independent of her body, as if she was some kind of outside observer. It seemed she was hiding in some kind of...alleyway? It was still hard to tell due to the fogginess of it all. Still, Hana would find herself peeking out from one of the corners of the building, witnessing dozens of people fleeing from an unseen terror. The ground rocked with a nearby explosion, causing massive chunks of debris to fall and crush a few unlucky civilians, leaving smears of blood on the pavement._

 _That wasn't the worst of it, however. Seconds later, Hana heard those strange sounds once more...only now, they sounded distinctively like gunshots, and a lot of them in quick succession. The people were now running in the opposite direction, but it seemed like it was too little too late; many of the men and women's bodies were torn apart by spray after spray of bullets, leaving behind lead-ridden and bloody corpses in the streets while the rest continued to run from whatever was shooting...and all the while, the Ultimate could only look on, hidden in the alley yet completely frozen in terror-_

* * *

With a fearful cry, Hana found herself quickly sitting up in her bed, her breathing rapid and her heartbeat practically audible. The surfer looked around to process her surroundings- no, she was not in some blurry nightmare setting, but rather her very real bedroom in the _actual_ nightmare setting of Monokuma's castle.

The girl softly groaned, rubbing her head tiredly. _What_ was _that...? Another weird dream...? Not even that, a weird_ nightmare...

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself- Hana couldn't explain it, but just like the previous nightmare, this one had an odd sense of realness to it. And it wasn't the usual sensation of someone having a dream they claimed 'felt real'- these dreams of hers genuinely felt authentic, though she couldn't remember every aspect of them. It was a strange contrast- the dreams seemed blurred and foggy, and yet as clear as day- like a memory, rather than a dream.

 _Ding-dong, bing-bong_

Hana's thoughts were interrupted when the monitor in her room clicked to life, depicting Monokuma as he announced on schedule, "Good morning everyone! It is now 7 A.M., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another luxurious day!"

The surfer sighed. The mysterious messages, the photos, now these strange dreams...

 _Come on...isn't it enough that the threat of literally dying is constantly there?_ Hana lamented to herself. _Why does this stupid killing game have to be even more complicated than it already was?_

Well, it was clear there was no more time to dwell on her dream or anything else- the breakfast meeting would be underway.

* * *

Having gotten dressed and ready for the day, Hana exited her bedroom and looked around the hallway. Seeing nobody else around- which wasn't too surprising, everyone else was likely either waking up or already at the dining room. Hoping she wasn't late- again- the surfer made her way down the hall and into the main chamber, focusing on her destination...

"Morning, Hana."

The girl swiftly turned around in surprise- only to calm down upon seeing it was Hiroshi, who was casually leaning against one of the pillars.

"Geez, Hiroshi- you _really_ need to stop doing that," Hana told him with a wince.

"Heh, sorry- you know me, I'm a pretty quiet presence," Hiroshi responded, with a nod. "Though I will say- you're up pretty early."

"Ah- I guess I am," Hana remarked. "I kinda...had a dream that woke me up, that's all. Guess it's not such a bad thing- I won't have to worry about being late!"

Hiroshi nodded in agreement. "Speaking of...I'm sure there aren't too many of the others still asleep- in fact, I just saw Ryoto not too long ago- so we should head to the dining room right away."

The surfer nodded, and the two proceeded head to the dining room. As they did, however...Hana couldn't help but glance at Hiroshi through the corner of her eye. Despite everything, the one thing she couldn't quite get out of her head was the photos she had been shown..and how the young man had looked quite different. Hana didn't doubt that it was Hiroshi in the photo with his classmates- but she still couldn't shake how odd it was that his appearance was vastly different, even his _height_ seemed off in the pictures. As for why that could be, or what it meant...

"Uh...Hana?" Hiroshi spoke up, furrowing his brow somewhat. "You're...looking at me a little weird. You're not actually upset that I keep just popping up and scaring you, are you? If that's the case, I'm sorry about that- you know I'm pretty quiet, so sometimes-"

"N-No! No, it's nothing against you!" Hana quickly told him, shaking her head. "J-Just, you know yesterday was pretty terrible, and like I said there was the dream I had, so I think I'm a little out of it right-"

"WHAT IS _THAT?"_

Hana's nervous rambling was interrupted by the unmistakable shout of the Ultimate Racecar Driver, Ryoto. She and Hiroshi sharply turned their attention to the source of the voice: the dining room.

"Th-That was- Ryoto?" Hana spoke up- as grateful as she was to be saved from her embarrassing explaining, she was still visibly confused as to why her classmate had cried out so suddenly.

"No doubt about it...but what could be going on...?" Hiroshi inquired. Figuring there was only way to find out, the coroner ran ahead, and Hana was quick to follow him.

The duo entered the dining room within seconds, and it was apparent Ryoto was far from the first person to enter the room before them. Three other students could be seen: Akira, Shiori, and Asuna.

"Quit being so dramatic- it's not like it's something horrifying," Shiori scolded him with a frown.

"M-Maybe! But it's still- you know!" Ryoto responded indignantly. "You don't usually see something like that in a dining room!"

Hana and Hiroshi glanced at each other, then back at where the students were standing. The four of them were clustered towards the opposite end of the large room, clearly surrounding...something, but it was difficult to tell with the four other Ultimates around it.

"Uh...good morning?" Hana spoke up, hoping to get the attention of her other classmates.

The first one to immediately notice the duo's presence was Asuna; the gardener turned around to see Hana and Hiroshi and immediately greeted them, "O-Oh! Hana, Hiroshi! Good morning!"

The other three students turned around themselves, also taking notice of the two.

"Hey! Hana Amari and Hiroshi Ashi!" Ryoto shouted at them. "Do you two know anything about this?"

"I can't say we do...mainly because we can't see what you're referring to," Hiroshi admitted.

"Well then, come over here and see for yourselves," Akira ordered. "Although I doubt you'll know much more than we do."

Hana and Hiroshi strode across the room as the other students moved out of the way so they could get a better look at what they were investigating. And what they saw next...well, Hana couldn't hide her shock at all.

"W-What the...?" the Ultimate Surfer stammered, her eyes widening as she saw what had everyone so confused.

It was a table- in fact, it looked a lot like one of the tables from the sunroom, more specifically the rectangular table that held the dragon statuette and the two smaller potted plants. Those objects were absent, however, replaced with what appeared to be makeshift picture frames made from cut up cardboard. There were seven pictures in total, neatly arranged on the table's surface...and each one had a drawing of a deceased student on it. The pictures were far from masterpieces, but it was evident effort had been put into making them, and at the very least one could easily tell which student was who- from Mikio, the first death, to Tadao, the most recent loss, all seven of their deceased peers had a hand-made picture and 'frame'.

"Huh..." Hiroshi muttered to himself as he looked over the arrangement, then he chuckled and explained, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is some kind of makeshift memorial."

"Well no duh, of course it's a memorial," Shiori sharply responded. "The question is- where did it come from?"

"Uh...how long has this been here?" Hana asked, looking over the memorial with a frown. "Do any of you guys know?"

"Well, I was the first one to arrive here- as usual- a few minutes after the morning announcement, and this memorial was here when I did," Akira explained. "Judging by that, as well as the fact that I could find no traces of anyone having been in here just before me...I'd say this was placed in here sometime before that announcement, perhaps maybe even by a few hours."

"Huh...that's so weird..." Hana said to herself, tilting her head slightly.

"Well I'll tell ya one thing! IT DEFINITELY WASN'T ME!" Ryoto declared. "When Ryoto Miura does something big, he makes sure EVERYONE knows about it!"

"I mean, I don't see anything bad with this," Hiroshi stated. "A memorial for our deceased classmates...I like it. If anything, I'm just curious as to who set it up."

"Not just that...I'm guessing a lot of time went into making this," Asuna added. "I wonder how they did it all in one night...? I-I'm _assuming_ they did it last night, anyways."

Then, someone else joined in the discussion, evidenced by the sound of rapid footsteps from the hallway leading to the dining room itself.

"Heeey! Morning guys!" Rumi Hamasaki cheerfully and loudly greeted her classmates, appearing out of breath as if she had run there. "What's going on? Everything okay?"

"Ah- hey there, Rumi," Hana greeted the girl. "Hey- maybe you can help us. Come here and look at this."

The scuba diver walked over- it was at this point Hana could notice Rumi's hair was somewhat disheveled, as if she hadn't finished getting ready when she left her room. The surfer decided not to bring it up, though. After all, yesterday had been quite terrible with the deaths of three classmates, so it wasn't too out of the question that some of the others would look a little ragged- that was what had happened following Mikio's trial, after all.

"Hm?" Rumi muttered, walking over before gasping. "Oh! What's that?"

"Once again- it's some kind of...memorial to the others. The ones who are dead," Shiori explained, gesturing to the table. "What we're all wondering is where it could have come from, or who could have made it."

"Oh! Oh wow, this is _soooo_ surprising!" Rumi exclaimed in a rather exaggerated fashion. "I mean, what are the odds, right? A memorial like this just- popping up outta the blue like this? After one of the worst days we've had? I don't know about you guys, but I'm more shocked than anything!"

"..." The class was completely silent through Rumi's dramatic speech. Hana herself stared at her friend in a mixture of disbelief and bafflement- something told her they were about to solve this particular mystery sooner than she thought.

"...What? I'm being genuine here!" the Ultimate Scuba Diver insisted.

"..." Akira raised an eyebrow in skepticism, before bluntly inquiring, "You were the one who set up the memorial, weren't you, Hamasaki?"

"W-Whaaaat? Me? As if I'd do something so secretive!" Rumi refuted...before adding, "But if it _was_ me, I'd say it was a pretty nice gesture, not to pat myself on the back or anything."

"...So it _was_ you?" Hana then asked.

"Gh- I-I never said-" the blue-haired Ultimate began, looking around for a reason Hana couldn't quite tell...before then claiming, "Oookay, okay- I set up the memorial for everyone, you guys got me."

"Well we could have told you that the moment you started talking," Shiori deadpanned.

"What I'm wondering is why you were trying to be so secretive about it," Hiroshi said, furrowing his brow. "Me, personally, I like how we can have something to remember everyone in a more positive light."

"That's not what I was worried about- I knew you guys would like it...well, mostly everyone," Rumi explained, glancing at Akira for a split second. "But, see...someone helped me set it all up, and I was hoping he'd be awake by now to see what you guys would think of it."

"W-Well...I guess it would make sense that there was someone else, since I'm assuming you had to move this table too," Asuna pointed out, gesturing to the furniture in question. "And...I think this came from the sunroom, actually."

"B-But still- taking furniture!?" Ryoto then yelped. "Is that even allowed!?"

"The rules don't say anything about moving furniture," Shiori pointed out. "And I don't think the sunroom would be one of the places locked up during nighttime."

 _Huh...? Rumi had help?_ Hana observed. Looking round the room herself, the surfer wondered, _Well...she mentioned a 'he', and Hiroshi and Ryoto were saying they didn't know anything, and there's only one other person who isn't here yet..._

At this point, Hana then thought, _Wow, I'm being_ really _deductive right now, and there hasn't even been a murder- I think these trials are starting to affect me in more ways than one..._

Then, as if called by the surfer's speculations, one final student rushed into the dining room: the Ultimate Thief himself, Hinata.

"Heya, guys," Hinata casually greeted the group, sauntering in as if he didn't look as rushed as Rumi. "Hope I'm not too late."

"Actually, you're _very_ late," Akira bluntly told him. "The last one here, as a matter of fact."

"Oh- heh, sorry 'bout that, had a hard time sleeping," Hinata responded with a grin. "So...something over there? I noticed you guys were all gathered here, and-"

Rumi sighed. "They already know, Hinata. I tried to keep them in suspense until you got here, but they were way too perceptive."

"No, it's just- an Ultimate Actress, you are not," Shiori deadpanned.

"W-What?" Hinata exclaimed, his bravado disappearing immediately. "So I stay up 'til at least 3 AM, and I don't even get to be there for the big reveal?"

"Hey, we're all just way too observant for our own good sometimes," Hiroshi assured the thief.

"I'm just more surprised it was _you,_ of all people, that Hamasaki asked to help with this," Akira stated. "I wouldn't exactly put you at the pinnacle of trustworthiness..."

"Well, he did a great job helping me out, what with helping with the supplies and the drawing and moving the table..." Rumi responded, narrowing her eyes at the prosecutor. "So, I think I made a great choice!"

"And besides...it really is a nice gesture, and the memorial's pretty well-made too," Hana added, nodding at the table. "So, I don't really think it matters if Hinata helped or not, they both did a good job!"

"..." Akira turned her attention to Hana and gave the surfer her signature death glare, as if to say to her 'Did I ask for _your_ opinion?'

 _Oh, that's right- Akira hates my opinion, I needed that reminder._ Hana told herself as she shrunk away from the Ultimate's piercing gaze.

"Uh- can I make one complaint about this, though?" Ryoto spoke up, walking over to the memorial with a frown. "I know you're trying to honor everyone who's died so far, which is GREAT! Buuuut- does _he_ have to be in with the others?"

At that, he jabbed a finger towards the picture that was farthest right- the black hair, fancy clothing, and sea green eyes indicating this drawing depicted Tadao.

"Yeah, I'll be frank- I wasn't too keen on that myself," Hinata stated with a shrug. "But, Rumi here was the boss, so I wasn't gonna complain too much."

The scuba diver in question frowned, responding, "And I stand by that choice, by the way."

"Okay, but- why though?" Ryoto inquired, bewildered. "The others I can see, but like- _him!?"_

"I-I, uh...kinda agree with him," Asuna spoke up, gesturing to the tall young man in agreement.

"And...y'know, I can't help but kinda feel the same way," Hana admitted, sighing. _Just when I had come to terms with what Azami and Itachi did, Tadao comes in and just...throws a massive curveball..._

"Yes, him too! Why wouldn't he be included?" Rumi inquired with a deep frown.

"I dunno, how about the fact that he killed _two_ people?" Shiori pointed out.

"H-He used _your_ party in his plan, and basically drugged everyone!" Asuna reminded her, shocked.

"He almost killed _me,_ too!" Hana angrily added- and here she thought Hiroshi was the forgiving type...

"And he was a gigantic asshole!" Ryoto vehemently concluded.

"...All fair points, and don't think I've forgotten about any of that," Rumi responded, still appearing resolute. "But, to me, it's..."

The scuba diver sighed, the explained, "Look guys, Tadao did a terrible thing, and he wasn't exactly the nicest around. But at the end of the day...he was still our classmate, and there _was_ a point when he wasn't so antagonistic towards us. So, to me, it...feels a little wrong not to have him on there, you know? I can't really explain it that well, but..."

Hana couldn't speak for the rest of her classmates, as she could tell many of them still appeared skeptical, but she herself frowned and looked away slightly, keeping silent. _I mean, I guess it would be a little odd to not have_ one _of the students on the memorial, but at the same time, what Tadao did was-_

"...I think I get it," Hiroshi spoke up. "I've been thinking on what Tadao did myself, and...I agree that he shouldn't be left out of the memorial."

"Well, you're as forgiving as they come- someone could hit you with a truck and you'd probably be cool with it," Shiori deadpanned, narrowing her eyes at the coroner.

"U-Uh...my forgiving nature aside- I _have_ been thinking on what happened yesterday," Hiroshi explained. "And...well, I do agree that what Tadao did should not be condoned, nor is it easily forgivable. But let's not forget why Tadao actually committed murder in the first place."

"A restaurant?" Ryoto replied.

"No- not just his dream, but his cynicism. He lost his trust in us a while ago, and lost faith that there was an alternate way to escape this castle," the coroner claimed. "That cynicism, combined with his inability to give up on his dream- _that's_ what led him to killing Saku and Shiro. He had a selfish motive, and he may not have been the nicest around- but he had his reasons for doing what he did, just like Azami and Itachi. And because of that...I don't think it'd be fair to leave him out of the memorial."

"...Well...you certainly explained it a lot better than I could," Rumi spoke up with a smile.

"...Cool talk, bro!" Ryoto responded. "But I still hate what the guy did."

"Oh for- the point is, Shimaru's picture can stay up on the memorial, Hamasaki and Yonade did something that I'm sure will be positive for everyone, and we have more important matters to discuss, so how about we drop this matter of the memorial once and for all, shall we?" Akira told the group, exasperated. "Believe me, if I had it my way, I'd prefer to leave all three killers off of it- but we're not the ones who made it, so let's just stop with the complaints."

Hana didn't say anything, but her mind still proceeded to wander around what Hiroshi had talked about. _I mean, I get it- I mean I didn't really consider it yesterday, but now...I can kinda see it. At the very least, I get that Tadao had reasons for doing what he did- he had a dream, this killing game made that dream seem unreachable, and he just couldn't accept it._

 _...But even if he had a kinda reasonable motive- okay not really, in my opinion- I think I'm gonna have a harder time coming to terms with Tadao's crime than with Azami and Itachi, and considering how conflicted I was about those two..._

"Hellooo? Hana? You there?"

The surfer was immediately brought back to reality by Shiori's voice, as the Ultimate Surgeon was now standing next to her classmate.

"Uh- sorry, I guess I zoned out," Hana responded. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, nothing of _complete_ importance- just me trying to do my job and make sure my patient isn't dying in front of me," Shiori told her with a frown. "In other words- I asked you how you were feeling. You know, with your head and your leg- plus, yesterday was pretty stressful, so..."

"Oh- well, actually, I'm not feeling too bad," Hana responded. "Maybe yesterday, I kinda had something of a headache, but so far today I feel fine."

Shiori nodded. "Well, that's good to hear. Though, I think later I ought to do a little examination to see how your wounds are healing, and make sure nothing's been infected or anything like that. For right now, though..."

The surgeon turned away from Hana and the rest of the mingling students and headed for the kitchen, likely to grab some coffee or something to eat.

Spotting the surgeon, Hinata spoke up, "Oh yeah- since Tadao's dead now, what about food?"

"I mean, we can just cook for ourselves- the fact that Shimaru made food for us was simply a convenience," Akira pointed out.

"Or I could make something! I've cooked in the past, remember?" Rumi reminded the group. "Even though I won't have help this time."

"No, I believe us making something smaller for each of us will be quicker and more convenient," Akira then stated. "Especially since, as I said before, we have much to do today."

"We do?" Ryoto began, before exclaiming, "OH! RIIIGHT! It's the day after a trial, and that means-"

"A-A new part of the castle's opened up!" Asuna finished. "I wonder which wing it is..."

"Well, there's really only two left- the north and the east," Hana pointed out. "Unless Monokuma decides to open up only half the wing like he did with the South Wing..."

"Personally, I'm hoping the north's been opened up to us," Hiroshi admitted.

"Oddly specific, Ashi- any reason in particular?" Akira inquired, crossing her arms.

"Ah...no reason in particular," the coroner responded. "I just...wonder if Monokuma's opening the castle clockwise, is all."

"You're giving that guy too much credit- as if he'd do something actually clever and not plain sadistic," Hinata told him.

"Well, we won't know until we look, I guess," Hana said, shrugging.

At the same time, the Ultimate was also pondering to herself, _And if there's a new wing open...that means more chances to find another way out of this castle. Okay, so first- food. After that...it'll be time to make good on my vow to find a way out of here without killing- I'll search every damn inch of whatever wing's been opened if I have to!_

* * *

Once the memorial had been dealt with, the next matter was breakfast. And it was an...interesting affair, to say the least.

Normally, the kitchen was more than wide enough to accommodate several students- but not all eight of them. Thus, to say breakfast was disorganized would be an understatement. Among other events: Hana counted at least four times that someone had stepped on her foot, Asuna's attempt to make waffles were dashed when someone spilled a drink on the toaster and shorted it out, Ryoto nearly fought Hinata because he thought the latter took his sausage (which the thief vehemently denied) and it was only broken up by Rumi, Hiroshi was just uncomfortable in general due to being in such close physical proximity to everyone...it was a chaotic time. Ultimately, only two people seemed to avoid the kitchen madness- Shiori, who had left the breakfast meeting far earlier than the rest of the surviving class (evidently, she was still trying to make good on her earlier refusal to follow Akira's lead), and Akira, who didn't grab her breakfast until everyone else had exited (though she did have to contend with the mess left behind).

For Hana herself, her breakfast ended up being rather small- she really only had some toast and juice- but it was more because she was just eager to search the next section of the castle. Not to mention her other classmates seemed to have the same idea, as they ate just as quickly and didn't have many conversations (which was likely only _partially_ due to the kitchen fiasco). By the end of breakfast, it was ultimately Hana and Hiroshi who left the dining room together, the duo on their way to investigate.

"Okay...we've got a fifty-fifty shot of heading to the right wing of the castle, since there's only two left," Hana observed. "I know you mentioned that clock theory of yours, but I'm kinda thinking the East Wing might be open?"

Hiroshi was silent for a moment before responding, "Maybe...but, I really do want to try heading to the North Wing beforehand. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Well- your guess is as good as mine," Hana conceded with a chuckle. "Does that mean we should go through the courtyard to get there?"

"Mm...I want to try the upper floor, first," Hiroshi told her. "If I recall, there was a gate in the West Wing that, if I'm imaging the layout of this castle correctly, has to connect to the North Wing."

"Oh- well, in that case, lead the way," Hana replied.

From there, the duo walked through the South Wing and ascended the stairs to the second floor, heading down the left hallway to the second floor entrance to the West Wing. Passing through the doorway, Hana and Hiroshi made their way across the mezzanine that made up the central area of the second floor towards the northernmost hallway- the same one that led to the wine room and the western watchtower.

When the passed the door leading to the wine room, however, Hana herself stopped. She stood and stared at the wooden door for a few moments, simply quietly remembering the things that had occurred in that room.

 _God...what a terrible place..._ Hana told herself with an internal grimace. _I almost got killed in here, Shiro was_ actually _killed in here, Tadao got the weapon he used to knock out Saku from in here...this may have even been where the last motive had been hidden, who knows? Even if Monokuma's cleaned up the scene in there- and he probably did, he did that to the first two crime scenes- that'll never change what happened. Honestly, if I never go in that room again, it'll be too-_

"W-What the-?"

Hana was brought out of her thoughtful state by Hiroshi's brief exclamation. "Hiroshi? What's wrong?"

Continuing to the end of the hall where Hiroshi stood, the surfer turned to the doorway the two had come to investigate- and found the gate from before was still there, completely impassable.

"Oh- it's...still closed?" Hana remarked with a disappointed frown.

"It...looks that way..." Hiroshi confirmed, his own countenance just as upsetting.

"Hm...guess that means it's not the North Wing," Hana concluded. "Must be the East Wing that's opened then."

"..." the coroner was silent for a moment, but then he said, "I want to try something else. The courtyard- there's another door there that should lead to the North Wing. Let's check that, too."

Before Hana could even respond, Hiroshi was already walking back down the hall to the central area of the West Wing.

"W-Wait, wha-" Hana began, dumbfounded by Hiroshi's response. "Since when has Monokuma ever-?"

With a frustrated groan, Hana quickly ran to catch up to her departing friend.

With that, the duo made their way down the stairs to the bottom floor of the West Wing, strode through the ballroom, and exited through the whitish-gray doors into the sunlit courtyard. Hana looked around the area- despite her confusion regarding Hiroshi, she couldn't ignore it was such an idyllic scene. After all the bloodshed of the killing game, it seemed almost dreamlike- there wasn't even a cloud in the sky, no wind to be felt...actually, the surfer couldn't remember a time when she _did_ see a cloud or feel wind in the area...

"...Hey, Hiroshi?" Hana spoke up. "Have you noticed how the weather around here is pretty...well, perfect? Like, the sky's always been clear, day and night, it's perfectly warm out- like, it's always been a perfect day out! Kinda weird, right?"

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, then replied, "Y'know...yeah. I mean, I've always been distracted by everything else about the killing game- and I think everyone else can relate- but you do make a good point. I'm not really sure if the weather can help us get out of here, but...maybe it can give us a clue as to where we actually are."

As Hana ruminated on that, she and Hiroshi finished walking to the northern end of the grassy terrain and stood in front of the door leading to the North Wing. The door actually looked somewhat different from the other wings' entrances. The door was somewhat bigger, made from a polished mahogany wood rather than the whitish-gray material of the other doors, and it lacked any windows for the students to peek through. Not to mention each door had a large, thick iron ring attached that likely acted as a pair of door handles, as well as some intricate gold designs embedded horizontally across the doors.

"That's...kinda imposing," Hana stated as she stared at the large door. Before, she had never paid much attention to this unique door no matter how many times she had visited the courtyard, but now she had no choice but to acknowledge how strange it was.

"Imposing...but that just means something important may be hiding behind it," the Ultimate Coroner remarked, walking up to the door.

Without any hesitation, Hiroshi gripped the iron door handles and pulled. Hana half-expected the door to open up naturally, as all doors did- but to her surprise (well, _somewhat_ surprise), the door stubbornly remained shut with a metallic jangling accompanying the attempt. With a frown, Hiroshi attempted to push the doors open instead, but that attempt was just as ill-fated.

"So- can we _definitely_ say the North Wing isn't open?" Hana stated unable to hide the slight annoyance in her tone- then again, they were probably the only ones not looking around the new area, and it was likely because of this strange search her classmate had decided to undergo.

"Yeah, that's...the logical conclusion, isn't it?" Hiroshi finally conceded, stepping away from the larger door. Even as he did, however, Hana could see an even stronger hint of disappointment in his eyes- why would that be?

"Hiroshi? Why do you look so...I dunno, down?" Hana inquired, frowning in concern. "What, did you want the North Wing to be opened _that_ much?"

"I do? Huh?" Hiroshi remarked, surprised. "Oh, uh- sorry, it's really nothing, don't worry about it. Sorry to waste time like this- everyone else has probably found quite a bit by now."

"Anyways- looks like the east is without a doubt the newest location, so let's not prolong it anymore," the Ultimate Coroner stated, walking towards the white door leading to the easternmost section of the castle.

Though he spoke with a cheerful tone, Hana couldn't shake the feeling that there may have been something more to her friend's interest in the North Wing...but as for what that could be, she couldn't say. First the discrepancies in Hiroshi's appearance in the photo and his current look, now his interest in a certain area of the castle...what could it all mean? Could it be...did the Ultimate Coroner maybe have something to hide? Something that would explain the strangeness surrounding him? Or even worse, could it- and by proxy, Hiroshi himself- be connected to the killing game itself?

 _...No. Just...no._ Hana firmly told herself the moment her train of thought drifted into suspicion towards Hiroshi. She couldn't say for certain who the mastermind could be, but she one thing for sure- she would rather die than think one of her closest friends was responsible for the deaths of so many of their classmates.

And so, fighting down any and all doubts that had grown, Hana followed Hiroshi across the expansive courtyard and through the ivory doors to the East Wing.

* * *

Pushing open the two whitish-gray doors, Hana and Hiroshi stepped in to view the East Wing for the first time. The place they walked into appeared to be a central hall of sorts, not unlike the main hall in the South Wing (though not nearly as immense). The hall was a whole shone like it was made of silver; the floor was a polished ivory, reflective as a mirror. The walls were a more silver-gray color and had a molding design depicting several large arches that were as high as the first floor itself. Running down the center of the hall and ending at a large, single set of stairs was a black carpet with gold trim; on each side of this carpet stood a series of bronze statues depicting old European knights (Hana counted six in total, three on each side) in full armor.

What really caught Hana's attention, however, was what was at the end of the central hall, other than the stairs leading to the second floor. On either side of the stairwell stood a tall statue, but these two appeared to have been sculpted from glass- though the surfer could tell a layer of dust had formed on the monuments. Both statues appeared to relatively be the same height (about eight feet each, so not quite tall enough to go over to the wing's upper level) and stood on a flat bronze base, but what they actually depicted were quite different from one another. The right statue was simply a majestic horse standing up on its hind legs as if it was about to gallop off into the distance- nothing strange there. The left statue depicted a woman in a toga with a blindfold over her eyes; in her left hand she held a set of balancing scales, while her right hand held a long sword with the blade pointing towards the hall's ceiling.

In seeing the glass statue of the blindfolded woman, Hana also took notice of something else on the statue...or rather, some _one_ else, who had somehow managed to climb his way up the dusty glass surface and was now sitting atop the woman's right shoulder.

"Isn't that..." Hana began, before finishing in surprise, "Hinata?"

Indeed, the Ultimate Thief was lounging on the shoulder of the glass woman, though how he had gotten up there baffled Hana. Walking over to the end of the central hall, she and Hiroshi would see that the young man was not exactly alone; atop the stairs, lightly leaning on the wooden balustrade of the mezzanine that made up the East Wing's second floor, was Rumi Hamasaki, and it would seem she had been conversing with Hinata when Hana and Hiroshi walked over.

"Hm-? Oh! Hi Hana, hi Hiroshi!" Rumi called down to the duo.

"Eh?" Hinata began, looking up from his apparent relaxation to see his two classmates. "Ooh- hey, you two."

"Hey- what... _are_ you doing?" Hana began, looking up towards where Hinata was on the statue.

Hinata shrugged. "Just saw these pretty lookin' statues, realized I couldn't take them for myself because my pockets aren't _that_ deep- so I decided I'd take a break up here, admire the lights and all that."

"'Take a break'...? Uh- we all haven't been at this for _that_ long, you know," Hiroshi told him semi-sheepishly before going to examine the statue more closely.

Hana, on the other hand, was still perplexed as to Hinata's current state of being on the statue itself. "How in the world did you even get up there?"

"Hah! You think I perform daring heists across the country with just my wits?" Hinata asked, sitting up and staring down at the surfer with a grin. "Nah, for what I do, I've learned to be a little more...dexterous."

"...You lost me at that last word," Hana told him.

"He's talking about parkour- you know, where people, like, jump between buildings and run up walls and stuff?" Rumi explained from her vantage point. "You should have seen Hinata here do it, it was pretty amazing how quickly he made it up the statue."

She then turned to Hinata himself and stated, "Although, like I was saying- you _really_ should get down from there! I'm sure you're skilled and all, but anyone can slip and gravity is pretty merciless!"

"Heh, it's sweet the way you worry, but I'm not gonna-" Hinata began, about to punctuate it with a yawn- only for the thief to suddenly sneeze, causing more dust from the statue to explode around him. "...Okay, the dust, I can do without."

Hiroshi chuckled from where he was looking over the statue, commenting, "So maybe _that's_ why people shouldn't be up there- dust isn't exactly good for the body, Hinata."

"Yeah sure, whatever you say Mom," Hinata scoffed, rolling his eyes before he was racked with yet another dusty sneeze.

Narrowing his eyes slight in irritation, the thief finally proceeded to climb down from the glass statue- and, just as Rumi claimed, the young man was extremely nimble in how he descended from his perch. Hana was, in fact, shocked at how deftly Hinata climbed down- especially considering it was a smooth glass statue he was navigating.

Upon finding himself back down on the ground, he brushed off any remaining dust from his hoodie and pants and called up to Rumi, "Hey! Like what ya saw?"

Rumi giggled and responded, "Well, it was just as impressive as the first one! I don't know what I was worried about."

Hana raised an eyebrow at the banter between the thief and the scuba diver- but shook her head somewhat, deciding not to read too much into it. Instead, she turned her attention to the glass statue that Hinata had climbed up.

"Find anything interesting?" Hana inquired of Hiroshi, who appeared to have finished looking over the monument.

"Nope- just seems like a regular statue," Hiroshi told her. "Well, glass statues of _this_ size are a little rare, but other than that..."

Hana looked up at the glass woman again, asking, "What's this even supposed to be...? I feel like I've seen this somewhere before, but..."

"You don't recognize it?" Hiroshi asked. "I can't speak for the horse statue, but _this_ statue is a depiction of Lady Justice. You know, based on the Greek goddess of law and order, Themis."

"Oh! Oh, now that you mention it, I- I learned about that at my old school!" Rumi eagerly spoke up, as if she had been waiting so long for the chance to utilize this information. "Don't tell me, uh- the blindfold represents impartiality, the sword symbolizes how justice can be swift and final, and the scales are the strength of a case's support and opposition!"

The other three students stared at her, not expecting her to have knowledge of something like Lady Justice.

"...I mean, she's right," Hiroshi confirmed.

"Huh- so that's what I missed in those classes I slept through," Hinata stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Well we're in the same boat there," Hana muttered in agreement (though she couldn't recall falling asleep in class nearly as many times as Hinata most likely did).

"Though I have to say- a little bit of bad irony here, a symbol of justice in _this_ situation we're in," Hiroshi observed with a frown. "Or maybe that was whoever's behind this's intent."

Hinata scoffed. "I dunno- all I know is, I don't wanna get near that sword of hers, glass or not. Glad I didn't get sliced while I was up there."

"Oh, it's a sculpture, it can't be _that_ sharp," Hana responded dismissively.

"Oh- but speaking of being up there..." Rumi interjected yet again. "See that railing up there?"

The Ultimate pointed to the upper floor of the East Wing where Hana had initially seen her, specifically to the mahogany balustrade around the outer perimeter and on the sides of the stairs.

"At first, I was leaning against it a bit more, but like- it's _really_ loose," Rumi explained. "All wobbly and stuff, it doesn't seem very stable at all."

"No joke, Monokuma even showed up and told us- yeah, it's not put in pretty well," Hinata added. "If you had showed up earlier, you mighta seen the bastard."

"Now he didn't actually say if the railing on the _other_ side was as bad, buuut we shouldn't test it," the Ultimate Scuba Diver concluded, gesturing to the right side of the mezzanine.

"Oh, so _more_ questionable architecture- good to know," Hiroshi replied, eyeing the railing above the Lady Justice statue with a frown.

"So what you're saying is, just be careful with the railing," Hana summarized with a nod. "Okay, good to know. Did you guys find anything else?"

"Absolutely! ...Nothing," Hinata replied. "Yeah, I was just kinda screwing around on the statue."

"But we're gonna keep looking! If there's any clue to the mastermind or how to get out of here, we'll find it!" Rumi assured the surfer with a resolute nod.

"Speaking of looking- I do think we should get started on that for real," Hiroshi told Hana. "Think we should split up?"

"Probably- that'd be quicker, at least for the two of us," Hana responded. "Maybe I'll look around this bottom floor, and you can look at the upper floor?"

"Sounds good to me," the coroner cheerfully replied. "Well then, I'll take my leave- good luck with the search. Same to you, Rumi, Hinata."

As Hiroshi made his way to the stairs and climbed up the steps, Rumi leaned over to Hana and sternly whispered, "Come on, what are you _doing,_ Han? Agreeing to splitting up like that, such a rookie mistake..."

"What? It _will_ be faster for the two of us, won't it?" Hana asked the scuba diver.

"Faster to search, maybe- but you know what _won't_ be fast? You and Hiroshi if you guys keep missing bonding opportunities like this!" Rumi scolded her.

Realizing what her friend was talking about, Hana grew incredibly flustered and yelped, "Rumi! Don't talk about that now!"

"If not now, when!?" the blue-haired girl demanded. "We all know how easy it is to lose your life around here- that's why you need to grab hold of the present as tight as you can!"

"The only thing I'm 'grabbing hold of' is time to search around this wing!" Hana indignantly replied.

Hinata chuckled and spoke, "Y'know, as much as I love hearing you girls talk about grabbing hold of things-"

"Don't make this worse, Hinata!" Hana shouted at the thief.

"-I think looking around a bit more actually sounds pretty good," he finished. "So, I'm gonna do that. Either of you wanna come with, you're welcome to."

"Well, I'll take you up on that!" Rumi responded with a smile, glancing at Hana with a look that said 'This is how it's done' (to which the surfer rolled her eyes in response) before walking away.

 _Y'know, I don't think I'd mind being hit over the head with another bottle if it meant I could forget_ that _conversation..._ Hana thought to herself, still feeling her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Shaking her head, the girl looked around the ground floor to try and see if there was anywhere else, aside from the central hall, she could investigate. On the right side of the room, she spotted two doors; they were almost identical to each other, two pairs of double doors made of dark, imposing iron. Then, to the right of the stairwell and on the wall behind the horse statue, there was a third door. This one was different from the other two, made from a dark reddish-brown wood and with a gold doorknob.

After thinking it over to herself, Hana decided to check out the iron doors first. Thus, she made her way across the East Wing's main hall to where the two doors were situated; in doing so, she also decided to investigate the room behind the door to her right first. Thus, once she had made her way over to the iron door in question, she wasted little time pushing it open- time to see just what else the East Wing had to offer.

* * *

The iron doors opened relatively easily for being metallic, making a rather loud clanging noise as Hana pushed them open. Looking around the vicinity, the room itself had a metallic floor and walls constructed from deep gray bricks- coupled with the lights above, the surroundings gave Hana the impression of something akin to a warehouse (even if the room wasn't quite that large). In addition, on the left end of the room was another set of metallic doors- could they connect to the room behind the left iron door?

The _contents_ of the room, however...that was what caught the surfer's attention the most. Along the perimeter of the room were several racks and shelves containing several types of weapons- medieval-style weapons, to be more exact. Broadswords, lances, clubs, and everything in-between. There were also some other, smaller racks more towards the center of the room containing other weapons: regular swords, bows and arrows, there was even a rack of daggers.

Hana also noticed she wasn't alone in the armory- Ryoto was there as well, looking around the room with a frown.

Hearing the Ultimate enter, the young man turned around and greeted her, "Hey! Good to see you, Hana!"

"Yeah- hey, Ryoto," Hana greeted the racecar driver, walking over to him. "Is this...an armory?"

"If that's what it's called, then yeah," Ryoto told her, looking around again. "And I have to say- this is a LOT of sharp stuff!"

"No kidding- is this even allowed?" Hana inquired, concerned. "Like- is there some new rule we missed stating that we're not supposed to be in here?"

"Nope! This place is 100%, completely free to access all day, every day!"

Hana and Ryoto instinctively yelped in surprise as their ever-stealthy headmaster suddenly appeared in the room, his trademark grin wide as ever.

"Seriously...? So you're just- you know, leaving all this stuff just lying around!?" Hana demanded.

"Monokuma, you are making it WAY too easy for someone to commit a murder!" Ryoto shouted at the bear. "This is a whole room just full of murder weapons!"

"No duh Sherlock, that's the whole point!" Monokuma told him. "If I were you, I'd appreciate all this- do you have any idea how hard it was to gather enough old weapons to fill a whole armory? Those things aren't exactly commonplace anymore!"

"Still though, it's- don't tell me this is the new motive!" Hana went on, her eyes widening in apprehension.

"...Actually- surprisingly, this room is _not_ gonna be your next motive," Monokuma admitted. "Then again, it does give you all easy access to potential murder weapons, which I'm sure would make a murder plot all the simpler, so I guess you could call it a...semi-motive."

"HAH! SO IT IS THE MOTIVE!" Ryoto accusingly cried.

" _Semi_ -motive, Brainless! And even that's only by technicality!" the robotic bear yelled at the Ultimate. "The _actual_ motive...well, you'll have to wait and see for that one!"

With another 'Puhuhu'-style laugh, Monokuma turned and waddled away to parts unknown, leaving Hana and Ryoto to digest this new information.

"Honestly...I'm in the same boat as you, Ryoto. I don't like the idea of a place like this just...being here," Hana said to her classmate, eyeing the numerous stacks of weapons. "Not that I don't trust the others to not take something from in here, but..."

"Nah, I get it," Ryoto responded with a nod. "Gotta say, though- maybe it won't so bad. Like, really, who's gonna know how to use some of these things? Those daggers, maybe, but everything else? No! There are giant knives, giant-er knives-"

"Swords?" Hana corrected him.

"The string thingy that you shoot things with-"

"Bows and arrows?"

"Those really long and pointy stick things-"

"Spears?"

"Okay that one's not what they're called either!" Ryoto then shouted. "Spheres are NOT pointy! THEY'RE SMOOTH AND ROUND! THEY'RE NOT PAINFUL AT ALL!"

"No, I didn't say 'spheres', I said-" Hana began, before sighing in exasperation. "I'm...just gonna see what's in that other room."

"Alright then! And Ryoto Miura's gonna make sure there's nothing else totally dangerous is hiding in here! COUNT ON IT!" the Ultimate dramatically declared.

Finishing that conversation, Hana nodded in acknowledgement and walked over to the other set of doors, exiting the armory and entering into the neighboring room.

* * *

Upon entry, Hana would notice the room was about the same size as the armory, though with a completely different layout. The floor was constructed out of a light-colored wood, like the kind in a dojo, and had some lines drawn out in white to resemble some kind of arena floor. Like the armory, however, the walls were made from the same gray, stone bricks. On one end of the room, the opposite end from the door leading to the armory, were a set of about five training dummies covered in cloth, lined up in a row. To Hana's right, another series of racks, but these ones displayed full suits of metal armor.

Once again, Hana was not the only student investigating the room- this time, Asuna was looking around when the surfer entered, standing near the training dummies at the end of the room.

"Hey, Asuna," Hana called out to the gardener, walking over to the center of the room.

"O-Oh! Hi, Hana," Asuna greeted her back, adjusting her fedora as she stood up from where she was investigating. "I didn't hear you come in, s-sorry."

Noticing where her classmate had entered from, the Ultimate then inquired, "H-Hey...you came in from the armory, right? Did you talk to Ryoto?"

"Yeah, I saw the armory and I talked to Ryoto," Hana responded with a nod. "But...it doesn't really seem like he's got much of a clue of what's going on with the place. Monokuma showed up, though, and told us the armory's _not_ the motive this time, so I guess that's...a _little_ reassuring...?"

The girl then asked, "So- what's _this_ place?"

"Ah...I don't have any confirmation, b-but- it might be a training area?" Asuna suggested. "Like...it's connected to the armory, a-and there are all these training dummies, so...I guess it's somewhere you can practice with the weapons?"

"Practice with the...? Why would we need to do that?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow. "What do they want us to do, defeat the Huns?"

Asuna shrugged. "I-I dunno, but- I'm just looking to see if there's anything really suspicious about this room. S-So far, though...there's not really much."

Hana nodded and looked around the room again...then took notice of something on the ceiling. On the right side of the room, above the armor racks, the surfer saw what appeared to be bits of torn black fabric hanging from two spots on the ceiling. It was as if something had been hanging up there, likely a pair of banners, but then was torn down at some point prior.

"Hey- did you...see whatever was hanging up there?" Hana asked Asuna, pointing towards the two areas of ripped black fabric on the ceiling.

"O-Oh, that?" the gardener responded, looking to where her classmate was pointing. "That was like that when Ryoto and I got here. S-So, I have no idea what was hanging up there beforehand. But- I don't think any of _us_ took down whatever was hanging up there, but as for who did, o-or why...I-I don't know."

"Well- it doesn't seem like it'd be too important, anyways," Hana conceded with a shrug. "Just thought it was a little weird, is all."

The surfer then walked over to the armor racks; in total, there were three armor suits, all identical to one another. They appeared to simply be old European-style suits of armor- completely metallic, with the helmets having those small horizontal slits for seeing, and, unlike the bronze statues in the central hall, these ones seemed to be completely wearable.

"Hey- have you tried out this armor yet?" Hana inquired, taking the helmet off one of the suits to inspect it more closely (truly, however, it was a normal steel knight helmet).

"N-No- I'm...too small to wear those armor suits," Asuna responded, shaking her head. "I don't know, maybe someone...more Rumi or Ryoto's height would fit? N-Not that we'd need it, but..."

Hana nodded and returned the helmet to its place on the armor rack- she was curious to see just what it was like to see like an old knight, but she still had a healing head injury to think about.

Thus, seeing as how there was not much else to the room (or at least not much that Asuna hadn't already found/would find), Hana decided to bid the Ultimate Gardener farewell and made her way to the left side of the room. There, a pair of iron doors stood, which no doubt led back to the East Wing's central hall, and the Ultimate Surfer pushed the two heavy doors open to step out of the training room.

* * *

Back in the central hall, Hana turned her attention to the last door on the bottom floor- the one made from dark wood rather than thick iron.

Making her way over to it, the surfer couldn't help but think to herself, _I think the others have gotten a pretty good drop on the investigation already...guess that's what Hiroshi and I get for checking the North Wing first. Seriously, why did he do that...? There's hardly anything for me to look at this time around, the others beat me to it!_

Gripping the gilded doorknob, she turned it and slowly opened the door, poking her head in gingerly and spoke up, "Helloooo?"

The room wasn't particularly large, or at least it wasn't as big as the armory or the training room. The floor was made from large stone tiles of a light gray color, and the walls were also constructed from stone bricks of a similar color. Three single-person beds were lined up on the left side of the room from the entrance, and directly across from where Hana currently stood was a long ivory counter with a sink and a pair of whitish-gray cabinets underneath. Above the counter was another pair of cabinets, also a white color, attached to the wall. In addition, to the left of the counter was a tall white cabinet with glass doors, allowing one to see several supplies stocked up within, as well as a set of white drawers underneath. To the right of the counter was a blue container Hana didn't recognize; the southeast corner of the room, adjacent to where the Ultimate stood, held a tall gray trash can.

Like the previous two rooms, someone was already in the room when the surfer entered and called out- this time, it was Shiori, who had left the breakfast meeting far sooner than any of the other students.

"Mmph- hey, Hana," Shiori responded to the surfer's greeting, not even looking up from where she was examining. The surgeon was currently looking through the top cabinet, which held even more supplies that Hana didn't recognize.

"So- you've been in here this whole time?" Hana inquired, looking around the strange room.

"Basically, yeah- but, I kinda have to be," Shiori explained, closing the cabinet and turning to her classmate. "I don't suppose you know what this room is, do you?"

"Not really- there are a bunch...supplies and stuff, and like- those are beds," the surfer replied, visibly clueless. "But other than that..."

Shiori frowned slightly, then opened the cabinet again. "Well, maybe you won't recognize _everything_ in here, but I'm sure you're at least capable of recognizing enough to understand what this place is."

Looking into the cabinet, Hana was able to see several types of syringes, bandages, even a box of disposable gloves like the kind Hiroshi always carried on him.

"This is...all medical stuff," Hana observed, before she gasped in realization. "Wait! So then this place is-"

Shiori, seeming to realize the other Ultimate understood, nodded and confirmed, "Yup- this is basically an infirmary, despite the aesthetic."

"Seriously...? They had a medical place in here all this time!?" Hana angrily said. "Where was this place when Tadao gave me a concussion and a stab wound!?"

"Huh, my thoughts exactly- maybe I'm starting to rub off on you," Shiori commented. "At any rate- this place may not have all the most advanced supplies or materials, but from what I've seen so far it's more than we had before."

"So, what, are you just making sure all the things in here are...safe? Clean?" the surfer asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna trust whatever Monokuma puts in here at face value," Shiori replied. "So far, things seem properly sanitized and not expired- whether that'll be same for the rest of this stuff, we'll just have to see."

Hana nodded, then inquired, "What about- you know, clues to who the mastermind could be? Or maybe a way to escape?"

The Ultimate Surgeon sighed and responded, "Hana, if I had found something profound by now, do you really think I'd still be in here looking around?"

"...Probably not..." Hana conceded, looking down somewhat.

"Look, I'll probably be spending a substantial amount of time in here, so if there is anything in here, I'll come across it sooner or later," the surgeon told her, crossing her arms.

"Oh- well, I can't make sense of any of this stuff, so I think I'll leave this to you," Hana said with a nod, turning to make her way out of the room...

However, Shiori held up a hand and interrupted the surfer's departure. "Hold on, Hana."

"Uh- what is it?" Hana asked, turning back around to her classmate.

"Earlier, I mentioned how I wanted to do a sort of check-up on you in the near future- remember?" the surgeon explained. "But...considering there's this literal medical room just ready to use, I think maybe I could take a look at you today."

"Wait, really?" Hana began, surprised. "Uh- should I sit on the bed, or-"

"Not right now!" Shiori snapped. "I mean after you and the others talk about what you found in the rest of the wing. Once you're done with that, come back here and I'll take a look at you."

"Oh, well, alright-" the girl replied with a nod...before then asking, "W-Wait, you're not coming?"

"Are you that surprised?" Shiori inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"W-Well, not exactly, but I mean-" Hana began, frowning. "Not going to the breakfast and dinner meetings is one thing, but this is- you know, different, it's not just talking about general things, this is investigation!"

"I know, I was there the first few times we discussed what the wings were like," Shiori replied, annoyed. "Look, you saw this place too, so it's not like they'll be missing information. And if they're _really_ curious about me, then you can also tell them what I'm doing here- it's that simple."

"But, I..." Hana stammered, caught off guard by Shiori's behavior. Ignoring the breakfast and dinner meetings- that Hana had gotten somewhat used to. This, however...was new, and the surfer didn't quite understand it.

"..." Shiori narrowed her eyes somewhat, as if to silently tell Hana to 'get out'.

Still with a furrowed brow and a frown, Hana turned and walked out of the infirmary, this time uninterrupted.

* * *

Finding herself back in the empty central hall, Hana sighed and leaned against the horse statue. _Welp, looked at all that, so I've completed this bottom floor...but now what? I can't just go back to the dining room early, there's still a whole other part of the East Wing I haven't seen yet! And here I am trying to make good on my 'find a way out without murder' promise...real good job so far, me!_

The surfer glanced up towards the second floor. Sure, she and Hiroshi had agreed on one of them searching the bottom floor and the other searching the top floor, but at this point the coroner had to be almost done, right? Besides, it seemed rather inevitable that the two would have to swap search areas, or at least tell the other what they had found when they saw each other again.

With this rationale in mind, Hana ascended the polished stairs leading to the East Wing's upper floor. The mezzanine that made up central area of the second floor extended the entire length of the central hall's four walls, except for the wall on the opposite end from the stairwell. The area led to two hallways- one in front of the stairs, and the other to Hana's left. In addition, there was a third opening to the far end of her right- this doorway most likely led to the upper area of the South Wing, only this one likely led to the greenhouse's entrance. In short- the layout of the East Wing's upper floor was more or less a mirror image of the second floor of the West Wing.

Furrowing her brow her a moment, Hana decided to investigate the hallway directly in front of the top of the stairs. As she walked, she took note of more of the upper area- the walls were a similar color and style to the walls on the first floor, but up here the walls also had a grayish-blue molding making up the bottom half. Heading down the hallway, the surfer was glad to see there were no portraits of Monokuma plastered along the walls, just some rather fancy lights to illuminate the straight hallway. In addition, the hallway came to a dead end (with another security camera at the end- at this point in the castle exploration, with three out of four wings open, Hana seriously wondered how the bear was able to afford hooking up all these cameras and monitors), with a single mahogany door to her right.

The girl approached the door, opening it in a similar fashion to how she had entered the medical room- after all, chances were there was somebody doing an investigation of their own.

Sure enough, someone was inside- and it was none other than the Ultimate Coroner himself, who was standing more near the metal plate on the wall.

Hearing someone enter, however, caused the young man to turn around and see who it was. "Oh- hi, Hana. Done already?"

"Well, half-done- Ryoto, Asuna, and Shiori already had things covered, so there wasn't much for me to _really_ investigate," Hana explained, stepping into the room completely- in doing so, she glanced about to get a better look at the layout and contents of the room.

The room wasn't that large, but still had a cozy feel to it. The walls were a deep red color with a reddish-brown wood molding on the bottom half, with the same colored wood making up the floor. As for the floor itself, there was a large, square, green carpet with gold designs lining its edges covering a large portion of the its area. Across from the door, there was another thick sheet of metal screwed to the wall in a spot where a window would presumably be, but luckily the room remained illuminated via several decorative lights built into the walls. A trio of ornate (and soft-looking) chairs with blue-green cushions were arranged facing the center of the room atop the carpet. On the left side of the room, a pair of bookshelves lined with dozens of books, not unlike the shelves in the library or the study; to the right, a glass display cabinet full of items Hana could not entirely make out from her current position.

"This...isn't another study, is it?" Hana asked. "I can't really make out what this is supposed to be..."

Hiroshi shook his head. "From what I've seen, I think it might be a second lounge. You know, like the one in the South Wing. Though the contents are a little different, it seems like it may serve the same purpose."

The coroner then went on, "As a matter of fact, I myself was just about done looking around, save for one other thing. And this would have completed my own semi-investigation, so you're not the only one who was a little late."

"Really? Who else is up here?" Hana asked curiously.

"Just Akira- she was looking around the watchtower," Hiroshi explained, before adding, "Oh, did you know there's another tower? Much like the West Wing's, but this one is a little different."

"Actually, I was thinking of heading that way myself next- I'd rather see it for myself anyways, even if Akira'll be there," Hana responded. "Uh- she's, uh, not in a bad mood, is she...? ...Oh who am I kidding, seeing me's gonna get her riled up for sure..."

"Come on now, you two are still classmates, and I'm sure Akira's capable of being civil," Hiroshi reassured her. "So what if you managed to prove her logic wrong during a trial? She'll live, just like with the second trial."

"Yeah, it wasn't _a_ trial, it was two- and she didn't like it _either_ time," Hana pointed out. "And it's easy for you to say, she at least tolerates you."

"Haha- I wouldn't go that far..." Hiroshi admitted. "When I checked out the watchtower, I got...an earful from her about how I wasted my time trying to get into the North Wing when I told her why I was late. And besides, you're assuming she's still there- maybe she's moved on to another location by now."

"Maybe..." Hana began, before shaking her head. "But- you said there was something else you had to look at in here, right? Mind if I look with you?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Hiroshi responded with a smile. "Now, as for what I actually need to look at...it's over there."

He turned towards the right side of the room, specifically that glass cabinet, which Hana was still curious about. It would appear any questions she may have were about to be answered, as she and Hiroshi approached the display. Now, Hana was able to get a much better look at what the cabinet actually contained; in all, there were four shelves of items behind a glass door with a small metal lock on it. For the most part, the objects in the cabinet were...odd, to say the least. Small ornamental pots and urns, some ceramic figures depicting what Hana assumed were characters from mythos or religion- just general artifacts from various locations, it would seem. Well...except for one item- on the second shelf from the top, there was a single item on display: a polished, silver katana on a sculpted wooden stand.

"I-Is that- a katana?" Hana yelped in shock upon seeing the blade. "What is with this wing and having a bunch of weapons just lying around!?"

"W-What do you mean a bunch of weapons?" Hiroshi then asked, his own surprise stemming from Hana's exclamation.

"...Uh- you'll see for yourself when you head downstairs," Hana responded, then changed the subject so she wouldn't have to explain more. "But seriously- why does Monokuma just have, you know- this here? I know he wants us to kill and all, but giving us access to a murder weapon like this, it's kinda..."

"Well...to be fair, there's a lock on the cabinet," Hiroshi pointed out, attempting to open the cabinet- to no avail, obviously. "Though I am curious...could there be a key to this?"

"Why do you wanna know about that?" a third voice suddenly interjected- and it didn't take long for Hana or Hiroshi to recognize it immediately. "Unless...say it ain't so, Autopsy! Are you actually gonna quit being so square and do something interesting for a change?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm no killer," the Ultimate Coroner told Monokuma (who was currently standing on top of the cabinet...somehow) with a frown. "But since you're here, I'll ask- _is_ there a key to open up this cabinet?"

"Mmmmmmmm, there might be," Monokuma replied vaguely, hopping down from his vantage point. "But if there is, like hell I'd ever tell any of you!"

"...Wait, really?" Hana asked, unable to suppress her surprise. "I don't know, there's a literal katana blade in there...knowing you, you'd probably _want_ the rest of us to able to get to it and use it to kill someone..."

"Oooh, talking like you're some smarty, eh Soul Surfer?" Monokuma growled at Hana, narrowing his eyes just enough for his cartoonish face to look threatening. "Well knock it off! Believe me, I'd love to provide as many ways to brutally kill as possible, but you see- these other items in here are even more rare and expensive than the stuff downstairs, and teens like you two are naturally destructive, and we're basically outta budget at this point! Bottom line- better safe than sorry!"

"Oh- so basically, despite the presence of a dangerous weapon, we don't actually have to worry about it," Hiroshi observed with a more cheerful demeanor. "That's even better. Thank you for clarifying that."

"What!? Hey, don't be happy with something I told you!" Monokuma yelled at the coroner. "Grrrr! When it comes to who the most annoying students are, you two are WAY up there! And yes, that includes the dead ones!"

With one last angry 'bah!', the robotic bear stomped out of the lounge and presumably down the hallway, perhaps to go bother some of the other students.

"I...really don't know how you can just tell him off and annoy him like that," Hana told Hiroshi. "Yeah, he _looks_ and _sounds_ ridiculous, but I think we all agree he's more dangerous than he looks."

Hiroshi shrugged. "Emotionally...I'm not sure myself, honestly. But, logistically- he won't do anything _really_ deadly unless we break a rule, or if he's executing a blackened. So, we're free to bash him as much as we want- figuratively, not physically."

 _Seriously...? Did he just forget that time Monokuma threatened us with a machine gun when we found that symbol in the floor?_ Hana asked herself, still staring at her classmate incredulously. _And even when_ that _happened, he kept his cool._ _Hiroshi...great guy, great friend, but day by day I wonder how he does it..._

"So...I guess we don't have to worry about the cabinet if it can't be opened," Hiroshi then stated, glancing back at the cabinet.

"Okay...so I guess that means you're done here?" Hana asked, crossing her arms.

Hiroshi nodded. "Yeah, I've looked at about all I could on this top floor, and after that conversation with Monokuma I'm even more curious about what the rest of the East Wing has."

"Yeah, it has some...interesting rooms," Hana stated with a sheepish chuckle. "But, I think you should see for yourself. And while you're doing _that,_ I'll be in the watchtower."

"Sounds like a plan," Hiroshi replied with a nod.

With that, Hana exited the east lounge along with her classmate (since there was only one way back to the central chamber anyways). With this, there would be one more location to investigate...but at that moment, Hana was a little less concerned about whether or not the eastern watchtower would yield any more answers. No, the more she thought about it, all the surfer could hope for was to avoid the angered death glare of a certain Ultimate Prosecutor.

* * *

Making their way back into the central hall of the East Wing, Hiroshi glanced at Hana and remarked, "So, since you'll only be looking at the watchtower from here, you'll probably be returning to the dining room before me."

"Probably- you've got the whole bottom floor to look at, after all," Hana replied with a nod.

"I do- and I should probably get on that," Hiroshi remarked, turning to walk towards the stairs. "I'll see you a little later, Hana."

"Good luck searching, Hiroshi," the surfer told her friend with a wave of farewell, watching the coroner head down the stairs to continue his investigation.

Hana then took a breath and turned to face the hallway to her left- the one that, presumably, led to the watchtower Hiroshi had mentioned.

 _...Well, I can't just stand here forever, right?_ Hana told herself, staring at the hallway's entrance. _Well, besides- maybe Akira really_ did _leave already? ...Well, I still can't just avoid her entirely anyways, so even if she_ is _there...I'll just have to deal with it, I guess._

With that, Hana strolled over to the hallway, which had a similar look to the first hallway she had investigated and still extended straight ahead. However, this hall didn't have a dead end- at the end of the hallway stood an imposing wood and iron door (identical to the entrance of the western watchtower), and to the left of that was another doorway of some kind. Hana decided to look at this second opening first- only to find yet another impassable gate, much like the ones blocking off the other wings (and the second floor of the South Wing) prior to them being opened.

 _That's weird...why is there still something closed off?_ Hana asked herself with a frown. _Unless- does this lead to the North Wing too? I mean there was_ another _gate in the West Wing that seemed like it was in a similar place, so uh- maybe they_ both _connect to the North Wing?_

The Ultimate shook her head- with any luck, there wouldn't be another murder and another trial, and these gates would remain closed for good.

Hana then turned her attention to the entrance to the watchtower; there could be no more prolonging it, it was time for one last investigation. With a short sigh, the surfer pushed the heavy door open, a part of her wishing she could at least have someone else alongside her to look around.

Just as Hiroshi said, this final area of the East Wing was another watchtower. At first glance, it appeared identical to the one in the West Wing- same circular base, same gray bricks, same torches illuminating the otherwise dark environment. The stairs were the first difference Hana noticed- not only did they curl around the walls of the tower towards the upper level in the opposite direction of the west tower's, but they also appeared to be made from a sturdy wood rather than stone. Odd design choice, but at this point it would only be one of many in this odd castle.

Before the surfer could look around much further...she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps descending from the numerous steps of the watchtower. The moment she did, Hana stiffened and felt the familiar grip of apprehension- but truly, there were a bunch of other students searching the wing, some of which may have moved locations while the surfer met up with Hiroshi, so what were the _real_ odds of those footsteps belonging to-

"What the-? Oh- it's _you,_ Amari."

"G-Gyah-!" Hana cried out in fear upon seeing the familiar young prosecutor step down from the last step. "A-Akiraaa! Heeey, what- f-fancy seeing you in here, like this! What're the odds, right? Haha!"

"Cut the terrible acting Amari, you have it as bad Hamasaki," Akira coldly stated, narrowing her eyes in a calculating glare. "Incidentally, you seem to be quite late to this rather important investigation."

"I, uh, I-" Hana stammered- why was it so hard to speak clearly when the Ultimate Prosecutor shot her with one of those merciless glares? "Well you see, I was-"

"Don't bother- for once, I suppose I can't put the blame entirely on you, as Ashi was just as late in joining the rest of the class," the other Ultimate went on, disregarding Hana's anxious stuttering. "And I already told him off for it, so I won't waste more words on you."

 _...Was that another jab, or should I take that legitimately...?_ Hana pondered with a frown.

"Anyways- I assume you're here to look around the watchtower as well?" Akira guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Hana told her classmate, trying to be as straightforward as possible to avoid seeming more foolish. "I know you already looked around, but..."

"Hmph. If you want to look around, then be my guest," the Ultimate Prosecutor told her, already walking towards the door to exit. "Just so you know- my examination of this area was thorough. There was no strange detail that didn't go unnoticed by my pristine perception, so I highly doubt you'll find much else worthwhile in here."

With a condescending tone entering her voice, Akira added, "But by all means, Amari, search to your heart's content. Chances are, we'll meet again at the dining room- unless you and Ashi decide to waste time elsewhere again."

As the prosecutor left, Hana sighed and told herself, _Okay,_ that _was a jab._

Despite Akira's clear dissatisfaction, the surfer had to admit- the encounter between the two young women could have gone much worse, and for that Hana was grateful.

With Akira gone, the Ultimate Surfer turned her attention to the watchtower itself. The surfer looked around the base of the tower- there was nothing down there aside from stone and torches, which meant whatever would be of interest in this area would be kept at the top. Thus, Hana made her way over to the wooden stairs leading up to the tower's pinnacle- with a bit of hesitation, initially. After all, the stairs in the western watchtower were made of nice sturdy stone- how safe could these _wooden_ steps be, especially considering the other examples of bad architecture in this castle?

Despite these concerns, Hana managed to ascend the steps without much trouble- there may have been a wooded _creak_ here and there, but nothing that suggested one of the steps would break off the wall or something to that effect.

The top area seemed to be built in a similar manner to the western watchtower, even if the overall layout here was a mirror image of that area- the floor being made of stone with a layer of wood planks on top, more metal plates screwed into the walls to cover any possible windows to the outside, a thick wooden support beam, another set of crates and cloth bags (which looked like they had already been searched through, likely Akira's doing), torches to provide light...and of course, a security camera and monitor, though the Ultimate still saw no obvious spot to hook up the electronics. Hana did see a few differences, however; first of all, on one end of the circular room, partially blocked by the wooden beam, were more traces of that same torn black fabric from both the training room and the central hall itself.

"Seriously...? God, where is all this torn-up cloth coming from?" Hana said to herself as she approached the area underneath the dark fabric scraps, frowning.

Of course, it was impossible to know just what had been suspended up there before- some kind of banner, most likely- or what it had looked like besides being colored black. Not to mention the even more obvious question- if there had been something like a banner hanging from those three areas, then why remove them? Was there a legitimate reason, was it just for the aesthetic? Too many questions from some strange ceiling fabric.

The fabric remains, however, were not the only difference in this watchtower. Towards the center of the area was a wide, rectangular area; and suspended over that opening was a wooded platform wide enough to hold one of the tower's crates, with a rope attached to each corner, all tied together above the platform. That knot was held up by a metal hook on a block, which was threaded with a rope alongside a second block attached to the ceiling. From there, the second rope extended diagonally down from the fixed block towards a hook attached to the tower wall, where the rope was tightly tied off to keep the platform in place above the opening.

 _Is that...what was it called, a pulley system?_ Hana asked herself, approaching the contraption with curiosity.

When she got closer, she could see the opening was just big enough for the wide platform to fit perfectly through, and the incredibly lengthy rope would no doubt be long enough to bring the platform all the way down to the base of the watchtower. All in all- a pretty interesting addition to this area, and it may even prove useful in the future.

"..." Looking around the room, Hana sighed softly. _Where would I even begin to look at this point? Akira's already covered this area, no doubt top to bottom- someone like her wouldn't let anything suspicious slip past her so easily._

The surfer walked over to the opening in the floor and sat down, her legs lazily dangling over the brim of the opening.

 _...It's really quite around here, now..._ Hana observed as she sat. _Before, I'd expect at least one other person to pop in here or something to look around. But...now we're down to about half the students we started with..._

The surfer lowered her head somewhat, her guilt only growing. _Come on, what was that message thinking? How in the world am I supposed to find a way to end this killing game, especially when it's like this? I don't even know where I'd start to look, we've been looking around for so long, and even after all this-_

That's when Hana snapped back to attention, immediately looking back up with a small chill in her spine. With a short breath, the surfer then asked herself, _A...Again, I'm...thinking all hopeless like that again...why have I been doing that...? That's not like me, I- I know there's a way out, there has to be! That message- why would whoever sent that message lie?_

The girl quickly stood up, frustrated. _The quiet- yeah, that has to be it! All this quiet, it's- it's messing with me! I don't even like all this silence anyways, I need to- I need to go back to the dining room, that's where everyone else's gonna be, right? Maybe that'll- that'll bring me back to my senses, totally!_

Clinging to that small glimmer of reassurance, Hana wasted no time practically running back down the wooden steps of the eastern watchtower, fully ready to make her way back to the South Wing. Although this initial investigation turned up little (for Hana herself, anyways), the surfer fought off any sense of doubt that may have surfaced- there would be plenty of other opportunities to look around, and Hana planned to do that sooner rather than later. For now, however, the Ultimate focused on meeting up with the other students- the silence of the East Wing truly was disturbing...

* * *

 **A/N: IT IS DONE! CHAPTER 4 HAS BEGUN, AND IT- yeah, there you go. I don't really want to hold up this chapter any longer, so this little concluding note won't be that long...except for one thing.**

 **It's Daily Life, and you know what that means? The return of Free Time Events! Now sadly, we lost three whole students in the last chapter...but with loss, comes something gained. ...And by that I mean Asuna is now back for FTEs after spending literally all of Chapter 3 too depressed/unstable to be available, hooray! So, as always, here's the code: crdgy6r5**

 **Again, there will be two events, so make sure you vote for two different characters. You'll also notice I'm doing something a little different- adding in which Free Time Event the respective character is on. I...don't really know why I'm deciding to do that, maybe like- organization? Just because? Well, it'll be there, and if you guys really don't like me doing that, file your complaints in the reviews.**

 **And as for next time- well, discussions, medical stuff, the possibility of Hana doing a solo investigation, it'll be neat. Hope to see you guys there! And I apologize again for how long this took to be updated, I really don't like going on these extended breaks in between chapters and making you guys wait so long. Hopefully, I can curb that bad habit of mine in future updates.**

 **P.S. I FINALLY FOUND OUT WHAT THOSE BALCONY/LANDING/WHATEVER THINGS ARE CALLED! The things that make up the top floors of each wing- they're called 'mezzanines'! Not balconies, not landings, not whatever bull I've been referring to them as all this time- they're mezzanines! It's bothered me for so long, you have no idea.**


	32. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 2)

**A/N: And so, here we are again.** ** _...HERE I GO AGAIN ON MY-_**

 **Hello! Welcome back to the story- ready to see more peoples' lives slowly crumbling to pieces? Well I'm sure excited to write about it! ...Y'know out of context the things I say in these notes really would make me look like a terrible person, wouldn't they?**

 **So, last time- big hiatus. Heck, there was a _bit_ of a delay this time too, but I blame _that_ on finals. **

**Also, the opening a brand-new location: the East Wing! As well as other things- memorial to the dead, Hiroshi being weird, Shiori being weird, Hana being scared of her own weird thoughts, Rumi trying to be Ultimate Wingwoman...and that was only Part 1! What could future parts possibly have in store? We'll just have to see.**

 **In the meantime, I wanna say one thing- for the first time since I can remember, there has been a little increase in the amount of people voting for FTEs! Normally it's one or two, but this time there's been THREE whole people voting! And there was even a tie between characters at one point, I was so happy! So now, this also means I can say two characters won because they had the most votes and not because the were the only two characters voted for! So who were these two winners? All that and much more will be addressed today!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ First off, the lengthy reviews- always appreciated, makes me glad to see people putting such deep thought into plot. **

**Not all characters can have stable mental health sadly, some of them have gained so much baggage no airplane can hold it all. But I'm sure Shiori would appreciate the prayer, whether she gets killed or not. And Hiroshi...well, he's always been a bit of an enigma, but I will say the mysteries surrounding him won't be answered any time soon. The time for answers will come, believe me it'll come.**

 **And tragedy incarnate? Yes I do love a good tragedy- I mean just look at the chapter's title, if I were a reader I'd be highly concerned.**

 **Oh, almost forgot- about getting to the poll. Just type in the usual strawpoll URL ("strawpoll", ".com", "/"), then after the little "/" is where you put in the code. I'm sorry I can't put the link in properly, but for some reason Fanfiction docs like this just _refuse_ to allow full links, like it'll disappear every time I save the document, so putting in just the code is the best I can do. But no worries, as you've probably gathered I still accept your review vote!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ And what if it does, whatcha gonna do 'bout it? In all seriousness- yeah, Hiroshi's being a little odder than usual, isn't he? Could be suspicious, could be a red herring, only time will tell.**

 ** _Guest:_ ...Er, please refer to my response to BloodyCarnage about the voting issue? Votes still accepted, though.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Daily Life (Part 2)**

The moment she left the eastern watchtower, Hana practically sprinted for the South Wing. The near emptiness of the East Wing was getting to her, it had to be- _that's_ why she started to slip back into her odd nihilistic mindset! ...Right?

Angrily shaking her head, Hana upped her pace slightly- through the hallway, back down the stairs, across the East Wing's central hall, and practically throwing herself through the doors leading to the courtyard. In that moment, rather than immediately running for the South Wing, the surfer took a moment to stand on the stone platform and...just take in the warmth and peace of the courtyard. That alone was enough to calm the teen down a good amount- as confusing as it was how the weather out there was constantly perfect, it felt oddly therapeutic. The girl made a mental note to visit the courtyard more often.

Hana, taking one last breath of the gentle air, quickly proceeded back on her way to the dining room. Following the stone perimeter to the entrance of the South Wing, the girl pushed open those doors and wasted no time walking through the spacious central hall.

 _Okay, okay, just think about something else, something else..._ Hana told herself, shutting out all other warped thoughts that still lingered in her head. _Think about, uh...think about what you'll talk about. Yeah, this is supposed to be a meeting with everyone, so I need to talk about what I found too. What I found, it was, I..._

Hana slowed down. _I...I didn't really find anything, did I...? Everyone else was everywhere by the time Hiroshi and I got there, and even then Hiroshi, at least, got a chance to look around more! God, I think the others are gonna like that at all, and especially not Akira, if she needs any more reason not to like me..._

Working a muscle in her jaw as she pondered, Hana then told herself, _No, no, I can make up for it- I was planning on looking around the East Wing myself anyways, wasn't I? And when, WHEN I find something in there that could be a clue to what the hell is going on with this killing game...that will_ definitely _make up for it!_

Nodding to affirm her newfound determination, the Ultimate continued on her way...not that she had too much farther to go, since the surfer found she had strolled to the other side of the main hall while she had been pondering. Another thing to take note of- stop being so distracted.

Seeing the doorway to the dining room, Hana refocused herself and told herself, _Okay...I don't know who's going to be in there waiting for me, but I'm not about to be scared! Even if I haven't found anything, it's not like the others were slacking off- maybe someone did find something that'll help me! Yeah! Screw what Tadao said, we can find a way out of here!_

"YEAH, WE CAN TOTALLY DO THIS!" Hana shouted as she burst into the dining room, unable to contain her emotions any longer; if the entrance to the dining room had doors, the surfer would have kicked them open to release those pent-up feelings of hers.

Of course, her gusto turned into awkwardness when she actually looked around the room. She noticed two things- one, the place was practically empty; two, the only people inside were Hinata, Rumi, and Asuna, who stood by the memorial (well, the latter two did, Hinata was sitting at the empty table) on the other end and were now staring at Hana in abject confusion.

"...H-Hey, guys! Didn't think- uh, that this place would be so uh...empty!" the surfer sheepishly greeted the three, trying and failing to hide her embarrassment.

"Well, the others are probably still looking around," Hinata pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "...Ya really don't have any chill, do you?"

"Oh, be nice Hinata, I think we're all still a little ruffled after what happened yesterday," Rumi said to the thief.

"Yeah, yesterday'a trial, that's why..." Hana murmured as she walked over to join her classmates- the less they knew about her mental ramblings, the better.

When she got closer to the memorial, the Ultimate noticed something...different about it. In front of Shiro's picture, something was set down- it looked familiar...a blue composition notebook, kind of like...

"Whoa- is that Shiro's notebook?" Hana asked upon remembering what it was. "I didn't know it was still around, I figured Monokuma would have gotten rid of it when he was cleaning the two crime scenes."

"A-Ah...no, I still had it with me," Asuna explained, raising her had to speak. "It, uh...seemed kind of weird to still hold on to it, Sh-Shiro and I were never really that close, and when I saw Rumi and Hinata's memorial here- I-I thought it would good to keep it here."

"And like I said, I liked the idea of doing that," Rumi said with a nod. "I think Shiro would have appreciated it, having his notebook back...kinda."

"Besides, if it hadn't been for that message of his, who knows how long it would have taken to catch the real killer," Hinata added. "If at all."

Listening to the three of them speak, Hana smiled and said, "Well, I think it's a nice way to honor him, too."

"Uh- I was just telling Rumi about another way I could help, uh, with the memorial," Asuna explained, gesturing to the smaller table in question. "Th-The greenhouse has a bunch of different flowers, and I have a few little pots in my room that I could move them to, so I could do that and arrange the flowers onto the table."

The gardener adjusted her fedora slightly out of nervousness and went on, "I-It's not like the usual flower arrangements they use for graves or memorials, but I figured it'd be...close enough, right?"

"Well, potted plants or not, I'd say that's a great idea!" Rumi cheerfully told Asuna, continuing their earlier conversation. "Flowers always make things better! What do you think, Hinata?"

The young man shrugged, "Eh, Asuna's the tiny plant expert, I'll trust her on that."

"Y-You didn't need the 'tiny' part!" Asuna yelped indignantly.

Hana took a moment to think, then said, "You know, if you're looking for ways to improve the memorial, I've got an idea. When I was in Shiori's room after Tadao attacked me, I saw she had some candles in there- maybe, next time I see her, I can ask her if she'd be willing to give one or two of them to use with it?"

"Candles? I didn't think she'd be into something like that," Hinata remarked.

"Still though, I-I think it'd be a nice addition too," Asuna responded with a nod. "She should be here soon with the others, s-so maybe you can ask her then?"

Hana immediately nodded...only to remember her previous conversation with Shiori in the medical room. _Oh, that's right...she's not gonna be here for the meeting... That's gonna be awkward to tell the others..._

"Hana? Something wrong?" Rumi spoke up, frowning in concern for the surfer.

"Uh- nothing, I'm fine," Hana replied, walking over to take a seat at the banquet table while she waited for the rest of her classmates- well, the rest that were actually planning to show up.

* * *

Several minutes passed, and soon enough the rest of the class entered the dining room. Not that there were many people to wait for- Akira, Hiroshi, and Ryoto were the only three who arrived and sat down at the table.

Hana watched Hiroshi take a seat next to her, the surfer greeting him, "Hey, Hiroshi. So, how was looking around the East Wing?"

"Hah...well, I saw what you meant by 'interesting rooms'," Hiroshi remarked with a with a half-hearted chuckle. "Yeah, it's a...different place from the other two wings, I'll say that."

"Because of the room that's literally filled with deadly weapons?" Hana inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah yes, the armory," Hiroshi confirmed with a nod. "I'm...not too sure how to feel about it, to be honest. _I_ don't think any of us would use the armory for anything malicious, so that's not what my concern is. Just having it there...it gives me a bad feeling, is all."

"Yeah...I'm worried about it, too," Hana agreed with a nod. "I'm just wondering what the others think of it..."

"Well, I think we're about to find out," Hiroshi remarked, gesturing to where Akira sat.

Sure enough, the Ultimate Prosecutor shifted in her seat before speaking up, "Okay, since it would seem everyone is here, we should start-"

"WAIT! Ryoto Miura's not oblivious," the racecar driver interrupted her. "We are NOT all here!"

"Uh- yeah, he's right," Asuna realized. "Shiori's not here."

Hana grimaced, glancing at the entrance to the dining room. A part of her had hoped the surgeon would change her mind and come to the meeting anyways...but now it would seem she had the awkward task of explaining the fact that Shiori would not be there.

"She's not...?" Hiroshi began, looking around. "Why isn't she here?"

"Uh, she hates Akira's guts, did you forget?" Hinata said to the coroner with a frown.

Akira narrowed her eyes before stating, "She said that she would attend the breakfast and dinner meetings- but this gathering is not only different, but very much pertinent to our survival and eventual escape. I'm certain she realizes that much, therefore she _should_ be here."

"Ah...she should be, shouldn't she...?" Hana muttered with a frown. Speaking up, the surfer began, "About Shiori...I saw her earlier, and uh- she told me she won't be coming."

Akira's eyes widened somewhat. "Come again?"

"Wait, really?" Rumi asked, surprised.

Hana sighed and explained, "When I was looking around the East Wing, I found this medical room- that's where I saw her. We talked for a minute, then she...told me that she wouldn't be showing up at this meeting. She didn't say why, she just said she'd be staying in the medical room to check on the stuff in there."

Akira glared, though not at anyone in particular. "So you mean to tell us Sauchi simply...refused to show up? At a time when we've lost about half the original class?"

"I AGREE! We all need to work TOGETHER on this!" Ryoto shouted, dramatically slamming a fist onto the table. "Even is she thinks Akira's a bitch-"

The prosecutor immediately turned her angered gaze towards the caped young man.

"H-Her thoughts, not mine!" Ryoto quickly added. "Even if Shiori thinks that, investigating this place is EXTREMELY important! WE CAN'T JUST SLACK OFF ON IT!"

"Actually...I don't think she mentioned Akira at all when I talked to her," Hana realized as Ryoto and Akira spoke. "If...Akira _was_ the reason Shiori didn't want to go, I feel like she would have said something about it."

"That's true- Shiori's pretty vocal about her opinions," Hiroshi pointed out with a nod of agreement.

"So...you think Shiori's decision to stay away from the meeting was, uh, from something different?" Asuna asked with a concerned frown.

"Probably- but I have no idea what it could have been," Hana replied with a shrug. "I could definitely tell _something_ was up when I talked to her, though."

"...Hmph. Well, that's her choice, we can figure out what to do about it later," Akira said, a tone of disapproval in her voice. "For now, let's get back to what we _actually_ came here to discuss."

The red-haired prosecutor turned her attention to Hana directly and stated, "Amari, you mentioned being in a medical area. Since Sauchi is clearly not here, it seems you'll have to do."

"Oh! Uh- me? I mean-" Hana stammered- she hadn't expected to be put on the spot like this, but at least it wouldn't seem like she had been completely unable to find anything of value in the East Wing. "Ah- yeah, there's this...infirmary place, on the first floor. I didn't get too much of a good look at the place, since Shiori was busy making sure everything was good and safe to use, but it looked like there were a _lot_ of medical supplies in there. Like- some beds, syringes, bandages, that sorta thing."

"That's great news!" Rumi spoke up happily. "Now, if another attack happens, that person'll have an even better chance at surviving!"

"Ah...let's prioritize making sure something like that doesn't happen again at all," Hiroshi added.

"Well, if we're talking about the bottom floor- Rumi and I just looked at the center hall," Hinata stated, casually crossing his arms. "Pretty big place, got some nice lights, and don't even get me started on those big-ass glass statues."

"They _are_ pretty though! Not that they have any weird secrets or anything," Rumi explained.

"I should know, I climbed them," Hinata added.

"But! There is one other thing," Rumi then said, looking around at the others. "Those railings on the second floor, right? According to Monokuma- and I can confirm because I went up there to check myself- those railings are loose and wobbly. Like, _really_ loose and wobbly. Like, if you lean on them too hard, that spot would probably break and you'd fall."

"Huh- that's probably why they have the infirmary on the bottom floor!" Ryoto claimed upon hearing Rumi's warning. "And speaking of the bottom floor- I found something REALLY FREAKING WEIRD down there!"

"Oh! A-Are you talking about the armory?" Asuna asked the racecar driver.

"YUP! ...But I wanted to be the one to say it," Ryoto muttered. "Anyways, yeah, there's an entire armory down in the East Wing- ya got swords, shields, daggers, spears, you name it!"

"W-What? All in one room?" Rumi asked, shocked.

"That's not all- there's a training area right next to it," Asuna said. "It's an open area, probably for fighting, with dummies and even full suits of armor."

"For real?" Hinata asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Man- if Itachi were still around, he'd probably nerd out about those places."

"As for the second floor, I found that there's a second lounge- similar to the one here in the South Wing, but with a completely different design and layout," Hiroshi explained. "There are some books, chairs, lights, and an...interesting cabinet."

"Oh, yeah- I looked at the cabinet with him, too," Hana spoke up. "I couldn't make heads or tails of what was in there, just some artifacts or whatever. But...there was one thing I recognized."

"Uh-huh- there was a katana on display too," Hiroshi elaborated with a nod.

"A katana?" Akira asked. "First the armory, now this? Is Monokuma's plan this time to just enable us to kill by having easy access to weaponry?"

"Actually, we shouldn't worry about the katana in the lounge too much," Hiroshi told her. "Like Hana and I said, it's kept in a cabinet with the other odd items, and that cabinet happens to be locked."

"Yeah, Monokuma even showed up and we talked to him directly about it," Hana said. "He didn't really say whether there was a key or not, but I don't think he plans on specifying."

"R-Really?" Asuna inquired. "I thought he'd _want_ to give us access to another murder."

"Yeah, we were just as shocked," Hiroshi confirmed. "Whatever Monokuma's true reasons are, the fact is there's no way any of us will be able to get into it so easily, so we shouldn't focus so much on what's happening with the east lounge."

"Fair enough- the less factors that could cause a murder, the better," Akira stated with a nod. "And that...leaves me. The most interesting place I found was a second watchtower, similar to the one in the West Wing. The layout is mostly the same, and it also has those crates and sacks at the top that contain food and supplies that have not been properly preserved, most likely."

"Oh- aren't the stairs made of wood for some reason, too?" Hana added in, against her better judgement. "And it also had this...pulley thing at the top-"

" _I_ am the one explaining, Amari, you did nothing in the tower," the prosecutor angrily said to her with her signature silencing glare.

 _...I mean she's not wrong, but still, ouch._ Hana said to herself as she was glared into silence.

"But, like...no one found anything that could be a clue?" Hinata asked, looking around. "At all?"

"Well, not right now- but I would hope some of you would at least attempt to investigate further to see if something can be found," Akira stated in a stern voice.

 _Oh boy, she has no idea._ Hana thought, remembering her plans to do just that.

"Okay- what're we gonna do about the armory, though?" Ryoto asked with a deep frown. "Monokuma said it's not what the actual motive's gonna be, but still- we CANNOT just...leave a place like that be!"

"Can't we?" Hiroshi inquired. "I think we're all trustworthy enough- no one really wants another murder happen, let alone raid the armory in secret to grab a murder weapon."

"Yes, you keep insisting how trustworthy this class is, Ashi. And yet we've had three class trials," Akira said to him with a frown.

"But I think it's _because_ we've had three trials that we'll all be a little more cautious from this point on," Rumi pointed out. "We're all tired of the killings, I'm pretty sure, so I don't think anyone'll plan something in the future."

"Hamasaki, we don't know that- we've _never_ known that," Akira told her with a narrowed gaze. "Every time the rest of you thought things were under control, a killer struck. Well _I_ have never truly let my guard down, and I'm not starting now, _especially_ when a place like the armory exists."

Hana kept silent, but it was hard to keep the frustration off her face. _That Akira...I get she's trying to stop another murder, but come on! Rumi's right, we're all tired of the murders, I definitely am- why the hell can't Akira just put a_ little _more faith in the rest of us, huh?_

"Therefore...I'm going to find a way to restrict access to the armory. I believe I already have an idea of how to go about that, but it will take a bit of time to implement," Akira explained. "But once I figure it out, we shouldn't have to worry about a potential killer obtaining a deadly weapon. Any objections?"

Several students simply muttered their responses- they likely didn't entirely agree with the Ultimate Prosecutor's plan, but past experience indicated trying to prove her otherwise would be an uphill battle.

Well, there was _one_ student who was a little more open to Akira's idea...

"...So am I the only one who's actually cool with this?" Ryoto asked, looking around at his peers. "Because I really, REALLY don't want anyone else to die. A fourth murder? NOT ON RYOTO'S WATCH!"

"Yeah yeah, we get it," Hinata said, dismissively waving Ryoto's declaration away. "Go shout to the heavens out in the courtyard or something, would ya?"

"Then, unless there's something else anyone found, I think we're done here," Akira stated, already standing up to leave. "I'll be in the East Wing checking out the armory- I don't want anyone following me in there, it'll just make whoever does more suspicious in my eyes."

As Akira left, Asuna spoke up, "I-I'm kinda curious about that cabinet in the east lounge, katana or none- I-I've never seen, ah, artifacts before."

The gardener continued, "Kaneki once told me about some of the artifacts she found during certain expeditions- I wonder if the ones in the lounge are from the same places...?"

"They could be, I certainly couldn't tell where they were from," Hiroshi responded. "Monokuma did say they were pretty valuable, which was the reason he gave to why we weren't allowed to open the cabinet."

"Huh- buncha old, expensive things locked up in a lounge, eh?" Hinata remarked to himself, before shrugging casually. "Seems neat."

Hana rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, you'd definitely be interested in that, wouldn't you?"

Hinata shrugged again. "I dunno, I'm no historian or whatever, I said slept through all those boring classes."

Hana's annoyance turned to surprise as the thief spoke. "That's...huh? You're not...gonna say anything about wanting to steal those relics or something?"

"Not really- they're probably worth something, yeah, but I can live without 'em," the thief stated, keeping a straight face the whole time.

Now, everyone was staring at Hinata in total surprise- even Hiroshi, with his usual stoic demeanor, couldn't hide the dumbfounded look on his face. The only student who looked slightly less shocked was Rumi, and even then her eyes were quite widened like everyone else's.

"You're...not...?" Hana began, before yelling to Ryoto, "Ryoto! Check his temperature!"

"ON IT!" Ryoto yelled back, leaping onto and across the tabletop (it helped that Tadao was no longer around to scold him for doing so) to put a hand onto Hinata's forehead.

"What the-!? Get offa me!" Hinata snapped, brushing his hand away. "I'm not sick! I just said I'm not interesting in taking whatever's up in the east lounge."

"But you're- Hinata! Stealing stuff to mess with people is your thing!" Hana yelped, utterly baffled by the Ultimate Thief's sudden change.

"YEAH! It's weird, you not interested in something like that!" Ryoto added. "Hell, you've stolen WAY less valuable things!"

"Y-You've literally stolen silverware!" Asuna also interjected.

Hinata, in response, simply rolled his eyes. "Man, you guys have no faith in a guy, y'know that? I'm...trying something new, is all. Besides, if I'm craving something shiny that badly, the treasure room in the West Wing is still open, I can just take whatever I want from there."

Still keeping a casual countenance, the young man stood up and walked out of the dining room himself.

"...Is Hinata...trying to not steal as much...?" Hana wondered as she played the exchange back in her mind over and over again, trying to make sense of the Ultimate's change in behavior.

"I mean, if that's the case- it's not a bad thing by any means," Hiroshi said. "Just a little...surprising, to see someone who seems prideful in what he does try and move himself away from his craft like that."

Rumi, who had been rather quiet this whole time, began to speak to herself thoughtfully, "Well...it could be that..."

The scuba diver then shook her head. "Uh, nevermind. Whatever the case may be, let's just stay supportive, alright? I...have a feeling he's being legit about this."

"Really? I, Ryoto Miura-! ...Don't see it lasting that long," the racecar driver remarked with a frown.

 _I...really don't get what's going on..._ Hana thought, shaking her head. _I'll hold out hope that Hinata really is serious about trying to change- though I'm kinda glad Akira wasn't here for that, I don't think she'd believe it for a second. I think Shiori would have her doubts, too..._

Speaking of the Ultimate Surgeon- Hana remembered one of the last things she had said to her before Hana left the medical room: to return there once the latest meeting was over. Seeing as how that was the case, the surfer saw no reason to prolong it any longer; thus, saying farewell to the others, Hana made her own exit so she could make for the East Wing once again. She hoped things would be fine enough so she could finally get those bandages off...and the girl also hoped to be able to ascertain some answers as to what was truly going on with Shiori.

* * *

The walk back to the East Wing's medical room only took a few short minutes, giving Hana a bit of time to figure out how she would go about finding the reason behind Shiori's strange behavior. In the end, she couldn't come up with a specific plan, so she simply decided to do what she did best and play it by ear. Not asking the surgeon directly, however, she had to be at least _somewhat_ tactful in her speaking- saying the wrong thing when someone was in a bad way would just make things far worse (something she had learned the hard way, courtesy of Asuna).

Walking up to the wooden door, Hana gave it a tentative knock and called, "Hellooo? Shiori? It's Hana, the- the meeting ended, so- I'm back now."

A few seconds of silence later, the door opened- true to her word, the Ultimate Surgeon was still there in the medical room.

"Mmph- that was quick," Shiori remarked.

"Uh, not really, we had a bunch to talk about," Hana responded with a frown. "But, I didn't forget about this, so-"

"Yeah, good thing- I finished looking over this place, so you should be good to be looked at," Shiori informed her classmate, moving aside so Hana could enter.

Hana quietly walked into the room, instinctively looking around again- everything seemed the same as when she first saw it, so there was nothing to note there.

"Ah- you know, the others were kinda surprised you weren't at the meeting," Hana told her classmate, deciding to go with the current topic of the meeting.

Shiori scoffed. "Really? They shouldn't have been."

Hana grimaced slightly. "Well- maybe, but I guess they figured since it was different from dinner or breakfast meetings, you'd-"

"Look, did they miss out on any information because I wasn't there?" the surgeon pointedly asked. "Did you not tell them about this room?"

"Well, no, I told them," Hana replied.

"See? Then they didn't need me after all," Shiori concluded with a shrug, before adding to herself, "Besides, what are the odds they'd even want my opinion anyways...?"

"Huh?" Hana began, taken aback. "Why wouldn't they? You're smart, you could probably explain this place better than I-"

"Hey, are you going to sit or what?" Shiori suddenly inquired, gesturing to the three beds. "One of those should be fine, it's not like I'm doing anything particularly messy."

Having another bit of whiplash from the sharp change in subject, Hana nonetheless responded, "Oh, yeah, sorry."

The surfer began to walk over to the closest of the three beds while Shiori went to grab some latex gloves out of the cabinet. When she did, however, something caught Hana's eye- it was that odd blue container she had seen when initially investigating the medical room. Before, she hadn't looked inside it, so she still had no idea what could be inside...

"Hey- Shiori?" Hana asked, curious. "That blue container thing- what's inside?"

"This?" Shiori asked back, walking over to the container in question and opening it. When she did, Hana could tell the inside looked almost like a refrigerator, and the contents kept in the cold interior seemed to be small plastic bags of...blood?

"Wait, are those- blood bags?" Hana asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Uh-huh- stored in this box here, which I guess is acting as some kind of cooler," Shiori explained, closing the container. "The blood doesn't seem as new, but the blood's certainly not old enough to be completely ineligible for transplant should anyone need it. Properly stored and refrigerated, and they've all been organized based on blood type...so, should something serious come up again like it did with you, transplants shouldn't be much of an issue."

"Well, that's a relief, I guess," Hana replied with a little nod as she sat down on the bed. "So...what exactly are you gonna be doing?"

"Well first, I'm gonna take a look at your head injury, see if those stitches are good to be removed," Shiori explained, walking over with the gloves on and holding a pair of thin shears. "Between that and the stab wound, that injury was the least severe by comparison. So, can you lower your head a bit so I can do that?"

Hana nodded and lowered her head just as she was asked, allowing Shiori to precisely slip the shears under the bandages and easily cut them away so she could remove them fully. Once the bandages were gone, the surgeon pushed some of Hana's hair out of the way so she could see the injury better.

"Huh, look at that- looks like the head injury's healing pretty nicely," Shiori remarked approvingly. "I thought it'd need at least another day or two, but...it looks like they're good to go now."

"W-Wait, you're gonna remove the stitches now?" Hana asked, unable to hide her panic. "That won't hurt, right? R-Right?"

The surgeon shook her head, walking over to grab a different set of medical scissors. "Nah, removing stitches is painless- the worst you'll feel is a little tugging sensation."

The second set of scissors in hand, Shiori walked up to Hana once again, made sure she had a good view of the injury, then-

"AAAAAH!" Hana cried out, swiftly snapping her head away as if she had just been injured again. Grasping the area where her head injury was, she glanced over at Shiori, who had a completely deadpan look on her face.

"...I didn't even _lift_ the scissors up, Hana," Shiori said to her, holding up the hand that held the smaller shears.

"I-I...sorry! I've never gotten stitches before, I don't know how it'll feel!" Hana indignantly responded. "Before what happened in the wine room, the most injured I'd ever been was hitting my head on a rock when I fell off my board once and needing ice for, like, a day!"

"...Well _that_ certainly explains a lot," Shiori quipped, walking over to Hana again. "Look, I've removed stitches more times than I can remember- you'll be fine. If anything, it's not gonna feel worse than being stabbed and bludgeoned."

Her hesitation visible, Hana nonetheless nodded and lowered her head again so Shiori could remove the stitches. This time, she didn't flinch away or panic when the Ultimate was about to raise up the scissors, nor when she actually did raise them and move them towards the sutures. Carefully placing the blades near the thread's knot, it took one quick _snip_ to cut through it, and from there all the surgeon had to do was pull the thread out. Just as she said, it didn't hurt at all, there was just a slight tugging feeling, which was a massive relief to Hana.

Shiori repeated the process two or three more times to remove the rest of the sutures, remaining perfectly methodical and collected through the whole process- once again, Hana could easily tell why she was known as the Ultimate Surgeon. Well, and the surfer was glad that she was being examined by a girl, Hana could only wonder how awkward she'd feel if it was one of the guys treating her.

Having removed the last of the stitches, Shiori remarked, "Okay, now that those are out- I will say you should make sure to wash that area pretty good next time you shower, and I'd still be careful- it's healed enough that the stitches can come out, but it's still got a little while to go before it's _fully_ healed."

Hana nodded in understanding- although admittedly, she was only half paying attention due to being preoccupied with gingerly feeling the area around where the stitches had been- after all, it had been a few days since her head wasn't covered in gauze or bandages, it was a weird feeling.

Bringing herself back to attention, the surfer asked, "So, I'm guessing my leg's next?"

"Actually...since the stab wound on your leg was pretty deep, I used a different type of suture," Shiori explained. "See, for deeper cuts and such, doctors use this surgical suture that actually dissolves over time, so the doctors don't even need to remove it themselves."

"Whoa, it just- dissolves? Just like that?" Hana asked, her surprise and intrigue visible. "How do they _make_ stuff like that?"

"It's called 'science', Hana," Shiori deadpanned, shaking her head as she retrieved a set of scissors identical to the ones she had used to cut the head bandages away. "I _will,_ however, take a look at the wound to make sure it's healing good and that it's not infected."

 _You know, honestly, wouldn't I be able to feel if it was infected or something?_ Hana questioned to herself. _But more importantly- Shiori's acting a lot more like her usual self. I mean that's good, I'm really glad for that, but...it doesn't get me any closer to finding out why she's been acting so weird in the first place..._

Shiori kept silent as she looked over Hana's right leg, sliding the light gray sock down slightly so she could fully see the bandages around her thigh. Then she quickly cut the bandages away like she had with the head injury, pulling them away so she could look at the injury itself.

"Hm- well, fortunately, everything seems to be healing fine," Shiori told Hana after a few moments of examination. "Doesn't hurt at all?"

"Not really," Hana answered.

"In that case- I won't completely bandage it again, instead I'll put a piece of gauze over it, since it doesn't look healed _enough_ to just be left like your head injury,' Shiori replied, heading over to grab some patches of said gauze. "I'll give you a few extra that you can apply yourself- since you'll need to keep that clean too, and you'll need to change the gauze when you do."

Having explained that, the surgeon walked back towards Hana and proceeded to patch the gauze piece over the stab wound- upon making sure it was firmly in place, Shiori handed her 'patient' the extra gauze patches, individually kept in small paper envelopes that could be torn open when needed.

"Okay, I'm assuming that's it," Hana remarked, taking the gauze and pulling her sock back up, nearly covering the gauze when it was back to its normal look.

The girl then said to Shiori, "Thanks, y'know, for taking a look at me, make sure I'm not dying or anything. I guess we got pretty lucky, having someone like you as one of our classmates."

"I told you- I'm just doing my job, no need to get all sappy on me," Shiori told her with a sigh as she took off the gloves and threw them away. "Though...I gotta say, I'm surprised how willingly you agreed to the check-up when I suggested it."

"Huh...? Why wouldn't I be?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow. "I trust you, you obviously know what you're doing- c'mon, you _already_ saved me when I was first injured, that's kinda a big deal to a person, if we're talking about me personally!"

Shiori, however, gave a soft 'hmph' in response and added, "Yeah? And what about my screw-up during the trial, that didn't damage your little perception of me?"

Now, despite being closer to the answers she wanted, Hana was even more confused. "'Screw-up'...? During the last trial? What are you talking about, you didn't-"

That's when recollection hit Hana, and it hit her _hard._

* * *

 _"...In addition to that, it also means I ended up playing right into the killer's hands, didn't I..." Shiori spoke up, though it was hard to tell is she was talking to the class or herself. "...Huh."_

 _"Well...you did warn us that autopsies weren't your strong suit," Hiroshi reassured her. "You just came to a conclusion that you thought was best, it wasn't-"_

 _"Don't patronize me, Hiroshi!" Shiori snapped at the coroner. "We found out what actually happened to Shiro when he died, we know it probably wasn't Saku after all, we know the real murder weapon was, so can we just move on already!?"_

* * *

"OH MY GOD! _That's_ what this is all about!" Hana exclaimed, practically leaping off the bed from her 'eureka' moment.

Her classmate stepped back, surprised by the surfer's sudden shift in mood. "H-Hey, what?"

"I know why you've been acting so weird all day! Why you didn't come to the meeting and why you've been holing yourself up in here-" Hana rambled on, before turning her attention to the surgeon herself. "You're upset about what happened with Shiro's autopsy! About getting the murder weapon wrong!"

Upon this declaration, Shiori seemed to visibly cringe...but she didn't deny Hana's claim. "And...if I am...is that so wrong?"

Hana just as instantaneously calmed down, responding, "Well...it _really_ wasn't your fault, you know. You warned us that you might not be able to do as good a job as Hiroshi when it came to looking at bodies, we should have-"

"It doesn't _matter_ if I wasn't as good as him or not," Shiori replied with a slight growl to her voice. "That mistake could have gotten us all killed! I played right into Tadao's trick, and that helped him frame Saku for the murders, and if it hadn't been for you and the others..."

"Shiori, Shiori- come on, you're not the only one who's been tricked during a class trial," Hana told her, walking over to where the surgeon stood. "Even the last time, almost everyone else fell for Tadao's trick with the crate too, so you're not even alone on that either."

"The others didn't have a job to do- I _did,"_ Shiori pointed out, looking away. "Whether it was something I was good at or not, whether I wanted to do it or not, I still had a responsibility that I couldn't have afforded to screw up. And I- I _did._ I screwed it up, and we all could have died for it!"

The surgeon then turned on Hana and demanded, "Don't act like you and the others aren't mad at me for my mistake! If any of them saw me again I'd be berated for what I did, I know it, and honestly I'd completely deserve it!"

"Wha-? No you wouldn't!" Hana sharply responded. _"We_ were the ones who should have listened to _you._ We could have figured something else out, we didn't have to force you into doing something you knew you wouldn't be comfortable with."

"Cut that out, would you? My mistake was my mistake, and I have to live with it," Shiori said, looking downwards. "That's why I'm here, and why I was surprised you agreed so readily to my check-up suggestion- because I know how incompetent I am."

"I-Incompetent!? You're the opposite of that! In fact, you're probably one of the _least_ incompetent people here!" Hana insisted, unsure if she wanted to sound encouraging or reassuring. "One mess-up during a trial doesn't change that."

"...There's no room for error. Not for me," Shiori stated, her earlier anger seemingly drained out her and leaving the surgeon seeming rather...deflated. "The others'll be better off if I just stay out the way for now."

"But, Shiori, you're not-" Hana began, but the Ultimate turning away again was a clear indicator that she didn't want this discussion to last any longer.

Going silent, Hana gave a simple nod of acknowledgement and walked out of the medical room.

Having exited, the surfer gave off a deep sigh and leaned against the wall adjacent to the door. Well, she had gotten the answers she wanted without a doubt...but a part of her was left with more questions as a result.

 _Shiori...I could tell she always had this thing with 'striving for perfection' or something, but I didn't think she'd take making a mistake so_ _badly._ Hana thought, growing more concerned by the minute. _Is she just one of those people who really, really doesn't like messing up? But then why is she taking it_ this _hard, it's like she's expecting everyone to just- not forgive her for what happened! If anything,_ she's _being more hard on herself than any of us would ever be..._

The surfer was quite tempted to simply walk back into the infirmary and further talk to Shiori, but doing so so soon would only make things worse. At the very least, Hana figured she should at least wait a little while before attempting to talk to her again- not that it would do anything for her worries.

 _This killing game...it really is starting to get to everyone in a lot of bad ways, isn't it?_ Hana told herself as she broke away from the wall and started to make her way down the central hall. _That's just even more of a reason for me to figure out a way to-_

But then...the surfer stopped and looked around, as if remembering where she actually was.

The girl then thought to herself, _Actually...I'm here, I'm in the East Wing, barely anyone else is around right now...and I said I would do my own investigation around here at some point, right...?_

Hana looked around again to confirm that truly no one else was around, then began to think, _Ooh, this is great- this is even better! I didn't think I'd get a chance to look around myself until later on, but I can just do it right now! I'm already here, the place is almost empty so no one'll be suspicious of me looking around by myself- this is perfect!_

The surfer thought about how she would actually go about the investigating; she couldn't go into the armory, she was trying to leave Shiori alone for right now, and Akira would likely be running around the bottom floor to do...whatever it was she was going to do with the armory. With this in mind, Hana concluded the best way to investigate for now would be to focus on one part of the wing- the second floor, to be exact.

Nodding to herself, Hana swiftly dashed up the stairs to start her search for an escape- whether or not she'd find anything, she didn't know, but she knew she had to at least try.

"Alright, top floor..." Hana declared to herself as she reached the top of the stairs. "Get ready for the investigation of your life!"

Looking back and forth between the two hallways leading to the watchtower and the east lounge, Hana decided she would first take a look at the latter- after all, it was a smaller area compared to the watchtower, so it seemed like the better area to check. She quickly made her way down the hallway in front of her, reaching he door to the lounge in no time flat. She opened the door with even more speed, stepping into the empty lounge as soon as she did.

* * *

The lounge looked the same as when she had first seen it- same carpeting, same seats, same bookshelf, same cabinet, etc. There were a few places that could potentially hide something, so Hana started with the most obvious: under the carpet. After all, it wouldn't be the first time something in this castle was hidden under the floor.

She first had to move the seats so she could pull the carpet up enough to really see what was underneath it, but as soon as that was done...there was nothing of interest under the carpet or the chairs. The Ultimate even went as far as to feel around for any loose floorboards or something that didn't seem to fit right, but there was nothing suspicious at all. Disappointed (and frustrated that she had displaced the seats and carpet for nothing), Hana put the room back together and turned her attention to something else that could possibly yield clues- the bookshelf.

Hana approached the tall bookshelf in question- in reality, it truly did resemble the one back in the study, though made a slightly darker material than that one- and examined the area around it. There was nothing to indicate it had ever been moved or tampered with, nor was there any sign of something maybe behind it. But once again, sometimes things could be more than what met the eye...so Hana began to mess around with the books themselves, thinking one of them might be a secret trigger to a hidden passage or something (and it was at that moment Hana began to wonder if she had been momentarily possessed by Kaneki).

Either way, the bookshelf turned out to be a bust as well, and the only suspicious thing about it were the titles of some of those books (books that, honestly, should not be in the presence of high schoolers).

Frustrated, Hana shook her head and decided to take some drastic measures...and walked over to one of the metal plates on the wall so she could try and yank it off manually. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there was no one around to tell the surfer what a foolish idea this was, so Hana grasped one of the freakishly large screws and began to try and unscrew it with all her might (it paid to be an athlete). That is, until she lost her grip and slipped, the force she had been applying to the screw causing her to then faceplant onto the lounge floor with all her might.

Growling with even more rage, Hana pushed herself up and caught sight of the room's security camera, the same one that basically every room in the castle had. Just sitting up there- silently watching, silently mocking...

"What are you looking at!?" Hana shouted at the voiceless camera as she dusted herself off...then sighed and sat down on one of the chairs.

"...What am I doing?" Hana softly asked herself, shaking her head as she stared down at the floor. _This is pointless- of course the east lounge isn't gonna have anything, lounges are the least suspicious rooms ever!_

Standing up, Hana decided she still wouldn't just give up on her search already- after all, there was still one location on the second floor that could hold answers, despite Akira having searched it earlier.

Exiting the lounge, Hana walked at a swift pace back towards the central hall, then turned to make her way down the hall leading to the eastern watchtower. She didn't really care if Monokuma or the mastermind could see what she was doing- after all, it wasn't like they knew about the odd e-Handbook messages, so to them it would just seem like the surfer was being a little more proactive with investigating than usual.

Soon, the surfer stood in front of the wood and iron door that led into the tower. Hoping to have a bit more- no, _any_ luck this time, Hana pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the stony interior.

 _Okay...if I was a super big secret...thing that could end this whole killing game and was hidden inside this tower, where would I be...?_ Hana asked herself, looking around the dark base of the watchtower.

The only conclusion she could come up with was to see if there was some kind of compartment hidden by a brick or two, whether it be on the wall or the floor. However, no matter how many spots she checked, none of the bricks seemed loose or fake an any way- and Hana was quite thorough in her examination of the bricks, surprisingly. She also checked as many spots on the wall as she could while going up the wooden stairs, but that led to nowhere as well. The surfer even went as far as to check if the steps were suspicious, pounding on them with her feet to see if one was a secret switch or the like- of which none of them were (but at least Hana could now confirm they were more stable than they appeared).

Once she had progressed to the tower's pinnacle, the girl softly groaned and thought, _At this rate, I'll be seeing bricks in my dreams, I swear..._

Even so, she wasn't done- no matter how discouraged she had become, the surfer knew she had to keep going, to at least _try_ to find something the others had missed! If that last message was being truthful, then the castle had to be hiding something, right?

So, just as she had down below, Hana closely examined the walls as well as the crates and bags of old food for clues of any kind. Although this time, she chose not to bother with the metal plates blocking a would-be opening due to her attempt in the lounge- besides, if someone like Saku was never able to remove any of the plates during the time he was alive, then what hope did Hana (who, despite her athleticism, was only slightly stronger than average) have?

However, in spite of all her searching...the result was the same as last time: nothing was to be found. The watchtower, which seemed more suspicious than the lounge by a long shot, was devoid of anything that could help the surviving Ultimates escape the castle.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Hana said to herself, sitting on one of the crates in disappointment and fatigue. "I wasted almost an hour for this...?"

The surfer looked around again, her eyes falling on yet another security camera hooked up near the ceiling. Silent. Judging.

"What? Oh, don't give me that look," Hana growled at the faceless camera, turning away before standing back up.

At the very least, this miniature investigation of hers proved two things: neither the east lounge nor the east watchtower had anything to hide. Which wasn't as good, but at least it was _something._

Hana thought about the message from the e-Handbook again: _**D** **on't ever think that there's not a way out other than murder, because there is. I'm telling you right now, there IS a way. And you can find it- I know you can.**_ The surfer still had no idea what that meant, but it was all she had to prove that she wasn't being too idealistic and that there truly was a nonlethal way out...assuming the person who tampered with her e-Handbook was being truthful.

 _Seriously...even if this person does have a reason for being so vague with me, would it have killed them to give me_ something _more to work with?_ Hana bitterly asked herself. _Even if the clue was the most cryptic and confusing thing ever, it would_ still _be more than just telling me there's a way out and expecting me to know how to find it! What if they're not being truthful, and they're just trying to give me false hope or something?_

Even when she thought that, however, something in Hana told her not to believe that- told her there was, in fact, another way to end the killing game. It was another one of those strange sensations she had been having ever since Tadao hit her in the head with that wine bottle, though Hana still didn't want to believe it had anything to do with possible memory loss. However, she did get the feeling that she should believe in the mysterious messenger...so, she did, pushing all her doubts about the message's validity to the side.

Seeing as there was nothing left for her to do, Hana proceeded towards the stairs- because at this point, the surfer wanted nothing more than to go back to her room and rest.

* * *

After taking a quick shower, making sure to wash the areas where she had been injured like Shiori instructed her, Hana found herself laying on her bed with nothing but her thoughts.

 _Really, looking around the East Wing wouldn't be so bad if we just had more people, but...we've lost so many, we're down to half of what we started..._ Hana told herself, sorrowful. _It really is way too quiet around here now...I didn't even see anyone on my way back to my room! That's sad as hell!_

Hana sat up again. _I need to see people- that's what'll get my mind off of things, talking to my classmates again. I mean, it wouldn't hurt, right? Especially after yesterday? Who wouldn't want to spend quality time with their friends after seeing so much death and despair, I fucking do I'm gonna do it right now!_

So, having rested enough, the Ultimate was back on her feet and exited her bedroom, looking around for anyone- and she did mean _anyone-_ to spend some time with. She knew of one place she could try- so, still not seeing anyone right away, Hana made her way through the South Wing, into the courtyard, and from there entering the East Wing once again. But she wasn't here to investigate anything- she was here to actually interact with someone, and she had a good idea of someone she really should talk to again.

That's why Hana found herself back in front of the door to the medical room, soon slowly opening it like she had done before and gingerly stepping inside. Sure enough, Shiori was still in the room like she was before Hana started her solo investigation, only now she seemed to be doing something with the blood bags in the cooler.

"Huh? Hana, what are you doing back in here?" Shiori asked upon seeing the surfer, unable to mask her surprise. "Did something happen? You're not hurt again, are you?"

"No, don't worry, I'm fine," Hana assured the Ultimate, walking over to her. "I just wanted to see someone, and I figured you'd still be in here. Uh- you don't mind, do you?"

Initially, Shiori didn't seem too pleased by her classmate's presence...but in the end, the surgeon relented and replied, "Okay, okay, if you insist on staying in here...how about you make yourself useful and help me reorganize some of these blood bags, huh? Just be sure not to drop any of them."

So, Hana spent some time with Shiori organizing medical supplies. Not the most exciting activity in the world, but nonetheless Hana felt like it brought the two of them closer together, at least in _some_ way.

"Hey, uh...Shiori?" Hana awkwardly began. "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it something stupid?" Shiori asked with a frown.

"I don't...think so?" Hana replied. "Um- last time we talked, you kinda...ran off on me in the middle of our conversation."

"...Oh. That," Shiori stated, glancing away for a moment. "Sorry about that. The topic was just kinda...going somewhere I didn't want it to, so I removed myself from the conversation."

"I-It was?" Hana asked, taken aback. "O-Oh man- sorry, Shiori, I didn't know I was hitting a nerve or something. I'm still kinda confused about all that stuff you were talking about before, but like- if you really don't want me to, I won't ask."

She then went on, "And, another thing about last time...I wasn't trying to say becoming a nero- nyoro- neurolo- brain surgeon was a bad thing. If that's something you'd want to- I mean, something you'd be cool with doing, then I'm sure you'd be fine."

Shiori shrugged. "It is what it is. I mean, if you suddenly got an offer to join this really talented and skilled surfing team, your family would probably want you to take it."

"You kidding? If I got an offer like that, _I'd_ want me to take that offer!" Hana eagerly responded, seeming to forget that this was a purely hypothetical situation. "And, yeah, my parents would probably encourage me to take it too."

"Oh- right, you actually like surfing. That whole, uh, skill vs. passion thing we talked about before," Shiori remarked. "Okay, bad example then."

But then, the Ultimate glanced at Hana again and asked, "Though, I am curious...what's it like? Y'know...doing something you're actually passionate about."

"Oh! Uh, that's kinda a loaded question..." the surfer admitted, frowning as she tried to think of a response. "I...don't know, I've never really thought about it. I mean, I grew up on a literal island with a beach that's ideal for surfing, I take to the ocean like a fish, surfing just kinda...comes naturally to me, I can't help not enjoying it."

She then added, "I mean, before I started talking to you, I thought skill and passion always went together."

"Yeah, that was kinda a dumb way to think," Shiori agreed. "But- you can't say you're not ever stressed about it, right? I mean you do competitions and shit, that's gotta be nerve-wracking."

"Oh, yeah- well, sometimes," Hana admitted. "You're right, it's kinda natural to feel nervous about a competition. And unlike Ryoto, I can't say I've gone undefeated in every competition I've been in. And I get even more worried because, well, my parents always make sure to come and see the competitions themselves, no matter how far it is, and I don't want them to have gone through the trouble of paying for all that travel just to see me lose."

"Really...?" Shiori asked, seeming to take a particular interest in what Hana said about her parents. "So...your parents have been to all your competitions? And that means they've also seen the ones you lost?"

"W-Wow, way to add insult to injury..." Hana muttered, looking down as the surgeon spoke.

"N-No, I didn't-" Shiori began, grimacing before responding, "Hey, Hana- assuming we get out of here, and you get to be a part of more surf contests, here's my advice: the last thing you wanna do is think about what'll happen if you fail, okay? Focus on the task at hand- thinking about failure is only going to mess you up, and then those fears'll come true. That's what I do- understand?"

Despite Shiori sounding quite genuine in her advice...Hana couldn't hide her confusion. "What...are you talking about?"

"You just said your parents always watch you surf, right?" Shiori reminded her classmate. "And that you don't want them to see you lose?"

"Well of course, but at the end of the day it's all in my head," Hana explained with a shrug. "Of course _I'm_ worried about that, but my parents never really care if I win or lose."

"..." Shriori went silent and stared at her classmate. "W...What?"

"Yeah, if anything, I'm always more upset with losing than my mom or dad. I could probably get last place in a competition- which hasn't happened, by the way- and they'd still be as proud as ever," Hana told her with a small chuckle. "They just want to see me out there doing what I love- even if they can get a little embarrassing sometimes. I mean one time, my dad brought-"

"Wait, wait, your parents- really don't care if you lose? They don't treat you any differently for it?" Shiori inquired, genuinely baffled.

"N...No...? That's...not something parents should do...?" Hana answered, just as confused by Shiori's behavior. Then, a darker thought popped into her head, and she found herself asking, "Shiori...do _your_ parents-"

"Shut up!" Shiori suddenly yelled. "I never said anything! Never!"

"Is that why you were giving me that weird advice just now?" Hana asked before her mind could process it. "Did you think my parents-"

"I said shut up!" Shiori shouted once again. "Stop digging into my business, would you!? God, why are you so irritatingly curious!? Just go away already, would you!?"

Before Hana could even react to anything, it was _Shiori_ who briskly left the room- despite telling Hana to leave. This, in turn, left the surfer standing in the empty room with more questions than ever about her surgeon friend.

 _Did I...strike a nerve again...?_ Hana asked herself as she was left alone. _No, I definitely did. But what happened...? Was it...actually something to do with Shiori's parents? I barely know anything about them, so I can hardly say anything, and yet...I've got a bad feeling..._

Her concern for her classmate almost palpable, yet realizing there was nothing that could be done at that moment, Hana decided the best course of action would be to return to her bedroom.

* * *

Back in her room, Hana checked up on the time- her conclusion was that it was late, but she still had a bit of time before the dinner meeting took place. Still wanting some of that sweet teenage interaction, the surfer decided she had rested enough and set out to look for more of her classmates.

Figuring many of the others might still be as curious about the East Wing as she was, Hana decided to focus her search for classmates in that area once again. She passed through the courtyard and took the lower entrance again instead of the upper entrance inside the South Wing, finding herself back in the shining central hall of the East Wing. Upon entry, Hana immediately caught sight of a certain young woman in a dark red suit...and apparently, she caught sight of the entering surfer at the same time.

"Amari? What are you doing here, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" Akira demanded, her arms crossed disapprovingly. "If you don't have anything of worth to say, then leave me be."

Hana was initially silent as Akira berated her. _Okay...I know I really wanted to talk to some of my classmates, but...can I really spend time with someone like Akira...?_

Realizing there was likely no one else around, Hana sighed and said, "I...just figured you were doing some investigating or something, and I wanted to...help a little bit...?"

"..." For a moment, it would seem like Akira was going to refuse the offer...before thinking it over and responding, "Actually, now that you mention it, there _are_ a few things you could assist me with. So, listen closely to my instructions so you can stop being so useless for once, will you?"

Thus, Hana found herself running various errands for Akira. Some went well, others not so much...and yet, in an odd way, Hana felt like she and Akira actually grew somewhat closer that day.

"Amari- I have a serious question to ask you, so listen well," Akira suddenly said to the girl, focused on the other Ultimate like a laser.

"Huh? _You_ have a question for _me?"_ Hana asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "Uh...okay, go for it."

"I can imagine you must have been ecstatic when you were accepted into Hope's Peak Academy- becoming an Ultimate with an incredible talent is something most teenagers would only dream of," Akira lectured. "You, Amari, are among the lucky few to make a dream a reality."

"I...guess that's one way of putting it," Hana replied, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"So then, my question is...how do you handle it? How can you take being thrust into this gaudy castle setting, cut off from everything, and not even having your talent to assist you or your peers?" Akira asked, furrowing her brow. "You, the Ultimate Surfer- there's no body of water to be found anywhere in this castle. You've effectively been rendered useless compared the majority of your classmates."

"H-Hey, that's harsh! Just because I can't surf doesn't mean I can't be useful!" Hana insisted. "I-I can, uh...swim really, really fast! And, uh...I'm generally more athletic, that's something! A-And, uh...I look good in a wetsuit...?"

"...Grasping at straws, I see," Akira remarked, unimpressed.

"Hey, it's not like I'm the only one who can't use their talent to their full capacity," Hana pointed out. "I mean, even you! This place doesn't have a _real_ courtroom, you can't properly prosecute someone like you normally would, you...Ultimate Prosecutor!"

To that, Akira chuckled. "Oh, you ignorant girl- there is far more to prosecuting than simply ensuring a criminal is placed behind bars."

"There is a level of analysis and problem-solving behind it, as one needs to be able to sort out the evidence laid before them to understand what really happened in a crime," the prosecutor explained. "And there a certain level of speech ability- to be able to debate, and debate flawlessly to ensure the truth does not escape through the fallacies and contradictions laid out by the opposition."

"Wow, you uh...really put a lot of thought into that, huh?" Hana remarked in response to her classmate's speech. "You sound so confident in what you're talking about, though."

"Of course I'm confident- that's also a necessity in the courtroom," Akira added. "All of this, I was taught by my father. As a lawyer himself, he taught me everything I know about how to navigate courts and laws since I was a little girl, so naturally I would take all of his teachings to heart. And naturally, his teachings can be applied to situations beyond the courtroom."

 _I feel like she's just monologuing at this point..._ Hana thought to herself, simply listening to the Ultimate Prosecutor talk.

"My analytical prowess allows me to notice details most would miss, I can bring an entire room to my attention with my speech skills and confidence alone..." Akira went on. "Does your talent give you any skills that could be applied to this killing game of ours, Amari?"

"I...can try?" Hana responded, cringing.

"Hmph- I figured as much," Akira stated, shaking her head. "That's the difference between you and I, Amari- you cannot adapt to remain useful in this situation, whereas I have more than enough skills to help the entire group out, trial or no trial."

Before Hana could make a response, the prosecutor added, "But still...it is for this reason that even I can't help but pity your situation, Amari- after all, nobody asked to be thrust into this killing game. Perhaps, if I pity you enough, I'll share with you some of my experiences in the courtroom- maybe you'll find some value in my father's lessons as well."

 _Did your father teach you to be this arrogant too...?_ Hana wondered, but didn't dare vocalize her thoughts as Akira walked away. _Okay, that's good to know...next time I talk to Akira, be prepared for the death of my self-confidence._

 _But speaking of confidence...Akira sure does have a lot of it, I'll give her that._ Hana mentally conceded. She then asked herself, _But...it couldn't have_ all _come from what her dad taught her, right? How exactly did she get_ that _confident in her skills as a prosecutor...?_

Still reeling from the condescending lecture from Akira, Hana departed from the East Wing and made her way back to her bedroom.

* * *

Hana returned to her room once more, but she didn't stay there long- after all, it was getting late, and it was nearly time for the dinner meeting. So, making sure she had her e-Handbook on her, Hana left her room once again and practically sprinted towards the dining hall. Again, she saw no activity from anywhere else on the way, which meant either the others were already at the dining room or they were in other parts of the castle and on their way as well. Still, talking to some of her classmates earlier took away the sting of there being so little of the 80th Class left.

Walking into the dining room, Hana looked around - in doing so, she took notice of the memorial on the other side of the room, seeing how there were now some flowers on display alongside the pictures- it seemed Asuna was true to her word regarding adding the flora to the memorial. She then saw Akira sitting in her usual spot right away, then took notice of Hiroshi after her.

"Hi there, Hana," Hiroshi greeted her with a smile. "I see you got those bandages taken off- did you go see Shiori?"

"Uh-huh- when I saw her before, she told me to come back to the medical room so she could see if my wounds were healing properly," Hana explained, sitting down next to the coroner. "My head injury's just about healed, my leg injury's gonna need a little more time, but overall- I'm doing fine. Like you said, I was even able to have the bandages taken off, and I even got those stitches taken out of my head."

"Well, that's great to hear- I'm glad you're doing fine after what happened in the wine room," Hiroshi replied. "We really are lucky to have Shiori around, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what I told her," Hana confirmed with a nod- although it was slightly soured when she remembered the rest of her conversation with the surgeon...

Seeming to sense Hana's negativity, Hiroshi inquired, "Something the matter?"

"Ah, well..." Hana began, only to be interrupted by the other Ultimate in the room walking over to them.

"Hold on- Amari, did you say you saw Sauchi again?" Akira inquired, furrowing her brow slightly.

"Ah- uh, yeah?" Hana stammered, not expecting (or wanting) Akira to take a sudden interest in their conversation. "W-Why do you ask...?"

The prosecutor narrowed her eyes slightly and replied, "Because, I'm wondering if you, perhaps, noticed or heard something that could explain Sauchi's dodgy behavior these last few hours. Since I'm unsure if anyone else saw her today and I heard you and Ashi talking, you're the first person I'm asking."

"Oh- actually, that's a good point," Hiroshi added. _"Did_ you happen to figure out something about why Shiori's been avoiding everyone?"

"Aha...did I figure out anything...?" Hana began sheepishly- 'figured out' wouldn't even begin to describe it.

Looking around, Hana went on, "I'd...actually kinda prefer to talk about it when everyone else is here, okay?"

Akira raised an eyebrow, but Hiroshi nodded and replied, "Alright, that's understandable. I'm sure you're not the only one concerned about what's happening with Shiori, anyways."

"..." Akira simply gave a small 'hmph' and conceded, "Fine, then- the others should be here shortly, so I suppose the wait won't be too long."

Sure enough, the other lingering students arrived not too long after the trio's conversation had ended (minus Shiori, obviously), the wait even more lessened due to the fact that there were so few students to wait for. As for the situation with dinner- well, apparently, Tadao had managed to save some leftovers from the previous dinners in the castle's expansive fridge, and there were still enough to feed the rest of the class. In addition, Akira had evidently learned from the chaos of that morning and only allowed a certain number of students at a time to go into the kitchen to make their food, which created much better results.

As the surviving students settled down to eat, some making conversation with each other (including the others commenting on how Hana no longer had those bandages on her head and leg), Rumi looked around the room and asked, "Is...Shiori _still_ not coming...?"

"Are you that surprised? She's been kinda dodging everyone all day, I'd be surprised if she _did_ show up right now," Hinata pointed out with a shrug.

Seeing as how everyone was there and the topic had already somewhat shifted to the surgeon in question, Hana cleared her throat and spoke up, "Actually, I- you know how I've got those bandages off of me, right?"

"Yeah- I'm guessing that means you actually saw Shiori earlier?" Hinata asked.

"Th-That's not too weird, though, we know she's spending a lot of her time in the medical room," Asuna reminded the others. "Heck, I even tried to go talk to her earlier today- sh-she wasn't really...having it, though."

"Well, I _did_ see her," Hana confirmed with a nod. "And...I had a bit more luck with talking to her. ...In that she kinda told me why she's been acting so weird."

"She _did?_ You know what her issue is?" Akira quickly asked- evidently, she hadn't expected Hana to know the _full_ details of what the surgeon's problem was.

"WHAAAAT?" Ryoto exclaimed, just as surprised. "W-Well don't leave us in suspense! What's going on with her?"

"And why'd she end up telling you?" Hinata questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"Well, to be fair, Hana _is_ pretty easy to talk to," Asuna responded, gesturing to the surfer in question.

"Aw, thanks-" Hana began in response to the compliment...

...Only for Akira to speak up and demand, "This is not the time for compliments- there aren't many of us left now, so we need _everyone_ working to find a way to bring down this killing game. If you have information that would explain Sauchi's behavior, then you'd do well to tell us now, Amari."

"Okay, okay- ugh, how do I start...?" Hana muttered, trying to sort out everything Shiori had said to her during their conversation. "Okay, so- do you guys remember how, with the last investigation, we had to have both Hiroshi and Shiori look at the corpses?"

"Uh-huh- there were two victims, so we decided having more than just me being the one to examine the bodies would be more efficient given the time constraints of the investigation," Hiroshi added with a nod. "I looked at Saku's body, and Shiori looked at Shiro's."

"What does that have to what's happening now?" Rumi asked. "Unless Shiori's just _really_ mad at us for making her do that."

"Well, uh...do you guys also remember how Tadao disguised the weapon that was used to kill Shiro?" Hana went on with a small frown. "He made it look like it was a crate from the western watchtower?"

"Yeah! Bastard pulled the silk right over our eyes!" Ryoto angrily shouted.

"...Uh...I think the saying is 'pulling the _wool_ over your eyes'," Asuna corrected him.

"Wool? NO WAY! Why would someone pull _wool_ over someone's eyes?" the racecar driver refuted the gardener.

"Enough with the recap, Amari!" Akira ordered. "Get to the point- what _does_ all this have to do with what's happening now?"

"Well, uh, you see..." Hana continued, trying to find the right words to describe what she had seen and heard. "I guess, because she didn't realize the crate wasn't the true weapon which kinda played into the killer's hands, Shiori's kinda...thinking she's incompetent now? Or, inadequate?"

Sighing, the surfer went on, "She's just...being _really_ hard on herself for messing that up. I think she's expecting us to be, I dunno...angry, berating, something along those lines at her? Like, I was trying to talk her out of thinking like that, but- it was like she didn't think I was being genuine, a-and I was!"

"So...she's having a confidence issue?" Hinata summarized, furrowing his brow.

"Mmph- that attitude, just for something as small as a break in confidence?" Akira inquired disapprovingly, then dismissively concluded, "Give it time, she'll get over it. It's not worth our time after all."

Evidently, the others didn't seem to share that sentiment, because their attention was still turned towards Hana.

"But- come on, we wouldn't do that! We're not jerks like that!" Rumi insisted.

"And even if we did, wouldn't that be kinda hypocritical? It's not like she was the only one who got tricked," Hinata stated.

"I know, I told her that too," Hana replied. "But she didn't really take that to heart, either- she talked about how she was the one with the responsibility over one of the victims, so I guess that has something to do with it...?"

"Even still...we shouldn't just let her keep being so hard on herself like she is," Hiroshi said, before smiling reassuringly and continuing, "I think the solution is pretty simple- we just have to keep being her friends and classmates. Show her that we really aren't angry at her for what happened with the autopsy- which I don't think is a lie, right?"

"Of course it's not! She wasn't the only one who got tricked, we wouldn't really hold it against her," Hana firmly confirmed.

"Really? We're gonna 'power of friendship' her outta her funk?" Hinata asked, not seeming as confident in the coroner's ideal.

"I think it's a great idea! There's nothing that a bit of companionship can't fix, and that includes a crisis of confidence!" Rumi cheerfully declared. "And as her friend, I'll do whatever I can to bring her back to her usual self!"

"Oh yeah, you said it Rumi!" Hinata readily agreed, his attitude towards the idea doing a complete one-eighty the moment she voiced her approval.

"Well I dunno if she'd appreciate _my_ help," Ryoto admitted. "But Ryoto Miura's got his own ideas on how to get Shiori's confidence back, just you guys WAIT! It'll be easy as meatloaf!"

"...Pie, Ryoto, th-the saying is 'easy as pie'," Asuna corrected him again.

"PIE!? What's so easy about PIE!? Ya gotta get the weird pan, then ya gotta make the weird crust, THEN make that filling stuff, and SOMETIMES you need to-" Ryoto rambled on in a retort.

"All of you! That's enough on that," Akira commanded the others, sending off her signature death glare to get the attention of the others, with the group turning their attention back to the prosecutor with several murmurs.

"Now that the issue with Sauchi has been...addressed, I would hope the rest of you did not forget that there's something else we need to discuss," Akira reminded her classmates with a frown.

"How Monokuma needs a damn hobby?" Hinata inquired, seemingly only half-joking.

"No- the armory," Akira elaborated. "During the last meeting, I said that I would find a way to restrict access to the armory in order to minimize the risk of another murder. And I shall tell you now, I have done exactly that. So, from this point onward, this is a new unofficial rule of ours: nobody is to try and head into the armory. I will no doubt be able to tell if you did."

"...Uh...you're not going to tell us how you did that?" Hana spoke up, frowning.

"Why? Telling someone would allow them to find a way to bypass my system- not that they could- and that would defeat the entire purpose," Akira responded.

"H-Hey...whatever you did, it's not anything...dangerous, right?" Asuna nervously asked. "L-Like a death trap attached to the door or something?"

"No! If I did that, then I'd be considered a blackened if someone were to trigger it, and murder would go against everything I stand for as a prosecutor," the Ultimate angrily replied, as if annoyed that someone had even considered that possibility.

"Besides- if I _do_ find that someone attempted to enter the armory, or even took a weapon with them when they did..." she went on, her gaze turning powerfully icy. "They'll think murder would be a mercy when I get through with them."

Akira's ruthless tone combined with her powerful glare chilled Hana to her core- even without those factors, the surfer would still believe Akira just by having known her.

"I still think blocking off the whole armory is a bit much," Hiroshi admitted, unfazed by Akira's glare. "I agree with what Rumi said before, everyone's sick of the killings, so I doubt anyone would plan something at this point."

"Well, now we can be doubly sure of that, Ashi, seeing as how one of the means of setting up a murder has been blocked off," Akira responded, dismissing the coroner's concerns. "Believe me, this is all for the good of stopping a murder before it happens- and besides, it's one room, the castle has plenty others that _don't_ contain dozens of potential murder weapons."

Once again, Ryoto was the sole voice of agreement. "I think it's a good idea! Anything to keep anyone else from dying, Ryoto Miura's in agreement with! Besides, I don't think Akira's changing her mind anytime soon, so no use crying over spilled milk, huh?"

"No, Ryoto, the saying is-" Asuna began...only to stop herself and say, "Oh, wait, you got it right that time."

And that's how the meeting concluded- the group (minus Akira) would all try and help Shiori realize she wasn't at fault for the flawed autopsy on Shiro and there was a new unofficial rule that the armory was now strictly off-limits. To Hana, this combined with her fruitless search of the upper floor of the East Wing only added on to her overall stress, and it lingered with her even as dinner drew to a close. The others all left to their own agendas or tasks- Rumi was concerned about Shiori and went to go find her, Ryoto wanted to do some last-minute exercises in the fitness room, Asuna went to go lock up the storage room, and everyone else made for their bedrooms to get ready for sleep.

Still, Hana was certain no amount of sleep would be able to remove the lingering doubts she had about the situation the surviving students found themselves in, so much so that she would end up falling asleep that night to this thought:

 _Things around here...things around here can never, EVER be simple, can they?_

* * *

 **A/N: And there we go, another part of Chapter 4 completed! Again, I apologize if the characters you voted for did not end up winning this time- but as I said, you can always just vote for them again. Speaking of, lemme do this real fast- the code for the next round of FTEs!: zws98hfd (Remember, it's "strawpoll", ".com", "/", then the code).**

 **Soooo, ah- not much to say in this part aside from poor Shiori feeling a little inadequate, just needs to realize almost everyone still loves her- but will the gang be successful in reminding her of that? You'll just have to see next time.**

 **Another thing, before talking about the story itself- to any/all LGBT+ people who may be reading this, whether you're new or you've been here since the beginning- special shout-out to you all, you all are valid as HECK, and I will physically fight anyone who says otherwise (I mean, I'm ace, to LGBT+ enemies are my enemies)! HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO ALL Y'ALL, BRING OUT THE CONFETTI! _(very small amounts of confetti fall because of budget issues)_**

 **And as for next time, as well as the times after that...MIGHT be sooner than it usually is, y'know why? Because, like I said, I had finals less than a week ago, and that means...IT'S SUMMER, MY DUDES! And that means I might be able to get future parts out sooner than usual! PRAISE THE LACK OF SCHOOL AND SCHOOLWORK! I really do hope to be able to make a LOT more progress on Fractured Fates during these next few months, and I hope you guys'll be here to join me for the ride! See ya guys there!**


	33. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 3)

**A/N: HuAAH-**

 **Hello everyone! At the time of me writing this introduction, my leg is...slightly messed up from a walk I took earlier today. Like, I don't even know if I'd describe it as being sore or something, it- maybe the muscles, anyway- just feels...** _ **wrong,**_ **even when I'm not walking on it. Kinda why I waited a few hours to actually start working on this when I did, I don't like to type when my body's feeling weird and/or achy. Still, I'm sucking it up for the sake of progress, because it's summer and there's no excuse for me delaying these parts now aside from my own procrastination, so here I am!**

 **(Hello, I am X from the future- at the time of uploading this latest part my leg is just fine, so that ends that little story arc.)**

 **Now, last time...actually, nothing** _**too**_ **insane happened, a rarity for the 80th Class these days. But will it stay that way? And how are the others gonna be able to bring Shiori outta her, like...state of "feeling inadequate"...? Ah whatever, you know what I'm talking about, let's get to the part!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Yup, turns out there's more to everyone's favorite surgery gal than just snark and an inability to properly express her emotions! But having said that...well, I'm trying to make this Daily Life four parts, and since this is Part 3...theoretically, you'll know if your predictions are correct or not, regarding both Shiori and Akira.**

 **Also, Asuna wants to know your location. Not for anything deadly, just- just to politely/in a slightly irritated tone correct ya.**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ See, I did mean everyone's favorite surgery gal- because, man, she's been getting pretty popular recently. I mean I think a lot of people have liked her before, but nowadays her popularity is a bit more- I dunno, explicit? Not that there's anything wrong with that, I agree, Shiori's great.**

 **And yeah, you know someone's sick of everything when they start conversing with security cameras.**

 ** _MaskedGamer_ : I can't believe you guessed the plot twist that Akira was already in a killing game and has experienced all the tropes firsthand- that's it, Fangan's cancelled guys, everyone go home!**

 **All joking aside- I actually think you're gonna get the answer to your question about Akira's plan a lot sooner than you probably thought (although I think you'll find it a bit different than what you were expecting). Also, murder plan predictions are neat and good, always love reading those (whether they're right or wrong)...but needless to say, those answers _will_ take a bit longer to reveal.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Daily Life (Part 3)**

Despite her concerns the day before, Hana actually found herself in a rather dreamless sleep that night. She was more than fine with this- after all, the last thing she wanted was more cryptic memory-like dreams to make her even more confused. Perhaps it would stay that way from then on- perhaps the strange dreams she had been having were only temporary, and her sleep would return to normal.

Of course, she couldn't confirm or deny any of these thoughts until the next time she slept- and it was morning. So, pushing her sleep thoughts to the side, Hana got herself ready for the day ahead; first would come the breakfast meeting, and after that...well, Hana had no idea. Perhaps it would be a good idea to look around the East Wing yet again? The surfer figured she would decide by the end of the morning's meeting.

After dressing, fixing her hair, and making sure she had her e-Handbook, Hana departed from her bedroom. Like the previous meetings, she didn't encounter her other classmates as she strode down the hallway and through the main hall, so they were either still asleep or already at the dining room.

Speaking of the dining room- due to the lack of any company, Hana's walk there felt much shorter than it usually was, and now the surfer entered the dining room in what seemed like no time at all. Initially, it appeared the room was completely empty, causing the surfer to wonder if she was the first to arrive (which would be a first); however, upon closer inspection, the surfer would see Hiroshi on the other side of the room, more specifically standing by the makeshift memorial.

Hana was just about to call out to him in greeting...only to stop and see just how the Ultimate Coroner looked. His back was to the doorway, so that alone prevented Hana from seeing his face. However, the young man was deathly quiet (so much so that Hana was surprised he hadn't heard her enter), his shoulders were drooped, his head was lowered slightly (and not in a way it would be if he was simply looking down at the pictures), and an air of negativity seemed to surround him and was almost palpable even from where Hana stood. With the way he was currently holding himself, the surfer wouldn't be surprised if Hiroshi suddenly broke down into tears right there (actually, she would still be surprised, it's _Hiroshi,_ after all).

 _Does...Does he...need a minute...? What's he_ doing? Hana asked herself, keeping silent as she watched her classmate. _Should I...talk to him...? Do_ something _instead of watching him like a creep?_

Hiroshi, meanwhile, still didn't move a muscle, and it was highly unlikely he was aware of Hana's presence. The surfer continued to contemplate what to do with this situation...

But then, someone made the decision for her; at that moment, the door to the kitchen audibly opened and a certain Ultimate Prosecutor stepped out. For a brief moment, Akira's gaze went towards Hiroshi...but immediately switched to Hana, who the prosecutor most likely saw out of the corner of her vision.

"Oh, look at you- being on time for a change, I see," Akira remarked, raising an eyebrow.

When Akira spoke, Hiroshi swiftly snapped back to reality and turned around, evidently not realizing there were people in the dining room with him.

"Y-Yeah, that's me! On time! In fact, I actually- I just walked in just now, right now, a few seconds ago, so great timing on your part!" Hana replied to Akira, hoping both Hiroshi wouldn't realize she was lying (best not to let him know she had just been staring at him for about a minute) and that Akira wouldn't call her out on it.

Luckily, her hope was well-founded, as Akira turned her attention to Hiroshi and observed, "And you, Ashi- when exactly did you get here?"

"Aha, I- haven't been in here too long," Hiroshi answered, also seeming slightly flustered. "I assume you were in the kitchen when I arrived, so I thought I was by myself in here."

"Actually- what _were_ you doing in the kitchen?" Hana then asked Akira, curious. "Were you making yourself breakfast or something?"

"Not exactly. Hamasaki was in here as early as I was, and she insisted that she wanted to make something special for all of us," Akira explained, gesturing to the kitchen doors. "Naturally, I had to make sure she didn't have any ulterior motives for wanting to do so- and after a thorough inspection, I gave her my approval."

"Rumi's in there too?" Hana then remarked, glancing towards the doors herself.

"Did she say anything about needing help?" Hiroshi also inquired. "After all, she's making food for a lot of people, and unlike Tadao I don't think she's spent a significant amount of time in an environment that would hone those types of skills."

"No, Hamasaki insisted on it- she wants it to be a 'surprise', in order to 'lift everyone's spirits' or something to that effect," the prosecutor responded, her tone of voice indicating she didn't quite share such a sentiment.

 _Well now she's got me all curious...what's Rumi making in there?_ Hana asked herself. However, despite her confusion, the surfer chose not to investigate further and simply wait for the food to be ready. She recalled the Ultimate Scuba Diver being a rather decent cook, so Hana was sure whatever her friend was making would be a good meal.

Eventually, the remaining students (once again, excluding Shiori, and Hana began to become slightly concerned about whether the surgeon was properly eating or not) came into the dining room and took their own individual seats. Now, it was simply a matter of waiting for Rumi to finish making whatever it was she was cooking.

"...C'mon, we've been sitting here forever!" Ryoto complained, his arms crossed impatiently. "How long's it been?"

Hana glanced at her e-Handbook and answered, "Two minutes."

"Settle down, Ryoto, Rumi's probably just trying to make sure the food's perfect," Hiroshi informed the racecar driver. "After all, Akira did mention she was making this breakfast to lift our spirits."

The prosecutor in question was keeping silent, appearing rather indifferent to the whole situation.

"I just don't see why she'd try to do it all herself," Hinata stated, his hands casually hidden in the pockets of his hoodie as he sat. "Seems like a lotta work for just one person."

"T-To be fair, I don't think the rest of us are exactly experts in the kitchen," Asuna pointed out.

"Besides, _you'd_ probably just try to prank us or something- or steal a frying pan!" Ryoto added with a pointed glare at the Ultimate Thief.

"Hey, gimme a break, I'm a changing man!" Hinata insisted, taking out one of hands as he did...but in doing so, something accidentally tumbled out of his hoodie pocket and onto the dining room floor.

Hana leaned over slightly so she could see what fell out of his pocket and saw it was...several paperclips?

"...Paperclips?" Hana inquired, glancing at Hinata.

"Fight me, they're good for lockpicking," Hinata briefly explained, scrambling to pick up the small metal items and put them back in his pocket. "Besides, it's not like I've actually _used_ them recently."

Before anyone could speak further, the doors to the kitchen suddenly swung open, with Rumi excitedly poking her head out.

"Heeey guys! I hope you're all ready, because I made something that'll really knock your guys' socks off!" Rumi cheerfully declared. "Something that I know is gonna make everyone feel great, even after all the terrible stuff that's happened!"

"I'm all for feeling great," Hiroshi remarked with a small smile. "But...what exactly _did_ you make?"

"Well, I wanted to make something that would help everyone feel a little better after everything...and you know what my mom would do whenever I had had a bad day?" Rumi explained. "The next morning, she'd always make us all pancakes! But not just any pancakes- pancakes made with a special family recipe! And, obviously, she taught me how to make them, sooo I figured I'd cheer you guys up by making them myself!"

"Really?" Hana asked, her interest in the food piqued. "Well don't leave us in suspense, Rumi, let's see!"

After a few of the other students eagerly agreed, the Ultimate Scuba Diver nodded and went back into the kitchen. Seconds later, Rumi returned with a large platter containing what Hana assumed were the pancakes. Before the surfer actually saw them, however, she already noticed something was off; namely, the smell. The scent wasn't like any pancakes Hana had eaten in the past, although it was faintly to the girl- just what _was_ that scent?

"Okay guys, here they are!" Rumi proclaimed, setting down the platter so the group could see the food.

What the Ultimates saw, however...was nothing like what they expected.

They looked like pancakes...in that they were flat and round, but the similarities ended there. They were a dark black color, having an appearance more akin to coal than food. And the scent coming off the food...Hana remembered what it was- the unmistakable odor of burnt foodstuff.

"Sooo? I know, it might be a little different from you guys are used to, but trust me- my mom knows her stuff!" Rumi told everyone, beaming with excitement.

Hana couldn't keep the look of utter shock off her face. Glancing around the room, she could see most of the others shared the same dumbfounded countenance; the only ones who didn't seem as shell-shocked were Hiroshi, and even he seemed a little perturbed, and Akira.

The latter, however...silently stood up from her seat with a facial expression that read all too clearly 'You all are on your own' and, still not saying a word, walked across the dining room to disappear into the kitchen.

"...Ah, she's a stick in the mud anyways," Rumi stated, dismissing the prosecutor's sudden departure. "But hey! That just leaves more for the rest of us!"

Hana gulped down her apprehension as she stared at the jet-black pancakes, glancing at her classmate and asking, "H-Hey, Rumi-"

"Don't tell me- you're wondering about Shiori, right?" Rumi guessed. "Don't worry, I made a little separate plate for her too- 'cause I've been worried that she hasn't been eating properly, and also because these pancakes of mine'll be the first step to getting her out of her funk!"

"A-Ah...o-okay, but-" Hana began again.

"Yes, I also made coffee for her," Rumi added. "Trouble is, I don't actually know how she likes her coffee, so I just everything coffee-related into it."

"...O-Oh...okay, th-thanks, I'm sure she'll...appreciate it," Hana replied, trying to sound casual but unable to stop her voice from rising a few octaves out of fear towards the food. She couldn't even remember what her original question had been- were the fumes of the incinerated pancakes going to her head?

"H-Hey, Rumi! You said this was a...family recipe?" Ryoto asked.

"Uh-huh! My mom taught it to me, her dad taught it to her, his dad taught it to him, his mom taught to him, her mom- oh, I think you get it," Rumi answered, counting out the different generations on her fingers.

"H-Have...you ever...tried, uh, other pancakes...? P-Pancakes made... _without_ your family's recipe...?" Asuna inquired. "L-L-Like...eating them...? O-Or, uh, seeing them...?"

"Seen, yes. Eaten- nope, not once!" Rumi responded, still cheerful. "But I mean, my family's pancakes are already _amazing,_ I don't think anything could ever top them!"

She then went on, "But that's the best part of this- not only will this be a great way to help everyone cheer up, but I get to share this great piece of my family with my friends! The only way this could be even better would be if the others were still here to enjoy it with us...but, that's just all the more reason to enjoy a moment like this while we can, right? To enjoy it both for ourselves and for everyone who's gone!"

Having made her passionate speech, Rumi went back to her giddy excitement and sat down, watching the others as she remarked, "So- come on! I wanna see the look on your faces when you take that first bite of perfection!"

"..."

The other five students were deathly silent as they all looked around at one another.

 _I...I'm probably gonna die if I eat even a little bit of these..._ Hana told herself as she stared at the foreboding pancakes. _But...Rumi, she's just so excited to share this family tradition with us, and she's just trying to cheer us all up after all the death and misery the other day- t-to say no after all that, that'd break her heart no doubt...I-I could never do something like_ that, _either!_

Looking around at the others, Hana could guess they all felt similarly, otherwise someone would have spoken up in objection by now.

"...Hey, ah- I could never take away the chance to be the first one to try out one of your pancakes," Hiroshi finally spoke up, expertly hiding any apprehension in his voice. "Hana, you're a good friend to Rumi, if anyone should be the first it should be you."

"M-Me? Heh, I'm flattered, b-but I couldn't do that either!" Hana insisted with a sheepish chuckle. "Uh, if anyone's been a good friend to Rumi, it's...Asuna! Y-Yeah, Asuna, you- you helped make the memorial even better with your flowers, so if anyone has the right to try the pancakes first, it's- it's you."

"W-Whaaat? N-No, I-I could never, honestly! I-I'm not even that hungry, I could wait until at least one other person's tried the food!" Asuna responded, putting her hands up innocently. "I-In fact, uh...Hinata! H-He's pretty close to Rumi too, he helped her make the memorial i-in the first place, s-so the first bite should go to him!"

"Pfft, nah, a guy like me? You give me too much credit," Hinata quipped with a sly (if somewhat forced) grin. "Y'know who'd probably want the food the soonest? Ryoto- he's been pretty antsy about waiting for the food, so the guy's probably starving, so we should let him have first dibs, huh?"

"MEEEE!?" Ryoto cried out, before regaining his composure and responding, "Really, R-Ryoto Miura's not starving! I think the first plate should go to the person who's taken it on herself to be our leader this whole time, Akir-"

Only then did Ryoto seem to notice/remember Akira had left the dining room for the kitchen, where she was now presumably eating her own non-burnt breakfast.

"Oh, you guys are so sweet..." Rumi spoke up with a small smile. "But, you guys don't have to argue over who's first, really. Just go on, have at it! I made it for everyone, after all!"

Thus, no matter how the five of them tried to prolong it, the group had no choice but to dig into the "moral-boosting" meal Rumi had prepared. The pancakes tasted...well, about what one would expect would expect charcoal-esque pancakes to taste like, and no amount of butter and/or syrup could mask it. By some miracle, all five managed to hide their growing discomfort with the food as they ate, managing to appear almost as satisfied as Rumi. And, well, it made the scuba diver happy to see her friends enjoying the food (as far as she knew); so, in the back of Hana's mind anyways, that was enough to make the torture of eating the burned pancakes worthwhile.

* * *

Needless to say, when the food was done, the group was...a little more than eager to depart from the dining room, with Rumi insisting that she would be fine cleaning up herself. The blue-haired Ultimate likely interpreted her friends' quickness to leave as their energy being renewed for the day...but the others knew otherwise.

It was for this reason that Hana found herself back in her bedroom as soon as she was able to. More specifically, she was in the bathroom by the sink, where she spent about ten minutes trying her hardest to rinse/wash the awful charred taste out of her mouth. The surfer was sure she looked ridiculous, this dirty blonde-haired girl practically drowning herself in her bathroom's sink, but Hana stopped caring right away.

With that ordeal over with (she could still taste traces of burnt food in her mouth, but it was nowhere near as strong as it was before), Hana trudged out of her bathroom and lied down on the bed, simply contemplating what had just occurred. If she hadn't been too awake before breakfast...well, she certainly was now.

 _I...think I should go check up on the others for a bit..._ Hana told herself, pulling herself back up and off her bed. _Solo-investigating can wait, I need to make sure no one's dying or something..._

Exiting her room with her e-Handbook in tow, Hana looked around the hallway out of habit...and was surprised to see Shiori standing towards the end of the hall. Convenient.

The girl didn't waste much time running over to the surgeon with a cheerful, "Hey, Shiori! Didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't expect to be here, but I've gotten a little bit...held up, I guess," Shiori explained. "So, what about you? Gonna keep standing there with your dumbass antenna or what?"

 _She doesn't seem like she's in the best mood...should I try to hang out with her anyways?_ Hana asked herself, before giving herself a small nod and replying, "Well, me and my antenna- I-I mean _I_ was just seeing if you wanted to, I dunno, talk for a minute? That okay with you?"

"...Okay. I'm not going anywhere right this second," Shiori stated, turning her gaze to the wall of the hallway. "Just don't make it too much of a waste."

Thus, Hana spent some time conversing with Shiori in the hallway. Despite the tense start, Hana believed the surgeon enjoyed the company to some extent, and she felt the two of them had grown a little closer as a result.

"Hey, Shiori-" Hana began as soon as she could.

"No no no, _you_ don't get to say anything! Every time we talk, the conversation goes to a topic I don't want to go to, and it's- bullshit!" Shiori snapped at her.

"Look, I'm sorry I keep striking nerves, but now I- I'm actually worried!" Hana insisted. "I dunno, it seems like you've got something on your mind, and I wanna help you! At least a little bit..."

"This isn't something you can really help with, Hana," Shiori responded, looking away. "It's a bit more complicated than what you're probably used to."

"I don't care, I want to do something!" Hana insisted. "Can you at least...I dunno, say something about it? Talk about it? Something like that...?"

"..." the surgeon shook her head subtly, before gesturing for the surfer to follow her. The teen then walked off, with Hana quickly following after her.

Before she knew it, Hana found herself entering Shiori's bedroom alongside the Ultimate herself. On the surface, the room looked identical to her own- same basic layout of the bed, closet, desk, and bathroom, and the bed even had pink sheets like her bed did. Of course, there were differences; laying on the desk were several pieces of medical equipment- nothing too complex- as well as a fancy-looking candle. In one corner of the room was a model skeleton with several sticky notes stuck to various parts of its surface, and next to the desk lay a stack of thick medical textbooks. The room was incredibly neat and well-organized, moreso than Hana's own room.

Shiori sat down on the bed with a sigh, stating, "I shouldn't say anything, you know. It's nobody else's business. Telling someone else, it's- well, it's inappropriate, y'know?"

Hana frowned, mulling over what Shiori had told her in the past. _She's saying it'd be inappropriate to tell me- well, then I'll just figure out what the issue is myself. If I think about all our conversations in the past, and every time Shiori got mad at me and ran off, there's one thing in common with each of those times. She ran off every time the conversation went to a certain topic- and that topic is..._

"...You've got problems with your family, don't you?" Hana guessed, hoping this wouldn't cause something.

Shiori clenched her teeth as Hana spoke up, responding, "Like I said...it'd be a matter we'd have to solve ourselves, not someone outside the family."

"W-Well, hey, you didn't tell me anything, I guessed it myself, so it technically doesn't count?" Hana attempted to rationalize.

"...I don't know why you can't just leave things alone," Shiori growled. "Besides, it's...not what you're probably making it out to be. See, my parents- they're both pretty high up when it comes to reputation and social status, right? And I'm their only child, so it makes sense that they'd have some...high expectations from me, I've accepted that."

"I mean, coming from a high class family would be one thing, but...they way you've talked about it, it seems like they put a _lot_ on you," Hana pointed out.

"They do, but- it's been that way since I was a kid," Shiori went on. "For years now, it's been driven into my head that I can't screw up, I can't make a mistake, they..."

Shiori glanced down again. "My parents won't except anything less than perfection. If I'm not at my best, then they can get...pretty cold. They act like I'm incompetent, that I'm an idiot, they get so _mad,_ they..."

"W-Well, that's terrible! They shouldn't treat you like that!" Hana insisted.

"Hey, don't get so worked up. If I work _extra_ hard at it, try to be even more than perfect, then I can get their respect back," Shiori explained. "At that point, I just have to...make sure I don't screw up again, because then I'll be back at square one. Trust me, it's happened before..."

"That's still wrong! You shouldn't have to _earn_ their love and respect!" Hana shouted, outraged...before a thought entered her head. "...Is that...why you became a surgeon...?"

"...Everything I do, I do to please them," was all Shiori offered as a response. "I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean by that...?" Hana inquired.

"Look- I don't give a damn what you or Akira or Monokuma or any other random person thinks of me. But family...that's different," the surgeon explained. "They're supposed to be the ones that support you the most, that stand by you no matter what, that approve of you the most."

"If I don't have my own parents' approval, then...it's a question of 'what am I doing wrong', right?" Shiori concluded, her face going solemn.

Never in Hana's life had she been more furious at a pair of adults she had never even met.

"Shiori...okay, you were right, I don't know what I can do to fix that- not just because we're stuck in this killing game," Hana told her. "But...and I know you don't care as much what I think of you, but I want you to know that no matter what, I'm always here for you to talk to."

"Oh, stop it," Shiori dryly replied, frowning.

"No, really! I can't do much about your parents, so the least I can do is try to be here for you, at least," Hana insisted. "I mean- I dunno, I think we're kinda like friends, aren't we? We've talked a bunch, and you only ever _really_ got mad at me whenever I brought up your family. I mean, even now, you're trusting me enough to tell me about your parents, even if it _is_ inappropriate!"

"..." After a few seconds, Shiori's face softened a bit, and she glanced at Hana yet again. "...You're not as clueless as you look, you know that?"

"I...thanks?" Hana responded.

"Uh- hey, listen. A while ago...you asked me if I ever thought about what I would do if I wasn't a surgeon," Shiori spoke up. "And I said I didn't think about it. Well, uh...that was a lie. I did think about it, I thought about it a lot actually. In fact, I've thought about it before you asked me, but...no one's ever really asked me about it before, so..."

"Wait, really?" Hana asked, her interest piquing.

"Yeah- and, well, since you asked, I gotta answer. If I had a choice..." Shiori began. "I'd want to be a candlemaker!"

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "A candlemaker?"

"Yeah! I mean, I like candles, the way they get made fascinates me, I'd be good at it on the count of me being good with my hands..." Shiori rambled on.

To Hana, it was a rather surprising choice of profession for her highly skilled classmate. And yet, the way Shiori was talking about candlemaking...well, it reminded Hana of the way she would talk about surfing. Combined with the fact that Shiori actually looked happy for a change, as well her having so much to say about the topic (which probably meant she had never gotten a chance to talk about something _she_ liked)...well, Hana hid her surprise and simply listened to her classmate talk.

Though Hana wished there was more she could do for Shiori regarding situation with her parents, the surfer had a feeling just being there to talk to and listen to Shiori and just letting her be herself was certainly a step in the right direction. And who knew- maybe, once they all escaped the killing game, Shiori would find the confidence to break away from her family's strictness and pursue her dreams of candlemaking.

In thinking about this...Hana couldn't help but feel confident she and Shiori had become true friends, or at least better friends than ever before.

* * *

After returning to her room, Hana checked her e-Handbook for the time- at this rate, it was starting to become more like a pocketwatch. Seeing as how it was still rather early in the day, the surfer decided it wouldn't hurt to find someone else to spend some time with.

She left her room again, seeing the hallway was devoid of any students this time, and strode down the hall into the main chamber. Since that area was empty too, Hana found herself making her way up to the top floor of the South Wing, choosing to go to the right towards the East Wing. That is, until she passed the doors to the greenhouse; realizing it had been a while since she had been inside the greenery-filled room, Hana pushed the doors open and stepped into the large room.

Looking around the familiar surroundings of the various flowers and trees, she spotted a short, familiar figure walking around towards the back- it was Asuna. Which made sense- the Ultimate Gardener did seem to like this room the most.

"Hey! Hi Asuna!" Hana called out from the entrance, making her way across the metallic floor towards her classmate.

"Oh! Hi, Hana! I didn't hear you come in," Asuna responded upon seeing the surfer. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah- well, not really, I just wanted to spend some time with you- 'cause it's you know, been a little while?" Hana replied. "You're good with that, right?"

"O-Oh! Yeah! Actually, I was just going around making sure all of the plants in here were still healthy," Asuna explained. "C'mon, you can help me out!"

And so, Hana spent time with Asuna checking on the health of the flora kept in the greenhouse. Though Hana had no idea what she was doing, she felt as though she and Asuna had grown a little closer regardless.

"So, uh- you mentioned knowing all about the different parts of gardening, right?" Hana began. "Like, the basics and stuff?"

"Uh-huh. W-Why, are you curious?" Asuna inquired, interested.

"Kinda- I always thought gardening was like, you know- plant the seed, water it, make sure it's not too cold, get it some sunlight..." Hana went on. "But last time, you said things about different types of plants, amount of sunlight, different needs..."

"Y-Yeah, all true- not all flowers or plants are alike, you know," Asuna pointed out. "I-If you want, I could tell you about some of the basics."

"I mean, if you want- I'm assuming the first thing is, like...knowing what you're planting?" Hana guessed.

"That's part of it- b-but the first thing you really need to check is the soil type," Asuna corrected her.

"The _soil?"_ the surfer inquired, surprised. "There are different types?"

"Yeah- there are three," Asuna replied as if this was common knowledge. "I-I mean, a lot of soils are made of combinations of the three types, but overall..."

"Oh, hold on, I might have learned about this when I was younger," Hana interrupted her. "Don't tell me, the three types are..."

It took Hana a few moments to think, but eventually she was able to answer, "Uh- sand, silt, and clay?"

"Y-Yeah, there you go!" Asuna confirmed with a nod. "Uh- the thing about the soil type is that some plants grow better in certain types than others. S-So it's best to know what kind of soil you're using first and foremost s-so you can buy seeds and such that would thrive best in it."

"Huh- well, ya learn something new every day!" Hana cheerfully remarked. "Wherever you learned your stuff, from your mom or teaching yourself, you obviously know what you're doing."

"Hehe- I-I would hope so, otherwise I wouldn't be an Ultimate, I-I guess," Asuna replied bashfully.

"I'm guessing a lot of people come to both you and your mom for gardening advice, huh?" Hana inferred.

"Uh...w-well, some of my mom's clients do, i-if that's what you mean," her shorter classmate stated with a frown.

"What about some of the people at your old school?" Hana then asked. "There's gotta be a few people who'd be into gardening, right?"

"I-If there are, I-I've never met them," Asuna replied, looking down. "N-Not that anyone takes me seriously anyways...I-I mean, there's the issue with my height, a-and a lot of kids thought my blonde hair w-was weird, a-and a lot of them kinda thought gardening was l-lame...s-so, uh, most kids preferred to make fun of me instead of asking me f-for anything."

Hana grimaced. "Well that's just unfair..."

"I-I mean, it could have been worse, I-I guess," Asuna went on. "Some people recognized my ability at gardening, a-and my mother always appreciated my help with her botany business..."

"And you got accepted into the best school in the country! So joke's on those other kids!" Hana exclaimed with a grin.

"W-Well, killing game aside, I-I guess..." Asuna pointed out. "H-Hey, uh, maybe a little later, I-I can tell you about some other things if you want! A-And I mean, i-if you're interested..."

"Yeah, sure! I think that'd be cool!" Hana cheerfully responded.

Sure, gardening didn't seem like the most interesting subject in the world, but Hana found her curiosity piqued. Plus, it made Asuna come out of that shell of hers- she really did seem to be right in her element when talking about gardening. Though Hana still felt a little bad about Asuna'a old peers not taking her knowledge seriously, the surfer was glad there were at least some out there who did, at least enough that she was scouted and recruited by Hope's Peak.

After speaking a little more with Asuna, Hana left the area and went back to her bedroom.

* * *

Though it was a little later in the day now, speaking with a few of her classmates had more than renewed Hana's energy- and with that renewed energy came the surfer's desire for investigation.

 _Okay...looked at the East Wing's top floor yesterday, so I guess that means I should focus on the bottom floor this time._ Hana told herself as she made her way through the main hall of the South Wing. _Then again...there's only so much I can look at, really...I can't go into the armory and I've already seen a lot of the medical room...doesn't that just leave the training room and the central hall themselves? What are the odds I'll be able to find anything-_

Hana softly growled and shook her head. _Stop that! Why do I keep_ doing _that all of a sudden? I've never been a pessimist, I'm an optimist! If there's something in there, I'll find it!_

Stepping out into the courtyard, Hana slowed her pace somewhat so she could spend at least a little time in the natural light. Once again- not a cloud in the sky, no wind to be felt, and the temperature felt neither too hot nor too cold despite being somewhere in the middle of the day. The surfer remembered what Hiroshi had mentioned to her before- about how these factors could be clue as to where in the world this castle could be located. If she didn't find anything in the East Wing, then that would be a good lead to follow next.

"Hm-? Oh, Hana- fancy seeing you out here."

Barely able to stop herself from jumping out of fright, the Ultimate quickly turned to the source of the voice- and it was none other than the Ultimate Coroner himself.

"Oh- hey, Hiroshi," Hana greeted him. "I didn't know you were out here."

"Well, I was actually about to head back inside- I was doing some, ah...looking around out here," Hiroshi explained, cryptic as he was. "What about you? Are you just here to get some fresh air?"

"Not exactly- I was just heading to the East Wing again," Hana responded, glancing towards the entrance doors on the right side of the courtyard...when an idea came into her head.

"Actually...hey, Hiroshi. I've been kinda...looking around the East Wing myself," Hana told him. "Y'know, trying to find clues towards- anything, really. A way to escape, who the mastermind is, why we've been stuck in here, that sorta thing."

Hiroshi nodded in acknowledgement, saying nothing.

"Do you maybe- wanna help me out a bit?" Hana asked, hopeful. "I was gonna look around the training room and the main hall- I, uh, already looked around the top floor yesterday- but having some company around would be nice."

"Hm- well, I'm glad for the proactive approach to things," Hiroshi remarked, his smile growing slightly. "More people looking around more often should definitely increase our chances of finding something to help end the killing game."

"...That's a yes, right?" Hana asked.

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation.

"Awesome!" Hana responded joyfully.

It wasn't like she needed the extra help- the training room and central hall were only so big, after all. But having extra help wasn't why Hana decided to commandeer Hiroshi- rather, it was far too easy to feel lonely investigating the halls of the wing all by herself. Besides, who said she even had to look around completely by herself anyways? It wasn't like anyone knew about the messages Hana had been receiving, and anyone else would probably interpret it the same way Hiroshi did- just someone trying to be active in searching for a way to end Monokuma's twisted game.

The two Ultimates made their way through the light-colored doors and into the familiar, silvery chamber once again. The sight of the bronze statues lining the center carpet as well as the larger glass statues on either side of the stairs at the end provided an almost imposing feel to the room, but Hana tried to ignore it.

"So- you said you wanted to look around the central hall and the training room, right?" Hiroshi inquired as the pair walked. "If that's the case, I'd recommend we start in the training room, since it's smaller than in here."

"Yeah, that sounds-" Hana began, but stopped short as they passed the doors to the armory.

The surfer couldn't help but stare at it, remembering what Akira said the night before- how the room was now blocked off from both entrances. Even now, Hana was still questioning just how the prosecutor had accomplished this- after all, there were no true locks on either door or any other sort of blocking mechanism.

"...Are you wondering about the armory?" Hiroshi asked, as if reading his friend's thoughts (though it was more likely he was just following Hana's gaze).

"Can you blame me?" Hana asked back, glancing at the coroner as she responded.

"No- in fact, I've been rather curious myself," Hiroshi responded, his eyes gleaming with interest. "You don't mind if we take a look real fast? Not trying to enter, but looking at the door itself."

"Alright, but I doubt we'll be able to tell what Akira did just by looking at the door," Hana replied with a shrug as she and her classmate approached the large doors.

Sure enough, the doors didn't look any different from when Hana had seen them the day before- at first glance, anyways. As she looked over the iron doors, however...something else caught her attention. Something small, more towards the floor...

Evidently, Hiroshi noticed it too, as he walked closer to the doors and knelt down to have a better look. "Hey, Hana- I think I see what Akira did here. Look at this."

Hana walked over and knelt down too, examining the area Hiroshi was referring to. There was only one thing she could see that was new: a small, clean white slip of paper lodged in between the two doors, which would no doubt fall out should the doors be opened.

"A...paper tag?" Hana observed, blinking a few times to ensure her sight was correct.

"Looks that way," Hiroshi stated, seeming much less dumbfounded. "I've heard of some of my classmates from my old school using these to see if their parents or siblings were poking around their bedrooms. Not that I've ever done this with my bedroom door, and I doubt you have either."

"That's not- I mean, _this_ is Akira's brilliant method of keeping people out of the armory?" Hana asked, dumbfounded. "It's just a piece of paper! What's stopping someone from just, you know- putting it back in between the doors when they're done inside? It might be _kinda_ hard to get it right, but it's possible!"

"I think there's a little bit more to it than that," Hiroshi informed her. "Think about who set up this little paper tag in the first place."

"Um...I don't get it," Hana replied, now more confused than she was surprised.

"When it comes to noticing little details about her surroundings, few are better at it than Akira. She _is_ the Ultimate Prosecutor, after all, so observation skills are a necessity for her," the Ultimate elaborated. "So, if someone were to move this tag in any way, they'd have to put it back _exactly_ as Akira has it here...otherwise, she'll notice something off about its position for sure, and that's how she'll know someone was most likely trying to get into the armory."

"...Oh. Uh...well, when you explain it like that, I guess it makes sense," Hana stated with a shrug. "Still, I just figured Akira wouldn't have gone for something so...I dunno, simple?"

To this, Hiroshi shrugged himself and stood up. "Occam's Razor, I guess. Anyways, we should probably get to the training room now."

Hana nodded and stood up, thinking to herself, _Yeah, that makes sense, Occam's..._

The surfer then asked herself, _...Wait, who's Occam? And why does he need a razor?_

* * *

As was becoming commonplace with these locations, the training room still looked the same as when Hana had initially seen it yesterday. The armor suits didn't appear to have been moved, and it didn't seem like the dummies had been damaged in any way with anything.

"There really wasn't much to this room, but- maybe looks can be deceiving," Hiroshi remarked as he looked around the spacious interior.

"Yeah, maybe..." Hana began, before her eyes fell on another door to her right- the other entrance to the armory. "Oh, hey, Hiroshi- do you think that door has that paper slip thing?"

Hiroshi looked towards the door himself, furrowing his brow slightly. "I...can't see one from here."

Even so, Hana made her way over to the pair of metallic doors and looked towards the floor, expecting to see another slip of paper like the one in the central hall's entrance. However, to the surfer's surprise, there was nothing stuck in between the two doors at all.

"Uh...well, you were right, there's nothing here," Hana confirmed. "What, did Akira just...forget about this door or something?"

"Unlikely- there must be _something_ she did to this door too..." Hiroshi told himself, walking over to have a look for himself.

After a few moments of pondering, the coroner seemed to come to some kind of realization, and he told Hana, "Hang on...I have a hunch."

Before Hana could ask him to elaborate, Hiroshi went over and gripped the door handles as if preparing to open the doors.

"W-What the-!? Hey, Hiroshi, Akira said-" Hana quickly spoke up, her eyes widening in fright.

"No worries, it's just me testing something out," Hiroshi assured her. "Besides- if worse comes to worse, she'll probably be more merciful towards me."

"...Okay, you've got a point," Hana conceded, stepping back a bit to watch the coroner.

With that, Hiroshi pushed on the doors to open them...but the two doors didn't budge. The boy then tried to pull them open, but once again the two doors remained fast shut.

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. "Huh...well, that explains some things."

"W-What...?" Hana asked herself. "That...doesn't make sense, the armory doors don't have locks, that's why Akira did the paper thingy with the other doors how come these doors aren't opening now-"

"Hana, Hana- I really don't think Akira did anything too insane to block these doors," Hiroshi told his flabbergasted classmate. "Now, do you want to know why exactly I tried to open those doors?"

"...Yes," Hana replied, swallowing her immense confusion.

"When I noticed these doors lacked the paper slip the ones in the central hall had, I wondered what Akira had done differently to block off this entrance. When I thought about it, I realized there was really only one thing she could have done- she either barricaded or barred these doors from the inside," Hiroshi explained, nudging the immovable doors yet again for emphasis.

"Ooh, so she- hey, maybe that's why she had to use the paper tag thing with the other entrance!" Hana realized. "Since she wouldn't be able to block the other set of doors without trapping herself inside, she had to do something else that she could set up from the outside!"

"My thoughts exactly- in addition to what I described earlier," Hiroshi agreed with a nod.

"Still...definitely a lot of thought Akira put into this, huh?" Hana remarked, frowning.

"She's trying to keep another murder and trial from happening- I can commend her for that," Hiroshi rationalized before adding, "But even so, I stand by what I said the day before- the armory itself is not inherently the issue. I believe we- or rather, Akira should have a bit more trust in the rest of us instead of resorting to...well, all this."

"Yeah, but you know her- she doesn't have a lot of faith in us at all..." Hana reminded him with a sigh. "Honestly, even without the issues with her confidence, I get why Shiori got so fed up with her before..."

"Akira...has her flaws," Hiroshi responded. "But I do think she's doing what she thinks is best to prevent another trial, if maybe a little...misguided."

"...Wow, you really _do_ forgive people real easily, huh?" Hana remarked, raising an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Let's just start looking around, we haven't even started that yet."

"Oh- you're right, we haven't," Hiroshi realized, immediately stepping away from the blocked armory doors. "That was my bad- you're right, no more wasting time."

Without any more distractions, Hana and Hiroshi proceeded to examine every suspicious nook and cranny of the wide training room. Not only did Hiroshi's presence serve to ward off any crippling feelings of isolation, but it also had the more practical effect of making the investigation twice as quick. Of course, the training room was already quite empty to begin with, so it wouldn't have taken Hana too long to look around by herself anyways. The floor yielded nothing, the training dummies had just as little to say, and the armor/armor stands held no secrets either.

"Well...looked all over, and there's nothing here," Hiroshi concluded when the duo met back up in the center of the room.

"I know...it sucks, the most suspicious thing about this place is that torn cloth thing on the ceiling..." Hana lamented, glancing up towards the torn remnants in question. "...Seriously, what _was_ that? And why's it just torn down?"

"Who knows- at any rate, I doubt it'd be relevant to the killing game," Hiroshi surmised. "For now, we should move on."

"Yeah- the central hall's next," Hana told him, turning to exit the training room. "Of course, it's a lot bigger than this place, it's got more stuff in it...I have a feeling it may take a while."

"Don't worry- with two people working together, I'm sure it won't be so bad," the coroner reassured his friend as he started to follow her out.

"That's true," Hana conceded. "And, hey! If we end up finding something important, then it'll aaaall be worth it."

* * *

Hana and Hiroshi stepped through the wooded doors into the East Wing's central hall yet again, ready to look around the more expansive area. That is, until they heard the doors that led to the courtyard opening, prompting the two to look over and see who could be entering; initially, Hana expected it to be Akira (perhaps she would be checking up on the armory doors or something), but that thought was quickly dashed when she saw who it _actually_ was. Not the Ultimate Prosecutor, but the Ultimate Surgeon, Shiori.

"Shiori-? Shiori! Hey, Shiori!" Hana eagerly called out to her classmate the moment she realized who it was.

Shiori- who, admittedly, seemed a little exhausted despite the time of day- immediately heard the surfer calling to her, and appeared to softly swear to herself once she did. Of course, that didn't deter Hana and Hiroshi from walking over to their classmate.

"Gh-!? Y-You two! What are you _doing_ in here?" Shiori quickly asked, visibly surprised to see them in the central hall.

"Investigating," Hiroshi informed her. "Trying to look for something that could help us escape or find out who the mastermind is."

"Hey...how come you're only now coming in here?" Hana then asked. "I thought you'd be heading to the medical room a bit earlier than this."

"I _tried_ to- slept in a bit, but I wasn't heading to breakfast anyways so I wasn't too worried about that," Shiori explained with a frown. "But then, after I finished cleaning myself up and left my bedroom a bit later, suddenly- Rumi showed up! She must've been looking for me or something-"

"She probably was, she mentioned wanting to bring you a bit of this morning's breakfast," Hiroshi confirmed.

"You mean those pancakes of hers?" the surgeon inquired. "You guys had those too?"

"Yeah, they were...uh...it was the thought that counted!" Hana insisted. "So, did you eat too?"

Shiori scoffed. "Of course I did, Rumi was right there, and I _was_ feeling kinda hungry so I figured it would have been better than nothing, charred into oblivion or not."

The surgeon then added, glancing away from the other two Ultimates, "I was just hungry, that was it. I wasn't worried that Rumi's feelings probably would have been hurt if I refused the food, even when she went through the trouble of making sure I was eating and all that-"

"Aww," Hana remarked, seeing right through her classmate's already rather thin denial.

"Shut up, Hana!" Shiori snapped.

"But that had to have been this morning, right?" Hiroshi observed. "That still doesn't explain why you're still so late- unless you got really sick from the pancakes."

"No, I didn't get sick- but if you thought Rumi left me alone after that, you'd be wrong," Shiori continued, annoyance entering her tone. "Because when I was done, she insisted on the two of us spending some time together, y'know? Like friends or some shit? I finally got away from 'er a few minutes ago, so that's a few hours I'll never get back."

"Shiori- I think Rumi was just worried about you, y'know? You _have_ been- off since the trial," Hana explained. "Rumi's your friend and all, so-"

"Hey, Hana- you mind pointing out where I asked for your opinion? Exactly," Shiori growled. "Stop saying I have friends, because I don't! You guys can keep being all nice if you want, but I don't make friends with anybody!"

Hana grimaced. _Either she's really broken up about what happened and doesn't think anyone considers her a friend anymore...or she's playing up her more jerk tendencies more than usual._

"That's shame- because I was about to ask if you wanted to help us out with our search," Hiroshi casually stated.

"What?" Shiori asked, her irritation turning to confusion.

"What?" Hana asked right after, her unease turning to confusion.

"I mean, the central hall is where we were gonna focus our search on, and it's a rather large area," the coroner continued. "Two people is good, but having three people to search around would be even better- wouldn't you agree, Hana?"

At first, Hana was going to question the suggestion due to Shiori's preexisting annoyed demeanor...then, she noticed the subtle, knowing look in Hiroshi's eyes (well, he always seemed to have a look like that, but this time it was relevant) and the small gesture towards the surgeon. Thanks to that, the surfer had a rather strong instinct of what Hiroshi was trying to do: get Shiori to help them out as part of the group's attempts to get the Ultimate out of her strange, insecure state.

Hoping she wasn't reading too much into the situation, Hana replied, "Yeah, totally! Hiroshi's smart, you're smart, and I'm...helping! So if all three of us search around, we'll _definitely_ find something!"

Once again, Shiori seemed taken aback by the suggestion and she then insisted, "N-No- c'mon, this place isn't... _that_ big, you two can handle it just fine."

She sighed and added, "At any rate, if you must ask for a third person, there are still a few of the others that are still around, get one of them to help."

"To be fair, you're the one who walked through those doors," Hiroshi candidly reminded her, glancing towards the entrance. "And even still, I'm sure the others would be able to help out just as well, but we're asking _you_ to help us."

"Yeah, if we really didn't want you to help us, we would've just ignored you or something," Hana pointed out. "But no, we want you to help out for a bit- you don't even have to do too much if you don't want! Just, y'know, being around us for a little bit- that's no problem, right?"

"..." Shiori glanced towards the floor for a few moments, as if mulling the offer over, before softly growling. "You guys...you guys are so- so weird, you know that? I don't get any of you at all..."

Hana grew rather concerned by the response, but the approving look on Hiroshi's face seemed to indicate Shiori had agreed- although how he could tell that was a 'yes' was beyond the surfer's reasoning.

The surgeon shook her head and stated, "Still, I'm not sure why you guys are looking in here- haven't you checked the armory or something?"

Shiori began to walk towards the large doors, but was soon stopped by Hana and Hiroshi quickly running over to stop her from going any further with a few cries of "No!"

"What? What's your guys' problem?" the Ultimate asked, looking back and forth at them with a furrowed brow.

"You _cannot_ go in there!" Hana quickly warned her.

"What she means is- Akira found a way to block off both entrances to the armory, as a way to try and deter potential killers from sneaking in there and grabbing a weapon to kill someone with," Hiroshi clarified. "You...haven't been to the meetings, so it's understandable that you didn't know, but I still don't recommend trying to get in yourself. Wouldn't want Akira to suspect you for no reason, right?"

"Seriously...?" Shiori began, before rolling her eyes and growling, "Oh, _brilliant._ So what you're saying is she _still_ thinks we'll resort to murdering someone? After three hellish trials? Even _I_ can tell nobody would go and try that at this point, and I'm a realist!"

"Don't worry, we're in the same boat of disagreement with you," Hiroshi told her. "But, at least Akira's intentions are good, and at the end of the day it's just one room out of the numerous this castle has."

"Plus, I don't think anyone would be able to talk Akira into opening it up again, she'd never listen," Hana added.

"Great, so Akira's still an asshole! Good to know!" Shiori responded with mock enthusiasm before stepping away from the doors back towards the central hall.

 _And I'm glad to see Shiori's still her usual self- for the most part, anyways._ Hana told herself with a small sense of relief. _At least that way, I can be sure she's not going through some total mental break like Asuna or Shiro did. It really just her- y'know, feeling bad after messing up during the trial. She's still Shiori, and she still cares- even if she'll probably never admit it- we just need to get her back to her senses like we talked about last night._

Glancing at Hiroshi, who was walking over to speak to the surgeon, the surfer mentally added, _I just hope this idea of Hiroshi's can help with that- even if it's just a little bit, I'll take it!_

"So, like we said, we were just going to focus our search on this central chamber here," Hiroshi reiterated, gesturing to the polished room around them.

"If that's the case, then...I mean, I probably have no right to ask, but-" Shiori began, evidently slipping back into her self-depreciative state. "You two wouldn't mind me taking that top area, right? I know there's not much to it at all, so-"

"Sure, you can look up there! That'll leave the bottom floor to me and Hiroshi," Hana agreed with a nod.

"W-Wait, you're actually-!?" Shiori began, taken by surprise yet again. "O...kay then, I'll- get on that."

Still appearing hesitant, the surgeon eventually obliged and ascended the stairs to the central hall's second floor, leaving Hana and Hiroshi to look around the ground floor. Ultimately, the two decided that Hana would investigate the bronze statues and the larger glass sculptures while Hiroshi would look at the walls and the floor for any secrets. Hana spent a good amount of time looking at the statues alone, pulling and prodding at each of them in case one of them held a secret switch or lever or something of the like. However, all the statues turned out to have nothing, leaving the sculptures of Themis and the horse to be examined. Now, Hana did not have insane parkour skill like Hinata, so she was unable to climb up the smooth but dusty surfaces of the two sculptures; however, she could at least examine the bases and the areas that were closer to the ground for anything suspicious. Besides, if there was something higher up on the sculptures, Hinata likely would have seen it when he was climbing around on the glass statues the day before- he was kinda lazy, but he wasn't completely unobservant.

Unfortunately, the sculptures held no answers either. Evidently, neither Hiroshi nor Shiori had much more luck with their own respective searches- Hiroshi had scrutinized over as many tiles and bricks as he could in the hopes that one would lead to something, while Shiori- well, Hana couldn't really glimpse at what Shiori was up to, but the surgeon was clearly moving around up on the mezzanine, so she wasn't slacking off on her own search.

By the end of it, Hiroshi and Hana walked over to the stairs so they could discuss what they had found (or rather, lack thereof).

"So, uh...I don't suppose you found something amazing and groundbreaking, did you?" Hana asked the coroner with a sheepish grin.

"Sadly no, but I did find a few dust bunnies in the corner," Hiroshi responded with a sigh. "I'm guessing you didn't find anything else either?"

"Nope..." Hana replied, deflating somewhat.

Hana turned her attention to the upper floor, yelling out, "Shiori! Did you find anything?"

The surgeon peeked over the railing and called back, "What do you two geniuses think?"

"...I'll take that as a no," Hiroshi said.

"The only remotely weird thing I found was something with the wall up here, but that didn't-" Shiori explained, glancing away with a frown.

"Y-You found something!?" Hana cried in shock- sure, it was probably something small, but it was far more of a lead than anything else Hana had seen these past two days.

With that, the surfer practically teleported up the stairs and stopped right in front of Shiori, eagerly exclaiming, "Show us show us _show us!"_

"Hey, would you calm down for once!?" Shiori growled at her, gently pushing the surfer away a bit. "And learn what personal space is while you're at it!"

Hiroshi caught up to Hana and said, "Ah- sorry, but anything 'weird' could end up being a major clue, and the idea of a breakthrough after all this time-"

"Yeah yeah, I get it- can't promise it'll actually be significant, though," Shiori told the two of them, gesturing for them to follow her.

The three Ultimates walked to the right side of the chamber, the side that would lead to the South Wing; Shiori stopped in front of a particular part of the wall, a seemingly innocuous spot, but Hana could see yet another remnant of some kind of banner or such hanging from the ceiling that had been torn down, just like in the training room and in the eastern watchtower.

"Um- are you talking about that torn-up stuff up there?" Hana asked. "Because I saw some stuff like that in other-"

"Not the fabric, the wall right here," Shiori told her, walking over and jabbing a thumb at what seemed to be a normal part of the wall under the black cloth scraps. "I looked real closely at it and felt around it, and...there's definitely something off here. I'm not sure what it is, I tried pushing on it and shit but nothing happened, but- ah, just see for yourselves."

The Ultimate Surgeon stepped away so Hana and Hiroshi could examine the spot for themselves. Hiroshi was the first to do so, getting quite close to the wall and feeling around the area Shiori had indicated.

"Hey...you're right," Hiroshi stated in realization. "Around here, and- here, and- around here, the wall feels...uneven, slightly. It _looks_ kind of uneven, too...it's hard to tell unless you get close to it, but without a doubt. It's almost like an...outline for something."

"An outline...?" Hana asked. "Do you think it could be, maybe- an entrance to something? Like a weird door?"

"This spot's certainly big enough to be a door- shaped like one too, if I'm following this outline correctly," Hiroshi guessed. "Could I...?"

The coroner pushed on the wall with all his might, but it didn't move at all.

"Told you, I already tried that- nothing happened," Shiori repeated, shaking her head somewhat.

"Yeah...? Well, I'm not gonna give up on it that easily," Hana told her classmate, stepping back until she was almost up against the railing. "Hiroshi, move out of the way."

"Hana...? What are you-" Hiroshi began, stepping away just like the surfer asked.

Before either Hiroshi or Shiori could react, Hana let out a shout and sprinted right at the odd part of the wall, slamming into it with as much force and strength as she could muster. Unfortunately, the only things that resulted from that move were a resounding _thwack_ echoing through the central hall and Hana, who was now in quite a bit of pain, being thrown onto her back from the rebound of ramming into the wall.

"W-What...was the point of that...?" Hiroshi asked his classmate as he stared with more shock than Hana usually saw on him.

"I, uh...thought I'd be able to break it open or something..." Hana explained, accompanied with a low groan of pain. "It seemed like a better idea in my head..."

"Hana, do you- do you just have no sense of self-preservation at all?" Shiori inquired, also bewildered by what her classmate just did. "Because you've done stupid things before, but that- that was one of your _more_ stupid moves."

"Don't worry, I'll consider any bruises I get from that my punishment," Hana said, dragging herself back to her feet- but then perking up as a new idea formed in her head. "Unless you guys think all three of us doing it together will-"

"NO! We are not throwing ourselves into things!" Shiori swiftly responded, shooting down the suggestion instantly. "And you're not doing it again either!"

"I, uh, have to agree. I feel like this is as good as it's going to get for now," Hiroshi added more calmly. "Still...we'd best not forget about this. A weird part of the wall like this could be something important..."

"No kidding- plus, it was probably hidden behind...whatever was hanging up there before," Hana pointed out, glancing towards the cloth scraps on the ceiling. "If something was hiding it, then it's gotta be important somehow, right?"

Shiori scoffed. "Or it could just be another example of bad architecture- not like this castle doesn't have plenty of those already. Face it, it's a useless find."

"Not exactly. It's more than what Hana and I found- which was nothing- and anything odd like this could be something more, even if we don't know the details yet," Hiroshi assured her with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm just glad we found something," Hana said with a nod. "So- thanks for finding this, Shiori!"

Shiori's eyes widened in surprise as Hiroshi and Hana spoke...before she furiously exclaimed, "Are you kidding me!? How can you _say_ that!?"

"W-What!? What'd I say now?" Hana cried in panic, stepping in fright towards the surgeon's sudden rage.

"Not just you! Him, and- and- everyone! I said it before, you guys are so- weird!" Shiori exclaimed, her voice a combination of anger and bewilderment. "There's Rumi being all- you know, buddy-buddy and shit; Hana, you've been...you know, _you;_ hell, even now, you two _insisted_ that I help out with your investigation despite everything! I- I don't get it at all!"

The surgeon groaned, now looking more flustered than angry. "I did something wrong- _really_ wrong, that could have contributed to everyone dying! I screwed up, and nobody- nobody'd mad at me for it! Why isn't anyone angry at me!?"

"I-I...don't get it, you don't _want_ us to be mad at you, do you?" Hana admitted, still unsure where this encounter was going. "I-I really can't see why anyone would want that, I..."

Shiori narrowed her eyes and went on, "Of course I don't _want_ that! But that's what I deserve! I make a mistake, so I have to face the consequences, whatever they might be! That's how it's always been, so just...come on- berate me, give me the cold shoulder, remind me of what I did, do _something!_ Why won't any of you do _something?"_

While Hiroshi kept a steadfast demeanor through Shiori's little rant, Hana was still completely caught off guard by the situation. Without a doubt, Shiori had been acting strange since the trial, but her behavior then had been one thing. This- this was entirely new and from completely out of nowhere in the surfer's eyes; if anything, it seemed like a culmination of all the negative things Shiori had been feeling up to now. To Hana, the surgeon wasn't upset like someone who was just mad and frustrated with everyone- she was upset like someone whose whole world was being turned upside-down.

"Well, Shiori...I'm not sure what kind of people you've been hanging out with before all this, but Hana and I aren't like that- I'd even go as far as to say our other classmates aren't like that either," Hiroshi told her. "The only exception to that I'd make is Akira, and even then she's rather...belittling to everyone, so it wouldn't be anything personal."

"Listen, Shiori- we get that you feel bad for messing up during the last trial, okay? But like I said, a lot of us have screwed up during a trial, so you're not exactly the first one," Hana reminded her. "And even still, it's not like you did anything _horrible,_ and what you did do you didn't do it on purpose either."

Before Shiori could try and protest, Hana continued, "And STILL- we found out who the killer was, we survived the trial, we're all alive still- personally, I wouldn't want to dwell on it too much."

"You don't get it- I can't _not_ dwell on it," Shiori replied with a sigh. "If I don't think about the things I've screwed up on, I'll probably make that same mistake, and if I do that-"

"Well...I know you're the kind of person who tries do everything as perfectly as possible, and that's fine," Hiroshi said. "But don't think any less of yourself because you couldn't quite live up to that."

"Or at least don't think _we're_ gonna hate you for not being completely perfect at something," Hana firmly added. "I don't know if you'd call us your friends, but- to us, you're still our friend, and we won't give up on you that easily."

By now, Shiori's earlier anger had seemingly faded away, as did her absolute confusion, and both were now replaced with a rather sorrowful or hesitant countenance. To Hana, it was strange to see the Ultimate like that- she had rarely ever seen Shiori without an angered, disapproving, or deadpan expression on her face.

"..." After a few moments, Hiroshi spoke up again and said, "Well, seeing as how we've investigated what we needed to investigate, I've still got some business of my own to take care of."

Upon saying this, he glanced at Hana with a small, confident glint in his eyes- as if silently telling her that she could take it from here.

"Oh- alright then. Thanks for your help, Hiroshi!" Hana said to him with a wave of farewell, acknowledging the look as well.

"Any time- I'll see you two later," the coroner replied, returning the wave as he walked down the mezzanine towards the hallway leading to the watchtower- though what he needed to do down there, Hana had no idea.

"...I need to go to. I...need some actual air," Shiori told Hana, not even waiting for the surfer to respond before turning to walk towards the stairs.

Regardless, Hana still quickly responded, "O-Okay! You do that! I'll see you later too, I guess!"

However...the surgeon stopped, then glanced back at her classmate. "...Hey, Hana. You- well, you and Hiroshi...shouldn't just speak for the others like that, y'know. You don't know how they really feel."

"Well, we-" Hana began to explain, only to be interrupted when Shiori spoke up again.

"But, um...you. What you said- what you've _been_ saying," the Ultimate went on, seeming hesitant again. "Did...you mean all that?"

Hana was silent for a moment, surprised by the question, but her expression soon softened before answering, "Of course I meant it. And no, I'm _not_ just saying that because you saved my life before."

The surfer walked over to the surgeon, who turned back around to fully face her again. "Shiori, you and I have known each other for a few days now, in an actual life-or-death scenario. Again, I'm not sure if you fully consider _me_ your friend, but I started seeing you as my friend a long time ago. And...I know you're not a bad person at heart, no matter how you act."

"So, if you're still wondering why no one's getting mad at you for what happened with Shiro- well, for me, that's why," Hana concluded with a small breath.

"..." Initially, Shiori's expression remained the same...until it shifted slightly, a glimmer of understanding passing her features.

"...You're better at talking from your heart than you are your head, you know that?" Shiori commented. "Might not be good for trials, but..."

The surgeon softly chuckled and shook her head. "You're not totally useless."

"You think so...? Aw- thanks," Hana happily responded, glad to see her classmate somewhat back to her usual self.

The surgeon quickly added, with her slightly cheerful demeanor vanishing, "I still think Akira's a bitch though, so don't expect me to start showing up more often. And- like I said, you can't say the same for how the others feel about what I did, so- don't try and toy with me, alright?"

With that and a small 'hmph', Shiori turned away once again and walked away, effectively ending the conversation.

 _Okay...so we're not_ totally _there yet..._ Hana told herself as the surgeon left. _I just wish I had a better idea of why she's so stuck on not making any mistakes- it can't just be her, right? There's gotta be more to it, there_ has _to be!_

Hana shook her head slightly, turning to make her way towards the upper entrance to the South Wing behind her. _Still, I should just be grateful I got through to her somehow- with Hiroshi's help. I'm glad he talked her into helping with the investiga-_

The surfer immediately stopped in her tracks, nearly stumbling as she did. _Oh my god! The investigation! We didn't find anything!_

Hana frantically looked around again, anxiety rising in her again. _Oh no no no, this can't be right! There's nowhere else to look- other than the armory, but what are the odds that'll turn up anything!?_

The surfer continued to walk into the South Wing, finding herself in front of the doors to the greenhouse as she continued to think, _No, no- there was nothing! The East Wing didn't have anything! What the hell am I supposed to do now!? The South Wing and the West Wing can't have anything, those have been open for_ forever! _Someone would have found something in those by now! Where am I gonna-_

Then, Hana's panic-striken thoughts were interrupted when she heard...talking? Furrowing her brow, the girl made her way down the hallway somewhat...

"Seriously! Th-This is a horrible idea, can't you think of something else!?"

"Of course I've thought! And now it's time to think OUTSIDE THE FUCKING BOX!"

 _Wait, is that...Asuna and Ryoto?_ Hana realized, recognizing the voices. _What are they yelling about...?_

The surfer peeked around the corner, looking around to see where the two of them were. They were close by, not too far around the very corner she was standing behind- but as for what was going on, well...Hana was dumbfounded.

The Ultimate Racecar Driver stood on top on the railing that surrounded the perimeter of the South Wing's mezzanine, a spot just above the entrance to the furnace room. Though the area was small, Ryoto was managing to balance and stand atop the railing rather well, only wobbling slightly. Asuna, meanwhile, stood several feet away to the side, and the gardener looked downright mortified.

"You don't need to go this far! This can't end well at all!" Asuna pleaded with him, frantic.

"Trust me, it's gonna work out! You guys'll thank me for the great idea later!" Ryoto insisted while trying to keep his balance.

Hana, unable to contain her shock, ran out from behind the corner and exclaimed, "What is going _on_ here!?"

Her classmates quickly turned to face the newcomer, their reactions to her arrival quite different.

"H-Hana! Do something, talk some sense into him, please!" Asuna begged her classmate, gesturing to the racecar driver in question.

"Ryoto Miura doesn't need ANY sense talked to him AT ALL!" Ryoto shouted. "Don't even waste your time, Hana Amari!"

"What are you even doing?" Hana asked, baffled. "Why are you standing on the railing like that?"

"He's gonna jump off, that's why!" Asuna cried.

"Yeah, she's right!" Ryoto confirmed in a cheerful tone.

"YOU'RE GONNA WHAT!?" Hana yelled in horror. "Ryoto, NO! Don't you do it man, YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!"

"No! I'm not killing myself!" Ryoto clarified. "I'm gonna jump off of here so I can _hurt_ myself! There's a difference!"

"...HOW IS THAT BETTER!?" Hana cried out, matching Asuna in the level of panic in her voice.

"S-See!? It's like he's lost it! And he actually thinks this is a _good_ idea!" Asuna yelped.

"Because, Asuna Izumi, IT IS!" Ryoto shouted. "Hana, hear me out- so, Shiori's been down lately, right? Kinda lost her confidence? Well, I've been thinking, and I realized: what better way to get her confidence back than for her to save someone again? Patch 'em up like doctors do, huh?"

He then grinned confidently and finished, "So, I'm gonna jump off this, maybe break a bone or two, and I'll have to have Shiori come and fix me up! She'll do that, she'll be good at it, she'll remember how great she is at whatever she does, BOOM! CONFIDENCE LEVELS BACK UP!"

"I-I...I...!" Hana stammered, not even sure where to begin with Ryoto's broken logic. "That is a HORRIBLE idea on SO MANY LEVELS!"

"That's what I keep telling him!" Asuna added.

"Ah, phooey! None of you know how to think outside the box!" Ryoto dismissively responded. "It's about time I let my AWESOME GENIUS show, ya know!?"

"'Genius'!? What kind of genius idea involves a guy jumping off a story-high railing inside a castle in order to get himself really hurt so his surgeon classmate can get her broken confidence back by healing him-" Hana rambled, her nerves setting off her motor mouth tendencies yet again. "DO YOU _HEAR_ HOW RIDICULOUS THIS SOUNDS!?"

"Yeah, it sounds bad when you say it like that!" the racecar driver growled. "Ah, whatever, _I_ know it's a good idea! And belief in myself IS ALL I NEED!"

"No no no! Oh god, he's gonna do it!" Asuna cried, her eyes wide with mortification.

"Don't look, Asuna!" Hana yelped, running over and putting her hands over Asuna's eyes (which was slightly difficult because of her glasses) so the young gardener wouldn't have to witness whatever happened next.

"Don't worry you two! This'll only take a second- and it's not like anyone else'll be hurt anyways!" Ryoto pointed out, clearly getting ready to jump. "You guys'll be thankful once Shiori's finally back to her old self, just you WAIT!"

"RYOTO, NO!" Hana cried out in one last attempt to talk him out of his plan, but there was nothing else the surfer could do.

With a warlike shout, the Ultimate leaped off the railing and plummeted to the ground floor several feet below. Due to the shouting being done, none of the three on the top floor heard the sound of the furnace room door opening and someone walking out. Seconds later, a loud _THUMP_ was heard- but it wasn't the sound of a teenager hitting the hard floor of the main hall. This was further evidenced by the fact that the _THUMP_ was accompanied by, not one voice shouting in surprise, but two voices- one was Ryoto, the other belonged to a female...a female that Hana fearfully recognized.

Uncovering Asuna's eyes, the two of them glanced at each other- they had both heard the shouts. They wasted no more time running over to the spot Ryoto had jumped from and looking over the railing to see what had happened; sure enough, Ryoto's fall had been broken by an unsuspecting classmate who had, presumably, been exiting the furnace room when the racecar driver jumped. As for who that classmate was- well, despite the fact that they were currently pinned underneath a dazed Ryoto, the sight of bright red hair and a dark red suit gave Hana and Asuna enough of an indicator to who it was.

The good news was that neither Ryoto nor Akira appeared injured at all- at worst, they might have some bruising. The bad news came in the form of Akira's furious glare; the Ultimate Prosecutor was terrifyingly silent as she turned her blazing gaze towards the young man who had randomly dropped on her. She then turned her deathly glare upwards to where Hana and Asuna stood, as if they were somehow involved.

"...Hana?" Asuna began.

"Yes, Asuna?" Hana replied.

"Should we run?" the gardener asked.

"That seems like a good idea," Hana agreed.

And just like that, Hana found herself heading towards the East Wing once again- this time, she was running like her life depended on it alongside Asuna, leaving poor Ryoto to suffer the wrath of the Ultimate Prosecutor by himself.

* * *

Hana didn't quite know how they ended up there, but ultimately she and Asuna found themselves hiding out inside the eastern lounge.

Asuna, who was perched in one of the seats, asked her companion, "S-So, uh...how long are we gonna hide in here?"

"Oh, you know- forever," Hana, who was leaning with her back against the door, answered. "Or at least until Akira gets her anger out by verbally wrestling Ryoto."

"O-Oh, uh- I can get behind that," Asuna agreed, slumping into the seat- she was looking rather pale, likely due to the events that had just taken place.

Hana herself slid down until she was sitting on the ground, her back still against the lounge's door. First the investigation, then the talk with Shiori, and now what had happened with Ryoto- suddenly, the surfer was feeling quite tired. The calming silence didn't really help with that- although it was rather relaxing; the calm atmosphere of the lounge was probably one of the only things this room and its South Wing counterpart had in common.

Hana glanced around for a moment, then broke the awkward silence by remarking, "You know who I think would have liked this place? Saku."

"Hm? You think he would have?" Asuna asked, sitting up somewhat and adjusting her fedora as she did.

"Yeah- he didn't like going to the fountain after the first trial, so he was always looking for other places to do his meditation thing," Hana explained, sitting up somewhat as well. "The other lounge, the west tower, the sunroom...he would have liked this place too, I'm sure of it."

"I...guess he would have, yeah," Asuna responded, looking around too. "Uh...do you think Shiro would have like this place too?"

"Shiro? Probably- it's a quiet place for writing, plus there's some books over there," Hana replied, looking over towards the bookshelf in question.

The short gardener nodded in understanding, standing up and walking over to the locked cabinet.

"I...I kinda feel bad for what happened to Shiro," Asuna admitted as she seemed to stare at herself in the cabinet's polished, reflective glass. "I-I'm not blaming myself for what happened to him, but...he was hurting a lot too, just like I was. Maybe...if me and him had gotten a chance to properly talk...maybe things could have been a little different?"

"Is...that why you put his notebook on the memorial?" Hana asked, standing up and walking over to her classmate.

"I...guess so. Maybe I just wanted him to know that I hadn't j-just forgotten about him," Asuna said, her eyes solemn. "O-Or maybe it was because I wanted him to know that I didn't- that I _don't-_ hate him. B-Because, I- I never blamed him for what happened, he didn't know- h-he had no idea-"

"It's okay, I get it," Hana assured her.

A few more moments of strong silence passed before Hana, somewhat hesitant, inquired, "Hey, uh- Asuna. Sorry if this is kinda a bad question, but...have you thought much about Itachi since- y'know, the second trial?"

"W-What?" Asuna replied, quickly turning to Hana. "I-I mean, uh- maybe not all the time, but...y-yeah, I have. I mean, why wouldn't I- he was my classmate, b-but he planned to kill me, a-and ended up killing my best friend instead..."

The gardener grimaced slightly, adding, "I know _why_ he did it, a-and I kinda get it...and he was remorseful for what he did, definitely, s-so I don't _hate_ him necessarily, b-but I...still don't know if o-or even how I'll be able to forgive him..."

"Ah- yeah, I know how that feels," Hana told her, rubbing the back of her neck with a frown. "Me, I think I'm able to more or less forgive Azami for what she did. Tadao, on the other hand...he had his reasons too, but _god_ I don't know how I'm gonna find it in me to forgive any part of what he did..."

Asuna sighed, looking down as she solemnly remarked, "S-Since when did being in high school mean having to deal with murdered friends and moral ambiguities?"

"I don't know, but I hate every minute of it," Hana responded. _Like I need any more reason to try and figure out a way to end this damn killing game without anyone else dying- it's gotten to everyone in some way, and nobody here deserves to keep going through this torture- yes, even Akira._

Her shorter companion continued to stare down at the floor- but then, her expression shifted from sorrow to...puzzled? Asuna leaned down slightly as if to get a better look at something, before she stood upright again and walked over to the side of the cabinet.

"Er- Asuna? You okay?" Hana asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"H-Hold on, I-" Asuna began, looking around the side of the cabinet. "Hey- Hana? Have you...noticed anything weird about the cabinet?"

"Not really- why?" the surfer asked.

"Because, j-just now, I saw some- I dunno, scuff marks on the floor there," Asuna explained, nodding to where she had been standing a moment ago. "Th-They're really hard to see, b-but I wondered if- y'know, someone moved this?"

The Ultimate went on, "So, I'm looking, and I- I think something's off here."

"Off...? What do you mean?" Hana asked, walking over to the gardener herself.

"Like, I'm looking here, and...the cabinet's not completely against the wall. It's...kinda away from it, like something's holding it away just a bit," Asuna explained. "I think...I think something might actually be behind there."

"R-Really!?" Hana asked, nearly shoving past her classmate so she could see for herself. She had to practically press against the wall to see, but sure enough there appeared to be a small gap between the cabinet and the wall, and the light from the room allowed the surfer to see... _something_ silhouetted in that gap.

"Oooh you're right, you're right!" Hana eagerly confirmed. "That's suspicious! That could be something! Oh, we gotta move this thing-"

"I-I don't even think you have to move it all the way- I think I could fit my arm in there if you moved it just enough," Asuna informed her classmate.

"That's right! You're tiny enough to do that!" Hana happily remarked as she positioned herself to pull the cabinet back.

"W-Was that really necessary?" Asuna flatly asked in response to Hana's remark.

Fueled by the adrenaline brought upon by thoughts of a possible discovery, Hana firmly grasped the edge of the cabinet's side, planted her feet against where the wall met the floor for leverage, then pulled with as much strength and pent-up rage as she could muster. For a few moments, the cabinet didn't budge, but soon enough a definite scuffing sound was heard as the legs of the cabinet dragged against the wood floor. The Ultimate could only move the cabinet so far, but that was okay; once the gap had been opened enough, Asuna squeezed past her classmate and reached in to the area behind the cabinet, feeling around for whatever was hidden behind it.

"W-Wait, I- I've got something!" Asuna said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Really!? What is it, can you tell, can you get it out?" Hana quickly asked, speaking faster than she could think.

"H-Hold on a second, I..." the gardener began, feeling around again. "It feels like...fabric of some kind? And...it might be more than one thing, but...I-I think I can pull it out!"

"W-Well what are you waiting for!? Pull it out, come on!" Hana implored her friend, feeling like she was about to explode from the anticipation.

"C-Calm down, I am!" Asuna snapped at her impatient classmate- the shock of being snapped at by Asuna, of all students, alone being more than enough to quiet Hana down.

The gardener appeared to grip whatever was kept behind the cabinet and carefully pull it out, the object of interest making a rustling sound as it brushed against the wall and cabinet. When it was fully removed, it would seem the item was, in fact, made of a fabric or cloth of some kind- a fabric that was colored black, to be more precise. In addition, it appeared the item had been rolled up/folded before being haphazardly placed behind the cabinet, its surprising heft likely being enough to keep it pressed and folded against the wall; or course, now that it was removed, the item immediately unfolded itself, allowing Hana and Asuna to see just what it was.

"Uh...this is..." Asuna began as she stared down at the item she was holding. "A...banner?"

Hana stared at the black banner herself, unable to hide the dejection on her face. "...That's not something you can end a killing game with..."

"H-Hold on, I think there's more than one," Asuna observed, putting the first banner down and reaching behind the cabinet again.

Sure enough, the gardener managed to remove two more dark banners from behind the cabinet, these ones also having been folded and shoved away to be hidden.

"Banners? Why were there banners shoved behind the cabinet?" Hana asked, clearly dissatisfied. "I thought it'd be something more important..."

"Um- there have been spots around the East Wing where it looked like a banner used to be hanging there, right?" Asuna pointed out. "And...these banners look like their tops got torn up pretty badly..."

"Oh- so you think these are the same banners that got torn down before we looked around the first time?" Hana asked.

"They'd have to be," Asuna replied. "B-But I don't get why they were hidden like that either..."

The girl proceeded to roll out one of the squished banners completely, as if to see if it had any other details besides its coloration. Though the banner was rather long (perhaps it was the banner that belonged in the training room or watchtower), there was one other detail that was quite visible: a prominent red symbol emblazoned in the center of the banner.

The symbol was quite simple. It depicted a stylized hand, drawn in a thin red outline, with its fingers together and the palm facing the viewer; in the palm of said hand was what seemed to be a modified version of Monokuma's red eye- it looked similar, but this one seemed more jagged and vicious-looking.

Asuna stared at the symbol in confusion, but Hana's eyes widened as she saw it- for that symbol greatly resembled the odd insignia that had been carved into the floor of the sunroom. The same carving she and Hiroshi had found the first day the West Wing had been opened. The same symbol that caused the two of them to infuriate Monokuma by looking at it. The difference was that this one was more polished and clean- no doubt, whoever had carved that insignia into the sunroom floor was trying to replicate this symbol.

On a hunch, Hana then moved over and rolled out the other two banners- sure enough, they had that selfsame symbol imprinted on them as well.

"...Okay...this is weird..." Hana muttered as she stared down at the red symbols, unable to make heads or tails of what she was seeing.

Asuna, meanwhile, appeared to be growing quite...fearful? Anxious?

"H-Hey- Hana?" the gardener spoke up. "You're seeing these symbols too, so uh...d-do you...feel something when you see these?"

"'Feel something'?" Hana repeated, confused by what she meant.

"I-I...I don't know, I-I'm looking at these, and I feel...I feel scared f-for some reason," Asuna attempted to explain. "I-I know it sounds weird, I don't get it myself, th-they're just symbols, but- I-I can't shake this feeling of- of _dread,_ l-like we should really be afraid of something..."

"Afraid? Dread?" Hana remarked, looking back at the banners again. "Ah...sorry, but- I'm not feeling anything like that at all."

"O-Oh...okay, it's probably just me then..." Asuna responded, looking downtrodden.

"No, I'm feeling something too, but...I'm not scared or anything," Hana went on, shifting a bit so she get a closer look at one of the insignias. "If anything, I'm feeling kinda...calm."

Hana had no intention of telling her classmate about what she and Hiroshi had seen in the sunroom, but the surfer knew what she was feeling right now was similar to what she had felt then.

An odd sensation of calm, a feeling of almost being drawn to the symbol itself. Now, there was a difference this time- instead of that irritating, gnawing feeling of forgetfulness the surfer had been experiencing before, she now had the strong feeling of deja vu. Somehow, Hana knew deep down she _was_ familiar with this symbol beyond the encounter in the sunroom all that time ago- she didn't know how she knew the symbol or where it was from, but another part of her didn't care. All at once, Hana's mind was more clear than it had been in a long time, and she couldn't help but continue to stare at the red hand symbol like she was being hypnotized...

"...Uuh...Hana...?" Asuna spoke up, her brow furrowed. "Y-You...You okay...? You've been staring at that banner for almost a minute now, a-are you-"

 _"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!?"_

All at once, Hana's trance was broken and she was brought back to reality- loud, terrifying reality.

"AAH!" Hana and Asuna both screamed in terror, the two jumping back from whoever had shouted.

It was none other than their benevolent, completely legit headmaster, Monokuma; the robotic bear was standing on top of one of the lounge's chairs, looking over at the two Ultimates. Though he still had his perpetual grin on his face, his eyes betrayed his real feelings: Monokuma was _mad._

"I'll ask you again..." Monokuma began calmly, before bellowing, "WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

His outraged shouts, combined with the bear punctuating that previous statement by extending his deadly claws, caused the two girls to cry out in terror once again and reflexively hug each other in fear.

"W-We weren't doing anything bad! O-O-On purpose!" Asuna quickly told him, her green eyes fixed on his claws.

"You two...you brought THESE out!? HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND THEM!?" Monokuma demanded, jumping off the chairs towards the duo. Though he had no weapons this time save for his claws, Hana felt even more terrified of the bear than she had during the event in the sunroom.

"W-We didn't know what they were! We just noticed something off with the cabinet a-and we wanted to check it out a-and we saw they were just banners and we were all confused and- and-" Hana tried to explain, stumbling over her words all the while.

"SHUT UP, MOTOR MOUTH!" Monokuma shouted at her, his voice growing into a mixture of fury and panic. "How long have you had these out!? How long have you been looking at them!?"

"W-We don't know! Uh- uh- a few minutes maybe!?" Asuna yelped, practically on the verge of tears. "M-M-Maybe less!?"

"For your sakes, it better have been less!" Monokuma shouted before rapidly speaking to himself, "D'ooooh why did I pick the cabinet of all the places I could have put these!? 'Hide it behind the lounge cabinet' I said! 'Nobody's gonna notice something shoved behind such a random thing' I said! Why the hell did these idiots decide to be all detective in here, of all the weirder rooms in this place!?"

"And YOU!" Monokuma suddenly yelled, looking Hana dead in the eye and accusingly pointing at her. "Why is it that every time something happens, it's always YOU!?"

"IF I KNEW I'D STOP!" Hana cried, tightening her grip on Asuna to almost bone-crushing levels (though the gardener still seemed to be more focused on Monokuma).

"GRAAAAAH! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO CLAW YOUR FACES OFF FOR THIS!" Monokuma roared. "But...I'm not gonna do that! Since, even though you two just inconvenienced me to hell and back, you technically didn't break any rules, so there are no grounds for punishment!"

"BUT!" the bear quickly went on. "If EITHER of you- especially YOU, Cowlick- poke around in business that isn't yours again, I might just have reason to silence you. PAINFULLY! GOT IT!?"

Hana and Asuna said nothing, but nodded in agreement as quick as they could to appease Monokuma.

"Good! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some...reorganizing to do," Monokuma concluded, retracting his claws and returning to his cheerful demeanor.

With that, he waddled over to where the three black banners were laying, hoisting all of them into his arms before he exited the lounge. Admittedly, he looked rather ridiculous, considering how tall the banners were compared to him, but neither Ultimate in the room said anything about it.

After a few moments of dead silence, with only the sound of their rapid and terrified heartbeats in their ears, Asuna finally spoke up. "W-What...was that...?"

"I...I don't know...but it'd be great...if that never happened again..." Hana gasped, her legs feeling as though they had the consistency of jelly.

After a few more seconds, Asuna released her grip on Hana before telling her classmate, "Uh...y-you can let go now, Hana."

"..." Hana glanced down at her, then towards several locations in the room that Monokuma could potentially appear from before squeaking, "I-I don't think I can."

* * *

After Asuna pried Hana's arms off her, the two of them left the lounge- though still confused over everything that had just happened, they were more grateful to still have their faces, so they chose not to question it too much. Besides- it wasn't like the banners themselves would lead to any kind of breakthrough in escaping the castle, much to Hana's disappointment. And after her little heart-to-heart with Asuna, Hana was more determined than ever to find a way to shut down the killing game so as to avoid more tragedy.

That would have to wait, however- for after everything that had happened thus far that day, Hana was even more tired than when the two of them had first ran into the lounge. So, after confirming she had enough time to get a small nap in before the dinner meeting, the surfer returned to her bedroom and promptly threw herself onto her bed. Surely, a bit of sleep would help with whatever would come next, right?

Well, Hana did manage to go to sleep, but in doing so fell right into another dream.

* * *

 _But this dream was a little...different from the previous ones._

 _The main difference was that Hana wouldn't be able to remember any of it. It was clearly another odd, memory-like dream similar to the previous two dreams she had experienced, but the contents of this one...well, they eluded her. There was darkness- lots of darkness, and only a few snippets of something happening managed to poke through the foggy blackness. There were faint sounds of voices, and even screams, but they were constantly cutting out and back in, like a broken audio tape. Flashes of some event passed by- something red, something gray, something moving- but they were quick and incomprehensible, as if someone was fast-forwarding through a movie. In fact, Hana could feel herself moving through the dream, but what she was doing or why the surfer couldn't register._

* * *

Overall, the entire sequence felt like it only lasted for a few seconds, but in reality the mystery dream likely lasted much longer than that. Either way, Hana found herself joltin awake almost instantly, not feeling like she slept at all.

 _What...the hell just happened...?_ Hana asked herself, brushing some of her bangs to the side...only to realize her forehead was covered in small beads of sweat.

"What the...?" the surfer murmured to herself, wiping the cold sweat away. The perspiration would make sense if she had awoken from a nightmare, but that dream had just been gibberish.

Shaking her head, Hana grabbed her e-Handbook again to check the time- not that it really mattered. After all, the dream felt like it lasted such a short time, so chances were her nap had only lasted-

"IT'S EIGHT FORTY-TWO!?" Hana practically screamed as she saw her e-Handbook. No doubt about it- though she was certain she had only slept for mere moments, her e-Handbook clearly read 8:42 PM. And that meant the dinner meeting was supposed to start...in three minutes.

Entering full panic mode, Hana practically flew off her bed and threw herself through the bedroom door, almost forgetting to close it again as she sprinted down the hall to the main chamber. Not bothering to look around for anyone, the surfer continued to run through the massive hall to the hallway on the other side, speeding up once she saw the entrance to the dining room.

"I'M NOT LATE I SWEAR-" Hana cried as she ran into the room, finally stopping to catch her breath once she had reached her destination.

It would seem a majority of the class had, in fact, arrived- which was a given, since it was so close to the designated meeting time. The only two people she didn't see were Shiori, which was normal considering she refused to come to breakfast/dinner meetings anyways, and...

Well, the second missing person arrived a few moments after Hana- Hinata, who didn't care whether he was late or not anyways, casually walking into the room.

The Ultimate glanced at a rather flustered Hana, simply greeting her with "Heya."

Akira glared at the two of them disapprovingly, but said nothing- clearly, her mood had improved since Ryoto fell on top of her earlier. Speaking of the racecar driver, he was still alive after that earlier incident- though considering he was sitting unscathed, he had clearly not tried his railing plan again. There was a good chance they had Akira to thank for that.

"So, if everyone who bothers to show up to these is _finally_ here..." Akira began, sitting back in her seat. "First of all, we should figure out what we'll be eating."

While that discussion was underway, Hana discreetly took her seat next to Hiroshi, trying to clear her head from the rush to the dining room.

"Everything okay, Hana?" Hiroshi asked her, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "You're looking a little frazzled."

"Oh, I am!" Hana responded cheerfully. "It's, uh, nothing major, though. Just took a nap, and uh...overslept, that's it."

Though it wasn't a lie, Hana wondered if she should tell Hiroshi about what she and Asuna had seen in the lounge earlier that day- after all, he had seen the odd carving in the sunroom before, so it wasn't like the existence of the banners and the symbol on them would be a shock.

"...Hey, Hiroshi," Hana began, whispering so only the coroner would hear. "Uh- something happened earlier, and I don't really get it. Uh- Asuna was there too, so if you want you can ask her about it too."

"Okay- what happened?" Hiroshi asked, also whispering as he furrowed his brow slightly.

"Well, me and her were in the lounge in the East Wing, and she noticed the cabinet was kinda...suspicious. Like, something was shoved between it and the wall," Hana explained softly. "So, I moved the cabinet so Asuna could grab whatever was back there, and it was- banners."

"Banners...? Were they the ones that belonged in the East Wing?" Hiroshi inquired.

"Yeah, but that's not the weirdest part," Hana went on, trying her hardest to keep her voice down. "On the banners there was- do you remember the first time we went to the sunroom in the West Wing, and we saw that weird symbol carved into the floor that Monokuma got rid of? Well, the banners had the same symbol on them! The weird hand and Monokuma eye thing!"

To this, Hiroshi's eyes widened somewhat, and for a split moment he appeared almost...fearful. "What-?"

"ALRIGHT!" a boisterous voice suddenly called out, cutting their conversation off. Ryoto stood up and declared, "We've settled it! Ryoto Miura's gonna knock your guys' socks off with my AWESOME hot dogs of AWESOMENESS!"

"As long as you ensure you don't blow the kitchen up, Miura- for your sake, your bragging had better have some weight to it," Akira warned him.

"Hot dogs? That's...a little different from what we usually have," Asuna remarked with a little frown.

"What, got something against hot dogs?" Hinata asked in a somewhat mocking tone. "Kinda simpler than what we've had before, but a little simplicity never killed anyone. Besides, I like me a good hot dog- god, I just realized how much I miss 'em."

"Great to hear! Then you can be the one to help me!" Ryoto proclaimed, jumping out of his seat and running over to where Hinata was sitting, where he then proceeded to practically tackle the thief out of his seat and drag the dazed and dumbfounded young man by his scarf into the kitchen.

"Ryoto! Don't just kidnap someone into helping you make food!" Rumi yelled at the departing Ultimate. "...O-Or be careful with his face, at least!"

"Don't worry, Hinata- just be sure to keep him in check," Hiroshi also called, his tone joking- that is, until he turned right back to Hana, his whispering voice dead serious as he asked, "So, what happened when you saw the banners?"

"Well, Monokuma showed up, and he got _really_ mad at us for finding them," Hana continued. "He didn't have a gun or anything, but damn was he scary. Anyways, he ended up letting us off with a...very angry warning, then he took the banners and left."

Hiroshi did not seem too reassured. "Anything else? Anything...weird happen or...?"

"Uh...well, Asuna mentioned how she was feeling kinda anxious looking at them- but she didn't really know why," Hana answered. "And me, I...was actually feeling pretty calm when I looked at them. It was so weird, but it was kinda...nice, I guess?"

"...Hm," Hiroshi said to himself, his expression unreadable. "That's...strange, I agree. I don't know-"

"Oh my god!" Rumi suddenly exclaimed, unknowingly cutting them off again as she stood up out of her seat and ran over to the dining room's entrance.

Hana turned around to see what exactly had the scuba diver so enthused, and saw someone else had arrived to the dining room: Shiori.

"Oh for- Rumi, no, you don't need to-" the surgeon began upon realizing she had been spotted.

Too late, as the other Ultimate already grabbed Shiori by her hands and, with force that could only be attributed to the power of friendship, pulled her into the room completely. "I can't believe it! You're actually here again! This is the best, I knew you'd come back around eventually-"

"Hey hey hey, quit it!" Shiori snapping, yanking her hands away. "I'm not sticking around, I'm just grabbing food- you know, like I usually do? Just because I walked in doesn't mean I'm suddenly back to listening to _some_ people in here."

The surgeon sent a pointed glare towards Akira, who...actually did not glare back at her, but her demeanor wasn't any more friendly.

"W-Well- can't you stay for just a minute?" Hana suggested. "Food's not even done yet, really..."

Shiori frowned, glancing around the room before her eyes fell on Hiroshi (who gave her a little wave of acknowledgement). She then inquired, "...Any reason in particular Hiroshi's the only guy in the room?"

"Um- Ryoto and Hinata are in the kitchen," Asuna informed her. "Ryoto wanted to make hot dogs for everyone, and he got Hinata to help...sorta."

"W-What? You let _those two_ in the kitchen?" Shiori asked, shocked. "Do you guys _want_ to start a fire or something?"

"Hey, Ryoto's not in there alone, he's Hinata to keep an eye on him," Hana pointed out. "Besides, Ryoto seemed pretty passionate about making this, so maybe it won't be so bad."

"Famous last words, much?" the surgeon deadpanned. "Ryoto would be one thing, but how's Hinata being there gonna make this any better? He's probably sleeping or something."

"Heeey, Hinata's a lot more dependable than you think!" Rumi refuted. "When he sets himself to something important or something he cares about, you'd be surprised how well he pulls through!"

"To be fair, he did help out with the memorial," Hiroshi pointed out, gesturing to the table in question.

"And he helped me out during the last trial," Hana also added. _After making things harder for me, but I'll say it evens out._

"...Meh, I'll believe it when I don't see fire coming out of that door," Shiori remarked, pointing to the door to the kitchen.

The moment the conversation settled and things appeared as if they may return to some semblance of normal...things immediately ceased to be normal once again.

The familiar sound of a monitor echoed through the dining room, grabbing the attention of everyone present. To accompany the noise, the black screen came alive with rippling static, which was soon replaced by a familiar sight: Monokuma in his throne, staring directly at the camera with his permanent gleeful face.

 _What the...? Man, how long's it been since Monokuma did a weird 'special announcement' thing?_ Hana asked herself, frowning. _Waaait a second. If he's making an announcement, does that mean...?_

"Good evening, students! I hope none of you are too busy at the moment, and if you are- sucks to be you!" Monokuma's childlike voice chirped through the monitor's speakers. "It's been a little bit, but the time has come for a special assembly! Everyone, make your way to the main hall as soon as possible- failure to comply may result in the loss of an ear or two! Or something else vital!"

With that, the monitor shut off again, enveloping the dining room in silence.

"...Oooh no..." Asuna spoke up, her face paling. "G-Guys...? Monokuma's announcement...do you think it could be...?"

"Hey, come on, don't jump to any conclusions," Rumi told her with a nervous chuckle. "There are a _ton_ of things Monokuma could want to say to us, a ton!"

"Right, because he's just oodles of conversational fun," Shiori stated, shaking her head- trying to be the 'realist', it would seem. "Well, I'm not gonna beat around the bush- I'll see you guys out there."

Just like that, the surgeon was the first one to exit and make her way to the central hall of the South Wing.

"Mmph- there's no use standing here and discussing it anyways," Akira said, standing up and adjusting her glasses. "Come on- let's see what the bastard wants."

Akira proceeded to make her way out, followed by Rumi and Asuna.

"Hiroshi...do you think it might a...you know..." Hana began, turning to the young man anxiously.

"..." Hiroshi's face was almost expressionless, but he responded regardless, "We won't know unless we go. Not like we have much of a choice to attend anyways."

The Ultimate Coroner made his way to the doorway himself, leaving Hana to follow. And she planned to...as soon as she retrieved the other two guys in the class.

Running over to the door to the kitchen, Hana forcefully knocked on it and yelled, "Ryoto! Hinata! I know there's a monitor in there so you two saw the announcement too, so get here!"

Just as she finished speaking, the door suddenly swung open, and Hinata exited...dragging a _very_ unwilling Ryoto along by his legs.

"Lemme go you barbaric bastard! I can't just leave the water boiling that!" Ryoto shouted, practically clawing at the ground as he was dragged away from the kitchen.

"C'mon big guy, the hot dogs're gonna be fine!" Hinata told him, gritting his teeth as he struggled against his more physically fit classmate.

"COULDN'T YOU HAVE AT LEAST LET ME TURN OFF THE THING!?" Ryoto roared, thrashing about to try and free himself from Hinata's grip. "They're gonna be fucking- what is it- OVERCOOKED!"

"No way, I almost got blown up by that damn bear, I ain't risking- oh hi Hana- anything else like that!" Hinata retorted, briefly glancing over to the surfer as they passed her.

Their banter continued as Hinata dragged Ryoto out of the dining room and into the hallway- all the while, Hana could only stare in abject bafflement at the two boys' display. Finally, realizing she was the only one left, the girl quickly made her way towards the main hall herself, all the while wondering why she was so surprised by the actions of her fellow Ultimates at this point.

* * *

There wasn't much discussion going on when the entire class found themselves in the main hall- mostly because there weren't a lot of people left to do the discussing.

About the only speaking came when Hinata finally let Ryoto go, the Ultimate Racecar Driver springing to his feet and yelling out, "Okay! If the food ends up overcooked, BLAME THIS GUY!"

Hinata, in response, only rolled his eyes.

"Forget the food, Miura, and pay attention," Akira scolded him, gesturing to the center of the chamber.

There it was, a sight that Hana had not forgotten, despite having not seen it in a while: a large red podium with the Hope's Peak Academy logo in the front, with a microphone and a fresh bottle of water sitting on its top. The surfer tried to remember the last time she had seen that podium- it was when Monokuma had told them about the second motive. A motive...

 _No...no, no, get your mind out of the gutter!_ Hana told herself. _It's only been two days since the last trial, he wouldn't...he wouldn't be crazy enough to announce a new motive so soon, right?_

The time for mental questions soon ended, however; after a few moments, a certain black and white figure popped up from behind the podium, flying into the air before landing in front of the microphone. The assembly had begun.

"Hello again, students! Castle life treating you all well?" Monokuma began as he looked around at the gathered students. "Bit of a small crowd tonight. Where are the rest of your buddies, eh?"

"...They're dead, Monokuma," Asuna spoke up when everyone else went silent.

"I know! I just wanted to hear someone say it!" Monokuma cackled, punctuating this statement with a cruel laugh.

"Can you get to the point already?" Shiori said, crossing her arms. "Well all know why you called us here."

"A-Again, we _don't_ know that!" Rumi nervously reminded her. "It could be something completely innocent! Or, uh...at least less horrible!"

"No, if Doc's thinking what I think she's thinking, she's totally right!" the bear explained.

"What...!?" Hinata began.

"Y-You're giving us a motive!?" Hana cried. "But it's- it's only been a day or two since the trial!"

"Too bad! You guys are even more boring than ever, so I'm gonna make my own action a little early!" Monokuma yelled impatiently.

"Well, it's not our fault you got about half our class killed," Hiroshi dryly reminded him.

"Uh, no, I only executed those who lost the trials- which is, last time I checked, totally within my right to do as per the killing game rules?" Monokuma responded condescendingly. "The other guys- well, that was _aaaaall_ on you all."

"Hey! Shut up!" Ryoto yelled at him. "If you're going to keep going off-topic, then how about you let me get back to the meats, huh!?"

"Cool your tits, Thunderhead! I'm getting to that!" Monokuma shouted at the racecar driver. "Why is it the annoying ones that are still alive...?"

 _I resent that._ Hana said to herself, narrowing her eyes at the bear.

"Now, like I said- I've come to bring you all your latest motive! It's nothing as odd as my Despair Drink from last time, but it's certainly a bit more...personalized than the first two," Monokuma explained. "First things first, I have to give it to all of you!"

"Give it to us? I thought you said it was different from the previous motive," Akira pointed out, skeptical.

"Puhuhu- wait one second, Pokerface!" Monokuma eagerly told her.

Without another word, the ursine robot flourished his hands like he did whenever giving the students a Monokuma File. Sure enough, several small notification sounds _blipped_ and _blooped_ through the group, prompting the others to take a look at their e-Handbooks. Hana quickly did the same, turning on the gadget and looking at the home screen; there was a new icon off to the side, but it was different from the icon that represented a Monokuma File- just a simple graphic of the bear's right red eye, brightly glowing crimson on the screen.

"Ta-daaa! With the magic of the digital world, I have uploaded the motive to your e-Handbooks!" Monokuma declared dramatically.

"The hell is this supposed to be?" Hinata asked, furrowing his brow.

"Well, if you click on that icon- not right now because I'm talking- you'll get to watch a very special video!" the 'headmaster' explained. "What makes it so special? Well, that ties into the theme of this motive, that being..."

His grin seemed to grow more crazed as he spoke, "Your greatest fears!"

"Our...fears?" Asuna asked, visibly confused.

"No way- mice!?" Ryoto cried, his eyes wide with fright.

"Sharks!?" Hana also yelped.

"Pine trees!?" Rumi fearfully added in.

Of course, her exclamation caused most of the class to turn their confusion to the scuba diver.

"...Long story," Rumi told them.

"No no no, not that cheap phobia crap!" Monokuma explained, shaking his head. "I'm talking about the deep stuff! The hard-hitting psychological stuff, the stuff that you would- or have- lost sleep over! The kinda stuff..."

"That we'd kill over?" Hiroshi finished, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup!" Monokuma confirmed. "All of you have been unique video given that shows the one thing you fear the most...the thing that you would _kill_ to graduate and prevent from becoming a reality! No pun intended."

Akira continued to stare at her e-Handbook for a few moments, but then she turned her attention back to Monokuma and questioned, "Hold on- there's something you've yet to mention regarding this motive. Are we _obligated_ to watch these videos of ours?"

"Obligated?" Monokuma replied. "Well...not exactly, no."

Turning his attention to the rest of the class, the bear explained, "No, just like the second motive, there is no time limit on this one! It's completely up to you and you alone whether or not you watch your video- though I will point out to you that, after you watch your video once, that little icon will stop glowing like that- like how some links will turn purple after you've clicked them once. Now, that's not to say you can only watch it once, because you can watch it as many times as you want!"

"But...we don't have to watch the video _at all,_ right?" Hana asked.

Monokuma scoffed. "If you wanna be a wimp about it. C'mon, not all of you guys can say you're not curious about what little ol' me could have on you, huh? I mean we don't know each other, how could I possibly know what your greatest fears are, huh?"

"You're describing morbid curiosity- and more often than not that's a _bad_ thing," Shiori stated, shaking her head.

"Eh, I just have to wait for at least one or two of you to come around," Monokuma replied. "You guys never fail to disappoint me on _that_ front!"

"Not likely- we're not going to let another trial happen. The eight of us are stronger than that," Hiroshi firmly told him. "We're not giving in to this motive of yours, it's that simple."

"Yeah yeah, tell your story walking," Monokuma dismissively said to the coroner. "Anyways, that's all I have for you all- dwell on that motive for me, would ya? And be sure to enjoy the rest of your night- it could be someone's last!"

With that, Monokuma jumped off behind the podium, disappearing as quickly as he had arrived and leaving the rest of the class to stew on what they had been told.

Hana frowned, staring down at her own e-Handbook and the glowing red icon on the screen. _This is a weird motive...is Monokuma really just relying on us being curious enough to watch our videos? Is there something more to it than that? What could these videos even be about?_

 _What could_ my _video even be about...?_

Akira scoffed. "Pathetic. I don't even think we need an in-depth discussion about this, do we? The solution is as simple as not watching the video- anyone in their right mind can handle that."

"Yeah, he didn't even say we'd be punished if we didn't watch them or something," Hinata pointed out.

"Besides, people can be scared of a lot of things," Asuna added. "I-I don't see how Monokuma would be able to make individual videos about our 'greatest' fears."

"Yeah! Some of us don't even know what our biggest fears are- _I_ don't even know what my biggest fear is! And it's not just because I'm so devilishly fearless," Ryoto said with a grin.

"Well, I wouldn't speak for everyone on that..." Shiori muttered, before shaking her head an claiming, "But whether we have an idea of what our video could be about or not...at the end of the day, they're just videos. Whatever's in them, it's probably all faked."

The surgeon glanced downwards, finishing, "Honestly, how much damage can a video do?"

Hana agreed with what the surgeon said, but...the surfer couldn't help but feel as if something was off with how she said it. _Is it just me, or...did Shiori seem like she was trying to tell herself that more than she was trying to tell everyone else?_

"I agree- it's nothing to lose sleep over, that's for sure," Hiroshi agreed. "Now then, we should probably get back to the dining room, we only have so much time left to-"

Ryoto didn't even wait for the coroner to finish speaking before he let out a war cry and sprinted away, most likely heading for the kitchen. Akira was the first to follow him, with Hinata, Rumi, and Asuna not too far behind.

"Hey...Hiroshi," Hana began, walking up to him. "This video thing...do you really think it's so harmless? I mean, considering the other motives, it just...seems more threatening than it looks, y'know?"

"I get it- it's hard to take anything Monokuma says at face value," Hiroshi conceded. "But...I can't see how this could be anything too weird. The first motive was all psychological, the second played into peoples' desires, the third gave the killer a means to make pulling off a murder easier...but this one? They're fear videos, nothing more."

"...If you say so," Hana replied, shrugging.

Still skeptical, the surfer was about to join the others in the dining room...only to realize Shiori had yet to move, standing in her same spot contemplatively.

"Shiori? Are you coming? You said you wanted to just grab some food, so..." Hana asked her classmate, turning to face her.

"Yeah, I...this whole motive thing, I can't make heads or tails of what that damn bear's trying to pull," Shiori explained with a sigh. "Honestly, it kinda ruined my appetite, so...I'm just gonna turn in early, I'll try to grab something in the morning. If Rumi or Asuna or- anyone gets upset, tell 'em I said sorry, alright?"

Without waiting for a response from Hana, Shiori turned and walked back towards the bedrooms.

"..." Now both skeptical for the motive and concerned for her classmates, Hana decided it would be best to return to the dining room with the others.

Even still, the surfer couldn't help but wonder about this motive of Monokuma's- being afraid of something was one thing, but could Monokuma really be able to accurately portray someone's big fear when he (and most likely whoever was controlling him) didn't even know the students prior to the killing game?

And most of all, if the videos did end up being accurate...would the students' fear overpower their resolve to the point that they _would_ kill?

* * *

 **A/N: Ooookay! That's that, and that was a...longer part than expected. But- I'm not going to split it up like I did with the one part in Chapter 3, y'all just gonna have to deal with it.**

 **So, how about that motive, eh? Of course, with a mysterious new motive around, you know what's gonna come soon after, right...? Hehehe...next part's gonna be a fun time.**

 **And now, the main thing I wanna address- Free Time Events! There was actually a tie between two characters in the votes, Hinata and Asuna, and- well, you saw who I decided to go with for that second FTE. While Hinata's a little farther in his FTE path...I just had to go with Asuna, it's been so long! The last time she had a Free Time Event was back in Part 3 of Chapter 2, and then she spent all of Chapter 3 being delirious with despair so no Free Time for her. But now, the girl is back, and I'm sure a lot of people are happy for it regardless of where their votes went.**

 **Also- Shiori, sad background that she has, has been officially maxed out! This makes her the second character to have her FTE path completed (the first being Hiroshi), so that also means she will no longer appear on the FTE polls. No, she is not dead or depressed, she is just maxed out in friendship levels. Which is actually good timing, because she would have actually been unavailable for FTEs in the next part (for...reasons that I can't divulge just yet)- fortunately, you voters don't have to worry about that! Yaaay!**

 **I also feel like I need to remind people of this, especially considering Shiori's been gettin' lotsa FTEs at the same time as this little conflict of hers: FTEs, due to their optional nature, have no bearing on the story itself (as is how they be in the canon games). That's why, despite having found out about Shiori's mental state at the hands of her parents in her last Free Time Event, Hana is/will likely still be rather clueless about the situation in future installments (it's also why Asuna stutters a lot more in her FTEs, though she's been doing it less in-story).**

 **I know the majority of the audience likely remembers this, but there's always gonna be that handful that forgets these things- gotta love the Internet. And as my English teacher in sophomore and junior year likes to say, "Be kind to dumb animals."**

 **And speaking of FTEs- one more poll! And once again, it's gonna be only one character next time, and since next time'll be the end of Chapter 4's Daily Life...ya better vote wisely. So, here's that code: ds6cf321**

 **And...yeah! Next time, Part 4- might be another rather long part, but that's why there's only gonna be one FTE, because other things are gonna take up enough space on the document. See you guys next time- goodbyyyye!**


	34. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 4)

**A/N: Oooookay. It is TIME! Welcome to the final part of Chapter 4's Daily Life, dear readers! ...And by part I mean partS, because this one turned out to be really, really long again and that's not too good for pacing. It was one thing with Part 3's length, but this one was just getting outta control with how long it is. So- another double update, yay for you guys!**

 **So, what did we learn last time? Well, Shiori may or may not be getting better, the East Wing is as normal as ever (minus the weird wall outline on the upper floor and the banners with the red hand logo on them), and we've got the designated motive! Fear-related videos are the thing here, something the participants would literally kill to prevent from coming true. How's this gonna play out? And who will be the next one to die? It's time to find out!**

 **P.S. I actually made an error in the FTE poll- uh, Akira is not on her first FTE, she is actually up to her _second_ FTE, her first event was seen in Part 2 of this chapter if you'll ****recall. I mean it doesn't matter too much since she didn't win this round, but still it's something I'll have to watch for next time.**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ So after resisting the urge to make a reference to _The Room_ based on one of the things you said, I gotta say I applaud you for being so doubtful! That's kinda how mysteries are, you can't take everything that's been hinted at at face-value 'cause red herrings and all. Of course, some things are genuinely important to remember, so keep that in mind. **

**Also, congrats- that last paragraph about the hot dogs made me laugh pretty good, so good on ya for that!**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Yes, sadly, writing is not a perfect medium- ain't stopping me yet, though. Anyways, these are the parts where your fears will either be confirmed or denied (until the class trial, anyways, then you may or may not need to worry again), so...happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Daily Life (Part 4)**

Following the announcement of the motive, dinner became a much quieter and somewhat tenser affair. The remaining students simply sat and ate their slightly overcooked hot dogs, most of them either making small talk with their peers or sitting contemplatively (or, in Rumi's case, be upset that Shiori had opted out of dinner after all). It would seem that, although everyone expressed doubts about the motive, nobody was completely disregarding it; Hana definitely couldn't blame them, seeing as how three of their peers had given in to the pressure of the past motives.

In what felt like both no time at all and an eternity, the meeting had ended and everyone had eaten. Since it would almost be nighttime, most of the students went on their way to return to their bedrooms. The only ones who stayed behind were Hinata and Ryoto to clean up, plus Rumi who insisted on helping for some reason- well, more people meant more efficiency, so neither complained (especially not the former).

So, the day ended with what felt like a whimper- the motive, in one way of another, was on most people's minds. As for Hana herself, it was all she could think about; worry about how it would effect the others (herself included) and morbid curiosity about what hers could entail- it was like a Pandora's Box.

Despite this, the surfer still found herself being able to drift off to sleep after having gotten ready and laying down on her bed- hopefully, things would be a lot clearer tomorrow.

* * *

 _Hana was back in the dreamscape, the one she had grown rather familiar with over the initial two dreams. But this one...this one was different. Somehow, Hana could tell it was the same unclear dream she had last time she slept...but now, the darkness had been lifted, and she could make out what the dream was depicting. Well, the dream was still far more foggy than the previous two had been, but Hana could still make out enough to know what she was seeing...well, she felt like she would have preferred the darkness._

 _There were screams- dozens of them, and they were close and all around her. People she couldn't make out, people she didn't recognize, fleeing in all directions. Blood was flying all over the place, flames erupting from the ruins surrounding the mystery area, men and women silhouetted against the fire running about to cut and strike down anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. It was impossible to remember or even make out anything about these marauders, but...Hana could catch a glimpse of something on one of them: it was hard to tell through the fogginess, but she could swear it was the mysterious hand symbol._

 _The carnage continued- it was impossible to tell how long it lasted, either a few seconds or several hours. Hana could feel herself moving, too- but the vague fogginess of the dreamscape prevented her from being able to comprehend what she was doing. Was she fleeing as well? Was she one of the attackers? Either way, the horrified screams and pleas for mercy continued to ring in the surfer's ears, the scent of blood and smoke becoming overpowering...but somehow, she kept going._

 _Eventually, she did feel herself stopping and looking up...and seeing something. Some_ one, _staring right back at her. Was it someone else? Was it a reflection? This was impossible to figure out as well. They, too, were made black against the glare of the flames behind them, so it was impossible to make out any real features on them. There were only a few things that could be made out: they held a long rod of some kind in one hand, which along with their hands and forearms seemed to be covered in innocent blood, and...a pair of blood red eyes, practically gleaming with malice as they stared directly, perfectly at Hana._

* * *

 _"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"_

Hana practically tore herself out of sleep, flinging herself up out of terror as she awoke. She jumped up so much, in fact, she found herself tumbling right out of her bed and onto the floor. Completely awake, the surfer scrambled to push herself up, finding herself staring down at the floor; her heart was racing, her breaths were coming out in short fearful gasps, and she felt herself in a cold sweat yet again- only this time, she knew the cause was completely justified.

"What...What the fuck...? What the fuck...? What the fuck, what the _fuck?"_ Hana asked herself over and over again, shakily shifting herself so she was sitting against the side of her bed.

She could feel herself still shivering from fear, recalling the bits of pieces of her nightmare- not that she wanted to. If the surfer had known the dream would be so demonic, she would have much preferred to never know the details in that dream, simply leaving it as abstract noises and darkness like before.

Forcing her trembling figure to stand, Hana made her way over to the desk and picked up her e-handbook to check the time- 5:45 AM. Nighttime wouldn't end for a little over an hour.

Softly sighing, Hana went back over to her bed and flopped down onto her back, staring up at the bedroom's ceiling with her e-Handbook still at her side. Though she wasn't too keen on just sitting in her room for over an hour, past experience had told her going out and wandering the castle before the official start of morning wouldn't be a good idea, but it was unlikely she would be able to fall back asleep at all. Not to mention her mind was still racing from that horrible nightmare- but what did it even mean? And why is it that, when she dreamed it the first time, it was indecipherable?

Hana groaned and shook her head, reaching up to wipe any remaining sweat off her brow- it was too early in the morning for so many questions. And she knew she couldn't just ponder her time away, otherwise she mind end up sinking into that odd pessimistic mindset she'd been trying to fend off. But what to focus on...?

"..." Hana's gaze drifted to the side, where she still held her e-Handbook. She then sat up and turned it on again, going to the home screen; the glowing red icon indicating her motive video was shining bright as ever, like a deadly beacon.

 _...No, no, don't do it. You've seen movies, you know that when the characters do something they obviously shouldn't do, bad things happen._ Hana firmly reminded herself. _Watching a possibly horrifying video meant to give you a reason to kill your friends is CLEARLY something I shouldn't do!_

However, her thoughts regarding the motive couldn't be quelled so easily- so, the surfer ended up asking herself a certain question yet again: what _would_ her motive video be about?

 _Our greatest fear, huh...? What am I_ most _afraid of...?_ Hana asked herself, trying to actually think hard on such a question. _Um...dying, I don't really wanna do that. Or being murdered, but that's the same as dying. Losing a class trial, that's pretty bad too- not that we're gonna have one again, but the fear is still there. Uh- never finding the mastermind? Being stuck here forever? Having more of those weird nightmares?_

The surfer furiously shook her head- too many things, none of which seemed like they fit into how Monokuma described 'greatest fears' or make compelling motive videos.

"..."

The more she thought about what she was afraid of, the more a certain thought permeated her head. Hana soon found herself reaching under her pillow again and pulling out the photo of her and her parents outside of Hope's Peak Academy. It seemed like forever ago that this picture had been taken, and yet it was still the last thing Hana had to truly connect herself to the world outside the killing game. There they were, the three of them smiling at her father's prized camera, completely unaware that this would probably be the last time they'd see each other.

When she looked at the photo, questions began to surface in Hana's head: What had become of her parents since the start of the killing game? Had they realized something was wrong by now and gone to the authorities? Hana knew they would be searching for her if they knew something was wrong, but was anybody helping them search? What if the ones responsible for the killing game targeted the families of the students as well, which by extension would include her own? Or what if her mom and/or dad discovered something about the killing game and the ones responsible decided to try and silence them? That happened, people murdering someone else to keep them from revealing certain information- that was the whole reason Tadao murdered Shiro!

It was at this point realization dawned on the Ultimate- could _that_ be her greatest fear? Never knowing what had become of her parents since she had been trapped in this killing game? It fit what Monokuma seemed to deem a deeper fear...and it could make a compelling motive and motive video.

 _...Okay, if I don't do it, I'm never gonna be able to stop thinking about it...!_ Hana told herself, putting the photo away and gingerly picking up the e-Handbook again. Whether her video involved her parents' fates or some other deep-seeded fear of hers, the surfer knew she had to find out.

Thus, she activated the device once more and looked upon the home screen. Hesitating for a few moments as her heartbeat began to speed up, Hana finally tapped the crimson icon on the screen- the point of no return.

The screen went black for a few seconds. Then, the same red eye symbol faintly appeared in the blackness, and soon some white text followed it:

 _ **WARNING!**_

 _ **The following video may contain graphic, disturbing, nightmarish, sadistic, nauseating, or family unfriendly imagery. I am legally obligated to give you this disclaimer before viewing; if you wish to exit the video now, then it sucks to be you. Monokuma is not responsible for any thoughts of terror, anxiety, depression, or murderous intent that may result from viewing this content.**_

From there, the screen went completely black again, and it stayed that way for what felt like forever. All the while, Hana sat there with growing apprehension; when would this thing start? Would it start suddenly, like a jumpscare? Or was this just made this way with the intent to build tension?

Finally, something happened, but it was far from what Hana expected. The background was still dark, but soon enough Monokuma himself walked out of the shadowy setting across an unseen floor to face the camera.

Hana furrowed her brow- what in the world was going on?

 _ **"Uh...so, this is a little awkward,"**_ Monokuma spoke, looking down like a pouting child. _**"I don't expect a goody-two-shoes like you to actually take me up on my offer to watch this video, but I gotta put**_ **som** **ething** _ **here in case you do, so..."**_

The bear faced the camera again. _**"I guess you should consider yourself lucky- in that you don't actually have a motive video! Hooraaaaaay."**_

Hana could almost feel the lack of enthusiasm in the bear's cheer.

 _ **"So, uh- yeah! You kinda wasted your time, hope your happy! But if you are watching this, then never let it be said that I wasn't prepared,"**_ Monokuma concluded. _**"So- what are you still watching me for? This video's over, now go away!"**_

And just like that, the video ended. Hana was taken back to the homescreen, only now the icon for the video had gone dull to indicate it had been watched at least once.

"..." _Welp, I just proved it's possible for a person to be more confused than ever before. Just what the hell was that?_

Hana clicked the icon and watched the video through again in case there was something she missed- however, the video was the same the second time through.

While a part of Hana was certainly glad she hadn't witnessed anything too horrible, the surfer was still left baffled- what exactly was Monokuma trying to pull, having a video like this? The other videos couldn't be like this, could they? Hana was tempted to call Monokuma and ask him to explain this, but...it was Monokuma, what were the odds she would be given a straight answer?

No, the surfer decided to get advice from a source she knew she could trust: Hiroshi. He wouldn't have the complete answers, but the coroner would most likely be able to make more sense of this odd situation than she could. All she had to do was wait for the breakfast meeting to see him- then they would talk.

* * *

The morning announcement came, although at that point Hana (who was still wide awake, needless to say) had long since gotten ready. Thus, the moment the announcement ended, the Ultimate retrieved her e-Handbook and opened the door to exit her room- but as soon as she did, she heard another door open farther down the hallway. Turning to the source of the noise, Hana was shocked to find someone else had woken up just as early: Akira.

Clearly, Akira also saw her, unable to hide her surprise at seeing the surfer. "What the- Amari?"

"Akira?" Hana also spoke up. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I always leave for the dining room this early, why do you think I'm on time like I am?" Akira answered. "But more importantly- what are _you_ doing out so early?"

"Ah..." Hana began, realizing how odd of her it was to be out and about this early in the morning. "Bad dream. Couldn't go back to sleep, so uh...here I am, I guess."

For a brief moment, Akira appeared dissatisfied with the explanation...but she soon gave a curt nod of acknowledgement (it wasn't like the surfer was lying anyways) and replied, "Fair enough, I suppose."

"So- going to the dining room, right?" Hana began, trying to pick her tone and words carefully- this was Akira she was talking to, after all.

"Not exactly- I'll be checking the armory first before I head there," Akira told her, already making her way down the hallway. "Don't follow me."

Hana could only give a little nod of acceptance as the prosecutor walked off, leaving Hana to head down to the dining room herself. It would be odd, being the first person there- and admittedly, it would probably be the only time it would happen, so the surfer decided she would feel happy for being extremely on time for a change.

The rest of students (including Akira but excluding Shiori- which Hana found odd, but considering she never stayed for these meetings anyways she chose not to be too worried about it) came filing it- and all of them (minus Akira, who had already seen Hana) expressed some level of surprise at how early she was. Of course, Hana didn't spend too much time dwelling on it- she was waiting for a certain person.

Eventually, Hiroshi walked in at around the time Hana normally did. Upon seeing him, the surfer immediately stood up and walked over to him. "Hey! Hiroshi, real fast, I need to-"

"Hi, Hana- sorry, I can't really talk too long, I need to get into the kitchen," Hiroshi told her. "Believe it or not, I'm actually going to be making breakfast today."

That stopped Hana in her tracks immediately. "You are?"

"Yeah- I've been meaning to do more to help out. Although I'm not the best cook in the world- the only things I really make decent meals out of are eggs," Hiroshi explained. "So, Ultimate Househusband I am not. But at the very least, making breakfast should be a good way to help out, even if it is all egg stuff."

"Oh- uh, need help?" Hana inquired- if she couldn't talk to him out here, maybe she could speak to him in the kitchen.

"I appreciate it, but there's no need- eggs aren't too complicated to cook with, most of the time," Hiroshi replied. "Speaking of, I should probably go ask the others what exactly they want."

"Mm- you do that, I guess. Ah, for me- I don't really care, just- scrambled or something," Hana replied.

The Ultimate nodded, walking off to speak to the others.

"...Stupid arbitrary responsibilities..." Hana muttered to herself as her classmate walked away. The surfer took her seat again, looking around at the other students; Akira was sitting by herself as usual, Ryoto and Hinata seemed to be having a discussion of some kind, while Rumi and Asuna seemed to be having a conversation of their own.

Upon seeing the latter of the two girls, however, Hana remembered something else that had been bothering her- the nightmare she had. Though she couldn't make out everything, vivid as the dream felt, she could remember one specific detail: the hand and Monokuma-ish eye symbol. The very symbol that had been imprinted on the black banners yesterday. Before she saw the symbol, she couldn't remember any part of that dream; after seeing it, however, she not only had the same dream again, but it was the same level of clarity as the previous two. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

And in saying that- Asuna had seen the red symbol too. Not only that, but she had told Hana she felt an unexplainable amount of fear when gazing at it. Could she have had a similar nightmare as well...?

Realizing there was only one thing to do at this point, Hana got back up and walked over to where Rumi and Asuna were talking.

"Hey, guys," Hana greeted the two of them. "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

"Not really- what's up?" Rumi inquired, the two of them turning their attention to the surfer.

"Actually, I...just need to talk to Asuna real fast," Hana explained, gesturing to the gardener in question.

"Hm? Me?" Asuna asked.

"Ooh, is this about that thing yesterday where Ryoto jumped off the second floor of the main hall and landed on Akira?" Rumi also asked.

Hana furrowed her brow. "Asuna told you about that?"

"I didn't have to, she already knew," Asuna stated. "I just mentioned you and I were there."

"Yeah- see, I was coming back from the West Wing and I was in the courtyard, and right when I was about to go into the south I could hear Akira yelling at him from behind the doors," Rumi told the surfer. "I didn't know Akira was the type of person to use such colorful language!"

Suddenly, Hana was even more certain that fleeing for their lives was the best decision.

"Ah- I see, but it's not actually about that," Hana clarified. "And, uh- I kinda wanna talk just me and her, do you mind?"

"Oh! Say no more, I'll leave you guys alone," Rumi responded, standing up and walking over to where Hinata sat.

Once Rumi was out of earshot, Asuna turned to Hana and asked, "So...what did you need to talk about?"

"Uh...well- remember yesterday when we found those banners behind the cabinet in the east lounge?" Hana began. "And Monokuma got _reaaally_ mad at us?"

"I-I was trying to suppress that memory, but yes," the gardener answered.

"Okay, well- did anything...you know, weird happen to you after that?" Hana then inquired.

"Weird?" Asuna asked. "How?"

"Oh you know, maybe like...dreams? Weird dreams, kinda scary dreams, dreams that don't really feel like dreams and may be something more but you can't really tell? That sorta thing?" Hana elaborated, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"..." The look of sheer bafflement on Asuna's face indicated she was even more weirded out than ever, but the Ultimate nonetheless shook her head and replied, "N-No, I didn't have any kind of dream last night."

"...Really? Nothing?" Hana replied, surprised.

"Yeah, I think I'd remember if I did, anyways," Asuna said with a nod.

"..." Hana narrowed her eyes slightly and leaned in a bit. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Asuna replied, leaning back a little in response.

Hana leaned in more. "Are you _sure?"_

"Y-Yes..."

 _"Are you sure?"_

"Y-Yes, I'm sure!" Asuna yelped. "C-Can you stop now, I'm gonna fall over if I have keep leaning back like this!"

Seeing as how Asuna didn't appear to be lying, the surfer relented and stepped away, allowing her classmate to return to her regular posture.

"Uh, Hana..." the gardener began, adjusting her fedora as she spoke. "By any chance, are you asking me about this because _you_ had-"

"I-I never said anything! I'm not being weird! You can't prove a thing!" Hana yelped, before practically fleeing back to her seat, likely leaving Asuna even more bewildered by the conversation they had just had.

That was the one thing Hana didn't intend to tell anyone, even Hiroshi, about- the odd dreams she'd been having. After all, what would be the point? It wasn't like they held some secret key to the mystery of the killing game- they were just dreams. Just dreams and nightmares...

Weren't they?

Sitting back down in her seat, Hana caught movement towards the other end of the room out of the corner of her eye: it was Shiori, walking in like normal (late as she was).

"Hi, Shiori!" Hana greeted her classmate as she walked by.

Upon hearing Hana's greeting, Rumi turned her attention to the other end of the room, evidently not realizing her surgeon classmate had entered right away. "Oh! Heeeeey!"

Shiori visibly sighed upon being greeted, turning to the others and replying, "Yeah, hey- look, are you guys gonna keep getting your hopes up every time I walk into a room?"

"Well...no, just wanted to say hi," Hana responded, frowning. "But- you're still not gonna stay? Even for a little bit?"

"Seriously, you're still surprised? I made myself clear a while ago, and I'm still sticking to that at least," the surgeon responded. "Motive issues or no motive issues. I'm just grabbing food and coffee like I always do."

Noticeably, Akira had nothing to say in response to Shiori's continued lack of attendance- perhaps it was due to the fact that it would be a waste of time to try and convince her otherwise. In spite of this, the prosecutor still appeared rather contemplative, silent as she was...

As Shiori made her way to the kitchen, Hana couldn't help but notice the surgeon appeared a bit more tired this morning- had she slept in or something? Could that be why she was a bit later to breakfast? The surfer chose not to press on the matter- but it did leave her thinking.

Soon enough, Hiroshi had finished everyone's eggs, and everyone (including Shiori, who had taken her food elsewhere- though Hana still wished the surgeon would take part in the meetings again, at least she was coming around to being her usual self again) was occupied with eating. Of course, that also meant Hana was still unable to speak to Hiroshi about her motive video- irritating as that was, the surfer wouldn't give up so easily. She just had to wait a little longer- and Hana knew just the right time to to be able to talk to him.

* * *

Once breakfast had ended, most of the other students left the dining room to head off to their own individual business. Those who stayed- and it was mainly Hiroshi and Akira- handled the clean-up; then there was Hana. She was standing just outside the dining room, adjacent to the exit, silently waiting for the coroner to walk out- she was going to talk to him, one way or another.

Sure enough, wavy-haired boy walked out of the dining room, completely unaware of the surfer's presence- for a few seconds.

"Hiroshi!" Hana exclaimed upon seeing her classmate.

The coroner very nearly jumped as Hana spoke up, but he simply chuckled and responded, "Well, looks like the tables have turned on who's spooking who."

"Yeah, great, listen- I really, _really_ need to talk to you," Hana immediately said, her tone urgent. "Uh- probably not out here though. Maybe, more like..."

Gaining an idea, Hana went to grab Hiroshi's arm- only to remember he wasn't a fan of physical contact, so instead she grabbed his black vest and then proceeded to practically drag him down the hallway towards the fitness room. All the while, Hiroshi kept silent- he was more than likely confused by what Hana was up to, but he continued to go along with it regardless.

Upon entering the fitness room, they were immediately greeted by the loud voice of a certain Ultimate Racecar Driver. "Hana Amari! Hiroshi Ashi! Fancy seeing you two here! So, here to work out too? Or..."

The caped young man then struck a dramatic pose. "Maybe you two are just here to admire the awesome physique of RYOTO MIURA? It's fine, both girls _and_ guys can't help but-"

Hana, meanwhile, was completely ignoring him; she let go of Hiroshi to make her to the other end of the room. _C'mon c'mon c'mon, where is it- here it is!_

The surfer soon found the hatch on the fitness room wall and opened it up, revealing the secret passage connecting the fitness room to the furnace room. She then turned her attention back to Hiroshi, gesturing to the opening with clear intent for him to get in. Hiroshi seemed a little surprised, but nonethless shrugged in acceptance and walked over, climbing into the spacious passageway and using his e-Handbook as a light source.

Once Hiroshi was inside, Hana was about to follow...but not before turning to Ryoto and sternly telling him, "You didn't see anything."

Ryoto didn't respond, just stood silently and watched the duo enter the secret passageway with a baffled look on his face.

Hana wasted no more time climbing in and closing the hatch behind her, turning on her own handbook for light.

"So...any reason in particular we're having a discussion inside a secret passage?" Hiroshi finally inquired, the space creating a small echo when he spoke.

"There are no cameras in here," Hana answered. "And we won't have to worry about anyone walking in on us- probably."

Hiroshi nodded, then asked the important question of, "So, what did you need to talk about?"

"It's...about the motive. You know, those videos?" Hana explained. "Now, uuuh...don't, uh...don't panic, but..."

Already, the coroner's eyes lit up with realization. "Hana...? Did you actually-?"

"Hold on! It's not what you- okay it is what you think, but it's not-" Hana attempted to explain. "Oh, just...just see for yourself, okay?"

She eyed her handbook once more, finding the now dull red icon and tapping it, then turned the screen towards Hiroshi so he could see it. The video played the same way it had before- same disclaimer at the beginning, same Monokuma walking up and apologizing for a lack of a video, etc.

"...Oh. Well, now I see why you're so confused," Hiroshi conceded, his concern from before waning a little.

"Yeah...I can't really make heads or tails of what this could actually mean," Hana explained with a sigh. "Obviously, I didn't get an actual motive video like I'm sure the others did, but...why? Is this some kind of weird trick, or- or-"

"I'll admit- it's strange. Even I'm not too sure what to make of it," Hiroshi admitted...before he glanced at Hana again and asked, "Did you...know it would be a fake-out?"

"...No, I...figured it would be a regular video," Hana admitted, grimacing at her own poor decision-making.

"I see...but you still clicked on it?" Hiroshi asked, frowning.

"Y-Yeah, I- look, I couldn't stop thinking about what the video could be about, and I just- I had to make sure, I don't know!" Hana responded. "But even if it was real, even if what I thought would be on the video was actually on the video, I-I would never actually give in to the motive! I'd rather be murdered myself than actually kill someone and become a blackened!"

The surfer then added, "Besides, like Shiori said, it's just a video- if there was something else on there, it'd probably be fake anyways."

"..." To that, Hiroshi chuckled. "I knew that- you're not the type to kill someone. I just wanted to hear you say it yourself."

The coroner then went on, "Though...what did you think would be on your video?"

"...My parents," Hana admitted. "I dunno, I worry about what's happened to them since we've been stuck in here- among the other millions of things I worry about, that's definitely a big one for me."

Hiroshi nodded, glancing down as if pondering what he had been told...

"Hey...what about you?" Hana then inquired. "You didn't watch your video, did you?"

To that, he simply showed Hana his own homescreen, revealing the video icon was still brightly red.

"Curious as I may be, and while I also have an idea of what mine could be about, I don't plan on putting the stress of watching something deeply disturbing on myself," the Ultimate stated, moving the screen away. "Although..."

"Although...?" Hana repeated, urging him to continue.

"Maybe that's the angle Monokuma is going for here- it's like...psychology, similar to the first motive," Hiroshi explained. "Even if we don't watch our respective videos, we're likely to have an idea of what our greatest fear would be. Then that fear is already planted into our minds without even watching the video- the person might watch the video anyways to confirm or deny those thoughts, like you did, or those fear-filled thoughts remain even without the video. Either way, the person is thinking about that fear they would commit murder to keep from becoming a reality, just like Monokuma wanted."

"So it's, like...reverse psychology or something?" Hana asked. "Like, he's saying we don't have to watch our videos, but...that just makes us think about it more?"

"Something like that," Hiroshi agreed with a nod. "Speaking of...did you try asking Monokuma directly about why your video is...different?"

"You think I should? I don't think he'll give me a real answer- it's a motive, after all," Hana answered.

"Well, it'd be better than nothing," the coroner pointed out. "Of course, I still believe Monokuma's wasting his time in general with these videos- fear or not, nobody else is going to want to go through yet another trial."

Normally, Hana would agree with him, and she spoke to do so...but instead, she felt something deep in her mind take hold for a moment, and the surfer found herself instead claiming, "If you keep believing in hope like that, you'll only be more disappointed when things don't go your way."

"..." Hiroshi stared in Hana in surprise, blinking a few times in stunned silence.

Hana herself quickly shook her head, staring down at herself and adding, "I...I don't know why I said that, I-"

"Ah- are you alright, Hana?" Hiroshi then asked, furrowing his brow. "Saying something like that- that's not like you at all."

"I know it's not, I just- I dunno, I don't know why I'd- I was gonna agree with you, I don't know why I said-" the surfer stammered stammered, just as stunned as her classmate. "Y-You know what it might be? B-Being cooped in this secret passage, it's messing with me! L-Let's get outta here, th-that's all I wanted to ask you about anyways."

"Fair enough," Hiroshi responded, ready to make his way down the passageway again. "Let's go out through the furnace room, it'll look less suspicious on the security cameras."

Hana nodded in agreement, following the coroner down the passageway while thinking to herself, _That was so weird...normally I've just been thinking those sorta things, but now I'm saying them out loud...? What is going_ on _with me?_

It was also in this instant Hana realized she and Hiroshi were heading down the secret passage from the fitness room to the furnace room- the same path Azami had taken after killing Mikio all that time ago. Thinking of this, the Ultimate couldn't help but shiver a bit at the thought.

"By the way, Hana- I was thinking about that talk we were having about the banners you and Asuna found," Hiroshi then spoke up as they went. "I know we didn't get a chance to finish, but- are you still worried about those?"

"Uh...compared to the motive, not too much," Hana responded- which wasn't a complete lie. "And, hey, you seemed just as worried about it as I-"

"Well, I wouldn't say to worry about it too much," Hiroshi then advised her. "It's not like Monokuma actually did anything to you two, and it just seems like he wants to keep them and anything else with that symbol you described on it hidden."

"Seems like that, but...why?" Hana inquired. "They're symbols, what's the big deal?"

"Maybe it's connected to the mystery of the killing game," the Ultimate guessed. "If you can find out more about that symbol, it might lead somewhere. But that's about all I'll add to that."

Hana nodded in acknowledgement- though she was doubtful she would find much on the symbols, Hiroshi was correct in claiming it would be a good lead.

Soon enough, Hiroshi came to the hatch that would open up into the furnace room. The coroner pushed it open, not saying a word-

"KYAAAAH!"

-And was promptly greeted with a frightened cry, indicating the two would not be alone upon entry. Though Hana couldn't see who the source was, she was able to recognize the voice: it was Rumi.

"Ah- hi there, Rumi," Hiroshi casually greeted the girl, confirming Hana's thoughts, as he climbed out of the passageway.

"Hey- sorry for scaring you," Hana apologized to her classmate, following Hiroshi out of the passageway. "We didn't expect anyone to be in here."

"Th-That's fine, I forgot about the secret passage," Rumi replied. The scuba diver was sitting down, her back against the wall opposite to the secret passage's entrance. In her lap lay several pieces of paper, with some other pieces crumpled up and haphazardly thrown around her.

She looked back and forth between Hana and Hiroshi, before raising an eyebrow and asking, "Hold on...what were you guys doing in there?"

"Investigating," Hiroshi told her without missing a beat. "We wondered if there was something else hidden inside that passageway there, so we went through it to check. Our search turned up fruitless, unfortunately."

Rumi pursed her lips in thought, responding with a clearly skeptical, "You two- 'investigating', huh? Suuuure you guys were-"

"Hey, I see that look on your face!" Hana snapped at the other girl. "Get your mind outta the gutter, we weren't doing anything!"

"You sure? The two of you, in a small space, alone-"

Hana could barely contain her embarrassment/anger- so in response she turned around, opened the hatch to the secret passage, stuck her head inside, and let out a long and echoing yell. The surfer yelled for a good few seconds before turning back around and closing the hatch again, her face completely straight.

"Well, now that you're done trying to kill Hana with embarrassment..." Hiroshi began. "May I ask what you're doing in here? And what all that paper is for?"

Now, it was Rumi's turn to look a little flustered. "Oh, uh...just, you know, trying my hand at, uh...drawing! Sketching! The furnace room is all quiet, so uh...why not?"

Hana furrowed her brow and, before the scuba diver could stop her, went to pick up one of the crumpled balls of paper. She uncrumpled it and looked over it, seeing not a drawing of any kind, but...writing?

"This isn't a drawing, this is...writing? Well, a lot of it's scribbled out, but..." Hana said, looking over the paper to try and see what Rumi had written. "What is this, a...poem?"

"Uh- uh- that's nothing! Ignore that!" Rumi yelped, jumping to her feet and snatching the paper away.

Unfortunately, that left the rest of her paper unguarded, allowing a curious Hiroshi to pick up another crumpled piece and unfold it himself. "No, Hana's right- this _is_ poetry. It looks like...a love poem? If I'm reading through these scribbled-out parts correctly-"

"Ignore that, too!" Rumi exclaimed, ripping the paper away from him, too.

Hana picked up yet another piece of paper while the Ultimate was distracted by Hiroshi. "Two things- one, you've got some pretty handwriting. Two- what do you keep trying to write all these love poems for?"

"Thanks!" Rumi replied...before furiously grabbing the third paper away and exclaiming, "Now stop looking at them!"

Before Hiroshi could grab a fourth crumpled ball, Rumi ran over to gather up the rest of the paper balls and promptly threw them into the furnace, where they were swiftly reduced to mere ashes.

"...Okay, but, who are you writing the poems for?" Hana asked.

"Th-That is, uh...nothing you need to worry about!" the Ultimate Scuba Diver quickly answered. "I'm just, you know...writing...?"

"Well, it's pretty easy to figure out who they're for, anyways," Hiroshi informed her. "There's only one guy here you spend a significant amount of time with, and unless there's something you're not telling us, I think it's pretty clear they're for-"

"Okay, okay! Trying to get back at me for teasing you two a bunch, huh?" Rumi accusingly replied, her own face going red. "Well it won't work! You know why? Because-"

In that moment, Rumi gathered up the rest of her materials, then made her way to the other end of the room; she then threw open the hatch to the secret passage, threw her stuff inside, climbed in herself, then gave the duo a pointed glare before closing the hatch, essentially escaping from the conversation. This left Hana and Hiroshi to simply stare in surprise, unsure of what else to say in response.

"...Her handwriting really was neat," Hiroshi observed.

"I know! How does she write so good, the only person whose handwriting was neater than hers was Shiro!" Hana remarked, incredulous.

* * *

Upon leaving the furnace room, Hana and Hiroshi went their separate ways having discussed what they needed to. Though it would seem Hiroshi did not have all the answers (which, realistically, of course he wouldn't), Hana was still content in what she got. Well...mostly content; though her concerns about her own motive video were put on hold until she decided to speak to Monokuma, it didn't stop the Ultimate from worrying about the others. She wanted to believe that Hiroshi was right and that none of the others would give in, but...Hana was all too aware of the alternative. She had to try and figure out a way to end this killing game- even if her investigation of the East Wing turned up nothing, that didn't necessarily mean she was devoid of any more leads.

That's how Hana found herself in the library not long after the encounter in the furnace room. The surfer had gone through every bookshelf in the room to obtain any and all atlases, geography books, and everything else that may be similar. Her goal- to see if she could pinpoint a location in the world, anywhere in the world, that would have perfect temperatures, perfect weather, and clear skies day and night. Perhaps knowing the location of the killing game would, in fact, help answer a few of the questions surrounding the killing game.

To a lesser degree, Hana hoped one of the books would also have something about the odd Monokuma eye-and-hand symbol she had seen- but anything that might describe the symbol, from occult books to books on conspiracy theories, turned out to be useless in that regard.

So now, Hana sat at one of the tables, the numerous books piled up around her as she buried her face in yet another set of text. However, the only location she had read about that would fit the meteorological conditions was Jabberwock Island; an archipelago of six islands in the Pacific Ocean that, due to the islands being in an area of 'everlasting summer', acted as a massive and popular resort. Hana had heard about Jabberwock in the past, even wanting to visit the resort when she was younger, and reading more about it here made her believe this lead would go somewhere- but ultimately, the surfer realized the islands couldn't be the location either. After all, the islands were filled with vacationers and workers who no doubt would have realized something was wrong by now, not to mention there didn't seem to be any areas one could build this immense castle of death without raising any kind of suspicions.

Besides- a killing game in a tropical resort? What were the odds of _that?_

With what was probably her best lead so far a dud, Hana scoured through the other books once more. Never before had she bothered to read this much, even if it was for school, but...this was a matter of life or death, so any inhibitions she had about literature went completely out the window. She looked over a few atlases again- perhaps there were similar locations to Jabberwock in the Pacific that could be better candidates...?

"Amari."

Hana let out a loud yelp as the silence was suddenly broken by an all-too familiar voice, flinging the book she was holding straight up into the air when she did. Looking up confirmed who had spoken to the surfer- Akira Rimutsu was there, standing in front of the table and looking towards her seated classmate with her arms crossed.

"A-A-Akira! W-What are you doing in here, I- I didn't even hear you come in, uh-" Hana stammered, scrambling to sit up somewhat. When she did, the open book she thrown into the air came back down...right on top of the surfer's head, one of the pages lazily falling into her face and blocking her vision.

"Get that book off your head, Amari- I've been looking for you," Akira told her. "I need to...talk to you, about something."

"M-Me? Talk to _me?"_ Hana asked after putting the book down on the table, her surprise almost tangible.

"Yes, you- it's quite important, incidentally," the prosecutor confirmed, grabbing a chair of her own to sit down across from her classmate. "Believe me, every fiber of my being is telling me to look elsewhere, but I've considered alternatives and I- Amari, are you trying to scoot away?"

Sure enough, Hana was slowly but surely scooting her chair (and by extension, herself) away from the table- or, more specifically, away from the classmate who probably hated her the most out of their still-living peers.

"...I just...I prefer to discuss things at a reasonable distance," Hana reasoned, trying to sound serious.

"Get back here," Akira ordered, narrowing her eyes into a glare.

The surfer wasted no time doing as she was told, returning to her original spot in less than a second.

"Listen- while I have acted as a leader figure for you and our other classmates, I have to acknowledge that, for one reason or another, you have much more a...touch when it comes to deeper communication with the others," Akira began, her tone purely business-like.

"...You mean being friends with people?" Hana asked, furrowing her brow.

"And after three murders and three trials, our class of fifteen has been halved- we are down to eight now," the prosecutor went on. "Especially now, with Monokuma's latest attempt to cause a fourth set of deaths, we all need to be a united front to find a way to escape and end this damn game."

"Well I can definitely agree with that, but...I still don't understand what you're actually getting at," Hana replied.

Akira sighed. "Fine, to get to my point- we need Sauchi back participating with the group completely, like she did before the whole fiasco with the second trial."

"Oooh, Shiori! You want her participating in all the meetings again!" Hana realized, adjusting her position as she did.

"Yes, thank you for dumbing it down," Akira deadpanned. "When it comes to relations among our peers, you seem to be the only one who can...connect to the others in some way. Even Ashi, though he shares many of your beliefs and is far more tolerable in my eyes, does not quite have that same connection. Hence why, despite my opinions of you, I have come to you for help."

The prosecutor leaned in somewhat, her gaze like she was attempting to read Hana's thoughts. "So- you know her. How exactly should one go about getting her back into proper participation?"

Hana did not respond right away- she was still rather dumbfounded to find herself in what was probably the most civil conversation the two had had in a while. She figured it would best to choose her words carefully- she didn't want to find herself even further on Akira's bad side (assuming that was possible).

"Well, uh...well, remember why Shiori stopped coming to the meetings in the first place," Hana told her.

"Why she stopped? Well, it was because she was rather...angered by my actions preceding and during Tenmaru's trial," Akira recalled with a frown. "That, and she was just generally dissatisfied with attitude towards the rest of you."

"Yeah, all that. I mean, there's not much we can do about the trial at this point, but..." Hana confirmed. "The other stuff, about you and the others...I think that's where the real issue is."

"The real issue?" the prosecutor inquired. "Preposterous- I act as a voice of reason and command for the others. I don't see a need to feel anything for you all, especially since a good portion of you have proven to be rather weak-willed even in the face of Monokuma's temptations."

"See, that- that right there, that's kinda..the problem," Hana responded with a wince. "See, when you talk like that, act like that, well...it kinda makes you a..."

"Makes me a what?" Akira asked, narrowing her eyes.

"It kinda...you act like a..." Hana began again, realizing the wrong word would mean her doom.

 _Don't say 'jerk', don't say 'jerk', don't say 'jerk'-_ "You act like- like you're dissatisfied with everyone all the time! Like, you make it pretty clear you don't really trust, or... _like_ anyone...that sorta thing, you know, kinda makes people not want to acknowledge you a leader, you know?"

The surfer immediately added, "N-Not that I think _I'd_ be a good leader for anything, but if I was I probably wouldn't be so...cold, I guess?"

For a moment, it would seem Akira was about to object...but then the prosecutor furrowed her brow before adopting a look of contemplation.

 _Is...Is she_ considering _it...?_ Hana wondered- if it turned out the prosecutor was, then it would be the biggest shock of this entire killing game.

"So what you're saying is I must establish myself to have more faith in the strength and abilities of my classmates, thereby solidifying myself as a more approved authority figure, which touches upon and resolves all of the grievances Sauchi had with me in the past, and therefore causing her to realize there is no more reason for her to abstain from the class's meetings," Akira summarized, before glancing at Hana again. "This is within the realm of what you have suggested, correct?"

"...Yes," Hana finally responded, having lost track of what Akira just said- the surfer wished she had a dictionary among the books set on the table.

Akira nodded and stood up. "Very well- I know the perfect way to accomplish this. It may be slightly risky, but if the key is trust in the others, then 'trust' I shall give."

Just when Hana was ready to let out a sigh of relief, the Ultimate went on, "I'm going to call another meeting- once I do what I need to do, I shall find and gather the others. You, Amari, are to go find Sauchi and bring her to the dining room as well."

"W-Wait what?" Hana began. "You want me to go get Shiori? Now, right now?"

"Yes, right now- the sooner this is done, the better," Akira responded with a slight glare. "Like I said, I shall find everyone else once I take care of some quick business- you just have to go find her."

"B-But I've got all these books, can I at least-" Hana said, starting to stand herself.

"No- you can deal with those books on your own time, this affects everyone," Akira replied. "Now quit wasting time and get on with it."

With that, the prosecutor strode out of the library, and Hana had no choice but to follow suit. The surfer had no idea how she would go about finding/convincing her surgeon classmate, but if she wanted to avoid making the Ultimate Prosecutor mad at her again, she had to figure it out- all the while, the surfer made a note for next time to explain to Akira the concept of 'compromise'.

* * *

Hana wasn't too sure where to begin her search for Shiori- even with only three wings open, the castle was still a large place. She first checked the surgeon's bedroom, but had no luck there; then she checked the medical room in the East Wing, but nobody was in there either. After spending some more time searching, Hana finally found Shiori in the eastern watchtower- she appeared to just be coming down from the top (or maybe she was on her way up there), judging by the way she was standing on the stairs when the surfer entered.

"Hey! Shiori, hold on a minute!" Hana called up to her classmate, running over.

"Yeah- hey there, Hana," Shiori greeted her, crossing her arms upon seeing her. "What's with the shouting? I mean, you're always shouting about something, but what's the problem this time?"

"Well, I've been looking for you," Hana explained as the Ultimate descended the wooden stairs to the base. "I know, people have been looking for you a lot, but this time it's something kinda important."

"Is someone on the verge of death?" Shiori inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I might be if you don't come with..." Hana muttered. "See, Akira's calling this emergency meeting, and she specifically told me to go find you and bring you to the dining room- she said she'd find everyone else."

"Why you? And why specifically me?" the surgeon asked.

"Because me and Akira were talking when she decided to call the meeting- long story- and she wants you in particular to be there," Hana explained. "Besides, would have even stopped to listen if Akira had come in here instead of me?"

"Fair enough," Shiori conceded to that last point. "But still- unless people are going to die or something, I'm not sure how much of an 'emergency' this can really be-"

"Oh come on, please come with!" Hana suddenly pleaded, having decided to best to just be straight with her and hope the surgeon's good nature would triumph. "This was the first time in forever that Akira and I had a somewhat civil talk without her completely berating me, and I don't want to go back to being _completely_ on her bad side!"

Shiori's skeptical expression softened slightly, as if she was acknowledging her classmate's plight. After a few moments of thought, moments that made Hana feel more stressed, the Ultimate finally replied, "Okay...okay, I'll go to Akira's meeting or whatever, but only so she doesn't yell at you for once."

The surgeon then quickly added as she began to walk towards the door, "Don't go reading too much into it though, m'kay? The less people she gets mad at, the better- that's all."

"I'll take it," Hana responded, finally able to feel relieved- she wasn't sure if the two were late at this point or not, but the surfer could hope that her doing her job properly would be enough to balance out any tardiness.

As the two began to make their way towards the South Wing, Hana found herself asking, "Hey, Shiori- what were you doing in the watchtower anyways?"

"..." Eventually, the surgeon shrugged. "I was just kind of wandering around, plus I was a little curious about that pulley thing in there. Not sure why the other tower doesn't have one, but I'm no architect."

The two of them went quite again for a little while, until they found themselves back in the main hall of the South Wing.

"...Hey, Hana. Kinda a...weird question, but I've been doing some thinking, and..." the surgeon began with a slight grimace. "Well- I assume you've been doing some looking around, right? Like you and Hiroshi roped me into doing yesterday- trying to find another way out of this hellhole?"

"Yeah- why do you ask?" Hana answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, the fact that we're still in here means you haven't found anything, right?" Shiori went on.

"Well, uh...y-yeah," Hana admitted, frowning. "Again, why do you ask?"

"It's...I've been thinking more about our class's...situation, and..." the surgeon explained. "You remember what Tadao said before he was executed, right? He was going on about how we were wasting our time trying to find an alternate way to leave, basically?"

The girl glanced down. "You think maybe...he had a point after all? That maybe...there just _isn't_ another way out?"

Hana stopped dead in her tracks. "Whoa, hey, Shiori- you don't need to think like that, okay? Just because Tadao gave in doesn't mean murdering someone is unavoidable- we _will_ find another way out, and I'd even bet my life on that."

Shiori did not look convinced. "That's easy to _say,_ but...come on, is there anything around here that _actually_ proves there's some other way? Really?"

"..." Hana remembered the words of the previous message she had seen on her e-Handbook- the message that assured her there was, in fact, an alternate way to end the killing game without murder. However, she knew she couldn't tell Shiori about these odd messages- the implications they came with were too great, and even Hana herself didn't understand them. Besides, this was under the assumption whoever was sending those messages was being truthful.

"...There's a way. As long as I believe that, I won't stop looking," Hana finally told the surgeon. "Besides- it's not like we _have_ to murder, still. We could easily live as long as we need to in this castle, like Monokuma said in the beginning. And you know, forever's a long time- anything could change in that time."

"...Absolutely none of those answered my question, but...okay, it could have been less reasonable," Shiori remarked with a small sigh. Looking up as they continued to walk, the surgeon then stated, "Oh hey- we're here."

Sure enough, the duo were now approaching the entrance to the dining room, and their conversation quickly ceased. When the two of them entered, Hana looked around and realized everyone else was inside, meaning she and Shiori really were the last two to arrive.

"Oh, hi Hana!" Rumi greeted the surfer- based on her cheerful tone, she had gotten over the encounter in the furnace room. "Hey- Shiori's with you, too? Hi Shiori!"

"I'm only here because I was dragged here," Shiori bluntly responded, going over to take a seat

"...Y'know she's not entirely wrong," Hana sheepishly admitted, heading over to sit down as well.

"Socialize later, this is important," Akira told the girls- fortunately, she didn't seem to care that Hana had been slightly late to bring Shiori to the dining room.

"Now- all of you are aware this is a rather trying time. Monokuma has released yet another motive, and past experiences indicate a murder should be more likely to occur," Akira began, remaining standing to address the rest of the room.

"I mean, if you wanna be all mathematical about it," Ryoto remarked with a frown. "Not gonna happen, though!"

"We cannot say that for certain, Miura- but measures have been taken to prevent this," Akira went on. "However...that alone may not be sufficient. As the group's de facto leader, I have done my best to take measures to reduce the chances of a murder happening. But I have been...informed that such actions may not be quite so becoming of someone in a leadership position."

"So- for that reason, I have decided to make some changes," the prosecutor declared. "I'm going to try to start putting some more...trust in all of you. And in my first attempt to accomplish this...I have decided to open up the armory once again."

The entire room seemed to become a flood of shock upon hearing this revelation.

"What?" Hana began, nearly doing a double take in her seat.

"The armory? Seriously?" Hinata also inquired in his surprise.

"What...? What's with the sudden change of heart?" Shiori asked, though despite her skepticism it was clear that she, too, was as taken aback as the others.

"Simple- we have all lived through three class trials. At this point in time, only an idiot would fail to understand a fourth attempt will end in as much failure for the blackened as the previous trials," Akira explained.

"B-But- it's an armory! Do you really think opening it is gonna make things better?" Ryoto implored the prosecutor, still dumbfounded.

"Why would the armory affect anything?" Hiroshi asked. "It's not the motive, the videos are. Sure, it may help a would-be killer with a murder weapon, but that's assuming someone plans to commit a murder at all. And I don't think anyone here's watched their video, right?"

Nobody spoke up to disagree with him; Hana figured he wasn't counting her, considering the contents of her own 'motive' video.

"I get it...so unless someone has a reason to use the armory for something bad, i-it should be fine?" Asuna spoke up.

"Yes- and I'm putting my trust in all of you to ensure that remains true," Akira replied with a nod. "After all, we've survived this long- that should be a testament to something."

With that, the Ultimate concluded, "Now then- that was all I needed to inform you all of. From this point, I will...continue to try and place some more faith in you all- only through our combined cooperation will we be able to find a way to escape this castle. Keep that in mind for the future."

For that last statement, Hana could have sworn her gaze turned towards Shiori for a moment- but the surgeon either didn't notice of didn't acknowledge it.

The meeting seemed to have been concluded from there- Akira was the first one to depart, though most of the others stayed behind likely to discuss what had just occurred.

"Huh...opening the armory, wasn't expecting that," Hana remarked to Hiroshi, crossing her arms.

"I'm sure it'll be fine- like I said, the weapons in there are only as dangerous as the intent of whoever tries to use them," Hiroshi pointed out. "So long as no one resorts to murder, and I do believe we'll all be strong this time, things should work out."

The coroner then remarked, "Frankly, I'm just glad to see Akira taking some steps to be a bit more connected to the rest of us- maybe you're starting to rub off on her."

"I- _I'm_ rubbing off on her?" Hana asked, surprised. "Don't be ridiculous, she still doesn't really like me all that much, even if-"

"Hana!" Suddenly, the conversation was cut short when Rumi abruptly ran over, nearly running into Hiroshi when she did. "Oh good! You're still here- do _not_ go anywhere, just wait one second!"

Swiftly looking around, Rumi caught sight of Asuna and Shiori and yelled, "Asuna! Shiori! Don't you two go anywhere, c'mere!"

With that, the blue-haired girl sprinted away, leaving Hana and Hiroshi alone again.

"...Something tells me Rumi has something planned, and it doesn't involve us guys," Hiroshi remarked, raising an eyebrow. "So this seems like the part where I make my quiet exit."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Hana responded, watching Rumi with a frown of concern for the other two. "I think she's coming back, so now would be a good time."

"Gotcha- well, see you later Hana," Hiroshi said with a small smile, nodding in farewell before heading off towards the exit.

Hiroshi's absence, however, was quickly filled by the return of Rumi, who now had Shiori and Asuna in tow.

"Oh great! You're still here, that's good," Rumi remarked upon seeing Hana. In truth, the scuba diver appeared a little flustered, but Hana could tell it more from anticipation than any form of stress.

"Uh...everything okay, Rumi?" Asuna asked, looking up at the taller girl with concern.

"Oh, everything is more than okay- because as soon as I heard Akira say she opened up the armory, my mind started going, and I- I had an idea!" Rumi quickly explained. "A great, a really great idea!"

"...Lemme guess, you had an idea for the four of us hanging out, right?" Shiori guessed, crossing her arms.

"Yes!" Rumi immediately confirmed with an eager nod. "Because- come on, when was the last time we all actually spent time together as friends?"

"Uh...I think it was that time we all went to the library," Hana replied after a moment of thought.

"Right! And that was, like, forever ago!" Rumi exclaimed with a nod. "That was the one time we were all _really_ together."

"I mean- it was all six of us, wasn't it? After that, well- Azami got executed. Then I was planning another hangout, but Kaneki was killed before that could be done..." the scuba diver went on, sullen. "Then there was the party, but- well, Hana couldn't even be there for that, _and_ Tadao used it to kill Saku and Shiro..."

She shook her head, concluding, "The point is, it's been a long time since we all did something together as a group of friends that _didn't_ end horribly. And now that the armory's open, I thought- you know, now would be a good time to finally remedy that."

"S-Still...the armory? Not exactly my first choice for a hangout spot..." Asuna remarked with a frown.

"I mean, it's a castle, we only have so many options," Hana pointed out. "Besides, it's not like we'd hurt ourselves or anything. Plus, getting to see old-school weapons like that up-close, that'd be cool!"

 _Another thing that would be cool- seeing if there's some clue to the mystery of the killing hidden inside the armory. I mean, I didn't get a chance to look around it at all, so who knows what could be inside!_ Hana thought to herself, before a sense of guilt came over her. _No, come on now, don't go having an ulterior motive- these are your friends, you like spending time with them, and like Rumi said it's been a while since we hung out like we did at the library. You can look for clues, but don't make it the whole reason you're going._

"W-Well...I guess, since it won't be breaking an unofficial rule," Asuna replied, shrugging. "Plus, as long as we're careful, it shouldn't be _too_ bad."

"That's the spirit!" Rumi happily said. "Shiori? You're in too, right?"

The whole time, the silent surgeon had simply been watching the three of them discuss with her arms crossed and a somewhat indifferent expression on her face.

"..." Finally, the Ultimate chuckled softly before remarking, "This is a stupid idea."

She then added, "If we're actually doing this, then- gimme a minute, alright? I need to go find Ryoto and talk to him about something real fast- I'll be sure to catch up."

"Wha- _you_ need to go talk to _Ryoto?"_ Hana asked, dumbfounded. "How come?"

"Eh...it's not really _too_ important, but it is kinda private," the surgeon replied. "In other words- none of your business, alright? I'll catch up, don't worry."

Rumi narrowed her gaze in skepticism. "How do we know this isn't just you trying to get out of spending time with all of us?"

Shiori raised an eyebrow. "Because if I wanted to do that, would I have said I was talking to Ryoto? I would have said I was talking to someone like Hiroshi or...Hiroshi."

"She's got a point, the idea of Shiori willingly talking to Ryoto about something is too weird for it to _not_ be true," Asuna conceded with a nod.

"Ah- yeah, good point," Rumi responded. "Don't worry, we'll wait up for you- just don't take too long, okay?"

"Yeah, no worries, this shouldn't take long," the surgeon assured everyone. With that, she exited the dining room herself to go look for the Ultimate Racecar Driver.

"...I'm still wondering what Shiori could need to talk to Ryoto about," Hana spoke up, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Uh- it might be something medical. Maybe she _also_ found out about him jumping off the second floor yesterday, and wants to make sure he's not actually hurt at all?" Rumi speculated with a shrug. "Well, whatever her reason is, I'm more glad to see she'll actually be coming with us."

The Ultimate began to make her way to the exit as well, adding in, "Speaking of- come on! We're not gonna waste any time on this, let's go!"

Seeing as how the scuba diver was a little too eager to wait, Hana immediately followed her classmate out with Asuna quickly following.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, you've completed the reading of this part...but the PLOT SHALL THICKEN IN THE NEXT HALF! Also the last FTE of Chapter 4 will be in the next part, so no worries I didn't forget about it!**

 **Now, instead of wasting time here...YOU SHOULD BE READING THE OTHER HALF! DON'T LET ME KEEP WASTING YOUR TIME, GO, GO, GO!**


	35. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 5)

**A/N: DON'T YOU GO TRYING TO FIND ANYTHING UP HERE, GET DOWN THERE AND READ THE REST OF DAILY LIFE YOU FOOLS!**

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 **...There are none, obviously. Now go forth and read!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Daily Life (Part 5)**

The trio found themselves back in the East Wing fairly quickly, the three girls approaching the iron doors leading into the armory. Hana looked towards the floor as they walked over- the paper tag Akira had used was gone, proving the prosecutor truly had opened the room to everyone once again.

"You know, I-I never got a chance to really look around the armory when we first investigated the East Wing- I, uh, just looked around the training room," Asuna remarked as they approached.

"Well, now you're gonna be able to see it a lot more closely!" Rumi responded, walking up to the doors. "Ooh, these are bigger up close...are they gonna be hard to open...?"

While the scuba diver fumbled around with the heavy doors, Hana heard the doors to the courtyard opening and turned to see Shiori walking over to them.

"Oh, hey- that _was_ quick," Hana remarked as the other teen walked over to the group.

Shiori scoffed in response, "Yeah, it was, I, uh, told you it would be. Yeah."

Before the talk could get much further, Rumi managed to open the doors and, when she did, called out, "Got it!"

With the doors pushed open, the four girls were free to enter the armory. Upon walking in, Hana examined the surroundings- surroundings she hadn't seen in a few days. The room had that same warehouse-like appearance and ambiance, the numerous racks and shelves placed around the room were still well-organized and stocked with various kinds of weaponry- the only change Hana could see was one of the larger and heavier-looking racks being displaced somewhat, but that was probably what Akira had used to barricade the second entrance, so the displacement was explainable.

"Yeesh, overcompensate much?" Shiori remarked, as this was most likely her first time being in the armory. "What does one robotic bear need a weapons stash this big for?"

"Maybe the armory just came with the castle?" Asuna suggested. "C-Castles have stuff like that, don't they?"

"Well, whether they do or not, I'm excited to look around!" Rumi remarked. "I've never gotten to look at swords and stuff this up-close, I've always only seen them in, like, fantasy movies or books!"

"Same here- dangerous as this might be, it could also be really cool!" Hana added with anticipation. "So, yeah, let's look around a bit."

"And you-" Shiori began, turning her attention to Asuna and flicking the brim of her fedora. "-had better not start throwing things off of shelves to try to find some secret switch or something."

"Haha, very funny- don't worry, I-I won't do anything like that," the gardener assured her classmate, readjusting the hat as she did before adding, "And she said she was sorry about that!"

Thus, the four students began their exploration of the expansive armory. Hana, still wanting to know whether or not this place held any answers, did in fact start messing around with the items on the shelves in the hopes of triggering something (but not going as far as to tear the shelves apart, which would only serve to annoy Shiori). As she went, however, it was becoming increasingly clear this search would end up being a bust as well- still, there were more racks and shelves to go, so the surfer would not give up just yet.

At one point, she was near where Shiori was looking around- the surgeon in question was standing by a rack more towards the center of the room, one that contained a few sets of daggers.

"Hey- you looking at those?" Hana inquired, walking over to the Ultimate.

Shiori gave her a deadpan look before responding, "No Hana- despite the fact that I am clearly looking over these daggers, I am actually practicing my river dancing."

"Okay okay, dumb question," Hana admitted with a frown.

The surfer glanced at one of the daggers, which Shiori was holding to get a closer look at; it, along with its identical counterparts, appeared rather fancy for something meant for combat. It was extremely shiny as if it was made yesterday, and the blade itself had a slight gold tint to it.

"Huh- doesn't look like these have ever been used at all," Hana observed as she looked over the rack.

"I would hope they haven't been used before- that'd just lead to even more questions," the surgeon stated, turning the weapon over in her hands.

Hana glanced over to where Rumi and Asuna were- standing by one of the larger shelves, the former holding a rather long greatsword.

"...and in a lot of movies, the hero usually holds their sword up all dramatically and stuff- usually they have some sort of magical ability that they activate when they do this too, but sadly I don't have anything like that," Rumi said to the gardener. "But that doesn't mean I still can't do this!"

The scuba diver proceeded to grip the handle with both of her hands and raised the sword straight into the air...but the sword was, evidently, too heavy for the girl to handle. As such, she stumbled for a moment as her balance left her, before she ultimately crashed into the shelf with a yelp of pain, dropping the sword and causing the metallic weapons to rattle from the force (miraculously, nothing fell on the unsuspecting Ultimate). Asuna immediately went to make sure her classmate was okay- luckily, Rumi only appeared to be dazed, not injured.

"...Hey, Shiori, how come you're not really interacting with anyone?" Hana asked the surgeon as she watched her two other classmates. "Me, Rumi, Asuna..."

Shiori did not look her way as she answered, "You haven't really been doing that either, you've just been kinda wandering around."

"But I came over to talk to you," Hana pointed out.

"...Touche," Shiori admitted. "I...look, I will, just- go back to whatever it is you're doing, alright? I'm fine."

Though Hana was slightly hesitant, she figured Shiori's lack of interaction wouldn't last too long (especially if Rumi had anything to say about it), and thus she nodded in acknowledgement and went back to her search of the area. A search that...still didn't lead anywhere, much to the surfer's chagrin. And considering this was the last chance to find any clues to the killing game's secrets, since the books and the rest of the wing turned up nothing, it only added to her frustration...

Rumi, having taken notice of Hana's downtrodden look, walked over to her and asked, "What's wrong, Hana? You were all excited a few minutes ago, and now you're all...I dunno, sad-ish?"

"O-Oh, um- sorry, it's really nothing, I was just- thinking. On...stuff," Hana explained, immediately trying to mask her sullen countenance.

"'Thinking on...?' Ooh, wait, I think I get it," Rumi suddenly responded. "I know why you're looking kinda down!"

"You do?" Hana asked, surprised.

"Yes! I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, it's totally understandable-" the scuba diver went on. "You're sad about Azami and Kaneki, right?"

"..." Hana blinked a few times, before awkwardly responding, "Y-Yeeeah, yeah, that's- that's it, you are completely right."

"Oooh, I knew it! I- alright, come here," Rumi responded, walking over to her classmate; before Hana could ask questions, the scuba diver quickly pulled her into a tight embrace.

"...I miss them too- I really do, and I wish they could be here to have fun with us too," Rumi told her. "It's alright to still feel that way, even after everything that's happened since they died- I know I still do."

Hana said nothing in response, nor did she make any movements of any kind as she was hugged.

"But...we can't let it get us down all the time, right? I don't think either of them would have wanted that- they'd want us to keep going," Rumi went on, tightening her embrace somewhat (not to the point of crushing the surfer, thankfully). "So...that's what we have to do, right? Besides- even if they're not here in person, I'd like to think they're here in spirit. That's a good way to look at it, right?"

At that last statement, Rumi stepped a back a bit so the two could look each other in the eyes, her hands on Hana's shoulders- though the surfer was still silent.

As she stared at her classmate, Hana felt a sense of guilt welling up in her. Here she was, lying to Rumi's face about why she was upset (although there was a part of her that was saddened by the absence of Azami and Kaneki, so it wasn't a _complete_ lie) during a hangout that the scuba diver herself planned for her friends, and here that same Ultimate was trying to cheer her up the best way she could, not even realizing she was cheering Hana up for the wrong reason.

 _Ah, face it- there's nothing in here in terms of clues. You could keep searching all you want, but what are the odds something'll suddenly be there? And even you_ are _that curious or worried about missing something- you can search on your time, when Rumi's_ not _trying to help you and your other friends feel better after all the death and horror!_ Hana chastised herself. _You're spending with your close good friends- keep the 'find a way out' agenda out of it, at least for right now!_

"...You're right. You're right, I- sorry, I just...can't help but think of the others sometimes," Hana responded with a small sigh (once again, not a _complete_ lie), not really needing to fake her apologetic tone.

"I know- you do get attached to a lot of the others pretty easily," Rumi observed. "...Well, most of the others."

The scuba diver then let go of Hana, remarking, "Come on, let's get back to Asuna and Shi-"

 _CLANG!_ "AGH!"

"For fuck's sake, I _warned_ you that would happen!"

Hana and Rumi looked towards the end of the armory where the shouts came from- a shelf containing several kinds of large battle axes and warhammers. There, they saw Shiori and Asuna- the latter being pinned beneath the shaft of one such warhammer, and Shiori (with some difficulty) lifting/pulling it off of her.

"Ah- hey, guys, everything okay?" Hana asked, immediately heading over to the two Ultimates. "What happened?"

"Well, I was looking at one of these hammer things, and I was trying to put it back- trouble is, it's heavy as fuck, and I'm no athlete," Shiori began, gesturing to the metallic weapon in question.

"I-I saw she was having trouble, and it didn't look _that_ heavy, s-so I thought I'd be able to help and put it back myself," Asuna continued, dusting herself off.

"And I told her the thing was heavier than it looked, but I guess that hat cuts off hearing or something," the surgeon growled, crossing her arms. "Seriously, I'm taller and kinda stronger than you, if I couldn't lift it up enough why in the world did you think _you_ could?"

"W-Well I figured it out pretty quickly!" Asuna defensively replied. "And you don't know for sure how strong I am relative to anyone else!"

"Hey, hey- first of all, if you want this put back so badly, you could have asked me for help," Hana spoke up, walking over and taking the lengthy hammer from Shiori, then proceeding to fully pick it up and carry it with only slight difficulty- it paid to have good arm strength.

"Well excuse me, Showoff..." Shiori muttered as she watched the surfer return the warhammer to its spot.

"Hey, Shiori, lay off a bit okay?" Rumi told the surgeon with a frown. "Asuna was just trying to help you out, that's all."

"Yeah, and I'm not even involved in this, I'm just putting it back like you guys were trying to!" Hana then pointed out once she had finished. "Not really _trying_ to show off, geez..."

"..." Finally, Shiori sighed, speaking up, "I know, I...look, I know you two meant well, and the anger was kinda unwarranted."

"W-Wait, you're apologizing?" Hana realized in shock. "You never apologize for whatever you say!"

"Well that's because the sarcasm is deserved most of the time- but when I get a bit more...stressed, I kinda stop thinking about that sort of thing," Shiori admitted with a slight grimace.

"I-I didn't know you were stressed about something," Asuna remarked. "What's the matter? Is it...you know, the motive?"

Shiori scoffed. "I'm always stressed about something. For work, at school, at home- hell, a lot of the time, I'd never be able to get away with talking the way I do around you guys."

"Well- Shiori! It wouldn't kill you to relax a little bit, at least when we're around," Rumi told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're friends, right? And friends, uh...make you less stressed out?"

"That sounds about right," Asuna agreed with a little smile.

Once again, Hana saw a look of hesitation cross Shiori's features- like there was something she wanted to say, but...she didn't. Instead, the surgeon shrugged Rumi's hand off, even stepping back a little bit.

"Um...I never said sorry for getting stuck under the hammer, so uh...sorry about that," Asuna then said, frowning again.

Shiori glanced at the gardener and shook her head. "Don't do that, you didn't do anything wrong. Save that apology for whenever it's actually needed, alright?"

Hana looked around at her three classmates, before glancing over to the door to the training room. Upon doing so, the surfer suddenly thought of an idea, one that might be able to lift the mood of her friends.

"Hey, guys- what if we tried out some of this stuff on those dummies in the training room?" Hana suggested, gesturing to the other door. "I mean, I've personally always wanted to know what it was like to use a real sword."

"Ooh, now that you mention it- there _is_ something in the training room that I wanted to try out too!" Rumi remarked, eager. "Yeah, great idea! C'mon!"

Rumi was the first one to head off towards the training room, as whatever she wanted to try evidently didn't require anything from the armory.

Asuna walked towards one of the racks in the middle of the room and picked up a regular wooden longbow...a rather sizable longbow, at that.

"Uh...Asuna?" Hana began. "You're...gonna try out the bow?"

"Y-Yeah- my old school had an archery club, and I wanted to try it out, b-but they wouldn't let me in because they said I was too small," Asuna explained, having difficulty lifting up the bow as she picked up some arrows with a free hand. Before either Hana or Shiori could try to talk her out of it, the Ultimate was practically dragging the longbow over towards the training area.

Shrugging, Hana made her way over to a separate rack, this one containing one-handed swords.

"Since when were you so interested in swords and stuff?" Shiori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I kinda wanted to try them out after seeing some characters in a few games I played using them- especially after I played _The Legend of Kyon,_ that one was great," Hana explained, picking up one of the polished blades.

"The hell is that?" the surgeon then asked with a confused frown.

 _"The Legend of Kyon?_ It's one of the games Mikio made! One of his first ones, I think," Hana explained. "See, it's like an RPG and- what is it, hack-and-slash hybrid sorta thing. See, it's about this guy named Kyo who lives on a continent called Kyon- hence the title- and he's been living in this farming village surrounded by these big stone walls to keep out all the-"

Hana's eager explanation was cut short when she took notice of a second rack- this one containing smaller, one-handed axes. Upon seeing these, the surfer eagerly explained, "Oh, hey! I could try out one of those, too!"

"One-handed axes...?" Shiori observed, walking over to the rack alongside Hana and picking up one of the axes herself.

"Yeah! I've always been kinda interested in these, too- but that's mainly because the protagonist of this other game of Mikio's used one," Hana began, picking up a short axe of her own with her free hand.

"Is that so...?" Shiori inquired, paying more attention to the axe than to her rambling classmate.

"Yeah! See, the game was supposed to be part of this series of strategy RPGs- or SRPGs- called _3050,_ and it takes place in the _waaay_ distant future where the Earth's been basically terraformed by this energy from another dimension," Hana explained. "And, uh- I said 'supposed to be' because- yeah, the first game was made and released, but...I mean, Mikio's dead now, so if he _was_ gonna make any other games...well, that's-"

Hana glanced up to where she thought Shiori was- only to see the surgeon was gone, the axe she had been holding returned to its spot, and the doors to the training room having just finished closing.

 _...So much for me getting to talk about my niche interests..._ Hana lamented to herself, taking the sword and the one-handed axe with her as she entered the training room herself.

* * *

Upon entry, Hana noticed two things: Asuna was standing several meters away from one of the dummies, struggling to both hold the longbow and nock the arrow; meanwhile, Shiori and Rumi were off towards the right side of the room, seeming to be having a hushed conversation between themselves.

The surfer walked over to where Asuna was practically wrestling with the longbow, the short Ultimate barely acknowledging her classmate.

"...You having trouble with that?" Hana inquired, setting her items down and watching the other girl with slight amusement.

"N-No, I'm not! It's...taking a little getting used to, I can do it!" Asuna insisted. "S-See, look! I think I got the arrow in!"

Sure enough, the Ultimate had the arrow in and the string drawn back...well, about as far back as the tiny girl could manage. When she released the string to let the arrow go, however, Asuna lost whatever balance she had and ended up falling on the ground flat on her back, the longbow landing on top of her. To add insult to injury- the arrow ended up only flying a few feet before miserably landing on the wooded floor.

Hana had to stifle a laugh before she walked over to help her classmate to her feet. "You know that I don't judge you for your height, but- I'm starting to think those archery club guys from your old school _may_ have had a point."

"Y-You think so...?" Asuna asked, frowning at the longbow that had fallen to the floor. "Books always make archery seem so much easier..."

Hana shrugged, then picked up the longbow herself. "Hey, let me see those arrows, I kinda wanna give this a whirl myself."

The Ultimate Gardener obliged, handing her the small amount of arrows she had brought from the armory. Hana tried to set up the arrow and draw the string back as far as she could- in that regard, she had slightly more luck than Asuna. However, the necessary strength to draw the string back turned out to be more than Hana expected, not to mention it was difficult to keep the bow and the arrow straight; in the end, the arrows either didn't go too far or flew off where Hana had not aimed them to be.

"...Yup, looks easier in fiction than it is in real life," Hana concluded, setting the bow down with a disappointed sigh. "Why does fiction _do_ that?"

"Because if they played things _too_ realistically too much, the plots and other things wouldn't work as well," Asuna surmised.

Hana looked to where Shiori and Rumi were- they were still in the same area as when the surfer walked in, still deep into their mysterious conversation.

"...Hey, Asuna- do you know what those two are talking about?" Hana asked, nodding towards their other classmates.

"I, uh...couldn't tell you," the gardener replied, adjusting her glasses. "When Shiori walked in, she said she wanted to talk to Rumi about something- something, you know, private. Rumi agreed, and- w-well, I wasn't about to eavesdrop, and I'm not gonna start, so..."

Hana nodded in understanding, taking one last look at the conversing Ultimates before telling Asuna, "Well, until they're done, we can just keep messing around by ourselves. Here, I think this might be a bit better for you to use."

She picked up the one-handed axe and handed it to her classmate- sure enough, the smaller weapon seemed much better suited for Asuna (after all, she could actually pick it up and hold it).

"I-I mean...it works, it's light- b-but just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't lift anything!" Asuna insisted. "L-Like, uh, that sword right there!"

"...You wanna try lifting it?" Hana questioned, holding the sword out- the sword that, while not nearly the size of a greatsword or a longsword, was certainly not lacking when it came to length.

Asuna, realizing this, shrunk back and responded, "...Nevermind."

Thus, the two of them walked over to their respective training dummies and began to try out different maneuvers; truth be told, the two of them would look pretty ridiculous to an outsider, but at least they were having a good time.

"Hey- aren't swords a pretty popular weapon for characters to use in, uh, fantasy stuff?" Asuna asked after a few moments had passed. "E-Especially for the main characters?"

"Yeah- not really sure why though," Hana responded. "I mean there's nothing wrong with spears or axes or, like, a bow and arrow."

"I suppose," Asuna remarked, before giggling and adding, "Hey, with that sword, maybe you could be the main character of something fantasy-related!"

Hana scoffed. "Oh please, I could never be the main character of anything."

The duo's 'practice' was then cut short when they heard Rumi calling to them from the other end of the room, "Hey! Hana, Asuna, come here!"

Hana put down the sword and walked over, with Asuna leaving the axe and following. Apparently, Rumi and Shiori had finished their talk (although considering the private nature of it, the surfer figured trying to ask for details would be futile) and were now standing by the suits of armor.

"Rumi here thinks one of us should try out these armor suits," Shiori explained, gesturing to the racks. "Not that I have a chance- I'm pretty sure this suit was made for someone taller."

"Well if you can't wear it, then neither can I- we're the same height," Hana remarked, looking over the armor with a frown.

Asuna was silent, looking the suits over herself before responding, "Y-Yeah...I don't think I'd be a good fit either."

"Oh! Uh- does that mean I'm wearing it?" Rumi asked, pointing to herself.

"Between the four of us, you _are_ the tallest," Hana pointed out.

"In saying that, it looks like the suit would be a good fit on you," Shiori observed, looking between the armor and the scuba diver.

"Well- alright!" Rumi agreed, before adding, "Uh...you guys'll have to help me, because I don't actually know how to put one of these on."

After several minutes of trial and error, Hana and her two classmates were able to fit the armor suit on Rumi. Just like Shiori said, it was a pretty good fit- the trio even managed to fit her hair in the armor (how they did that, Hana still didn't understand). In short, by the time they were done, the Ultimate was completely covered in protective steel; if Hana hadn't been there to see her wear it, she likely wouldn't have known it was Rumi in the armor.

"Woo! This feels weird!" Rumi eagerly stated, her voice sounding slightly echoed from inside the metal suit. "Kinda hard to see too, but not totally impossible! I just wish this was a little better-ventilated."

"H-Hey, can you- you know, move around in it?" Asuna asked, watching with curiosity.

"Uh..." Rumi began, trying to flex her fingers and arms as the steel made little squeaking sounds. "Uh...the fingers aren't too bad, the arms are a bit harder..."

"How about walking? Can you do that?" Hana then inquired.

"I can try, hm..." the scuba diver replied skeptically.

Rumi took a very careful and tentative step forward, causing the armor to squeak and screech even more than it had a moment ago. In addition, Hana could tell her classmate was having to use a lot of effort to move forward, and it looked like she was having a hard time keeping her balance.

"Uh...are these suits supposed to be this hard to move?" Rumi asked worriedly. "Because, uh, I'm starting to think we should have checked how old or rusty this thing waAAS-!"

Just as the girl was finishing up her statement, she finally lost her balance by taking a step that was a little too big for the suit to handle, thus causing her to start to fall forward. Hana, acting on instinct, ran over to try and stop her from faceplanting into the wood floor- but she underestimated how much weight the steel armor had in addition to the person inside. As a result, the surfer herself lost her balance and wound up pinned right between the hard floor and the metal armor, which resulted in a sharp cry of pain from the blonde Ultimate.

"What was that? Did I fall on something!?" Rumi quickly asked.

"You fell on _something_ alright!" Hana yelped, trying to shove her classmate off with the one arm that wasn't stuck under the armor (to no avail).

"Hana, Rumi! A-Are you guys okay!?" Asuna asked, immediately running.

"Uh- I'm fine, the fall wasn't too bad," Rumi remarked.

"I could be better!" Hana exclaimed, still struggling to free herself. "Come on, I need my ribs!"

"Well don't just stand there, come on!" Shiori yelled to Asuna, the surgeon kneeling down to try and roll the armored student off. The gardener wasted no time getting down to try and help- but since neither of them were very strong or athletic, it was easier said than done.

"Rumi! Can't you do something?" Shiori asked as the two struggled to move the armored girl. "Like, move a little bit?"

"I would if I could! But this thing's not very mobile at all!" Rumi insisted.

Finally, the two Ultimates managed to roll the scuba diver over somewhat, enough so that Hana could move a bit more. When they did, however, gravity took over and the practically immobile Rumi started rolling towards Shiori and Asuna. The former realized what was happening and swiftly moved back to avoid injury of her own, but Asuna...didn't quite get the memo. Thus, the armor ended up rolling back, ending with Rumi now facing the ceiling and the metal suit landing right on the Ultimate Gardener's feet.

"KYAAAAH!" Asuna cried as her feet were crushed by the hefty suit.

"Oh come on!" Shiori yelped, running over to try and move the suit a second time.

Hana, now free at last, immediately scrambled to stand up and ran over to her classmates. Because she was somewhat stronger than them, rolling Rumi and the suit she was in off of Asuna's feet wasn't as difficult. Once they accomplished the task and the suit started falling towards them again, Hana and Shiori both knew better than to stay too close- by the end of it, Hana and Asuna were both free, and Rumi was back to lying facedown on the floor.

"Hey- you two alright?" Shiori asked Hana and Asuna.

"Uh- I think so, I don't feel broken or anything," Hana responded with a small nod.

"Y-Yeah, me too...uh, toes aren't important anyways, right?" Asuna replied only half-jokingly.

"Ah...in my defense, gravity's a bitch and this thing is way too hard to move!" Rumi called out, attempting to move in some way again to no avail.

Shiori sighed, suggesting, "Let's just get this thing off of you, it's more trouble than it's worth."

With no objections to that idea, the three girls proceeded to (with more trial and error) figure out how to dismantle the aged armor suit. Fortunately, it turned out to be easier than putting the suit on, and soon enough the Ultimate Scuba Diver was back on her feet and completely free of armor.

"Aaah, that was a better idea in my head..." Rumi groaned, stretching out and massaging the back of her neck like she had several cricks throughout her body. "Why was that so hard to move!?"

"Maybe it's just that old? Or these suits weren't meant to be very mobile in the first place?" Hana speculated. "Or, you know, maybe there's some technique to moving in them that we don't know about?"

"Either way- how about we _don't_ do that again, eh?" Shiori said, nudging a stray piece of armor with her foot.

"You said it," Rumi agreed before remarking, "The other downside- everything sounded so weird! Like, I sounded like a robot almost, and you guys out there sounded even louder with all the echoing inside the helmet."

"To be fair, they were being crushed in one way or another by an occupied suit of armor," Shiori pointed out.

"Then again...Hana was yelling kinda loud, so..." Asuna then claimed with a shrug.

"Uh, _I_ was being loud? You were yelling even louder than me!" Hana refuted.

"Now now, let's face facts..." Shiori began, walking to stand in between the two of them. "...You _both_ like to test the limits of the sound barrier."

This resulted in Hana and Asuna indignantly trying to defend themselves.

Rumi, meanwhile, laughed as she listened. "I'm glad to know it's been long enough that we can joke about it."

Upon taking a moment to hear what the scuba diver said, Hana and Asuna couldn't help but laugh somewhat themselves.

"Man, we really are not normal teens, are we?" Hana jokingly asked. "First fighting each other with books, now wrestling with a suit of armor?"

"Oh please, we're Ultimates in a deadly castle, 'mundane' means nothing now," Shiori stated, but even she looked like she had to _really_ try to hide her amusement.

"Look on the bright side- we didn't need a smoke bomb to fix things this time!" Rumi pointed out, resulting in more laughter as they reminisced.

Hana glanced to the side and found that even Shiori could no longer help but chuckle softly- but when she did, the surgeon's expression shifted from amusement to that hesitant look that seemed to be becoming more common for her. Then, her expression changed to something else- something akin to...anguish? In fact, Shiori looked as though she was on the verge of tears.

Surprised by the Ultimate's change in mood, Hana was quick to ask, "Hey, Shiori- you okay?"

Now, the surgeon turned her attention to her classmate, but it was clear she was hoping not to be noticed. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option as Rumi and Asuna also took notice of their seemingly distraught friend.

"Uh..." Rumi began with a frown. "Yeah, is something-"

"Stop, STOP!" Shiori cried out, stepping away from the others before anyone could make any movements towards her.

"W-What's the matter?" Asuna asked, visibly perturbed by the other girl's behavior.

"Why...Why can't things be simple...? Just a little bit, why-?" Shiori began, speaking more to herself than the others before she shouted, "This is hard enough, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THINGS EVEN HARDER!?"

Before anyone could ask what she meant, the Ultimate turned and practically sprinted out of the training room like her life depended on it.

"Wha-!? Shiori!? Shior-" Hana began, about to run after her before she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder to stop her.

"Hold on Hana- you too, Asuna," Rumi told her remaining friends.

"Hold on? W-Why?" Asuna asked, dumbfounded.

Rumi did not respond right away, instead looking to the doors to the East Wing's main hall contemplatively. Only then did she respond, "Believe me...it might not be what we're thinking. Maybe...it might not be such a big issue."

The scuba diver chuckled a bit before adding, "I mean, it's Shiori- even now, she's probably still not entirely used to...well, all this. I'm not saying that's the reason she ran off just now, but...I know she's trying to change in _some_ way for the better. I can feel it."

Hana furrowed her brow, not understanding what Rumi was talking about, but then figured it most likely had something to do with that private conversation she and Shiori were having when Hana first entered the training room- meaning she wouldn't get an answer any time soon.

"So...you're not _that_ worried?" Hana asked Rumi.

"...No, not too much," Rumi responded, a small and calm smile crossing her face.

Before Hana or Asuna had a chance to question further, the Ultimate continued, "Come on, let's clean this place up and get out of here- I've got to head back to my room real fast anyways."

Despite the odd end of the hangout courtesy of Shiori, Rumi remained strangely optimistic about the whole thing- though she probably _was_ worried about the surgeon, it wasn't outwardly to the extent Hana would have expected.

 _Maybe...I'm just overthinking this whole thing._ Hana thought to herself. _Shiori's been acting off for a few days now already, and while she's definitely getting better...I guess it's still not perfect. Besides, I don't know what she and Rumi talked about, maybe she knows something I don't._

 _Maybe...if Rumi's not_ too _worried...maybe I shouldn't be either._

* * *

After returning all the items to their rightful places, the three girls went their separate ways. Hana herself returned to her bedroom, where she had to rest for a few moments to stave off any remaining soreness that was a result of being crushed beneath a suit of armor. While she did that, she checked on the time- still had a bit of time before the start of the dinner meeting.

 _I mean...I've already spent time around a bunch of my classmates- wouldn't hurt to go talk to them at least a little more, right?_ Hana told herself with a nod. Feeling thoroughly refreshed after her rest, the surfer decided not to wait any longer before standing back up and leaving her bedroom once again. There wasn't too much time left before the meeting, but even so Hana was determined to use the time wisely.

Leaving her bedroom, Hana decided to visit an area she hadn't really been too in a little while- the West Wing, she was unsure if there would be anyone in there, but she could at least look around for a bit. She decided to go the upper route, passing through the top floor of the South Wing before entering into the second floor of the West Wing. Looking around for any other students, the surfer strolled across the mezzanine and into the hallway to her left that led to the sunroom. Despite the fact that Saku had died in there mere days before, the surfer still felt it would be a bit of a relaxing location- like it was intended to be.

Upon entering the sunroom, Hana would realize it was already occupied- she saw Asuna sitting in one of the seats, seeming to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Uh- am I interrupting something?" Hana sheepishly asked, glancing around the room as she poked her head in.

"Wha- oh! H-Hey!" Asuna quickly greeted her, sitting up a little straighter in the chair. "Couldn't you have, you know...knocked first?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize someone was in here," Hana remarked apologetically. "Just wanted to see if there was someone around here to talk to."

"Really...? N-Nevermind then, I'd be happy to talk a bit," Asuna quickly responded, also apologetic. "Uh- you don't have to stand, sit down."

Hana obliged, and soon the two girls were sitting and relaxing in the sunroom; they didn't say too much, but nonetheless Hana felt like the two of them had grown a little closer.

"So- I've kinda got another question, something I've been wondering about for a little bit now..." Hana began, trying to figure out how to word her question.

"What is it? I-Is it, you know, garden-related like before?" Asuna inquired. "Because, uh, there are still some basic stuff I can tell you about-"

"No, it's...well, I'm a little curious about your mom's botany business," Hana admitted. "You've mentioned it a few times, but not in any kinda detail. I kinda wanna know more about what kind of business that is."

"R-Really...?" Asuna asked, surprised. "Uh...n-no one really asks me about that kind of thing."

"...Is that bad...?" Hana replied, wondering if she had crossed a line.

"N-No! It's kinda nice, actually, knowing you're interested in more than just my gardening knowledge," Asuna admitted. "As for my mom's business, uh...it's nothing too extravagant or anything. People come to my mom for all kinds of things l-like gardening tips, help with salvaging or fixing a dying garden, e-even stuff like floral arrangements and such. O-Of course, she gets paid for all this- business, like I said."

"Huh- you said you help give advice to your mom's clients too, right?" Hana asked.

"Yeah- a-and actually, I get paid too, and I put whatever money I make into the business," Asuna went on. "E-Even though my mom keeps telling me to keep the money, b-because it's the money _I_ earned, b-but she and the business need the money more than me. R-Really, I'm not gonna use the money on anything."

She then quickly added, "A-And I really don't want to seem like I'm better than my mom- I-I mean, yeah I'm an Ultimate, b-but my mother's the one who gave me my start!"

"No worries- if anything, I'm not gonna think that," Hana assured her classmate. "Though, the way you talk about it...what, does the business not bring in a lot of money?"

"N-No, it's- decent money. N-Not like, you know millions, but a pretty good amount," Asuna explained with a nod.

"Okay...though, you also mentioned it's just you and your mom, right?" Hana also pointed out. "Your dad's not around at all?"

"Try 'never' been around- I-I don't know anything about him," Asuna explained. "E-Even my mom doesn't know too much about him o-other than what he looked like. The two of them just kinda...met each other by chance, a-and they spent some time together, one thing led to another, and uh...well, y-you know."

"Oh, uh...sorry, didn't mean to poke into something personal like that," Hana immediately replied.

"It's okay- j-just know it's been me and my mom for forever, so the botany business i-is all we've got to support ourselves," Asuna explained. "That's why I'm pretty grateful for my talent- h-having such notoriety as a renowned expert brings in a lot of people, you know?"

"I get that- when I was getting more famous for my skill as a surfer, a lot more people would come to the competitions I was entered in just to see me in action," Hana stated. "Kinda weird in practice, but I guess it's no different from, like, people going to a baseball game and cheering on a specific player."

Asuna nodded in understanding. "So, uh- yeah, th-the business does pretty well for what it specializes in. I-I mean, we still end up having to live pretty modestly, but..."

"Really? How come, do you guys just like saving money?" Hana asked. "I mean, that's pretty respectable I guess- not that I'm an expert in finances, but..."

"That's, uh...not really it," Asuna admitted. "We end up not having a lot of money because of, well...expenses."

"Like...for the business?" Hana inquired, furrowing her brow.

"No, i-it's..." the gardener began, before lowering her gaze. "I...I-I'm sorry, I- can't talk about this right now. P-Please, I..."

Asuna then turned away, as if getting ready to exit. "M-Maybe...another time, b-but right now...I really don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Before Hana had a chance to ask, the Ultimate briskly left the area without another word, leaving Hana stunned at the sudden change in the conversation's mood.

 _What...just happened...? Did I say something wrong...?_ Hana asked herself. _No, I don't think I did anything...I think it really is just Asuna not being ready to talk about...whatever it is that so much of the business's money is being spent on. Maybe, like she said, another time she'll open up about it?_

Still left unsure about what to think regarding Asuna, Hana silently returned to her room.

* * *

Hana couldn't spend too much time in her bedroom once she returned- after all, the dinner meeting was about to be underway, and being late was never a good thing. Thus, the surfer made her way to the dining room as soon as she could. As she did, she wondered about Akira's announcement in the middle of the day- would it be enough to bring the group back to some more unity? Or at the very least get Shiori back to participating in the meetings? There was only one way to find out.

Entering the dining room, it would appear Hana was one of the last ones to arrive as usual- but that wasn't her main concern. The Ultimate looked around the room, hoping to spot a single person amongst her surviving classmates...and didn't see them.

Hana wasn't the only one who noticed the absence- and the other person who noticed was someone the surfer was trying not to displease any more than she usually did.

"Amari!" Akira called to her, her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she approached and causing Hana to wish she had stayed in her room tonight. "Where's Sauchi? You seemed certain that me establishing more trust in the others would be suffice for her to participate again."

"Did I? Uh...that was my bad, people can be so unpredictable, y'know?" Hana replied with a little laugh...then added when Akira did not return the laugh, "Look, whatever reason you're thinking of for why Shiori's not here...it's not."

The prosecutor's annoyance only seemed to grow...

"No, really! Listen, earlier today me, Asuna, Rumi, and Shiori all went to go hang out like buds, but towards the end Shiori kinda...freaked out a little and ran off. Haven't seen her since," Hana explained to the Ultimate Prosecutor.

"Really?" Akira inquired, her annoyance fading slightly as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah- so, something else is probably going on with her, and _that's_ why she's not showing up," Hana surmised with a nod.

Akira frowned again, telling the surfer, "Well, she'd better sort it out soon- we can only go so much longer without _everyone_ being unified in some way."

With that, the prosecutor went back to where she was originally sitting, leaving Hana free to take her own seat at the table. When she did, she was quickly joined by the far more comforting presence of Hiroshi.

"Hey there, Hana," the coroner greeted her. "So, did Rumi actually have something planned for you and the other girls?"

"Yeah- well, minus Akira," Hana confirmed with a nod. "Kinda a long story, but we did visit the armory now that's it's okay to go in there. And we ended up having to save ourselves from a suit of armor towards the end."

"Heh, glad to hear you had a- wait, 'saving yourselves from a suit of armor'?" Hiroshi inquired, furrowing his brow somewhat in concern.

"Ah, you had to be there," Hana told him with a smirk and a chuckle, leaving the boy in confusion.

Moments later, Ryoto walked past them- Hana, remembering something else that had taken place earlier, allowed her curiosity to get the better of her and she called out to him, "Hey, Ryoto!"

"Huh? Something wrong?" Ryoto inquired, jogging over to see what his classmate needed.

"Ah, just something I'm a little curious about- what did Shiori need to talk to you about earlier?" Hana asked. "If it's something private, then I won't press you for details, but-"

"WHAAAAT!? Y-You wanna know what we talked about earlier!?" Ryoto cried, catching the attention of nearly everyone in the room. "You're...You're RIGHT! It's- private! VERY private! Uuuh- medical stuff! That's it, yeah! NOTHING ELSE!"

Hana stared at the racecar driver in abject shock. "...Um- o-okay, fair enough...?"

"WHUZZAT LOOK FOR!? I'm not being suspicious! Not at all!" Ryoto yelled again, frantically looking around. "Uh, uh, uh- MY CAR'S ON FIRE!"

With that 'excuse', Ryoto bolted away and ran towards the other end of the table. At the same time, Rumi was walking out of the kitchen with a pair of drinks in her hands, and Ryoto inevitably barreled into her, resulting in the contents of the two glasses being spilled all over her.

Rumi let out a yelp of surprise as the Ultimate nearly knocked her over, then looked down to the beverage spilled out all over her shirt and jacket. The scuba diver then furiously called out, "Ryoto! You get back here, I'm gonna yell at you SO hard!"

Ryoto did not go back there, instead firmly planting himself in a seat that was far away from Hana as he could manage.

Hana stared at where Ryoto had ran, then glanced back at a silent Hiroshi, then said t herself, "...I...told him I wouldn't press for details..."

"Ah, son of a..." Hinata growled to himself before standing up and walking over to Rumi. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, but these aren't," Rumi lamented, looking down at her ruined clothing yet again. "Ooh, does juice stain too badly? It probably does, who am I kidding..."

"Well- it's pretty noticeable on the shirt, but the meeting ain't gonna last all night," Hinata replied with a small shrug.

"I don't care about the shirt, I've got a lot more of those in my room," Rumi responded in exasperation. "It's my jacket; I've only got the one, and I like this one, and-! It's a rare designer jacket made from a combination of polyester, leather, and cotton, _therefore_ stains generally won't come out as easily!"

"..." Hinata stared at her in bafflement before remarking, "I...don't know how to respond to that."

Aside from the issue of Rumi's jacket, the dinner meeting wound up being rather uneventful. Shiori still did not appear, which caused a pang of worry in Hana's gut- however, it didn't seem to be a cause for concern for the other students, including Rumi. With this in mind, Hana tried to ignore any bad feelings she got and focus on her food (the group decided to have leftovers)- whatever was bothering Shiori, Hana could only hope she would be feeling a little better tomorrow.

* * *

The meeting ended, and just like usual the students scattered themselves about in the few minutes that remained before nighttime. For Hana, all she wanted to do was get to bed on time- although she was extremely anxious about whether or not she would have another horrific dream. At the same time, however, trying to avoid sleep would be even worse for her, so the Ultimate decided to suck it up and get ready to sleep.

By the time she had made it back to her room and changed into her pajamas, the nighttime announcement played. With a little sigh of exhaustion, the girl decided to absent-mindedly check her e-Handbook one more time; upon doing so, she took notice of the dull icon indicating her motive video. Furrowing her brow, Hana decided to click on it for the fourth and final time to ensure nothing fishy was going on (even though Hiroshi himself had seen the odd video)- what played was the exact same sequence of Monokuma waddling up to the camera and informing the viewer of the lack of a proper motive. The video ended, just like before, and Hana was taken back to the homescreen as confused as ever.

 _...Well, there is one way to figure out what the hell that was, like Hiroshi told me..._ Hana told herself, sitting up. _But- wouldn't it be kinda tempting fate...? A little bit, maybe...?_

Then, the surfer shook her head. _Oh who am I kidding, I've been tempting fate dozens of times now- sky's the fucking limit at this point!_

With that, Hana stood up and turned her gaze directly at the camera in her bedroom- she probably didn't need to face the camera, but at the same time the Ultimate was too hungry for answers to care.

"HEY! MONOKUMA! Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Hana shouted at the camera. "Get in here, I have something I need to ask you!"

Hana went quiet and waited a few moments...and then a few more...and then a few more.

 _...Well this was a dumb idea..._ Hana told herself with a sigh. _Of course he wouldn't show up- masterminds need sleep too, don't they? ...Or_ do _they, the mastermind_ has _seen things that happened during nighttime..._

"Why the long face, Antenna?" Monokuma, who was sitting on Hana's bed, curiously inquired.

"Oh, I was just trying to see if Monokuma would show up so I could ask him about something..." Hana responded, downtrodden. "Didn't really pan out, though."

Then, the surfer's mind actually processed what just happened, causing her to swiftly turn around and see the grinning bear sitting behind her.

"MONOKUMA!?" Hana cried out.

To this, the bear threw his head back and laughed like this was the funniest moment in history. "Ahahaha! I'll give you this, Beachcomber- your reactions to things are _priceless!_ You should see the look on your face one of these days!"

"When- how did- why are you on my bed!?" Hana yelped, gesturing to the furniture in question.

"Cuz these beds are nice and cozy, and it's late," Monokuma stated, crossing his stubby arms. "But anyways- I've been summoned! What can I do for you, Ms. Amari?"

Shaking her head to alleviate the shock and fright, Hana explained, "Listen...those motive videos you gave us-"

"Ah yes, a testament to my skills as an up-and-coming film director!" Monokuma bolstered. "In case you're wondering- I can neither confirm nor deny how real or fake the content of the videos are, but the results are 100% real, guaranteed!"

"O...Okay, but-" Hana began again. "My video...seems different from what you described at the last assembly. In fact, it basically told me that I had no motive."

"Oh...yeah, your video..." Monokuma muttered as if he had forgotten all about hers. "I gotta say, Blondie- I wasn't expecting you to watch yours any time soon. Are you finally looking to scratch that itch to kill with some bloodshed...?"

 _"No!_ I was never gonna kill anyone, legit motive video or no legit motive video!" Hana shouted at the bear. "Just tell me why my video was so weird, that's all I want to know!"

Monokuma narrowed his gaze somewhat before responding, "Well, I think the vid spelled it out pretty well- I found myself unable to give _you_ a proper motive this time around. But I couldn't just not give you a video at all, so I just kinda...made that."

"What does that mean though? You gave motives to everyone else, didn't you?" Hana asked. "Or do some of the others have videos like mine?"

"No, everyone else has an actual motive video- you, my idiot-haired student, are the lucky one," Monokuma begrudgingly said. "If I were you, I'd consider this dodging a bullet and leave it at that."

"But...I mean, I am grateful I didn't have to see anything terrible, but I- why me?" Hana inquired, furrowing her brow. "What, was it random? Was it-"

"Oh my god, I said LEAVE IT!" Monokuma snapped in fury. "Can't I get a break for once!? I had nothing to work with for you, so cut me some goddamn slack and mind your own business!"

"...What? 'Nothing to work with'- huh?" Hana stammered, unsure how to respond to what the bear had just said.

"...Oops! Did I...say that out loud...?" Monokuma asked himself, a hint of nervousness entering his voice. "Uh- how about you just forget that last part, huh? Uh- I'm not gonna tell you a thing about the videos, so quit trying to interrogate me!"

The bear sighed and continued, "Honestly, you're the second person to ask me about their video. I thought the motive was pretty self-explanatory, but..."

If nothing else in the conversation caught Hana's attention...well, that certainly did. "W-Wait, second person? Does that mean...someone else-"

"Puhuhu...this seems to be the right time to wish you goodnight, Ms. Amari," Monokuma said, hopping off her bed as his grin gained a more sadistic. "I think you're gonna need it. I have a feeling things are gonna get _very_ interesting _very_ soon."

Before Hana could ask any more questions, the bear dove down under her bed, and was gone as swiftly as he arrived yet again.

 _...The_ second _person to ask...? He couldn't be saying...someone else...!_ Hana fearfully thought to herself, but quickly shook her head. _No, no- they're just videos. Even if someone besides me did watch theirs, it doesn't automatically mean they'll commit a murder! ...Right...?_

With too much doubt in her head, the surfer set her e-Handbook down on the desk and laid down under the covers. It didn't take too long for her to drift off to sleep...but even as she did, Hana was still hoping and praying that there wouldn't be another tragedy tonight.

* * *

Surprisingly, Hana had no odd or scary dreams that night, which was already a massive relief to her when she woke up. The girl awoke when the morning announcement played like she usually did- also a good sign of things seeming normal. Perhaps the morning meeting would further prove her right with everyone being there? There was only one way to find out- and, after her talk with Monokuma the night before, she wanted nothing more than to be proven right for once.

Quickly cleaning up, getting dressed, and making sure she had her e-Handbook, Hana made her way to the dining hall as was routine at this point. She still saw no other students on the way there- which did not exactly spell a bad omen as it spelled the surfer being one of the last ones to breakfast.

Sure enough, upon entry, Hana noticed many students were already mulling about- not all of them, indicating the girl was still not entirely late. Still, the girl would not feel completely at ease until she saw all her classmates in the dining room.

"Morning, Hana," Hiroshi greeted her once the two saw each other. "Seems like you're a little more on-time today."

"Yeah- had a decent sleep, actually," Hana told him. Looking around the room, she took notice of Hinata entering the dining room- the thief seemed a little tired, but then again he never seemed to be a morning person. She then turned to some of the other students- particularly Rumi, who was currently sitting by herself. To Hana's surprise, she seemed a little tired too- not to mention her jacket and pearl bracelet were missing, leaving her wearing a plain white t-shirt.

Breaking off from Hiroshi, Hana walked up to her scuba diver friend and spoke up, "Hey, Rumi- good morning."

"Huh-? O-Oh! Hey, Hana!" Rumi greeted her, trying to stifle a yawn. "Sorry, it was uh- just one of those nights, I guess. I just need a bit of food, then I'll wake up a bit."

Hana nodded, then asked the main question on her mind. "Hey- your jacket's gone."

"Well, yeah- Ryoto made me spill juice on it, remember?" Rumi reminded her. "I couldn't get it clean last night, and...I'm not about to walk around in a stained jacket, so..."

"Fair enough, but- what about your bracelet?" Hana then inquired. "You're not wearing that, either."

"Well usually my jacket sleeves are enough to make sure I don't have to worry about the pearls getting dirty," the Ultimate explained. "But since I'm not wearing it, you know..."

"Ooh. Yeah, that bracelet does seem pretty important to you," Hana observed, before teasingly adding, "I mean, if a guy I was into gave me something like that, I'd also try to-"

Rumi gave the surfer a light smack on the arm in response, prompting a light chuckle from Hana.

However, the lighthearted aura of the room was cut short when a frustrated Akira looked around and spoke up, "Dammit- okay, where exactly is Sauchi? How long is she going to keep up this act of abstaining from these very important meetings!?"

Hana looked around the room again- and sure enough, saw no sign of the Ultimate Surgeon. Already, a familiar twinge of dread formed in her stomach...

"Calm down, Akira- Shiori might just be running a little late," Hiroshi speculated, levelheaded as usual.

"No dice, Hiro- haven't seen any trace of her for a little while now," Hinata spoke up, shrugging. "Kinda weird, if you ask me..."

"Oh, pleeease don't bring up how weird it is..." Hana softly pleaded, her anxiety making her feel sick.

Asuna looked around herself, only to let out a little gasp and say, "H-Hey...guys? Shiori's...not the only one missing."

"She isn't?" Hana asked, her dread replaced with surprise.

"Y-Yeah...? I mean, just listen," Asuna told them with a frown.

"Listen...? I mean, it's pretty quiet in here-" Rumi responded...before letting out a shocked gasp. "Oh my god! Ryoto's not here either!"

"What? Miura too?" Akira asked, looking around as well. "Well, I doubt _he's_ running late- Miura's usually here by now, even if he does decide to take a detour to the fitness room from time to time..."

 _She's right...oh my god, they're_ both _missing, w-why are they_ both _missing!?_ Hana asked herself, having a harder and harder time keeping her cool.

"Well, if that's the case...then let's go look for 'im!" Hinata declared, standing up.

At that moment, everyone stared at the Ultimate Thief in silence.

"...What?" Hinata asked, furrowing his brow. "Come on guys, what're you all waiting for!?"

"...Uh...nothing, it's just- _you,_ taking lead on something..." Hana began. "Just- you know, you've never actually... _done_ that before."

"What? It's not like I can _never_ take initiative- what do you guys think I am, some lazy bum?" Hinata asked with a glare at the others.

"Yes," several of the students responded (resulting in a face palm from Rumi).

"Regardless...Yonade has a point," Akira conceded. "Something is certainly amiss here- and with the motive around, we can't just ignore it."

Hana felt a familiar chill go down her spine. _No...no, no, it could be nothing. We might just...be overreacting to all of this! Right...? Right!?_

The Ultimate Prosecutor quickly stood up. "Hamasaki, Izumi, you two search the West Wing; Amari, Ashi, search the East Wing; Yonade, you're with me, and we'll be searching the South Wing. If anyone finds Miura, or even Sauchi for that matter, head for the courtyard. We'll all meet up there after we're all done searching, understand?"

The others nodded in understanding; Rumi and Asuna were the first ones to leave, making for the West Wing. Akira swiftly left as well, with Hinata about to follow her.

"Hey, Hinata- you good being with Akira?" Hiroshi inquired. "Nothing against her or anything, but you two...don't really see eye-to-eye, to put it lightly."

"Yeah? She doesn't really see eye-to-eye with anyone- can't let it bother me, though," Hinata responded, shrugging. "So what are you guys still standing around for!? We need to look for the others ASAP!"

"S-Seriously, Hinata- since when do you talk like that?" Hana asked him, baffled. "You're usually a bit more...I dunno, lazy-ish? No offense, but..."

"Yeah, and right now people are fucking missing! So I'm gonna do my part to find out what's going on, and you two had better do the same!" the thief exclaimed, both dodging Hana's question and adding to the surfer's confusion. Not that Hana could question him further, because the Ultimate swiftly ran off to catch up to Akira, leaving his two classmates utterly dumbfounded by his behavior.

His quick exit, however, still didn't stop Hana from shouting in the direction Hinata had ran, "WHO _ARE_ YOU!?"

* * *

Running through the courtyard, Hana tried to stave off any terrified thoughts that ran through her mind. _Monokuma said last night things would get 'interesting'- is this what he meant? Shiori, Ryoto- is one of them dead? Are BOTH of them dead!? Why, why did I think everything would be fine!? Why_ can't _everything be fine!?_

"Okay, we're here- maybe we should try splitting up," Hiroshi suggested. "I'll look at the top floor, you can search the bottom floor. That alright?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah I can...deal with that..." Hana responded, her face pale from fear and a nauseated feeling washing over her.

Hiroshi's determined expression softened a little as he glanced back at the distraught surfer, calmly telling her, "Don't be scared, Hana. They're going to be just fine- _both_ of them."

Gulping, Hana nodded and replied, "I...you're right, we...we shouldn't think the worst just yet, right? Right."

With that, the duo ran into the East Wing; quickly nodding to each other, Hiroshi sprinted towards the stairs to get to the top floor while Hana stayed on the ground floor.

"RYOTO! SHIORI!" Hana yelled, her voice echoing through the polished walls of the main hall.

The girl sprinted towards the doors to the armory, practically throwing herself through them as she called out again, "Hello!? Ryoto!? Shiori!?"

When she got no answer, Hana quickly ran through the room to make sure she hadn't missed anything- but it was devoid of any human life. She then quickly ran into the training room, still calling out to her missing classmates- after a quick run-through, she was able to confirm no one was in the training room either.

Hana sprinted out of the training room back into the main hall, then turned to run into the medical room- how long had it been since she had been sitting in there with Shiori performing a makeshift check-up? Likely about two days, but to Hana it felt like so much longer.

"Hello!? Ryoto, Shiori!?" Hana yelped as she burst into the medical room- only to quickly find it, too, was empty.

Heading back into the main hall, the surfer took notice of Hiroshi running back onto the mezzanine that made up the central area of the East Wing's second floor.

"Hiroshi! Did you find anything!?" Hana frantically called up to him, approaching the stairs that led to the second floor.

"No- I searched this central area and the lounge, and I didn't find either of them," Hiroshi told her. "All that's left to search is the watchtower."

"W-Well, I can help you search that, I'm done down here anyways," Hana responded, quickly ascending the stairs herself.

The Ultimate Coroner made no objections to that suggestion, and soon enough the duo were running down the second hallway that led to the eastern watchtower. With no sign of Shiori or Ryoto in the hallway or by the gate blocking the North Wing, there truly was no other area left to search. Thus, the two hurried into the torchlit base of the watchtower, immediately looking around for any signs of either Ultimate.

"Shiori!? Ryoto!?" Hana called again, running to the center of the tower's base.

"Nothing down here..." Hiroshi observed, looking towards the stairs. "Which means one of them might be- what the-!?"

At that moment, Hana followed Hiroshi's gaze, and was dumbstruck herself. About halfway up the tower, several of the wooden stairs were completely demolished; tiny fragments of slightly splintered wood jutting out of the wall were all that remained of the broken steps, with the wooden debris having falling several feet below ad lying on the stone floor of the tower.

"What in the- who broke the stairs!?" Hana exclaimed, her panic only rising.

"I'm not sure, but...it definitely wasn't like that yesterday," Hiroshi remarked, walking over to stand somewhat underneath the broken area. "There aren't _too_ many of the steps broken, but...I don't think all of us will be able to simply _jump_ a gap like that..."

"Well, we have to search the top, how will we-" Hana began, only to be interrupted when she heard the tower's door opening.

"Ashi! Amari! There you two are- what's been taking you so long!?" Akira demanded as she entered the tower. "We've been waiting on you two in the courtyard for a little while now."

"You have? D-Did one of you guys find them!?" Hana quickly asked.

"No, we did not- and I'm assuming you two have not had better luck?" Akira observed, crossing her arms.

"Afraid not- the last place we need to search is the top of the tower, but the stairs are ruined," Hiroshi explained, pointing up towards the broken section. "It could certainly be worse, but the gap is still too wide- too risky for any of us to reliably try and jump across."

Akira growled to herself, closing her eyes to think...before opening them again and telling her two classmates, "Both of you, wait right here- I'll be right back."

With that, the prosecutor ran out of the tower to parts unknown, leaving Hana and Hiroshi to stay behind and wait. After what felt like a lifetime to Hana, Akira returned...but now, she was lugging with her a few items from the armory: namely, a pair of rather long battle axes.

"Whoa! W-What are you gonna do with _those!?"_ Hana yelped upon seeing the large axes.

"Necessity is the mother of invention- take notes," Akira replied, dragging the steel weaponry up the stairwell towards the section where the steps were smashed.

When she made it up there, the prosecutor proceeded to lay the axes down flat across the steps, their lengthy shafts parallel to each other and extending across the opening created by the absent steps. At the same time, the blade part of the axes were flat on the unbroken steps, each blade on an opposite end of the gap and providing some semblance of stability.

"There- I can only hope now that you all have good balance," Akira remarked as she finished. "Come on then- I'd might as well help you two finish while I'm here."

Hiroshi nodded and ran up the stairs himself- Hana would follow him, but not before taking a moment to remark, "An axe bridge...sweet!"

The trio carefully made their way across the makeshift bridge before reaching the other side, where they then proceeded to quickly ascend the rest of the steps towards the tower's summit. All the while, Hana's heart rate accelerated from fear and worry, and she thought to herself over and over again, _Please don't have a dead body, please don't have a dead body, please-_

The moment the trio reached the top floor of the tower, they saw something directly in their line of sight: a pair of legs, clothed in a white tracksuit and black boots.

"Ryoto!" Hana yelped, being the first one to run over with Hiroshi and Akira close behind. In their haste, they failed to even glance at the other half of the room- but at that moment, that didn't matter.

The Ultimate Racecar Driver was lying facedown on the wooden floor, the upper half of his body having been completely obscured by the crates next to him. The gentle rise and fall of his back provided a clear indication that, albeit unconscious, Ryoto was very much alive.

"Okay, he's breathing- good, he should be fine," Hiroshi remarked with a relieved sigh.

"Don't be so calm, Ashi- this just raises more questions..." Akira stated, adjusting her glasses as she stared down at the unconscious Ultimate. "What in the world was Miura doing up here? And what actually happened to him?"

"I mean...he didn't fall asleep up here, otherwise Monokuma would have executed him for breaking a rule," Hana remarked, kneeling down to try and look at her classmate more closely. "Someone must have knocked him out then, but..."

"Hm...maybe the rest of this upper area will hold some kind of-" Hiroshi began, turning around to look at the rest of the tower's top area for the first time since their arrival...and let out a sharp, shocked gasp.

"Ashi? What's the matter now-" Akira began, turning around herself...and going completely silent in that moment.

"Guys...?" Hana began, glancing towards her two companions as they went quiet.

"Hana...don't look now, but-" Hiroshi began, his voice going shaky as he and Akira continued to stare at something on the opposite end of the area.

"What? What do you mean, is there-" Hana quickly replied, jumping to her feet and turning to where he was looking...

In that moment, pure shock and horror struck her like a truck, and the surfer wished she hadn't failed to heed Hiroshi's warning. For what the three had failed to notice when they first ascended the steps, there on the other side of the room from where they entered and saw Ryoto...was a completely different scene.

The first thing Hana noticed was the blood, and there was a lot of it. The splattered blood began a few feet away from the center of the room and moved in a straight-ish path path towards the wall. And following the blood trail to that spot...would allow three to something even more horrifying.

She was in a sitting-like position on the floor, slumped lifelessly against the stone wall behind her- one leg curled in, the other laying flat on the floor. Her arms were lying limp at her sides, a small scalpel lying a few inches away from one of her motionless hands. One might assume she had simply fallen asleep against the wall; the scene around her, however, would tell a different story. A pool of blood had formed around the lifeless body, and a large bloodstain could be seen slightly above her on the wall and smeared straight down, like the victim had been up against the wall and slid downwards. As for the victim herself...her clothing was spattered in blood; her signature white lab coat, the same one that was always kept so clean, was now a dark crimson. Dried, spattered blood could be seen around her mouth; and the most glaring thing of all was the shining, blood-soaked katana stabbed through her chest.

They had found Shiori. Bloody, pale...dead.

"You...have got to be kidding me...!" Akira growled to herself, clenching her jaw as she clearly tried to keep her composure.

Hana, on the other hand, could do no such thing. "Shi...or...SHIORI!"

Deep down, the Ultimate knew in her mind it was far too late to do anything for the surgeon, but her heart wouldn't allow her to accept it. The girl ran forward towards her bloodied classmate...but when she had only taken a few steps, a noise played. A familiar noise- a terrible one.

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

The dark area was further lit by the monitor turning itself on, revealing Monokuma's cruel face. "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

And just like, all of Hana's remaining hope was destroyed, and she had no choice but to face reality. The Ultimate made no further movements towards Shiori's body- instead, she started to tremble, dropping to her knees as she fought the urge to break down crying right then and there.

"...Forget it, Amari. She's dead," Akira told her, her voice betraying no emotion. "I'm going to get the others- neither of you are to touch anything in here while I'm gone. And if Miura wakes up, make sure he doesn't touch anything either."

The prosecutor left after giving those orders, but Hana had no intentions of moving. She lowered her head more so she could only see her knees and the bloodless floor immediately around her- if she had it her way, she would have ran back to her room right then so she could wake up from this nightmare. But it was no nightmare, and running away was not an option; so Hana had to sit there, fighting back her tears in the room with an unconscious Ryoto, a dead Shiori, and Hiroshi who seemed just as shell-shocked as Hana.

Akira soon returned with their other three classmates- fortunately, no one had fallen from the axe-bridge nor had it fallen.

"What the fuck!?" Hinata yelped upon seeing the surgeon's corpse. "N-No way! Someone's dead again!?"

Rumi's eyes widened and her face grew white as a ghost upon seeing the crime scene, and Hana was afraid the scuba diver would faint from the sight. "That...That's...!"

"Oh my god- oh god, Shiori!" Asuna cried out in horror. "N-No, no no no this can't be happening again, _no!"_

"Everyone, calm down now!" Akira yelled at them. "And Amari! Get up, would you!?"

Hana immediately obeyed, standing up and wiping away any tears that threatened to spill over.

Rumi, her frame trembling, forced her gaze away from the body of her friend, only for her eyes to land on Ryoto. "H-Hey...Ryoto, is he-?"

"He's alive," Hiroshi told her and the others. "It wasn't until after we found Ryoto that we found...found Shiori."

Akira shook her head. "Honestly, this is already a strange case, but rest assured we cannot-"

The Ultimate, however, was interrupted by the sound of a tired groan, followed a certain person's voice:

"Muuugh...fuck, what happened...? This ain't my bedroom..."

"Ryoto...? Ryoto!" Hana called out, turning around to see the racecar driver waking up.

"Wha-? Hana? Where's-" the young man began, pushing himself up with his arms before glancing over his shoulder. "What the-!? Everyone!? And why am I in the TOWER!?"

The Ultimate sprung to his feet and turned around to face everyone. "What's going on here? Did I- not show up to breakfast? Wait, is it even morning? WHAT TIME IS IT!?"

Nobody responded- everyone was staring at Ryoto in absolute shock, completely silent.

"What? What's everyone staring at me for?" Ryoto asked, looking around. "Is anyone gonna tell Ryoto Miura what's going on!? And why does it smell like- YAAAAAGH!"

The Ultimate had caught sight of Shiori's body through the group of his six other classmates; he wasted no time running past all of them to stand near the deceased surgeon, as if he had to get closer to make sure what he was seeing was real.

"HOLY FUCK! HOLY FUCK, SHE'S- SHIORI'S DEAD!" Ryoto cried out, the panic and horror in his voice almost palpable. "W-What, did you guys just find her!? Are we already investigating!? SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENIIING!"

Again, everyone was silent, still staring at the racecar driver like he had grown a second head.

"Wha...? Why's everyone looking at me like that!? THERE'S A DEAD BODY RIGHT HERE!" the Ultimate shouted at all of them. "What's gotten into you guys!?"

Finally, Akira broke the silence with two simple words: "Look. Down."

Doing a double take from confusion, Ryoto nonetheless obeyed...and suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise.

He saw what everyone was looking at: the front of his torso, in stark contrast to his white tracksuit, was almost completely covered in dried blood.

Ryoto stared back and forth between himself, his classmates, and Shiori's body; all the while, his face grew more and more pale as realization dawned on him.

"I...I, uh..." Ryoto gasped, his loud and boisterous tone from before shattered. "I...can explain...?"

* * *

 **A/N: AAAAND THE PLOT THICKENS EVER SO! I really need to work on predicting how long each of these parts will be, at this rate I'll be making parts too long and having to split them up to compensate left and right. Once again- this is a me thing, I don't like to make Daily Life sections too long. I don't know, I just- I don' like it, m'kay? I know you guys probably don't care as much, but for me...it bothers me for some reason, I dunno. Thus, splitting is necessary.**

 **Now, onto the content itself: that's right everyone, the fourth murder is none other than- oh who am I kidding, everyone and their grandmothers guessed Shiori would be the victim this time. A guess that, lo and behold, was very much correct! Either that means you guys are really smart cookies or I'm a bad and predictable writer- and since I managed to pull off a decent Chapter 3 case, I _know_ it ain't the latter.**

 **That does, however, mean Daily Life has come to a close...and Deadly Life will begin in the next part! What kind of crazy murder case will the class be dealing with this time? Is Ryoto in all his bloodstained glory somehow involved? How many mournful and/or angry reviews will I get as a result of killing off a character who, it seems, is a fan-favorite? Only one way to find out- stay tuned for next time! Well, for the first two anyways, the last one is just me sitting here looking that smug cat with a knife (or tons of knives) being pointed at it- you guys know the meme.**

 **Until next time, dear readers- farewell!**


	36. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 6)

**A/N: Oof, here we are again! Murder has come to town, and it's time for the 80th Class to solve the mystery! And to become depressed, but it's safe to assume that comes later.**

 **So, last time in the part that was meant to be one part but I had to split it up into two- stuff happened! And by stuff I do mean Shiori, the sass doctor herself, was the one who bit the dust! Also Ryoto was there, and he's lookin' quite suspicious right about now! Basically, there are a lot of questions to be had with this case- let's see how many of those can be addressed, for better or worse, in this first half of the investigation! Hope you've got your thinking caps handy, because Deadly Life starts...now!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Ah, interesting thoughts you've got there! Can't really say much on the theories and predictions, but I'll address what you said about Akira. Glad the shock factor was there, that was kinda the intent- I mean it wasn't _entirely_ meant to for shock value, it was more to emphasize a sense of development around Akira. Remember, as much of a jerk as she can be, she hates the killing game as much as everyone else and (much like Hana) would rather not see a murder happen. Her going to Hana, of all people, and actually taking her advice more or less kinda emphasized that as well as how serious the killing game has grown, what with half the class dead at this point; the surprise/shock of her doing so, both in-universe and for readers like you, being a byproduct of that.**

 **...In saying that, I agree that now that a murder's happened anyways it's likely going to have some...negative impacts on that same development. You'll see, you'll see, hehe...**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Ah, but if you strike me down I will become more powerful than you could ever imagine. (Also neat speculation- reverse psychology is neat, yet it would also be so tragic to kill off one of those two. But whether or not one of those theories is correct- well, you'll just have to wait and see.)**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Don't worry, I can give you an F right here: F**

 **Anyways, I always appreciate the lengthy speculation, even if I can't really respond to much of it for spoilerz (although I think I addressed the Akira thing in my reply to MaskedGamer). I can bring up a few things, however, to alleviate some confusion going into this: the way the crates were positioned when Hana and co. found Ryoto is _not_ suspicious, Ryoto just happened to pass out/be placed/whatever happened to him in a spot that would cause him to be partially obscured by the crates from where they entered. **

**In addition, since this is related to FTE stuff and not murder stuff I feel a little more freedom to say: Asuna's mother is a sweet lady, therefore I debunk your thoughts that the 'expenses' Asuna mentioned are anything like what you speculated. I mean I won't say what they actually are, but- just know they're not as sinful as you may believe.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

Today was supposed to be a better day- or at least, Hana had hoped today would be better. But since when did hope mean anything in this castle? The situation at that very moment served as further proof of that, as much as the surfer wished for it to be one big nightmare.

There they were- the seven remaining students, standing at the top of a watchtower that had become yet another crime scene. On one end of the room, the Ultimate Surgeon's bloody corpse, slumped against the wall; a few feet away from her, Ryoto stood with a pale face and panic in his eyes...and the front of his tracksuit being covered in blood.

"I...I, uh..." Ryoto began. "I...can explain...?"

"Ryoto..." Hiroshi began, his tone and face dead serious. "You...know how this looks, right?"

"I-I know! I know it looks REALLY bad!" Ryoto quickly insisted, finding his voice again. "You guys gotta believe me though, I- I don't know anything! I'm as confused as the rest of you!"

"What!? How can you _not_ know why you're up here, covered in blood!?" Rumi cried out.

"I don't know! B-But I swear, I'm telling the truth!" the racecar driver insisted. "I don't know what happened, honest!"

"Really? 'Cause you're the only other person that was up here, the literal crime scene-" Hinata began, his gold eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Oh, and- YOU'RE COVERED IN BLOOD!"

"I DON'T KNOW _WHY_ I'M COVERED IN BLOOD!" Ryoto cried, the terror and panic in his voice tangible.

"Well Miura, I hope you can figure it out soon..." Akira began with a frown. "Because right now, you're looking like the most obvious suspect."

"No no no! Don't suspect me, please!" Ryoto pleaded. "I'm telling you, I didn't kill Shiori! I swear, THIS IS A MISTAAAAKE!"

 _Wow, he is...really panicking, isn't he?_ Hana observed with a wince. _Still, I guess I wouldn't be much better if I was in his place..._

"Oh my- am I, perhaps, interrupting something?" Monokuma's child-like voice interjected into the room. Hana and the others turned to where it was coming from to see the robotic bear poking his head up from where the watchtower stairs led into the top room, his grin that of amusement.

"Not now, asshole! Can't you see I'm trying to defend myself here!?" Ryoto angrily shouted at him.

"Yeah yeah, I'll let you guys get back to the drama in a second- I was just here to give you guys something veeery important!" Monokuma stated, fully entering and looking around at the scene. "Now, let's see what we've got here- hm, mm-hm, mm-hmmm...yup! Pretty messy case you guys have got here!"

With his trademark laugh, he went on, "Of course, that juts means you guys should appreciate this even more!"

"It's...the Monokuma File, right?" Asuna asked.

"Ding-ding-ding, give Shorty a prize!" Monokuma cheered. "That's right! It's- the Monokuma File! Comin' to ya hot off the presses!"

Monokuma flourished his paws like always, and several notification sounds filled the smaller room- the Monokuma File had been uploaded to their e-Handbooks as always.

"Alright-y then! Sadly, the killer didn't go the extra mile with killing another person like Beef Wellington did, buuut...I think this trial's gonna be a fun one anyways!" Monokuma eagerly said. "You guys know the drill by now, so I'm not gonna waste time expositing or anything- there's not really much to explain anyways. There's a trial on the way, and for your guys' sake you'd better be ready for it! See you guys there!~"

With another crazed laugh, the bear swiftly ran out of the room and down the wooded stairs- being a robot, Hana was sure he didn't have to worry about falling to his demise due to the gap that had been smashed into the steps.

"...So, uh...like I was saying-" Ryoto began, gulping down any anxiety he might have been feeling.

"Enough, Miura- whether or not you're truly innocent will be proven soon enough," Akira told him. "The last thing we need right now is to waste investigation time with unproductive bickering."

"As for the investigation itself- I'll handle the autopsy, as usual," Hiroshi stated, donning a new pair of gloves from his jeans. "Since there's only one victim this time, I don't think we'll have to deal with as many complications as the previous case."

"Uh, y'know- I know we don't know if Ryoto's actually guilty or not, but..." Hinata spoke up. "If he is the real killer, then should we really let him just run around all free so he can get rid of any evidence?"

"Wha-!? I'M _NOT_ THE KILLER!" Ryoto yelled once again.

"Yonade has a point, surprisingly- we shouldn't take that risk," Akira responded. "Miura, I want you to stay within the confines of this tower- specifically, the bottom area. That way you'll be away from the primary crime scene, and you could also act a guard for the scene as well- seeing as how our usual guards are no longer with us."

"I, well-!" Ryoto stammered, before sighing in resignation. "Alright, fine..."

"Uh- what about the crime scene itself?" Hana added. "Sure, Ryoto's one guard, but shouldn't we have another one like we usually do? Hiroshi can't be up here examining the body all day, right?"

The moment Hana finished talking, Akira shot the surfer a side glance- a glance that, while not even direct, still conveyed a burning rage towards the surfer. This both confused and terrified the Ultimate, who then decided to keep quiet.

"...I'll do it," Rumi suddenly spoke up. "I can guard the crime scene."

To that, Hana nearly did a double-take, and it would seem many of her classmates felt the same.

"Whoa, uh- you sure about that?" Hinata asked her, furrowing his brow in concern. "I mean, you and Shiori were kinda buds and all, and now she's...you know."

"It's fine, I...I can handle it," the scuba diver insisted, taking a breath to steady herself. "I can handle it."

Akira did not seem to concerned, and the prosecutor promptly said, "Alright then- looks like everything has been addressed. Now, we can properly begin."

With that, the Ultimate prepared to leave, but not before shooting another angry glance towards Hana. She then turned her gaze towards the rest of the room, then to Shiori's corpse, before subtly shaking her head in frustration and briskly descending the stairs. Hinata and Asuna soon followed suit to start their own investigations, while a disgruntled Ryoto made for the bottom floor himself to start his 'guard' job. Rumi went off to another section of the room, her facial expression unreadable, while Hiroshi walked to where the victim lay to begin his own autopsy.

 _I already feel like this case is going to have so many questions around it...but right now, I'm wondering why Akira's so mad at me..._ Hana thought to herself. _Well, she's always mad at me, but this time seems a little more...personal._

The surfer clenched her fists and tried to clear her head. _Well, I can't think about her right now, I need to...need to focus on investigating...on finding Shiori's...killer..._

She glanced around worriedly, anxiety swelling in her. _Who might be Ryoto, or might be someone else entirely...that same someone who's gonna be dead by the end of the trial if we get this right..._

Memories of the previous executions, especially the one from the third trial, resurfaced in her mind...and in that instant, Hana realized how much she hated doubt.

* * *

As was practically routine at this point, Hana took out her e-Handbook and turned it on. The icon for the Monokuma File had appeared on her screen, positioned underneath the icon for her motive video. With a little sigh, the Ultimate clicked on the icon with her finger to bring up the same white "Monokuma File" screen; as usual, the only difference was the number in red, this one being '#4'. Scrolling down brought up the black profile- only one this time, since Shiori was the sole victim- and further scrolling brought Hana to the autopsy report. The surfer carefully read through the white words against the black screen...

 **The victim was Shiori Sauchi. Time of death was estimated to be around 12:30 AM. The victim's body was found at the top of the eastern watchtower. The cause of death was exsanguination from a puncture to the right lung, which was caused via impalement by a sharp object.**

 _She died a bit after midnight...?_ Hana asked herself. _So basically, even if the stairs weren't broken or we investigated the tower first...we would've been too late anyways..._

The knowledge that Shiori was not only dead, but long dead by the time Hana, Hiroshi, and Akira found her didn't bring much comfort to the surfer...but it brought a little ease, and the girl would take whatever she could get.

 _Still, 'exsangunation', that's a new one...I'll have to ask Hiroshi about that._ Hana told herself, putting away the handbook and turning to where Hiroshi was. It appeared that the coroner had just finished reading the Monokuma File himself and was on to examining the body itself.

"Hey, Hiroshi- before you start, I have a question about the File," Hana spoke up, walking over to her classmate. "Uh- it says that Shiori died from exsan...exsanguin...nation. 'Exsanguination', yeah, that. Ah- what does that mean?"

"'Exsanguination'? Don't worry about it too much, it's basically medical talk for bleeding out," Hiroshi explained. "Judging by the location of the wound and the amount of blood spilled around here...I can certainly see that being the cause of death."

He turned his attention back to Shiori's corpse and went on, "However, I've yet to actually start my examination- I need to confirm what the File said, and see if there's anything it left out. And to do that, I need to..."

He frowned slightly. "I need to- you know, take the katana out of her chest. And since I need to be careful when doing so, so I don't warp the wound shape and size or cause additional damage...since you're here, Hana, would you mind-"

 _"Whaaaat!?_ You want me to- t-to hold Shiori's body in place?" Hana yelped.

Hiroshi's frown turned apologetic as he went on, "I'd prefer not to have to ask anyone to help me with this, but the weapon is rather lengthy- it wouldn't be like extracting a knife or a bullet, to put it lightly. Between you and Rumi, you've been around the corpses a bit more, so..."

"Y-Yeah but I've never- you know, _touched_ any of them!" Hana went on. "Or at least not to the point of- you know, making sure a body stays still!"

"I'll be quick about it, I promise," Hiroshi vowed. "It needs to be done though- I can't do an examination with a katana in the way."

Though her face was pale from the terrifying thought, Hana understood the coroner's plight nonetheless and nodded in agreement. "Okay, you'd _better_ be quick about it..."

Taking a deep breath, Hana knelt down next to her classmate's dead body and, after a moment of wondering how to go about this, firmly grasped Shiori's motionless shoulders. Being so close to the corpse, the smell of blood and death was more overpowering than the previous times she had been near someone's body- and considering the murder methods used prior, that was saying a lot.

Seeing as how the victim's body was now unlikely to move as the weapon was extracted, Hiroshi bent down to grasp the handle of the katana...but not before muttering, "Sorry about this, Shiori..."

With that, he carefully pulled the bloody sword out of the Ultimate Surgeon's chest, making sure to avoid the edges of the wound as much as he could. Within seconds, he was done, and Hiroshi gently set the katana on the floor a few feet away from the victim. With the weapon removed it left a visible, thin hole in the right side of Shiori's chest, more towards the bottom half of her ribcage.

"Alright- thank you, Hana," Hiroshi responded with a little sigh. "With this, I can properly start my examination."

"Y-Yeah, great, uh..." Hana began as she stood back up, a heavy shudder going through her body. "Please...don't ever make me do that again..."

"Again, sorry- but luckily, it's done with," Hiroshi assured her. "Now, I'm going to do my thing, so if you have any other questions you'll have to give me a bit of time."

"That's fine, I can just look over the rest of the crime scene in the meantime," Hana responded, the fear finally subsiding as she turned her attention to the rest of the room.

Obviously, the most notable things to see where the blood and the body, but neither of those would do much good at this moment. She also chose not to focus on the katana at the moment either, at least until Hiroshi had examined Shiori's corpse more. Hana looked towards something else near Shiori's body: the scalpel that was lying a few inches away from her right hand. The surfer recognized it somewhat- after all, the Ultimate Surgeon kept a few scalpels on her in her lab coat, though the only time Hana had really seen them was when Shiori threatened Monokuma with a few at the start of the killing game.

Walking over to look at it a little more closely, Hana could see the blade part had a slight amount of blood on it, indicating it had been used- this caused the surfer to wonder if could Shiori have used this scalpel to defend herself. After all, though the surgeon always stuck to her Hippocratic Oath, Hana could imagine the girl would make an exception if her life was in danger. Whatever the case was, a slightly bloody scalpel would no doubt be a clue, so Hana made a note of it in her e-Handbook.

Turning to the rest of the room, Hana immediately caught sight of Rumi's blue hair against the dark and drab colors of the rest of the tower's stop area. The scuba diver was standing towards a farther section of the circular area, facing the crates and sacks- as if she was trying her hardest not to look towards Shiori's body.

Feeling a pang of empathy for her classmate, Hana walked over to her and spoke up, "Hey, Rumi..."

The Ultimate glanced at her classmate, her eyes filled with immense sadness. "Hi, Hana. You're...investigating, right?"

Hana nodded in confirmation, looking over Rumi for a moment- aside from the obvious strangeness of seeing her without her signature jacket or the pearl bracelet, the Ultimate Scuba Diver did have her usual bubbly demeanor or any sign of something besides grief. Hana had seen Rumi saddened before, but this...this just seemed like Rumi was completely, utterly deflated.

"...You know, you didn't have to volunteer for guard duty- I can tell this is hard for you, anyone can," Hana said, sympathetic. "We could have had, I dunno...Hinata or someone be the guard."

"I know, I know, I just...felt like I had to be the one to do it," Rumi quietly responded. "Besides, I think...I think Shiori would have preferred to have at least one girl around, you know?"

Hana nodded in understanding. "Well, still, if you need to take a break or something, you could head to the base of the tower with Ryoto or something."

After a moment of thought, the surfer added, "Hey...this may be a bad time to ask, but...what were you and Shiori talking about yesterday?"

"Huh?" Rumi began, surprised. "In the training room? Uh...why that, all of a sudden...?"

"Well, I figured something she mentioned might be a clue to what happened...or something," Hana explained. "I figured I'd ask, while we're talking. So, uh..."

"..." Rumi stared at Hana for a moment, then sighed and replied, "What we talked about...it was nothing. Well, nothing that would help with this case, anyways."

Hana furrowed her brow. "Wha- nothing? I mean, a private talk between the two of you, that can't just be- y'know, nothing."

"I get that you'd be a little skeptical, but...really, I've been thinking a bit, standing here, and..." Rumi responded, shaking her head. "If I realized something Shiori said would be clue, I would have said something when you first asked. Besides, what we talked about, it was...it was just something personal, okay?"

The scuba diver glanced away before apologizing, "Believe me, I wish I knew something that could help, but..."

"...Alright- if you really don't know anything, then I won't press you anymore," Hana assured her. "Uh- sorry, I hope I didn't make you feel more-"

Then, something somewhat behind Rumi caught Hana's attention. "Feel...more..."

"Uh- Hana? What are you...?" Rumi began, before following Hana's gaze and turning around. "The crates? What are you looking at the crates for?"

"I, uh...just a second," Hana began, walking over to the stack of crates in question. One crate in particular had caught her attention- mainly because its top was missing, leaving the empty wooden box open.

"Hey, Rumi- was this crate always open like that?" the surfer inquired, glancing at the scuba diver.

"I don't know- I think it was like that when we all got up here, but if it was _always_ like that?" Rumi replied, shaking her head. "I haven't been up here enough to know that."

"Okay...I dunno, it looked like there was something-" Hana began, taking a look at the interior of the crate...and letting out a quick gasp. "H-Hey! There's blood in here!"

"What?" Rumi asked, walking over to see for herself.

Sure enough, though the interior itself was devoid of any items, the two girls would be able to see traces of dried blood on one of the crate's four sides- suspicious indeed.

"Okay...I doubt that was there before," Rumi remarked. "Uh...any possibility those bloodstains came from Shiori being killed? Like, there's already a lot of blood around, so..."

"I don't think so- this crate's, like, on the other side of the room from where Shiori died," Hana explained. "And there's not _that_ much blood here- if it was from Shiori being killed, there should be more blood, right?"

"I...guess? I'm no detective type, so I'll just take your word for it," Rumi responded. "Either way, sounds like you think this is important."

Hana nodded in agreement, making a note of the bloody crate in her e-Handbook.

"Well- I'd better let you get back to looking around," Rumi told the surfer, stepping back to her original spot. "I'll, uh...stay here, keep an eye on things like I'm supposed to. And, uh...Hana?"

The scuba diver hesitated for a moment, as if searching for the right thing to say, before adding, "Ah...make sure you do your best with this, okay? If I trust anyone to find the truth of what happened to Shiori, I trust you the most."

"You don't have to worry- whatever it takes, I _will_ find the killer," Hana vowed. "For Shiori's sake, and for everyone else."

Sensing Rumi was still distraught, Hana walked over to her and gave her a tight hug- sure, a hug wouldn't bring their friend back to life, but the surfer hoped it would ease the other Ultimate's pain a little bit. What Hana _didn't_ expect, however, was for Rumi to let out a sharp yelp and reflexively shove the surfer away.

"Wha- uh, hey! What was that for?" Hana asked, dumbfounded.

"Ah, god, I- sorry, I kinda...slept weird last night, and now my back doesn't feel the best," Rumi apologetically explained. "I was actually gonna ask Shiori about it today, but, um...you know."

Nodding in understanding, Hana tried to hug her classmate again- this time being much more careful and less forceful. Needless to say, the results were much better.

Putting her attention back into the investigation, Hana glanced at Hiroshi. The Ultimate Coroner was still looking over Shiori's body and the area around it, as well as the katana on the floor; in short, he didn't appear to be done yet.

Hana looked towards another end of the room and saw a familiar sight- the pulley that the eastern watchtower had. Interested, the surfer walked over; at first glance, nothing about the pulley system seemed different from when she had seen it prior to this incident, but Hana decided to look more closely to be sure. The platform seemed to be in its usual height above the opening in the floor, the rope didn't look damage or frayed in any way- if someone _had_ used this pulley system, there was no way for Hana to tell.

Frowning in disappointment, the surfer glanced around the room again; being near where the pulley's rope was tied to the wall to keep it in place, Hana was basically on the opposite side of the tower's top room from where she and the others had entered from. Of course, that also allowed her to see something interesting, something that seemed to be stuck to the wooden support beam.

"What the...?" Hana softly muttered to herself, walking over to get a closer look at the item of interest.

It was small, and not anything too mysterious or groundbreaking- it was a piece of crimson thread, a few inches long and frayed at one end to indicate it had been taken from its source with force. The thread was stuck to a particularly splintered spot on the beam, meaning any clothing that was caught on it would be damaged without a doubt. In addition, this spot was facing away from the stairs of the tower, so that would explain why Hana hadn't seen it until examining the pulley.

 _So...did the killer get some piece of their clothes caught up on this little splintery part, and a thread got pulled loose?_ Hana asked herself, closely looking over the dark red fiber. _Either way, it's gotta be from the killer's clothes, so...really, REALLY important piece of evidence._

With that, she made a note of the crimson string in her e-Handbook.

"Hey, Hana- I've made some significant progress on my examination," Hiroshi called to her. "If you're interested, come here and I can tell you about what I found so far."

"'If' I'm interested? Of course I'm interested in clues!" Hana responded, immediately walking over (and being mindful of the bloodstains, dried as they were). "What did you find?"

"Well, for starters- I can confirm what the Monokuma File said," Hiroshi began. "Shiori's been dead for several hours, and based on the location and depth- extreme depth- of the wound, I can confirm the cause of death as well. It helps that I didn't find any other fatal injuries on her, so there's really nothing to mislead us on that front."

Hana frowned. "Still, being impaled like that, then just bleeding out...pretty terrible way to die..."

"Well, it's pretty telling too- obviously, a significant amount of force was put behind the killing blow for Shiori to have been run through like that," Hiroshi explained. "Plus, it was a pretty clean and concise blow too- the only other internal damage I could tell was to the ribs protecting the area where she was stabbed, and even then it wasn't anything substantial."

"Wow- you get really confusing when you talk medically, you know that?" Hana sheepishly remarked.

"Well, hopefully I won't confuse you for this next part," Hiroshi responded, kneeling down. "Because as usual, the Monokuma File neglected to mention something. Look."

The coroner brushed a part of Shiori's lab coat aside for a moment and lifted her black shirt up somewhat, allowing Hana to see some dark bruising along the surgeon's left side, some of it extending to the left side of her back.

"Bruising...?" Hana began. "But I thought you said Shiori didn't have any other injuries besides the killing one."

"I said she didn't have any other _fatal_ injuries- this bruising here wasn't fatal," Hiroshi elaborated, pulling the shirt back down and fixing the lab coat.

"Okay...so, did something get broken?" Hana inquired. "Is that why she's all bruised-up like that?"

"I thought that at first, but after feeling the bruises for any cracking noises or such...there were none, so there are no broken bones to be had," the Ultimate replied. "Just some regular bruising, extensive as it may be."

"What caused it, do you know?" Hana then asked.

"I can't say right now. I'll tell you one thing, though- these aren't defensive wounds," Hiroshi stated. "And I doubt her being slumped against the wall here would have been sufficient enough to cause bruising of that shape."

Despite Hiroshi's uncertainty of the bruises' origin, Hana took out her e-Handbook to make a note of the strange bruises regardless.

The coroner then went on, "But, moving on from the physical aspect- I found some pretty odd things Shiori had on her."

"Like that scalpel?" Hana asked, pointing of the small blade next to the surgeon's hand.

"Well, yes- but she had a few of those on her. You know how Shiori was, she kept a few of those scalpels on hand, so I'm not surprised to see she may have used one for self-defense," Hiroshi said. "But it's not the things she usually kept on her that caught my attention. What I found...was this."

He reached into the right pocket of Shiori's bloodstained lab coat and pulled out a single item- a small, clean syringe.

"A syringe?" Hana began. "What's weird about that? Shiori was the Ultimate Surgeon, why wouldn't she have one of those?"

"Hana, she carried around things like those scalpels or- after what happened with you in the wine room- gloves like I do," Hiroshi explained. "Not syringes, though."

"Oh, uh...good point," Hana replied, nodding.

"Also, I'm fairly certain Shiori didn't keep supplies like this in her room, which makes me think this syringe came from the medical room," the Ultimate went on. "And based on the fact that it's empty or nearly empty, I'd say it's been used. Now, as for what was in it...that, I can't say."

"Well, if it came from the medical room, then going down there ought to answer what question," Hana suggested.

"I'd imagine so," Hiroshi agreed, gently setting the item on the floor near the body with the katana. Along with making a mental note to investigate the medical room later, Hana also made a digital note of the syringe in her handbook.

"Of course, there's something else that caught my attention- it's not about what Shiori had on her this time, but rather something she didn't have," the coroner then remarked. "Her e-Handbook- Shiori wasn't carrying it."

"Really? It's not on her?" Hana asked, incredulous. "But that doesn't sound like her...you'd think someone as organized as Shiori would keep something that important on her whenever she could..."

Hiroshi shrugged. "Maybe the killer took it, but that seems against the rules and I don't see what purpose that would serve."

 _Still, a missing e-Handbook...one more thing I should look into while we've got this investigation time._ the surfer told herself, making a mental reminder to herself as well.

"Oh, hey, while we're talking here..." Hana then spoke up. "Anything special or interesting to say about the katana? Other than it being the murder weapon?"

"Ah, that- I was about to get to that, actually," Hiroshi began, nodding to the blade in question. "By all means, it seems like the murder weapon."

He frowned and spoke, "It was found in the victim's body, covered in the victim's blood, and a katana could certainly be suitable to impale someone with- not that I've dealt with impalings in my time in a morgue- so it should be pretty clear this is the murder weapon..."

"...The way you're talking makes me think there's a 'but' that comes after that," Hana responded, raising an eyebrow.

"You'd be right- because, truth be told, I have my doubts," Hiroshi admitted. "In spite of everything...something's bothering me about this. And until I can confirm or deny those suspicions, I can't say for certain the katana was the murder weapon."

"But...you're not saying it's not the weapon at all, are you?" Hana inquired.

"Not exactly, no- my instincts are just telling me there may be more to this than meets the eye," Hiroshi replied. "In fact, after I finished up here, I was going to pay the armory a visit to grab some other potential murder weapons and compare them to the fatal wound, see if anything else could have been used."

"Well, you _are_ the Ultimate Coroner- if something's bothering you, then you should probably follow up on that," Hana told him with a nod.

Looking down at the bloodied katana once more, the surfer remarked, "You know, something else...doesn't that katana look kinda familiar to you?"

"Yes, yes it does..." Hiroshi agreed with a knowing smile. "That was something else I was planning on doing- I think I know where our blackened got this blade from, I just need to go there and confirm it for myself."

"That's a good idea, I should do that too," Hana remarked. "I mean, I'm basically done looking around up here anyways- I'll probably talk to Ryoto, then I'll look around the rest of the East Wing."

"If that's the case...you don't mind me accompanying you while you investigate, do you?" Hiroshi asked. "At least for a little bit."

"Oh, I don't mind at all! It'll be nice to do some investigating with someone else, actually," Hana responded with an eager nod.

"Alright- I just need to finish my examination, make sure I didn't miss anything," Hiroshi informed her. "It shouldn't take long at all, though."

"Okay- I'll probably be waiting in the hallway, then," Hana replied with a nod. "See you soon!"

With that, the girl made her way to the stairs and started to descend, her mind going in many directions to try and piece together what she had found so far...that is, until she got to the broken section.

 _Oooh, that's right...the stairs are all busted._ Hana reminded herself upon seeing the makeshift axe-bridge Akira had set up. _Wait a second- that could be important. The stairs weren't broken before the murder, but after the murder they're all...like this! That has to mean something!_

She made a note of the broken stairs in her e-Handbook before crossing the axe-bridge- despite neglecting to put her e-Handbook back when she did, Hana was still able to keep balance even though she was holding something. She pocketed the e-Handbook again after crossing, proceeding the rest of the way down; when she was near the bottom, she caught sight of a certain Ultimate Racecar Driver standing at the tower's base. Well 'standing' was an inaccurate term to describe what he was doing- the tall young man was walking in a circle, following the perimeter of the bottom area. He was completely silent, his countenance a combination of thoughtful and anxious- it was odd for Hana, seeing the usually animated Ryoto so visibly distraught.

"Uh- hey, Ryoto," Hana greeted him, going into the center of the room so she wouldn't get in his way.

"Not now, Hana! I need to concentrate!" Ryoto replied, not even glancing in her direction as he continued his circular pacing.

Hana, spinning herself around so she could keep talking to him directly as he walked, asked, "Concentrate? On what?"

"What happened, duh!" the Ultimate yelled. "If I can just remember what happened last night, then I'll know for sure that I didn't kill Shiori, and THEN I can prove my AMAZING INNOCENCE!"

"Uh...okay...have you remembered anything yet?" Hana then asked, still trying to stay facing him.

"NO!" Ryoto yelped, his voice going anxious again. "I've been thinking and thinking and thinking, and I've got nothing so far! Everything that happened from my last memory to waking up up there is just BLACK! NOTHING! This is hopeless!"

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Hana quickly responded. "Look, I don't think I can help you remember what happened, but...I still want to talk and see what you _do_ know. That should help prove your innocence, right?"

She then added more indignantly, "And can you stop walking in a circle like that!? This conversation's making me dizzy!"

"U-Uh...alright," Ryoto began, stopping in his tracks. "Um, I..."

He walked over to the stairs to take a seat- but when he passed her, Hana noticed something she hadn't before. Namely, few thin lacerations on Ryoto's upper right arm, the fabric from his tracksuit torn from whatever had made the cuts, and a rather sizable bruise on the right side of his head. Hana wondered why she had failed to notice these before...but then realized because she and the others were too focused on Shiori's corpse and all the blood on Ryoto's clothes.

"Uh- Ryoto? What happened to your arm? And your head?" Hana asked with a concerned frown.

"Oh, these?" Ryoto began. "Uh, well-"

"Wait, don't tell me- you don't know, do you?" the surfer then asked.

Ryoto sighed. "I know I've been saying that a lot, but- yeah, you've got it."

Hana nodded, walking over so she could look at the wounds a bit more closely. "I mean they don't look... _that_ bad, at least not as bad as what I had to deal with, but- do they hurt at all?"

"Not really- and even still, the pain in my body is NOTHING compared to the pain in my heart! The pain that comes from knowing someone committed a murder for the _fourth_ time!" Ryoto exclaimed in sorrow.

Hana winced, responded, "Yeah, I...understand how that feels..."

Stepping away from Ryoto for a moment, Hana took out her e-Handbook once again to quickly make a note of the racecar driver's injuries- surely that would prove to be important, right?

"Okay- so, like I was saying..." Hana began after she finished typing. "What's the last thing you can remember? You know, before waking up a little bit ago?"

"I..." Ryoto began, appearing hesitant before responding, "I- to explain that, I have to tell you something!"

"See, the truth is, I-" he began, fidgeting in his spot. "I...I lied to you before!"

Hana furrowed her brow. "Uh- when? About what?"

"Last night, when you were asking about what me and Shiori talked about that morning- I lied! It wasn't about medical stuff, I just couldn't talk about it because- SECRETS!" Ryoto blurted out. "But now, after everything that's happened, I- I can't _not_ be honest about what we talked about!"

Hana's eyes widened slightly in surprise before she replied, "W-What was it? What did you guys talk about?"

"See, Shiori came to me after Akira's emergency meeting ended yesterday, and..." Ryoto began, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace. "She- She told me she thought someone was planning a murder that night."

"She what!?" Hana yelped. "She knew- thought- a murder was going to happen!?"

"Apparently!" Ryoto responded, matching Hana's volume. "I was already surprised when she came to talk to me, great as I am, but as the talk went on..."

* * *

 _"So, a private talk between us Ultimates, eh? What's the matter- wondering how I keep up my awesome bod despite being a racecar driver? Curious about my hairdo?" Ryoto asked the surgeon, a wide grin on his face. "Oooor...maybe you're here to profess your undying feelings for Ryoto Miura himself?"_

 _"...Please, every fiber of my being is dying as I do this, do not make it even more difficult," Shiori growled at him, unamused. "This is serious, so pay attention- and whatever you do, do not mention what I'm about to tell you to anyone. This is between you and me alone- you're good with secrets, right?"_

 _"Am I? I'm a secret keeping KING!" Ryoto boasted with a nod. "Once, a buddy of mine broke his sister's prized music box and blamed it on another friend of hers who was visiting that day, and I've kept that secret for eight whole years!"_

 _Then, his face dropped as realization hit him. "...Wait a sec..."_

 _"..." Shiori let out a long sigh, a sigh that indicated high levels of regret, yet she still continued, "Well, I've already thought of other options, so you'll have to do anyways."_

 _Glancing around again, the Ultimate Surgeon explained, "Okay, so...I came across something a little earlier today, and when I thought about what it could be for...I realized it could only be for a murder plot."_

 _"A...murder plot...?" Ryoto began. "You mean-"_

 _"Yup- I think someone, I don't know who, is planning another murder," Shiori gravely confirmed with a nod._

 _"SOMEONE'S PLANNING ANOTHER MURDER!?" Ryoto cried out, his voice practically echoing through the dining room._

 _"Goddammit, shut up!" Shiori yelped, reaching up to slap a hand over his mouth. "You want Australia to hear you!?"_

 _She frantically looked around to ensure nobody had heard- after confirming this, she removed her hand and went on, "Yes, I think so. I can't say_ who _it is, but I think it'll be happening tonight- pretty late at night, too."_

 _"Oooh- so you want my help to do something about it, huh?" Ryoto began with a grin, before he then asked, "Uh, wait, why not tell the others?"_

 _"Because, like I said, I don't know who's exactly planning this. If they know the others are onto them, then yeah they probably won't go through with it...but we also won't know who it was, so what would be stopping them from trying again another time?" Shiori explained with a frown. "This way, we both stop the plan_ and _we'll know who it actually was- you know, two pretty important things?"_

 _"Aah, yeah!" Ryoto agreed again...before frowning and inquiring, "Uh, wait, wasn't secretly trying to stop a murder plan what Kaneki tried to do? And it, you know...made her die?"_

 _"Kaneki tried to stop a murder all by herself- I'm_ not _working alone, I'm asking you for help," Shiori pointed out. "Two people to stop- probably- one would-be killer is better than one person."_

 _"Hah, yeah! Teamwork!" Ryoto boasted...before continuing, "Uh, wait-"_

 _"Would you stop saying 'Uh, wait'!?"_

 _"Why ask me? Not that I'm not amazing at everything I do, but- you, Shiori Sauchi, aren't exactly my biggest fan," Ryoto then asked, tilting his head somewhat._

 _"I can't stand Akira; Hinata's about as reliable as a wireless printer; Asuna, despite having a backbone now, could still very easily lose a fight with a cricket; Rumi's just...no, I'm not getting her involved in this; Hana would panic in the blink of an eye; and Hiroshi probably wouldn't believe me because of how much faith he has in everyone," the Ultimate explained, counting off the others on her fingers. "Yeah, you're as dumb as a doorknob, but you're pretty passionate about stopping murders. Of course, you're probably still kinda skeptical about this, but I-"_

 _"Say no more, my concerns have been addressed!" Ryoto interrupted her with a wide grin. "Ryoto Miura'll help you out, no problem!"_

 _"W-Wait, what?" Shiori began, surprised. "Just like that? But I didn't even show you any proof of what I said, I was gonna show you the-"_

 _"No need! You're honest, and I doubt someone like you would misinterpret something as a murder threat!" Ryoto told her. "If you're sure this is a threat, then together you and I will TAKE IT DOWN!"_

 _Shiori stared at him in shock for a few moments, then shook her head and continued, "Okay, uh...if you say so. Meet me in the East Wing at around 11:30 tonight- and remember, keep this between us, got it? Can't let whoever's planning this get suspicious, otherwise they might slip away and we'll just look like morons."_

* * *

"...And that's what happened!" Ryoto concluded.

"Seriously...? I wouldn't have panicked 'in the blink of an eye'!" Hana defensively responded. "I can be calm if I want to be! _Completely_ calm, even!"

"YEAH! ...Wait, I don't think that was the point of what I was telling you," Ryoto stated.

"O-Oh, right," the surfer said, her anger departing as quickly as it had arrived. "So, I'm guessing you went?"

"Of course I went! Exercised for over an hour to keep myself awake- when the time came, I went to the East Wing just like Shiori asked!" Ryoto explained. "Got to the maim hall at around 11:30, same time we agreed on."

"What happened then? Did you see her?" Hana inquired.

"No, I didn't- but something else happened," Ryoto went on. "You know suits of armor in the training room?"

"Yeah...?" Hana confirmed, no longer having an idea of where this story was going.

"Well I hear this little noise behind me, and the next thing I know..." the Ultimate Racecar Driver continued. "ONE OF THE SUITS! IT CAME TO LIFE AND ATTACKED ME!"

"..." Now, Hana was staring at the young man in abject shock. "...Ryoto, could you- could you repeat that?"

"I said one of the armor suits came to life and attacked me," Ryoto repeated matter-of-factly.

"...I...I still don't get it..." Hana responded- the amount of confusion she felt was immeasurable.

"No, I'm serious! I hear this noise behind me, and before I can do anything these armored hands and arms come outta NOWHERE from behind me!" the racecar driver insisted. "The suit put a hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream, and then- I dunno, _something_ hit me, and then- I was out! Just like that!"

"And...you're _sure_ the armor suit just- came to life and knocked you out?" Hana asked again, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean it all happened super fast, but I think I'd know a suit of armor when I see one," the Ultimate confirmed, rubbing his neck again with a frown.

"Uh...okay, if you say so..." Hana replied, skeptical. "So, you don't remember anything after that? And you never saw Shiori either?"

"No and no! Well- there is one thing I...kinda remember," Ryoto admitted. "Not sure when it was, but I remember having this weird...feeling all over me. It was dark...and it was cold...and it felt like something was pressing against me, something hard and cold. It was like I was in some kinda...box, or shell, or- you know, being shoved into a locker!"

The racecar driver shrugged, now scratching his neck absentmindedly. "Honestly, it might have just been a really vague dream."

"Well...it's something, still," Hana replied, taking out her e-Handbook to make a note of what Ryoto had told her.

 _So basically, Shiori told him she thought someone was planning to commit a murder last night, and to meet her in the East Wing at 11:30 PM..._ Hana summarized to herself, typing out the summarized information as she went. _But when he got there, Ryoto says one of the armor suits 'came to life' and 'attacked' him from behind and knocked him out- yeah, I still don't get that. But the only thing he remembers_ _\- maybe-_ _before waking up in the tower is being in some...dark, cold place like a box or a locker?_

Hana shook her head. _Well now I'm just more confused than before..._

Ryoto let out a small grunt as he rubbed his neck again, speaking up, "Hey, uh- Hana! Might be a bad time to ask, but- I think there's something on my neck here."

The surfer furrowed her brow. "Huh?"

"I dunno, I've been feeling around for, like, a minute now and I swear there's something here, and it's REALLY bothering me!" the racecar driver replied, removing his hand and moving his head so Hana could see the left side of his neck. "Is there, like, a pimple or a scab or...something?"

Hana walked over to get a closer look at his neck, and it wasn't until she was a bit closer that she saw something- it was very small, easily missed if one wasn't looking for it, but Hana was certain she could see a tiny, circular, dark red scab on the side of Ryoto's neck.

"Uh- yeah, there's a really small scab right here," Hana confirmed. "You know what it reminds me of? It looks like the kind of scab you'd get after a vaccination or something."

"Huh? So a...what is it, puncture wound or something?" Ryoto asked, feeling the scab with his thumb. "Well that can't be right! Ryoto Miura hasn't needed any shots recently, and I definitely didn't have a scab like that before!"

"Before the murder, you mean?" Hana asked, thoughtful. _Oh, great, something else that Ryoto didn't have before the murder- just what the hell happened up there...?_

Regardless, Hana's gut told her to remember the puncture wound, so she made a quick note about it in her e-Handbook.

"Okay, uh...unless there's something else you need to tell me, I'd better get going," Hana told him, pocketing her e-Handbook yet again. "Stuff to investigate, things to find..."

"Hey, wait!" Ryoto suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Hana, you don't... _you_ don't think I'm the killer, do you?"

"...Well, I-" Hana began to respond after a moment of thought.

"Because I'm not! I swear I'm not! I hate killing, I hate all these murders, I kept on trying to _stop_ them from happening!" Ryoto insisted. "It's bad enough that I completely failed Shiori and that I can't remember anything that happened, but I PROMISE I'm innocent! I'd never do something like this, honest!"

"Ryoto, calm down- the investigation's still going on, so I don't know if I can completely believe you or not," Hana told him. "But- honestly, I don't think you'd do something like this either."

"R-Really...? So you do believe me!?" Ryoto began, hopeful. "If that's the case, then- PLEASE prove that I'm innocent! Ryoto Miura can do a lot, but not while stuck in here without being able to investigate!"

"I-I'll, uh- see what I can do?" Hana responded, backing away towards the tower's exit.

"Help me, Hana Amari! YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!" Ryoto cried in dismay, collapsing to the stone floor.

 _Poor guy...I've never seen Ryoto this upset over- well, anything..._ Hana told herself as she exited the tower. _That's gotta be some kind of testament to his innocence, right?_

The surfer shook her head. _No, of course not- if I want to prove Ryoto innocent, I need actual evidence. Hope the rest of the East Wing has something..._

* * *

Hana waited in the hallway for Hiroshi to exit the tower, going over the current things she had written in her e-Handbook. While she was grateful for the amount of evidence found at the scene of the crime, it still wasn't enough to piece together the events leading up to Shiori's murder nor (more importantly) who her killer could be. The surfer had to ask herself a simple question: if a murder _had_ to happen, why couldn't it be straightforward?

The heavy door to the tower opened with a rattle, followed by Hiroshi stepping out. He still had a pair of latex gloves on, but these ones were completely clean, indicating he had donned a new pair after finishing examining Shiori's body.

"Hey, Hiroshi- did you find anything else with your examination?" Hana asked. "Or maybe something around the crime scene?"

"No, nothing new- or at least nothing that you probably didn't already see," Hiroshi responded, shaking his head. "But, for now, we should get going- like I said, I have a hunch regarding where the katana came from, something that I'd like to follow up on."

"Well then, lead the way," Hana responded, gesturing to the hallway before them.

The two began to walk down the hall to the East Wing's main chamber. As they went, Hiroshi spoke up, "By the way- did you talk to Ryoto at all? I passed him as I was exiting, and he seemed rather...forlorn."

"Yeah, I talked to him. He, uh...told me some pretty...interesting stuff about last night," Hana responded with a frown. She then proceeded to relay Ryoto's strange story to the coroner, the young man's face shifting from understanding to perturbed to worry to confusion and, seemingly, everything in between.

"...Oh. Oh my," Hiroshi finally stated once Hana had finished, blinking a few times as if dumbfounded.

"I know, it's weird," Hana agreed with a nod. "And yet, as weird as it is, I...don't think he's _lying,_ necessarily..."

Upon entering the main hall, she shook her head and asked, "Hey, Hiroshi- what do you think about Ryoto? Do you think he's the killer?"

"Well, when it comes to the trial, opinions by themselves don't mean much without proof to back them up," Hiroshi reminded the surfer. "But, since we're not in a trial at the moment...I don't think he's guilty at all. Ryoto's got a good heart, and while he can be prone to throwing down, he'd never really kill anyone like this."

Hana nodded in understanding. "I just hope whatever else we find can prove that..."

"Well, I think you've seen how the truth has a funny way of showing itself," Hiroshi pointed out with a reassuring smile. "And if nothing else, remember: trust in-"

"-the evidence?" Hana finished as they started to pass the stairs. "I didn't forget, don't worry-"

Then, the surfer stopped, a confused look crossing her face. She turned around, facing the railing that made up the perimeter of the second floor's mezzanine. _Did I...see something, or...?_

"Hana?" Hiroshi began, turning around himself. "Something wrong?"

"Uh...just a second!" Hana replied, making her way back a bit to where the railing overlooked one of the glass statues- the Themis statue, to be more specific.

 _Come on, it looked like something was- here!_ Hana thought to herself, standing in front of a particular section of the wooden railing.

She leaned forward a bit to get a closer look; it had been hard to tell when she was walking, but seeing it up close confirmed Hana's thoughts. There was a small section of railing- somewhat wide, but not a large chunk- where Hana could see some kind of outline or crack around the section. Not only that, but on/around these cracks seemed to be traces of...adhesive? Glue, perhaps?

"Did you find something?" Hiroshi inquired, beginning to walk over before his eyes widened slightly in concern. "Hey, Hana, be careful- remember what Monokuma said about the railing up here?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm barely even touching it!" Hana dismissively responded, still trying to examine the section as closely as she could. "This is weird...I can't even tell what this is supposed to be..."

Hana got closer to the railing, putting her hands on it as she leaned slightly to look even more closely. "Maybe if I look _really_ close, I can-"

 _SNAP!_

The moment the Ultimate put a _little_ more pressure on the railing, she felt the section she was looking at give away completely, leading to her swiftly falling forward with a cry of terror. She probably would have gone right over the edge with the railing piece, but Hiroshi practically sprinted forward and reached out to grab his classmate. Ultimately, he ended up grabbing Hana by the back of her shirt, leaving the surfer leaning diagonally over the edge and causing her to practically pinwheel her arms to try and regain her balance.

"PULLMEBACKPULLMEBACKPULLMEBAAAACK!" Hana practically screamed in panic, her brown eyes locked on the area below her. She didn't know which was more terrifying: the fact that the drop from the second floor to the first floor looked far longer up there than it did on the ground or the sight of Themis' glass sword pointed straight up, straight at her.

It took a moment, but quickly Hiroshi was able to yank Hana back onto the mezzanine- and causing the surfer to fall flat on her back, but it was a far better position than the alternative.

Taking a few breaths to calm himself, the surprisingly flushed Hiroshi asked, "Uh...are you okay?"

"Uh...I don't know, does me seeing my whole life flash before my eyes count as 'okay'...?" Hana asked, her own face extremely pale.

Hiroshi sighed. "Let's just be glad I was able to grab you in time...but I _did_ tell you to be careful with the railing, considering Monokuma's warning about it-"

"I-I barely touched it though! I swear!" Hana quickly insisted, sitting up. "I was just trying to get a closer look at the weird cracks in the railing and bars in that spot, I didn't-"

Then, her eyes widened upon seeing the banister again- more specifically, seeing that the section she had just been looking over was completely broken off, with only the bottom of the bars and the ends remaining attached to the floor and the rest of the second floor's railing. The rest of the chunk was completely gone, leaving a rather wide opening in the fencing.

"Oh no- ooooh no, I broke it," Hana realized, fear grabbing hold of her. "Uh, uh- Monokuma's not gonna be too upset with us breaking parts of the castle, right...? Right?"

"Hana-" Hiroshi began, having turned his attention to the broken area of the railing.

"B-Because we've got a trial in a little while, a-and I really don't wanna be executed and it's just not a good time for me to be punished-" Hana rambled, anxious.

"Hana, I- don't think you have to worry about that," the coroner calmly told her. "Come look at this- I think it'll help explain what you were seeing beforehand, too."

Still feeling worried for her own safety, Hana approached the banister again and looked over the broken ends like Hiroshi indicated. She could see the traces of adhesive more clearly now, however she also saw they were not exclusive to the sides of the broken parts of the banister; the adhesive appeared to cover the splintery remains, with some spots lacking any amount of the substance (likely because the actual broken piece took some of the hardened glue with it when Hana broke it off just now).

"Okay...I was right, there's some kinda glue-type thing on these," Hana responded. "But I don't get why you're saying I shouldn't worry about whether Monokuma will be mad or not."

"Well, think about it. There's glue here, which was used to hold that broken chunk of the railing in place with the rest of the banister," Hiroshi explained. "And considering the adhesive was there when it snapped off just now...I'm guessing this isn't the first time this part of the railing was broken off."

"You think?" Hana asked. "So...someone else broke it before me, and tried to glue it back together?"

"That's my guess- there's glue in the South Wing's storage room, someone could have grabbed some during the day when no one was around," the coroner explained. "The point is- if that person didn't get in trouble with Monokuma, I'm sure you won't either. Besides, it's not like you did it on purpose anyways."

"I guess..." Hana replied, frowning. "But...that kinda begs the question- how long was the rail broken like that? I don't think it was like that the first day we investigated this wing, and I'm _kinda_ certain I didn't see any glue-covered cracks in the banister any other days..."

"...Oh. Well that just makes this even more interesting, doesn't it?" Hiroshi observed. "Probably not broken prior to the murder, but broken and glued back together after the murder...very interesting."

Hana gave a little nod of her own; she had no idea if this issue with the banister would prove important in the grand scheme of the case, but no doubt it would be unwise to forget about it. So, the surfer made a note about the broken railing in her e-Handbook- including the part about Monokuma's general warning regarding the East Wing's railing.

"Okay- we should probably get back on our way to...wherever you were going," Hana informed her classmate once she finished typing. "I feel like this katana thing's gonna be a _bit_ more relevant to figuring out what actually happened."

"Well, it's a bit too soon to make that call, but I agree it's important," Hiroshi replied. "So then, let's get going."

* * *

The Ultimate Coroner led the way again, passing the stairs leading to the ground floor and turning into the hallway directly in front of the staircase.

"We're going to...the lounge?" Hana inquired as they approached the door in question. "Why here?"

"Come on, Hana, I know you've got better memory than that," Hiroshi told her, raising an eyebrow. "You know you've seen that katana before- just think for a second, you'll get it."

Frowning, the surfer obliged and took a moment to think about the blade in question- yes, it seemed familiar to her, but initially seeing it Hana could not quite recall just _where_ she had seen it beforehand. Thinking back, however...

"...Wait a second!" Hana exclaimed as remembrance came to her. "That katana, that was in-"

Hiroshi opened the door to the lounge and proceeded to step inside...where he was nearly knocked over by Hana running in. Nothing in the room seemed too out of the ordinary, but that wasn't what the Ultimate Surfer was looking for- she had her eyes set on the glass cabinet on the right side of the room.

"It came from here! The katana was in the cabinet!" Hana called, pointing to the container in question.

Hiroshi gave a nod of agreement, walking over to actually look at the interior. "Now, to confirm my suspicions..."

The duo turned towards the front of the cabinet so they could look inside through the glass door...and, like Hiroshi discovering the absence of Shiori's e-Handbook, what caught their attention wasn't what was in the cabinet- it was what _wasn't_ in there.

Hiroshi frowned. "I knew it- that katana was taken from its display in this cabinet."

"No kidding, but..." Hana began, walking up to the cabinet to get a closer look. "How'd that even happen? Didn't Monokuma make a big deal about how this was locked?"

She unconsciously tugged on the door's polished silver handle...and was taken aback when it slowly swung open with barely a sound.

Hiroshi's grey eyes widened in his own level surprise. "It's...unlocked?"

"I...I mean, we shouldn't be _too_ surprised, it had to be unlocked otherwise the killer couldn't have grabbed the weapon..." Hana rationalized. "But, I guess that brings up a better question: how the fuck!?"

Hiroshi walked over to examine the door itself as well as the small, shiny lock beneath the handle. "It...doesn't look like anything was tampered with, or broken, or..."

"Then that makes even less sense!" Hana yelped.

Hiroshi shook his head. "...Unless..."

Before his companion had a chance to protest, the coroner raised his head up and called out, "Monokuma! Come here!"

Seconds later, the 'headmaster' himself poked his head through the room's door. "Who's summoning me right now? I'm busy too, you know!"

"Well, this is important to the investigation," Hiroshi told him flatly. "Care to explain _that?"_

He pointed towards the open cabinet door, to which Hana gestured to it as if to say 'Yeah, I agree, explain.'

"...Soo, it's open," Monokuma stated. "Congratulations, you two have eyes!"

"We know it's open," Hiroshi began again. "But if I recall- you said if there was a key to open this cabinet, you wouldn't tell anyone about it."

"Yuh-huh," the robot bear confirmed.

"But, uh...you clearly gave someone a key," Hana explained, crossing her arms.

To this, Monokuma tilted his head innocently. "Now why would you assume that?"

"Wha- because the cabinet's literally unlocked!" Hana responded, gently swinging the door back and forth as if to emphasize how unlocked it was. "How could it have been unlocked if someone didn't have a key?"

"You accusing me of something, Antenna?" Monokuma inquired, his face going red from anger.

Immediately, Hana's exasperated tone vanished and she squeaked, "N-No, not at all."

"So...you really didn't give anyone a key?" Hiroshi inquired with a frown. "Was it...hidden somewhere? Is it possible someone found it by themselves?"

"Listen here, Sherlock- there is a key to open this cabinet, I'll admit," Monokuma explained. "However! It's in a location that only I can access- I was serious about making sure nothing happened to this expensive stuff, you know. So, even if someone knew about the key somehow, there's no way they'd be able to obtain it, let alone without me noticing!"

"Okay, so then...that means someone picked the lock?" Hana remarked, glancing at the door again.

Monokuma laughed. "Oh please, that lock- though it doesn't look like anything special- is state-of-the-art and advanced as hell! No average Joe is gonna be able to lockpick that baby any time soon, trust me."

Hiroshi didn't seem too satisfied with these answers, but nonetheless the coroner shook his head and responded, "Well...I suppose that clears up a couple things. Uh- thank you for the clarification."

"Yeah, yeah, just try to keep the QnAs to a minimum! I've got things I need to prepare too!" Monokuma scolded the two before sprinting off through the door and disappearing down the hall.

"Okay, that...cleared up nothing, in fact this just made things weirder," Hana observed with a sigh. "Not sure what we expected, honestly."

Hiroshi shrugged. "Well, obviously the culprit got into the cabinet _somehow-_ the unlocked door is proof of that. We can at least say it wasn't through Monokuma; and since picking the lock would be difficult at best, that would be highly unlikely too."

"That doesn't really leave us anywhere, though," Hana pointed out.

"True, but it's better than nothing," Hiroshi replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like this was completely fruitless- at least we were able to confirm the katana used on Shiori was the same one on display in this cabinet."

Hana nodded, trying to stay optimistic about the situation- some information was better than none indeed. Thinking about this new information, the surfer grabbed her e-Handbook yet again to update what she had written about the katana back in the watchtower. At this point, Hana could only hope further investigation would shine a light on the mystery of the unlocked cabinet.

"So...now what?" Hana asked upon finishing. "You mentioned something about the armory before, didn't you?"

"Yeah- I was planning on grabbing a few items to compare to Shiori's chest wound," Hiroshi informed her, same as he told her in the tower.

"Alright- since I'm probably gonna be looking down there too, do you mind if we stick together a bit longer?" Hana asked.

Hiroshi chuckled. "Not at all- investigating with a friend makes having to go through all of this a little easier, which is something I'll always appreciate."

"My thoughts exactly," Hana agreed with a smile.

Having completed their investigation of the eastern lounge, Hana and Hiroshi exited the room and made their way back to the central hall.

 _Okay...so far, the only clues I'm finding are just making me ask more questions- not that that's anything new..._ Hana told herself. _Here's hoping the rest of the East Wing- and maybe the other wings, who knows how far the culprit went- clears up a few things. Otherwise...I'm not sure how I'm gonna even_ begin _to find out who Shiori's killer is..._

* * *

 **A/N: Okay! That's the first half done- and so far, things aren't really seeming any less confuzzling. But this is Danganronpa, where the murders are complicated and kinda over-the-top! So, uh...not really much I can add to this, other than the fact that next time'll be the second and last part of this Deadly Life, and after that...class trial time! Will Hana be able to find more clues that point to Shiori's killer before the investigation ends? Or at least something that makes things less confusing? Only the next part will tell...**

 **Something else I wanted to share, however: three days ago was the one year anniversary of Fractured Fate's publication on this site! I gotta say- it's pretty surreal to know a full year has passed since I started this project, especially considering how far me and this story have come since then. Honestly, I don't know how I've been able to keep at the writing for this long, considering my...track record with my previous fics. But, I'm not gonna question it too much at this time, I'm just gonna be grateful for my ability to keep going.**

 **So, to everyone who's stuck by this fic through the year...thank you. Seriously, I appreciate it so much- this fic was always a passion project at heart, but seeing people grow so attached to the characters and become so invested in the story, it just- really, really warms my little heart. I could write a whole essay on how much I appreciate it, but I'm gonna keep it concise. Here's to another year of writing, and I hope you all continue to look forward to what the rest of the story has to offer- I know I'm looking forward to what's to come, both in Chapter 4 and beyond!**

 **So, with that- thank you all for reading, and I'll see you guys in the next part! Goodbye for now!~**


	37. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 7)

**A/N: Okey-dokey, then- hello again! We all know why we're here- more mystery-solving shenanigans! One half of the investigation is down, and today I bring you the second half! So last time, some revelations were had about the circumstances surrounding Shiori's death...but in spite of that, there are still a heck-ton of questions to be had and Hana is more confuzzled than ever. Will some things be cleared up by the time the trial starts? Let's find out!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ See, my favorite part of writing Deadly Life sections is seeing what and how people think as the investigation goes, it's pretty interesting. Plus I can be all "oooh" if they get something write or laugh wickedly if they're way off- now, which did I do for you? I ain't gonna say, just know I enjoy the speculation either way.**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ ...Oh. Yeah, it was celebrated with murder, wasn't it? Huh- that's DR for ya, I guess. Anyways, again- I enjoy the hypotheses, but there's one thing you mentioned that's not entirely accurate. **

**See, the lock on the cabinet was described as 'advanced' in terms of how complicated the lock itself was. It's not really high-tech- in fact, look up a pic or two of a cabinet lock/cabinet door lock, that's what it looks like. So, while the mechanism doesn't seem too convoluted on the outside, internally it's _much_ more complex than what an average cabinet lock probably is. That's what was meant when Monokuma called it 'advanced'. I mean the part about it being extremely difficult to unlock without the key is still completely accurate, so your theory about Hinata hasn't been invalidated, but I wanted to clear that up so there are no unnecessary misconceptions going forward. Best to give the readers a fair shot, after all!**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Mm, the sounds of large amounts of speculation- like I said in my response to Drifter's review, seeing how the readers think via reviews is probably my favorite part of Deadly Life parts. At any rate, the thoroughness is always cool to see, even though there's not much I can really say without spoilers. Heck, you even did unit conversions, you and you metric people! *(cries in America)***

 **There's something I can clear up, though, and...use this info however you want, but- who said the blood in the crate wasn't Shiori's? It was only speculated that the blood didn't result from Shiori being killed- in other words, the blood in the crate wasn't another stain from her being stabbed like the stains on the floor and wall. Neither Hana nor Rumi said whether the blood itself was Shiori's or someone else's- it's unknown right now, but again they never confirmed that the blood didn't belong to Shiori. Now, does that mean the blood in crate _was_ Shiori's? It might have been, it might not have been- but at this point in the investigation, it's not known. If you still think it's not Shiori's blood, that's fine, I'm just trying to make sure nothing got miscommunicated.**

 **Okay, having cleared that up, one more thing- that was a nice little eulogy you did for Shiori. I'm sure she'd appreciate the kind words (on the inside, of course, she'd never _explicitly_ admit her appreciation). Never forget, gang...never forget. ...Also ABBABB, that will also never be forgotten.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Deadly Life (Part 2)**

Having solved the mystery of the katana's origins (but not the mystery of...everything else), Hana and Hiroshi made their way back down the hallway and descended the stairs to the East Wing's bottom floor.

"See, look, the height difference looks a lot smaller when you're down here!" Hana commented upon reaching the bottom. "The statues, too! They look so much shorter unless you get really close to them!"

"The mysteries of architecture, I suppose," Hiroshi stated, his attention turned to the doors leading to the training room and armory. "Let's look in the training room real fast- it leads to the armory anyways."

"Yeah, I-" Hana began, still looking over the towering Themis statue. "...Hey, Hiroshi? Does this statue look kinda...different to you?"

She looked towards the horse statue and observed, "Yeah- that one, too!"

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"Well they look...shinier. Cleaner, I guess," Hana explained, stepping back a bit to get a better look at both glass statues. "They were pretty dusty ever since the East Wing opened up, but now...they're not."

Hiroshi looked at the statues himself, observing, "Ah...you've got a point. Odd..."

Hana looked towards the Themis statue- the very sculpture she nearly fell on top of before- and something else caught her attention. "And- the Themis statue, the sword, it looks like...looks like there's a little crack in the sword, do you see that?"

She pointed towards the glass blade, which could have easily injured her when the railing broke not too long ago. It was hard to see when one was standing right in front of the translucent monument, but stepping away a certain distance allowed one to see a barely visible crack that ran horizontally across the blade of the sword a few inches above the hilt- though Hana couldn't tell if it went all the way through.

"...Huh," Hiroshi stated. "Okay- the lack of dust is one thing, but the cracked sword...that's a bit harder to explain."

"And I'm pretty sure the sword wasn't like that when the wing first opened- no, I'm _really_ sure it wasn't, because Hinata would have said something if the statue was damaged," Hana remarked, resolute.

The coroner, however, didn't seem as interested. "Probably, but...eh. I don't see either of these pertaining to the murder."

"The clean state of the statues could probably just be Monokuma deciding to be a little neater- although why he'd wait is beyond me- and the state of the sword...well, it's still glass, so it's not the strongest of materials," he went on. "Maybe Hinata or someone else was climbing on the statue again and damaged the blade part by mistake, and either fixed it or left it in the hopes no one would see it."

Hiroshi shook his head. "Broken railings, missing katanas, strange items lying around- those are all one thing, but we can't assume _everything_ that seems a little out-of-the-ordinary is related to the crime at hand. One of the difficulties of being an investigator, I suppose- sorting out what's relevant and what's not. This, I don't believe is; the training room and the armory, probably moreso."

Hana gave a nod, but...still wasn't convinced, even if it was just a gut instinct.

As Hiroshi turned to make his way back to the training room, the girl found herself taking out her e-Handbook again and making a note of the two glass statues- both the sudden cleanliness of the two as well as the subtle damage to the sword held by Themis. Her classmate may not believe the two monuments to be of any significance, but Hana wasn't about to stop believing in her instincts just yet.

Having done that, the surfer followed after Hiroshi, who was already about to enter the training room. Hana was quick to enter the wide room with him, looking around for anything that could be deemed suspicious. Unfortunately, just initially looking around did not indicate anything out of the ordinary.

"Y'know, with an open area like this- you'd think any evidence would be a bit more visible," Hana remarked as she walked over to the training dummies to see if they held any clues.

"Well, clues can be hidden in all kinds of weird places- which we've both seen, at this point," Hiroshi commented as he walked over to the armor suits. "Even still- this room in particular wouldn't be my first choice to hide evidence in."

The coroner furrowed his brow as he looked over the armor. "Hana...Ryoto mentioned something about these armor suits when you talked to him, right?"

"Uh-huh- he said one of them 'came to life' and knocked him out," Hana explained, walking over. "I don't think suits of armor actually come to life, do they? That kinda thing only happens in movies and books and games."

"Indeed it does- which probably means the culprit was wearing the armor at the time," Hiroshi rationalized. "Ryoto probably wouldn't have been able to tell because he only saw their arms, so he just got confused."

"Well obviously he got confused, _I_ was confused just listening to him- but...I'm not sure the culprit would have been able to use the suit that way," the surfer explained.

Hiroshi glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"See, yesterday, me and the other girls- except Akira- went in here, and Rumi tried on one of the suits," Hana explained. "But, long story short- she couldn't move around too easily in it. Like, at all."

"Is that so?" Hiroshi inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's interesting- still, I can't imagine how else to explain what Ryoto described without someone wearing the armor, since suits of armor can't _actually_ come to life."

The coroner took the helmet from one of the suits off the armor rack, flipping it over to look inside...then furrowed his brow. "What the...?"

"What'd you find?" Hana asked.

The boy flipped the helmet over so Hana herself could look inside it, allowing the girl to see what seemed to be a strand of sky blue hair.

"Oh! That's gotta be Rumi's hair," the surfer commented. "It must have gotten caught up in the plating when she wore it yesterday and plucked out when she took it off."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding, putting the first helmet back and taking the helmet from the second armor suit. Upon examining this one, he again appeared perplexed and asked, "Did anyone else wear one of these suits?"

Hana tilted her head in confusion. "Not that I saw- why?"

Once again, the Ultimate turned the helmet so Hana could peek inside. She saw two more individual strands of hair stuck towards the top of the armor's interior- one was a regular black hair, the other was a longer strand colored predominantly bright yellow with some pale brown towards one end.

"I...don't know where these came from," Hana stated with a frown. "I only saw Rumi put on the armor, not anyone else."

"Hm- well the fact that you can't explain where these hairs came from makes this even more intriguing," Hiroshi remarked. "Heh- gotta love the Exchange Principle."

He put the helmet back on the rack, but not before plucking out the two hairs with his gloved hands. "Normally, I'd do some testing to determine the origin of these strands, but...I'm already going to have my hands full trying to sort out the murder weapon, not to mention the only equipment I still have is a microscope I have in my room."

He then stated, "Still, I'll try to make time to look over these strands regardless- even without anything too advanced, I might be able to ascertain who they belonged to just by looking. After all, we've all got some unique attributes to our hair, so they shouldn't be too hard to distinguish."

"Well, you're the forensics guy, so I'll just let you do what you need to do," Hana remarked with a shrug. She also decided now would be a good time to write out what she and Hiroshi had just discussed; the Ultimate grabbed her e-Handbook once again and made a note of two things: the suits of armor in the training room and the two strands of hair found in one of the helmets.

"Unfortunately, that looks like all the evidence in here," Hiroshi remarked. "Still, it was more than I was expecting to find- and that's no complaint."

Hana nodded. "So let's head to the armory- you can do your weapon thing, and I can see if there are any clues in there."

Nodding in agreement, Hiroshi led the way out of the training room and through the doors that led directly into the armory.

* * *

Upon entering the weapon-filled room, two things would be made apparent. One, the armory did not appear any different from how Hana and the other girls left it the other day; two, she and Hiroshi were not the only ones who thought investigating the armory would be a good idea. However, the one other student who was in the room when they entered...well, Hana was certain she wouldn't be too happy to see them (or, more specifically, just Hana).

Akira glanced towards the door leading to the training room, "Oh- it's you two."

"Ah, hello Akira," Hiroshi greeted the prosecutor. "I didn't expect to see you in here."

"Why wouldn't I be here? It's investigation time- ergo, I'm investigating," Akira responded matter-of-factly. "At any rate- what exactly are _you_ doing here?"

Her red eyes were fixed on Hana when she said that, confusing the surfer even more regarding the young woman's behavior. "I'm...investigating too...?"

"I was in here because I had some doubts about the katana being the murder weapon," Hiroshi explained. "I was going to take some of these weapons back to the crime scene to compare to Shiori's chest wound and see if anything else could have been used."

The prosecutor let out a small 'hmph'. "Well, a good effort- however, after my thorough examination of this place, I have doubts you'll find exactly what you're looking for."

"Huh? Does that mean you found some evidence already?" Hana asked, curious.

Despite her narrowed gaze, the prosecutor answered, "Yes, I did find some things in here that would be cause for suspicions...not that I would fill _you_ in on what I found, Amari?"

"H-Hey! Why are you singling me out?" Hana indignantly asked. _And what's with the sour attitude towards me? I know she doesn't like me that much, but this seems kinda...different._

"Come on, Akira, Hana's doing what she can to find clues too," Hiroshi told the other Ultimate. "And since we'll all be working together to find the blackened anyways, the least we could do is try to help each other at least a little bit, right?"

"..." Though Akira still appeared annoyed, she nonetheless responded, "Fine then- but be sure to pay attention, because I won't repeat myself."

She walked over to a pair of racks in the center of the room; Hana recognized them as the racks that held daggers and one-handed axes, which she had looked over alongside Shiori just yesterday. Akira then took two items, one from each rack- a dagger and an axe, which she then held out so Hana and Hiroshi could see them. The dagger was somewhat discolored around the blade part, or at least it didn't appear as shiny as new as the other weapons; similarly, the axe had some scratches and other signs of use on the blade.

"These two items here, as you can see, have signs of use on them," Akira explained. "I cannot say just how recent these were made. However, I _can_ say none of the other weapons in this armory have shown any indications of being heavily used like this both prior to and after the murder."

"Well, I can agree with that- me and some of the others were in the armory yesterday, and none of the weapons looked like they'd been used too much," Hana confirmed. "I mean, some of us did use the weapons in here- but it was on the dummies, so it shouldn't have left those scratches or made that...discoloration."

"...Then that only further proves their suspicious nature," Akira stated, though she seemed less than satisfied that it was Hana who provided such information. "Now, while I have yet to find confirmation as to what the dagger was used for, I do have an idea as to what the axe was used for."

The prosecutor put the stained dagger back in its rack and further explained, "It's my theory that this one-handed axe was used to slice through the stairs in the eastern watchtower."

"Really?" Hiroshi inquired, raising an eyebrow. "That makes sense- an axe _would_ be best to cut through something wood like that, and these types of axes don't seem as difficult to swing around as some of the larger battle axes in here."

"Precisely," Akira agreed. "Not only that, but considering the way the steps were broken, it would make the most sense for the weapon used to be somewhat lightweight,and it most certainly couldn't have been the dagger."

"Wait- what do you mean 'the way the steps were broken'?" Hana asked. "I didn't look at them all that closely, but there didn't seem to be anything weird about _how_ they were broken, they just looked...broken."

Now, Akira looked even more irritated. "Honestly, with that poor level of observation skills, I question how you've managed to last in these trials."

"Regardless- the broken remnants of the stairs still attached to the wall were not horribly splintered or uneven," she continued. "The strikes appeared to have rather...quick, precise- _very_ precise. I imagine this might have been difficult to achieve with an axe like this, but it seems the wielder managed."

"Interesting...I can't see any practical reason the killer would do that..." Hiroshi stated.

Though Hana herself was a little confused by this new information, she was certain it had to be significant if Akira was bringing it up. Thus, she updated the note in her e-Handbook regarding the broken stairs in the tower; she also took the moment to make a new note about the used weapons in the armory, though she still had no idea what the dagger could have been used for.

"Well, if that's done- I'm actually kinda glad we ran into you," Hiroshi remarked. "We actually found some interesting evidence in the training room that I'd like to get your opinion on."

"If that's the case, you can speak to me yourself," Akira responded before turning her attention to Hana. _"You._ You just came in here for clues, didn't you? Well, you got what you wanted, so there's no reason for you to linger in here."

"Hey, I helped Hiroshi find the evidence he's talking about too!" Hana pointed out, growing more annoyed with Akira's odd anger towards her.

"Well, Ashi still has business in here- you don't," the prosecutor growled at her. "So I suggest you get going."

"...Uh...I don't think now's a time for animosity, right?" Hiroshi awkwardly spoke up.

Hana narrowed her eyes at Akira- finally, she made up her mind. "Okay, I probably shouldn't ask this, but- why are you so mad at me? I mean I know you don't like me all that much, but ever since we found Shiori's body and this investigation started you've been- I dunno, _more_ angry at me! And I don't get it!"

Akira's glare only grew in intensity. "Is that a question? I knew you were dense, but are you so clueless that you can't figure out why I'd prefer not to have you in my sight?"

She sighed in annoyance and went on, "Let me put this in simple terms: yesterday, I came to you for advice on how to go about making the group more united, including bringing Sauchi back. Your response was that I needed to put more faith in our classmates, show them that I have an iota of trust in them. And what happened after I did that?"

Her gaze turned fiery. "Someone took advantage of that trust- they used the items in this armory, the very place that I had deterred everyone from entering, and with the help of those items they were able to set up and commit yet another murder!"

Hiroshi rubbed the back of his neck with a frown. "I'm not sure if this is the best time to talk about this-"

Hana's eyes widened. "Wha-!? Hold on a second! All I told you to do was put some more trust in the others, I didn't tell you to open up the armory! That was on you!"

Akira crossed her arms. "But did you object or disagree with my plan?"

The surfer deflated somewhat. "W-Well...not exactly, no..."

"Would you have not told me to open the armory if I had asked for more specific ideas?" the prosecutor then inquired.

Hana's hesitation was visible, yet she still admitted, "I...n-no, I probably would have suggested that, maybe-"

"Exactly- you may have not told me specifically to do so, but I know you would have agreed on that course of action," Akira went on. "And because of your advice, the killer was most likely given the means to make their murder all the more easy to commit!"

"Guys, there's only so much time before the trial, you shouldn't-" Hiroshi began again.

"So what, you're blaming _me_ for the murder happening!?" Hana demanded, her own anger only growing.

"Believe me, there's no one I blame more than the blackened who instigated all of this," Akira stated. "However, that doesn't change how you yourself had a role to play in this, intentional or not- because it was _your_ guidance that led to disaster!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "And now, we're to be thrust into yet another trial with all our lives hanging in the balance, so you'll excuse me if I show my dissatisfaction with someone who I feel had a hand in making the killer's job easier!"

"You're upset about all this!? Unlike you, I was actually friends with Shiori, and now she's dead! How do you think _I_ feel about all this!?" Hana furiously yelled back.

"That's of no concern to me- the only thing I'm focusing on is finding the truth behind this case like I've always strived to do," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses. So here's _my_ advice to _you,_ Amari: this time, stay out of my way."

There were a million things Hana wanted to respond with, many of which not suitable for a T-rating; ultimately, she said nothing, but the fury in her eyes and the fact that she was visibly fuming with rage spoke for her.

"...I'm not sure if this was a good time to talk about this, but I guess we should be grateful you got it all out now rather than later, at an even worse time," Hiroshi said, clearly trying to diffuse the situation with his calm tone. "So- maybe now that that's out of the way, we can all put our attention back into the investigation at hand? Since we'll _all_ be working together at the trial- as, you know, classmates?"

"...Fine. Yeah, no, I'm good with that, I can do that," Hana responded, the anger she felt still lingering in her voice. "I was gonna head on my own after looking around the armory anyways."

Hiroshi nodded. "Guess this is where you and I part ways. I'll see you later, Hana- probably once the investigation's done."

Hana gave her companion a simple nod, only glancing at Akira before she made her way over to the iron doors that led back into the central hall- time to get back to investigating, only now Hana was on her own once again.

* * *

Once the doors were closed again and Hana was completely alone in the East Wing's main hall, the surfer decided to take out her frustration with an angry growl and by furiously kicking the iron door right behind her. Of course, she then had to bite back a loud cry of pain as she practically smashed her toe into the heavy door- it was a good thing she was wearing shoes, otherwise the pain likely would have been far worse.

The agony in her foot overpowering her rage, Hana practically limped over to the next nearest room that she hadn't investigated yet: the medical room (how fitting). Pushing the wooden door open and stepping into the light-colored room, the Ultimate decided she should sit down and wait until her toe was less sore before she investigated the room.

Of course, being in the infirmary-like room...all it did was serve to remind Hana of what had happened even more.

 _...Maybe Akira had a point..._ Hana thought to herself as she sat on one of the beds. _Yeah, I'm not the killer, and Akira was the one who made the decision in the end, but...she probably wouldn't have even_ considered _opening the armory again if I hadn't brought up putting more trust in the rest of us..._

She stared down at the bed she was sitting on- it was most likely the same one she had sat on when Shiori had given her that check-up several days ago. Of course, those days felt like an eternity now, but the surfer had seen how quickly and drastically things were prone to changing in this killing game.

Hana sighed and shook her head. _Even when I don't_ think _I'm screwing up, I'm still screwing up. I still think Akira putting more faith in us was the right thing to tell her, but...what if I had said opening the armory was a bad idea? Would it have stopped the killer? Or at least made their plan harder to pull off? Could that have...been enough to stop this...?_

In thinking about how she erred in her advice to Akira, the surfer then remembered something Shiori said to her just before the start of Saku and Shiro's trial...

* * *

 _"But...look, I'll be the first to admit: you screw things up, Hana. You screw things up a lot. And I mean a lot, whether it be small things or bigger things, you are far from a role model," Shiori told her._

 _"This is supposed to make me feel better...?" Hana inquired with a frown._

 _"But- I've noticed something about you. Whatever it is you screw up, big or small...you try to fix it, and you try your damnedest," the surgeon continued, her voice firm. "You try to fix your mistakes for the better, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of other people I've met."_

* * *

At the time, hearing the aloof surgeon say something so encouraging (which was usually Hiroshi's job) almost moved Hana to tears- now, reminiscing on her deceased friend's words was nearly having the same effect.

 _Well, I'm not going to deny what she said. I may have made a mistake- again- but that just gives me even more reason to find the killer._ Hana told herself, blinking away any tears that were starting to form as she stood up. _I mean, at this point it's all I_ can _do to make it up to Shiori, but...you know, details!_

Having pondered her situation enough and with her foot no longer in excruciating pain, the Ultimate was ready to continue her investigation with renewed vigor.

 _Y'know, now that I'm in here...didn't Hiroshi say the syringe Shiori had in her pocket was from the medical room?_ Hana asked herself. _Guess I should check that first._

It took a few moments for the surfer to remember where the syringes were kept, but eventually she found them- kept in the cabinet above the counter, along with the bandages and disposable gloves.

She looked to where the syringes were held- on the left side of the container, with the unused needles kept on a small plastic stand or holder, not to mention each one having a plastic cover on each shaft of the needle. In all, Hana counted six openings for six syringes, but...there were only five on the stand.

 _Well, that proves Hiroshi was right- the syringe Shiori had came from here._ Hana confirmed to herself. _What's actually in these, though, does it say...?_

The next thing Hana noticed was that each syringe- or, rather, the caps- had a small label on them that indicated the contents of the respective syringe, indicating whoever had the syringe by Shiori had removed its label. The names, however...

"What the...?" the surfer asked herself as she attempted to read over the drug names: 'flurazepam', 'quazepam', 'nitrazepam', 'temazepam'. The last one, however, was one Hana recognized: midazolam.

 _Hey, wait! 'Midazolam'- wasn't that the stuff Monokuma put into the Despair Drink? The stuff that made everyone have a memory blackout?_ Hana realized. _But, wait a sec...obviously, the syringe is still here, so it's not like the killer used it at all, same with these other four. But still...maybe the syringe Shiori had on her has some relation to these other drugs? It came from this cabinet, so maybe..._

Closing the cabinet doors, Hana grabbed her e-Handbook again so she could add to the note she had made about the syringe at the crime scene- the missing label, where it came from, and what the other syringes contained.

With that completed, she turned her attention to the rest of the room. The trash can was empty, there was nothing hidden under the beds, and it didn't appear that anything else had been taken from the other cabinets (as far as Hana could tell). Overall, the room may have been smaller, but it was starting to look like there was no other evidence to be found. She looked around once more to see if there was anything she had missed, and her eyes fell on a certain blue box sitting on the floor next to the counter.

 _Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that._ Hana told herself as she walked over. _What did Shiori say was in there again? Blood bags, right?_

Seeing as how it was the last thing she needed to check before she could officially say she had finished investigating the medical room. So she knelt down in front of the container and popped it open, glancing into the refrigerated interior. She first saw the numerous blood bags contained inside the box, just like Shiori had shown her before; however, Hana then noticed the plastic bags appeared less organized than before, as if someone had rummaged through the container haphazardly.

Subconsciously, the surfer reached in to reorganize some of the bags- but when she did, she found something else. They were blood bags, but...they had no blood in them.

"What-? Blood bags...? _Empty_ blood bags?" Hana asked herself, baffled as she picked up one of the clear bags.

 _What's going on here...? I'm pretty sure none of these bags were empty before, Shiori probably would have said something if they were..._ the surfer thought, putting the empty bags on the counter and away from the full ones. _So what happened to these ones? They're clearly open, clearly empty, but...no one needed a transfusion, did they? No, no, we_ definitely _would have heard about that._

Strange as this discovery was, Hana had no doubt it was significant. With this in mind, she was quick to make a note of it in her e-Handbook- though she had no idea what the empty blood bags meant, she wasn't about to ignore it.

With that, Hana's investigation of the medical room was complete, and the girl glanced around one last time before exiting back into the main hall once again.

* * *

Upon entering into the East Wing's central hall again, Hana thought about where to go next for her investigation.

 _Well, I've looked around everywhere in this wing..._ Hana pondered, wandering away from the entrance to the medical room. _Maybe I should go to the South Wing? Shiori's bedroom should be open, maybe there's a clue in there?_

She began to make her way to the doors leading to the courtyard, then something caught her attention: the piece of the railing that had broken off a little while ago, lying on the ground to the left of the Themis statue. Out of simple curiosity, the surfer walked over to the wooden fragment and picked it up, looking over the jagged ends- sure enough, those ends had bits of adhesive stuck to them as well, just like the broken bits on the top floor. That seemed to confirm someone had likely glued the piece back on before Hana broke it again...but unfortunately, it wasn't much of a groundbreaking discovery, so there was no use making note of it.

With a disappointed frown, the Ultimate set the piece of railing back on the floor...but when she did, she saw something else out of the corner of her eye. Confused, Hana immediately looked to where she thought she saw it; it was small and somewhat behind the statue, but Hana could see a bit of light reflecting off its surface.

"What the...?" Hana began, walking over to take a closer look after setting down the banister fragment.

By all means, the item was difficult to see- if it hadn't been for the main hall's lights, she might have overlooked it entirely. However, there it was, sitting behind the statue is if waiting for someone to find it. It was a small pearl, primarily white with a blue tint; it appeared slightly scratched, but overall it hadn't lost its luster or overall prettiness.

 _Hello- what's this doing here...?_ Hana asked herself, kneeling down and picking up the pearl. _And why do I feel like I've...seen this before?_

She looked over the shining sphere once again- the only thing she noticed was a small hole going though the center of the pearl, which would allow one to thread, say, a string through it. Other than that, there was nothing to indicate this was anything more than a regular, possibly valuable pearl.

 _Did this come from the treasure room or something...? There's jewelry in there, but...there's just this one pearl right here..._ Hana asked herself. She looked around to see if there were other pearls lying around, but that turned up fruitless.

 _This is weird, but...I feel like I should hold on to this._ Hana told herself, staring down at the pearl in her hand. _If it had been there before the murder, someone- probably Hinata- would have seen it by now. I don't know what kind of evidence this would be, but..._

Shaking her head, the Ultimate pocketed the pale blue pearl. She also grabbed her e-Handbook to make a brief note about it- not that there was much to type down.

Feeling that her investigation of the East Wing was complete (for real, this time), Hana once again proceeded to make her way out of the wing and into the courtyard. She looked towards the sky- not that it helped much, it wasn't like Monokuma was timing them investigation via the time of day or anything like that, but it did make Hana feel slightly less distressed over everything. Of course, she couldn't bask in it for long, and the surfer soon entered the familiar main chamber of the South Wing.

When she entered, she caught sight of someone else in the hall- it was Asuna, who appeared to be coming out from the library and hadn't yet noticed the surfer's presence.

"Asuna? What are you doing?" Hana asked, walking up to her shorter classmate.

"Ah- h-hey, Hana, I didn't hear you come in," Asuna responded, surprised to see someone else in the main hall with her. "I'm...just investigating, that's all."

Hana furrowed her brow. "In here? The entire South Wing? I'm pretty sure most of the evidence would be in the East Wing, though..."

"W-Well, you see...I wanted to help out a bit more than I usually have when it came to investigations," Asuna explained. "A-And it looked like everyone had the East Wing covered, so I wasn't really sure what to do..."

She went on, adjusting her fedora as she did, "But then, I...thought for a bit, and uh...here I am, looking at the other wings. Because really, the killer could have hid evidence _anywhere_ in the castle, so- why not look there?"

Hana nodded in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. So, did you find anything?"

"...W-Well, not yet...I've only looked at the dining room, kitchen, and library," the gardener explained. "So, maybe I'll find something soon?"

Asuna then added, "Oh, but I did see Hinata pass through here a little while ago- he was by the bedrooms, so you might run into him if you're heading that way."

"Oh, of course he's by there..." Hana muttered. "Well, it just so happens I _am_ going that way, so thanks for the heads-up."

Asuna nodded. "Uh- if I find something, y-you wouldn't mind me letting you know, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't mind- the more clues, the better," Hana replied. "Speaking of, I should get back to my own investigation. Good luck with searching, Asuna!"

With a wave of farewell, Hana proceeded down the main chamber and turned to head into the bedroom hallway. It didn't take long to reach Shiori's room at all- in fact, it was right across the hall from the surfer's own room.

Narrowing her eyes, Hana practically burst through the now unlocked door and shouted, "AHA!"

However, where she expected to find Hinata up to his usual tricks...she instead saw the room was devoid of any other people. Hana did a small double take in surprise, and then found herself even more surprised when she heard a door opening further down the hallway. She poked her head back out, seeing the Ultimate Thief exiting a separate bedroom, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

Hinata looked up...and his eyes immediately fixed on Hana. "WHA-!? Hana!? When did- where, uh, did you come from?"

"Uh...I just got here?" Hana began. "I thought you'd be going through Shiori's room, but uh..."

The surfer could barely make out the graphic on the door from where she stood, but she was ninety percent sure it depicted a graphic of Rumi. "What...were you doing in Rumi's room?"

Hinata's gold eyes glanced around. "I-"

"Actually, how'd you even get into Rumi's room? I thought Monokuma only unlocked the victim's bedroom," Hana pointed out. "And breaking into locked rooms is, you know, against the rules."

"I didn't break in! I got Monokuma to unlock it for me," Hinata explained. "I told him I needed to get in there for investigation stuff, and uh- he actually believed me, so he let me in."

"Okay..." Hana began. "But why'd you even need to go in there? I know how you feel about her, dude, but believe me- breaking into her room for whatever reason is just creepy."

"Wha- I-!" Hinata angrily began...before his expression shifted and he responded, "Y-You know what? You're exactly right! Yup, I'm a degenerate, and I should _not_ be doing this right now, it's weird."

Hana nodded in agreement. "If it makes you feel better, I won't tell Rumi- just don't do it again, alright?"

"Yeah, totally!" Hinata agreed, a worried smile on his face. "Uh- hey, door's open! Lemme just-"

He ran down the hall and practically shoved past the surfer to get into Shiori's room, and Hana spoke up, "Uh- yeah, because I opened it-"

The girl then shook her head. _I think I would have preferred Hinata to be sneaking through Shiori's room in the first place, this is just weird..._

She entered the room after the thief, who was looking around the room with his hands still in his pockets. The room didn't look any different from the last time Hana had been in there- of course, thinking about when she had been in there previously only caused more sadness to surface.

Hinata stopped looking around the room and turned his attention to his classmate. "Uh...you alright?"

"I'll be fine, I was just... It sucks, you know? If it hadn't been for Shiori, I'm pretty sure I would have died from what Tadao did to me in the wine room," Hana began, sighing. "And even then, even as her _friend,_ I couldn't...I couldn't really do much to repay her. In fact, I might have even been indirectly responsible for making things easier for the killer- but, uh, that's kinda hard to explain, but it's true!"

Hinata was silent for a few moments, a muscle working in his jaw. "Well, I wasn't exactly friends with Shiori, so I can't completely relate. But- I'm not gonna invalidate what you're going through. All I can really say is, you know- all you really can do for her is find the killer, right? Make sure the blackened doesn't get away, no matter what it takes."

He then grinned and added, "I mean, that's what you're good at, right?"

Hana shrugged. "More or less. Sorry, I know finding the culprit is the best thing right now, it's just...being in here again just makes me feel worse."

"Well, maybe finding a clue or two will help you feel better," the thief assured her. "I'd look around, but- come on, what am I gonna do with a bunch of medical stuff? The most valuable thing in here is probably those candles on the desk there."

He half-heartedly gestured to the desk; Hana, of course, glanced over to see the candles he was referring to. However, something else caught her attention: a certain electronic gadget, sitting peacefully on the desk's surface.

"Hey, Shiori's e-Handbook! There it is!" Hana remarked, immediately walking over.

"Oh- yeah, guess that's there too," Hinata observed. "I don't know why you find that so profound."

"No, no- see, Hiroshi was doing a kinda-autopsy on Shiori, and he noticed she didn't have her e-Handbook on her," Hana explained. "Which, you know- it's Shiori, the fact that she wouldn't have something so important with her is weird."

The Ultimate Thief shrugged. "Alright, fair enough. But doesn't that mean her just leaving the handbook in her room like this is just as weird for her?"

"That- is a good point, yeah..." Hana conceded with a frown. _I mean, it's good that I found it, but...she still left it behind when she went to the East Wing last night. Wouldn't that be kinda important to have, even if you're trying to stop a murder plot with someone else? Well- assuming Ryoto was telling the truth about that._

Then, Hinata suggested, "Hey hey hey...maybe we should turn it on."

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? Why would we do that?"

"Well, duh- maybe she, I dunno, left something important om there!" Hinata pointed out. "Come on, there's a writing app or something on there! Maybe she wrote some cryptic message to herself."

"..." Hana ultimately shrugged and replied, "Alright- at this point, I'd be willing to look anywhere for clues. But isn't stealing e-Handbooks against the rules?"

"No, _loaning_ them is against the rules- Shiori ain't loaning us shit, she's dead!" the thief pointed out.

"Okay, that's fair," Hana stated. "Alright- let's see then."

Still feeling somewhat hesitant- after all, this seemed like a breach of privacy- Hana turned on the e-Handbook. Just like her own handbook, the gadget displayed Shiori's name before going to the main screen. Instinctively, she looked over the home screen- once again, it looked identical to her e-handbook; the only thing it lacked was the Monokuma File icon, but that was understandable considering Shiori was the victim. The surfer looked over the different icons, about to go into the writing app...until her eyes fell the icon indicating the motive video. Where she would have expected it to be the bright, glowing red like she saw on Hiroshi's e-Handbook...instead it was a duller color, like the icon on her handbook.

"Uh...Hinata?" Hana began, showing the thief the screen.

"What the...?" he began, his eyes widening in shock. "Th-That's real, right? You're seeing that too!?"

"Of course I'm seeing it, why would I not be seeing it!?" Hana responded, just as dumbfounded. "The icon...it means-"

"Shiori watched her motive video!?" Hinata exclaimed. "When the hell did she do that!? _Why_ would she do that!?"

"How should I know, I just found out too!" Hana yelped in response.

"Wasn't- Wasn't Shiori the one who kept acting all not worried about the videos? You know, being all 'morbid curiosity is a bad thing' or something?" Hinata went on, shaking his. "And she still- I mean..."

Hana was about to agree...but then, her countenance grew more contemplative. "...Should we...you know- watch it ourselves...?"

Hinata stared at her like she had grown a third eye. "Why...the fuck would we do that?"

"I dunno- it's the motive, it had to have played a part in her death somehow! Especially if she watched her video before she got killed!" Hana explained. "Besides, going into the e-Handbook in the first place was your idea."

"I just wanted to look at the apps, I didn't think the possibly-creepy video would be a part of it!" the other Ultimate responded. "Look, you've got a point about it being the motive, so obviously these stupid videos had to have been a part of all this."

"Besides- the video would have only affected Shiori the most, so it's not like we'll be putting ourselves in any kind of risk," Hana added. "I just need to know what she saw, especially if it had something to do with her murder."

Hinata shrugged, then sat down on the bed. "Alright- besides, like the others said, whatever's in there is probably faked anyways."

The surfer sat down next to him and, apprehension seizing her heart, tapped on the dull video icon.

Just like with her video, Shiori's video started out with a black screen and a faded red Monokuma eye symbol; soon, white text appeared, displaying a similarly familiar message:

 _ **WARNING!**_

 _ **The following video may contain graphic, disturbing, nightmarish, sadistic, nauseating, or family unfriendly imagery. I am legally obligated to give you this disclaimer before viewing; if you wish to exit the video now, then it sucks to be you. Monokuma is not responsible for any thoughts of terror, anxiety, depression, or murderous intent that may result from viewing this content.**_

Hinata raised an eyebrow as he read over the warning, but Hana's brow remained furrowed- so far, Shiori's video was identical to her own. Did that mean it would be a fakeout as well? Was Hiroshi's speculation about the motive being psychologically based accurate?

Of course, that train of thought was completely derailed when the screen transitioned, showing a much different scene than what Hana had been shown. The screen depicted what seemed to be a living room, and a very upper class one at that. The walls were a clean gray-white color with a few expensive decorations and pictures hung up; the floor was primarily made of dark hardwood, but there was a pristine silvery carpet laid out in what seemed to be the center. A fancy glass coffee table could be seen in the foreground, with a black leather couch behind it and facing the camera. Hana could make out two more similar seats on the two sides of the table, angled slightly.

Hinata let out a small, impressed whistle. "Wow, imagine the kinda money you'd need to have to get a place like that, imagine what the rest of the house looks like!"

Hana remained silent. Moments after the screen changed to show the room, footsteps could be heard; that turned out to precede two people entering the room from offscreen, a man and a woman. They sat down on the couch that faced the camera, allowing Hana to get a better look at them.

They both appeared to be in their mid- to late forties. The man, who was a few inches taller than the woman, wore a black business suit and black dress pants, with a gray tie and a clean white shirt underneath; a gold wedding band could be seen on his left ring finger. Interestingly, he wasn't wearing shoes- just a pair of white socks, likely to keep that fancy carpet clean. A pair of black glasses could be seen on his face, over a pair of pale green eyes that had an almost cold glare to them. He looked like a man who never smiled- even in the video, he seemed to have a slight frown; he had neat black hair, although it appeared to be heavily graying.

The woman looked just as disdainful. She wore business attire of her own; a gray female business suit with a purple tie over a white dress shirt of her own, a dark gray pencil skirt over black tights. A silver, diamond-encrusted wedding wing adorned her left hand, and she also lacked shoes- likely for the same reason as the man. She wore no glasses, but one could still see the coldness in her pale brown eyes. Her skin was somewhat pale, though not in a sickly way, and she had smooth mousy brown hair that reached to the small of her back.

Hana stared at the two people in the video before remarking to Hinata, "Hey...that guy, and that woman...do you think they could be-"

"Disdainful and judgmental? Totally, it feels like they're shunning me from through the screen- and this vid's not even directed at me!" the thief responded.

"No! Look at them, the- the guy's hair, the lady's eyes, the wedding rings..." Hana explained. "I think...these people are Shiori's parents."

"Oh- yeah, now that you mention it, I can see that," Hinata agreed. "That air of superiority, that look of 'I'm just waiting for you to screw up'- now I see where she gets them from!"

The two adults- or, rather, Mr. and Mrs. Sauchi- took a moment to make themselves comfortable (although they still appeared rather stiff- like they were in some kind of business meeting). Then, they faced the camera.

Mr. Sauchi was the first to speak. **_"Hello, daughter. We hope this message finds you well."_**

 ** _"And we do hope you're watching this- after all, there's something important your father and I have to tell you,"_** Mrs. Sauchi continued.

Hana frowned- so far, this video didn't seem too concerning. She glanced at Hinata, who was watching with a similar facial expression.

 _ **"First and foremost- we sincerely hope you've working hard as a student of Hope's Peak Academy,"**_ Mr. Sauchi sternly began. _**"Ultimates like yourself are the beacons of this country."**_

 _ **"Not to mention- despite our success, this is the first time anyone in our family has been recruited to join the Academy,"**_ Mrs. Sauchi explained. _**"It's something to take pride in- a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,"**_

Once again, Hana couldn't explicitly tell what the 'fear' part of this video was meant to be. Still, she could tell the parents' words had a certain edge to them- this was certainly not them completely praising their daughter.

 _ **"Now...in saying that, and as we told you when you were first scouted, there is much riding on this,"**_ Shiori's father went on, adjusting his glasses. _**"You are the first, and may possibly be the only, member of the Sauchi family to gain the elite status of Ultimate. Normal students all over the country would do anything to gain your position."**_

 _ **"Ultimates are also the incarnate of Japan's hope- they go on to shape the future, to lead all sorts of fields and industries..."**_ his wife continued, an edge entering her tone. _**"To put it simply: it's a big deal."**_

 _ **"And we're certain you're aware of this,"**_ Mr. Sauchi stated, a not-so full smile appearing on his face. _**"You know your responsibilities well, the expectations that have been put upon you- as a member of this family and an Ultimate, to forget any of this would be most uncouth."**_

Now, Hana was feeling quite uncomfortable. Even she could tell, through the duo's tone, that these words seemed to hold some veiled threat; she glanced at Hinata again, and he glanced at her- it was clear they were both becoming disturbed by where this 'message' was going.

 _ **"Of course, you know what that means- graduating. It's a must,"**_ Mrs. Sauchi stated matter-of-factly. _**"I've done my research, and I couldn't find anything on an Ultimate student failing to graduate. While that means I haven't a clue on what would happen should a Hope's Peak student fail to graduate, I believe that also indicates such an event has not happened in the school's decades of operations."**_

 _ **"And as the first and possibly only Sauchi to attend...that's not an option for you. Understand?"**_ Mr. Sauchi said, his voice gaining a slight growl. _**"You are our only daughter, the best surgeon in the country, and the first Ultimate in the family. This is the opportunity of your life, and we will**_ **n** **ot** _ **allow you to waste it."**_

 _ **"What we're saying is: you are to graduate Hope's Peak Academy by any means necessary. It's a cutthroat world out there, as we can personally attest to,"**_ Mrs. Sauchi explained, cold as her gaze. **_"Whatever it takes for you to graduate and keep the Sauchi name intact, you are expected to do it."_**

 _ **"This seems like a given, considering your elite status...but in the past, you've slipped from your course on occasion,"**_ Mr. Sauchi pointed out. _**"And we've told you: anything less than utmost perfection is**_ **not welcome** _ **in this family."**_

Mrs. Sauchi sat up, brushed off her skirt and flatly summarized, _**"So, the takeaway: you will not be the known as the Ultimate who failed to graduate Hope's Peak Academy, and you will certainly not drag our reputation down as well. Whatever it takes...you will be successful. No mistakes."**_

 _ **"And should you fail- fail**_ **us..."** Mr. Sauchi concluded, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. _**"The consequences will be more dire than you could ever imagine. Heed this, and consider it a warning, daughter."**_

With that, the screen cut to black, and Hana and Hinata were returned to the regular home screen. Of course, what followed...was complete and utter silence within the confines of Shiori's bedroom.

"...Welp!" Hinata finally began, sheepishly clapping his hands together with a chuckle. "Guess we know who's not winning the 'Parents of the Year' award!"

He laughed, but upon realizing Hana was not amused, his laugh turned awkward before dying out altogether.

"What...in the world was that...?" Hana began, before anger took control. "What was that!? What kind of mom and dad would talk to their own kid that way!? That's terrible! Awful! Horrible!"

"Those are all synonyms, you know," Hinata pointed out, crossing his arms.

"I don't care!" Hana snapped. "God, Shiori had to _watch_ that? By herself? And nobody even knew? No wonder she was more stressed out than usual!"

"I'm guessing you can't relate to having shitty parents?" Hinata observed. "I mean, my parents aren't really the best either, but they're not exactly near...well, that."

Hana simply groaned, tossing the e-Handbook on the bed and burying her face in her hands. The surfer was suddenly struck with a strange combination of sympathy for Shiori's situation and gratitude towards her own, much more accepting and loving parents.

Hinata was silent again before stating, "Actually...Monokuma said the videos were about our 'greatest fears', right?"

He looked towards Shiori's e-Handbook. "So- what, was Shiori afraid of...her parents?"

Hana looked up, contemplating this before responding, "I...don't think it's that simple. When you think about what they actually said...I think it's more like she was afraid of _disappointing_ her parents."

The surfer shuddered. "And with parents like that, I don't blame her..."

Hinata said nothing in response, although the look on his face seemed to indicate he was deep in thought about something. Rather than verbalize what he was saying, however, the Ultimate got up and stated, "Y'know, this kinda...dampened my trouble-making mood. I'm gonna go- investigate this place to your heart's content, I won't bother you."

Before Hana could ask him if he was okay, the thief briskly walked out of the bedroom, keeping his hands firmly in his pockets (aside from opening the door). Left alone yet again, Hana picked up the e-Handbook and stared down at the screen sadly.

 _Shiori...no wonder she was always so stressed, having to be raised by people like that..._ the girl thought to herself. However, the Ultimate was also aware there was nothing that could be done now to remedy what the surgeon had gone through- she had to keep investigating.

Hana went through the rest of Shiori's e-Handbook as per Hinata's suggestion- although there wasn't much to search at all, the surfer still found herself with no other clues from the gadget. Investigating the rest of Shiori's room yielded just as few clues, so it seemed the video truly was the only item of significance to be found. In realizing this, Hana grabbed her own e-Handbook so she could make a note of what Shiori's motive video contained, as well as mentioning the details of Monokuma's latest motive in general.

Completing that task, Hana took one last glance around the room before exiting herself- she had a feeling there wasn't too much time left to investigate, and if she wanted some more concrete answers, she'd need to hurry.

* * *

After exiting Shiori's bedroom, Hana walked down the hallway back into the main hall. She immediately saw Asuna again; the Ultimate Gardener was standing by the door to the furnace room, quickly looking around.

When she spotted Hana reentering the main chamber, the shorter girl ran over and called out, "Hana! H-Hey, I need to talk to you!"

"Hey, Asuna- did you find something?" Hana hopefully inquired.

"I did- a-and I saw Hinata a minute ago, I tried to talk to him about it, b-but he seemed kinda out of it," Asuna explained, frowning.

"Ah...yeah, kinda a long story there," Hana stated. "But, I can talk real fast. What did you find?"

"Oh, well- I found it in the furnace room," Asuna began, leading her classmate over to the room's door. "A-As for what I actually found...here."

The gardener held out something for Hana to see; it looked like a piece of black cloth at first glance, but closer inspection showed it was more like the end of a sleeve. The singed ends of the black fabric indicated the rest of the clothing had been burned away, presumably by the furnace. There was one other thing that caught her attention: a somewhat small but visible bloodstain.

"I found it caught up in the furnace's door- I-I think what happened was the killer threw this piece of clothing into the furnace, but the sleeve got caught in the door, a-and that's why this was all that was left," Asuna hypothesized. "I can't really tell what this would have been, though...it could have been pajamas or something, or maybe..."

Hana shrugged. "A lot of people here have black clothes- normal clothes and pajamas. It can't _completely_ identify someone by itself, but if it belonged to the killer then it's a start. _Especially_ with that blood."

Asuna nodded in agreement, taking the item back while Hana made a note of the burned sleeve in her e-Handbook. The surfer then remarked, "Hey- are there any other spots you wanted to look at? If you found evidence like this in here, there's bound to be more."

The gardener nodded in agreement. "I still need to look at the top floor- b-but there's not much time left, I think, so I need to be quick."

"I can help, if you don't mind," Hana responded. "I was kinda skeptical that you'd be able to find something in here, but seeing that sleeve...maybe the killer tried to be a little more creative by hiding the evidence in more than one wing?"

"Seems like it," Asuna replied. "I-It's worth looking at, though. Speaking of- we should get on that."

The two girls made their way towards the stairs on the same side of the main hall as the furnace room and quickly climbed up. They then made their way to where the mezzanine split off into the east and west hallways, stopping for a moment.

"You know, maybe the killer buried some evidence again," Hana stated, looking down the east hallway towards the greenhouse.

"I guess, but there are a lot of spots where-" Asuna began, before furrowing her brow. "H-Hey...look at the door to the lounge."

She pointed towards the entrance in question- sure enough, the door was slightly ajar.

"Uh...maybe someone went in there and forgot to close the door all the way?" Hana suggested.

"N-No, I passed that door earlier, and I swear it was closed," Asuna insisted, walking over. "Could someone be...?"

The gardener opened the door and stepped into the south lounge- Hana, feeling like she had no choice, followed Asuna into the small but cozy room.

There was one thing, the only thing, that caught their attention right away: the fireplace was lit and burning calmly and warmly.

"Okay, _that's_ definitely new," Hana stated. "And isn't it dangerous to leave a fireplace unattended like that?"

"I-I wouldn't know- but I'm more worried about why it's going in the first place," Asuna responded, walking over to look at the interior more closely. "A-And you're right that it's weird that whoever lit the fireplace just left it, but-"

Then, she gasped. "W-Wait! I see something in there! And it's not firewood!"

"What!?" Hana exclaimed, running over. "W-Well it might be a clue! We gotta get it out!"

Seeing as how sticking their hands into fire would be a bad idea, Asuna frantically looked around for something to retrieve the burning item with. She spotted the iron poker leaning on the wall adjacent to the fireplace, which she swiftly grabbed and used to drag the object out of the flames. A few cinders were taken with as the item was removed and the evidence was still smoldering, prompting Hana to run over and frantically try to stamp any remaining flames out.

"Okay, okay- I think we're good," Hana remarked with a sigh of relief. "Uh- the fire in the fireplace should go out on its own, looks like whatever this stuff was what was burning the most."

"Uh-huh, looks that way," Asuna agreed, putting the iron poker down. "Now, uh...what _is_ this?"

There were actually two objects that had been pulled from the fire, the most bizarre of the two being some kind of mass of burned scraps. Hana couldn't tell what it had been; it was completely black with some faint traces of blue through the char, appearing melted with some traces of ash as well. It appeared to vaguely resemble a piece of clothing- Hana could make out a pair of sleeves- but as for what it could have been...the surfer hadn't the foggiest idea.

"What the hell...?" Hana muttered, kicking it slightly. "What _is_ that? It couldn't have been something in the fireplace before, there was just regular firewood in here!"

"I-I'm at a loss too..." Asuna stated, looking back and forth between the tattered remains and the fireplace. When she next looked down, she noticed the other item that she had retrieved from the fireplace.

The gardener reached down and picked it up- a small piece of paper, or rather what remained of it after it sat in the fire for a what was probably a few minutes.

The edges were burned away and turned a charred orange-yellow color with some black...but Asuna's eyes widened in surprise and she said, "Hey, Hana! I can still see the writing on this!"

"You can? That's great!" Hana responded. "Let me see."

The gardener turned so she could see the writing on the small piece of paper. It appeared that, as much damage as the note had sustained, the very center was basically untouched, and the writing was completely legible. Hana wasted no time reading over what was on the small paper- there were only three things written in very neat scripture, making the message a very short one:

 _'Meet midnight'_

Hana furrowed her brow. "'Meet at midnight', huh...? Well, that's suspicious enough- the way it's written looks kinda like a reminder of some kind..."

"Yeah- wait! Didn't the Monokuma File say Shiori died at 12:30 last night?" Asuna pointed out. "So, uh- maybe whoever wrote this memo is the killer? I mean, it'd place them at the scene of the crime time-wise."

"That's a good point- it's definitely worth remembering," Hana stated, taking out her e-Handbook. "I'm just glad we got here when we did- that thing would have been burned completely if we hadn't noticed the door."

"That and whoever wrote this has some neat handwriting," Asuna added with a nod. "But...what about that burned, uh...thing there?"

To that, Hana frowned. "I can't even tell what that was, other than it being clothes probably. I'm just wondering how it got all melted so quickly..."

"Well...maybe the killer burned it earlier than they burned this note?" Asuna speculated. "I-I can't imagine why they would do that, but...that would make the most sense."

"I guess," Hana remarked. As odd as it was, obviously the killer tried to burn both pieces of evidence for a reason- the surfer just had yet to discover what that reason was. Thus, she made a note of the burned scraps as well as the cryptic memo- two more strange pieces of evidence, but surely they meant something...right?

Not that the surfer had much time to dwell on that- moments after she finished typing away on her handbook, a certain jingle rang through the room.

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The monitor turned itself on, and Monokuma's cruel face was on full display. "Okey-dokey, gang! I think you've had a good enough amount of time to sort things out- and if you're _still_ not ready, then I can't really help you! It's time for you lot to make your way to the usual spot as soon as possible- if I don't see you there, then I'll give you the chance to talk to your recently deceased classmate personally, if ya know what I mean!"

Just like that, the screen died out again, basking the room in silence.

"...Well...guess we'll have to sort it out at the trial," Hana remarked. "We should go."

"Uh- I'm gonna stay for a minute and put the fire out," Asuna replied. "I won't be too long- just go ahead, I'll be there."

Nodding, Hana took one last look at the two pieces of evidence and exited the room. Leaving didn't exactly clear her head at all, however; it seemed that every piece of evidence she found only led to more questions, and that was the last thing she needed.

 _I don't know why nothing in this case makes sense- seriously, a lot of this evidence is weird, but...if I'm gonna solve this case, I'm gonna have to trust in it._ Hana told herself as she walked down the hallway towards the main hall.

She then took out one such piece of evidence- that pearl she had found behind the Themis statue, staring down at it. _...You know, for some of these things, I may need to make an exception to that..._

Hana pocketed the pearl yet again, and she went on her way- no use putting off the inevitable.

* * *

The surfer stepped through the ivory doors and down the stone steps, making her way towards the fountain. There, the small group of surviving students were gathered, the area nearly completely silent. A few students glanced in her direction- Akira in particular sent an small glare her way, which Hana chose to ignore.

Seeing Hiroshi, she walked up to him and inquired, "Hey, Hiroshi- how did your weapon-testing thing go? Did you find out anything?"

"I found out something," Hiroshi responded. "I found out it's very hard to keep balance on an axe-bridge when you're carrying something with you."

"Is it? I walked over it with my e-Handbook and I didn't have many issues," Hana remarked, tilting her head slightly.

"Well, you're a surfer- balance probably comes easy to you," Hiroshi guessed, to which Hana conceded with a nod.

"Now, to give you a real answer..." the coroner continued. "I examined a few different items from the armory, comparing them to the wound in Shiori's chest, but...none of them quite fit. Some came close, but after further examination I had to disprove those as well."

"Okay...so what does that mean? The katana really was the murder weapon?" Hana inquired.

"It looks that way, but...something still doesn't sit right me..." Hiroshi confessed. "Call it a gut instinct, but- I just wish I had something concrete to back up my concerns."

Hana nodded with a sigh. "So in other words, even the murder weapon might not be that simple. Fantastic..."

She glanced at the others...and saw Ryoto was still wearing his bloodstained clothing.

"Uh...Ryoto? You didn't...you know, go change?" HanA asked him with a frown.

"Well I would have! But I had to stay in the tower for the whole investigation, and when it came time to come down here, Monokuma REFUSED to give me extra time to change!" Ryoto angrily explained. "Now I gotta go to trial looking like THIS!"

"Yeah, sucks that everyone can see how guilty you are," Hinata stated, crossing his arms.

"How many times do I hafta say it!? I DIDN'T KILL ANYBODY!" Ryoto shouted. "You'll see, just you wait!"

By the time Asuna had joined the group in the courtyard and everyone went quiet again, a familiar tremor spread through the grassy area. Mechanical noises filled the air as the fountain's flow of water stopped immediately, and within the span of a few seconds the structure had completely transformed into the elevator that had taken them down to the trial room three times over.

Akira narrowed her eyes and gruffly commanded, "Well, come on then- the sooner we get down there, the sooner we can begin and end this wretched trial."

"Yeah, let's...get this over with..." Rumi, who was still visibly downtrodden, agreed.

"You kidding? We'll be outta there in a snap," Hinata confidently responded as he followed the others onto the platform.

For once, Ryoto did not appear so boisterous- maybe it was because he knew he was the main suspect, or maybe he still felt some guilt over not being able to prevent Shiori's death. Maybe it was a little of both.

Once the seven students were firmly on the metal platform, the gates shot up and the elevator began its descent. Though they had gone through this three times now, Hana still felt the sickness of fear wash over her. Of course there was no getting used to this- there was no getting used to anything that meant someone's death whether it was win or lose. Still, even through her apprehension, Hana knew just what needed to be done- so, she tried to swallow her fear and focus on the trial ahead...and on the elevator noises around them, that also proved to be a good distraction.

Finally, the elevator reached its destination, and the gates lowered to allow the students to step down into the foreboding hallway. This time, there were no words from anybody; with a fourth murder, what was there to say? The feelings of some of the other students were visible, however, and the tension was almost as palpable. The group exited from the platform and walked down the stone hallway; whatever the others were thinking, Hana was caught up in her own thoughts regarding the classmate they had just lost...

 _Shiori Sauchi...the Ultimate Surgeon. She was pretty bitter, never really liked interaction that much, and she always seemed to have a sarcastic quip for just about everybody. But in spite of all of that...she cared, even if she never wanted to admit it. She was good at what she did, and she could she pretty supportive- in her own, denying way- when she wanted to be. Even when she tried to distance herself from the others, I knew it wasn't out of malice or anything like that. I don't know how much of a friend she considered herself or the others, but...we considered her one- well, me, Rumi, and Asuna._

 _I may not have been able to really repay Shiori for the things she did for me, and I may have been indirectly involved in making things more convenient for the killer..._ Hana told herself, her resolve replacing her fear. _But that's what this trial is for. That's how I'll make it up to her- for Shiori's sake, and everyone else, I won't let the killer win!_

With that vow in her mind, the students stepped through the red doors into the expansive, the terrible trial room.

Once more, the trial room had a new design. In short, it seemed to resemble an expansive, castle-like church. The walls were smooth and painted a clean white color, with a few tall pillar and arch designs making up the molding. A bright chandelier with gold-colored lights hung from the center of the ceiling, which reflected off the gold tiles making up the floor. Higher up and going around the room were six different stained glass windows; they didn't seem to have any particular design or picture (minus one that seemed to have Monokuma's red eye visible amongst the other colors), just a collection of dozens of colors and shapes, the glass radiating from the light of the chandelier. It created a rather beautiful display- but unfortunately, there was no time to truly view or focus on any of it.

Of course, new memorial portraits had been put on display to complement the new interior. First, there was Shiori's portrait placed where she had once stood- like the murder victims before her, there was a normal red 'X' painted over her grayscale headshot. Right next to her portrait- more specifically, between Shiori and Kaneki's portraits- stood a memorial photo belonging to Tadao. Just like the blackened students preceding him, he had a different design on his picture: a red spoon and fork, crossed together to form an 'X' shape.

"Helloooo students!" Monokuma loudly declared from his seat. "Are you guys ready for the main event? I know I am! So, get to your positions- and let's _get ready to RUMBLE!_ ...With words, obviously."

The students only took a moment to glance at one another (which included Akira sending another powerful look towards Hana) before making their way to their respective podiums. There were many aspects to this case that Hana couldn't make heads or tails of...but if she wanted to find the blackened, she'd need to sort out the truth one way or another. There was no room for error- yet knowing this, Hana was made even more nervous.

And thus, whether the class was ready or not...the curtain rose on their fourth murder case. A deadly mystery...a deadly betrayal...who was the blackened? The only way to find out was to survive the class trial- a class trial of life...or death.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it- the investigation's over, Hana's still super confused, but that doesn't matter because it's class trial time! And lemme tell you, I'm pretty eager to write this one- it's gonna be interesting, I'll tell ya that right now.**

 **But first! You have all the evidence and clues, so you can make a judgement for yourselves: who do you think this chapter's blackened is? Just like I did in Chapter 3, I've set up a poll to see what people thing- again, it won't affect anything, I'm just curious to see what peoples' impressions are.**

 **So, here's the code to the Strawpoll, as always:** **k27rafy4**

 **NOW. IMPORTANT- WHICH IS WHY THIS IN ALL CAPS SO YOU'LL SEE IT. Ah...truth be told, there's this school assignment thing I got assigned at the end of my previous year, and I haven't even started it yet- and since it's due when this year starts which is in the middle of August, I really gotta get on that. So why am I telling you about my procrastination? Because it MIGHT, emphasis on MIGHT cause the next part and the start of the trial to be delayed a bit. And I say _might_ because- it's not a hard assignment, maybe time-consuming but not hard, heck I don't know why I put it off I told myself I wouldn't dO THAT THIS YEAR-**

 **So, yeah, I really need to focus on that. It won't take up all my time, so chances are I'll still be making progress, but if you notice the next update is taking a but longer...that's why. Sorry, but I am but a high school scrub and assignments just be like that.**

 **Okay, that was the main announcement I wanted to make- so in the meantime, do what ya need to do to make sense of all this evidence, you know how much I love seeing people speculate and theorize in the reviews! And I'll see you all in the next part, whether that be sooner or later! Goodbye for now!**


	38. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 8)

**A/N: Ah shoot, here we go again.**

 **Welcome back, everyone! It's the moment you've all been waiting for- the climax to Chapter 4, the beginning of the end, it's the class trial! And waiting you have been, because it's been like...a month. Yeah- looks like I was a bit late in the end, but not for the reasons I thought I'd be. Lemme explain:**

 **So, there's this game that I've been playing through, and my older sister's been visiting from college. She'd watch me play the game, and we'd commentate over what was happening- you know, the kinda thing you'd see on Game Grumps or TFS Plays (except we didn't record anything), it's a fun and hilarious time. But see, in late July, sister went to visit a relative of ours, and I committed myself to not continuing with the game until she returned. But...she ended up staying longer than expected, meaning I went longer without that good gaming than I was mentally prepared for, and as a result my motivation to write was _majorly_ shot. I couldn't get myself into the mindset to write, I just wanted to play the game, but I couldn't because of my self-imposed commitment; so it wasn't really true writer's block, per se, more like...my motivation was elsewhere. Now she did return and I got to continue the game, and thanks to that it was easier to write again- don't ask me why it happened like it did, my mind is just...weird like that.**

 **...Oh by the way, the game in question was Octopath Traveler, amazing game, beautiful story (despite the lighthearted/joking banter between me and my sister), I highly recommend it.**

 **So, back to Fractured Fates- seems like Hana and her classmates have a bit of an...interesting case on their hands, don't they? One thing's for certain, though- local sass doctor Shiori is hecking dead, and they gotta find out who did it! Your reviews are in, the polling votes have been cast- now let's just see how wrong or right you guys were, and how wrong or right the 80th Class will be!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ First of all, you're welcome for the lock thing. Second of all- yes, I make no secret whatsoever that Shiori's parents are the worst and she deserved better. Sadly, I have a thing for making characters miserable, so that didn't happen. As for your predictions- it's interesting that you'd bring up accomplices, seeing as how it was established back in Chapter 2 that an accomplice would have nothing to gain by helping a blackened. Now, that's not to say your theory is wrong or invalid, just saying...interesting thought process, there.**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ _GOOD._**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ My, my, that's quite the interesting theory you've got there. Yes, this case is a rather complicated one- in my opinion, anyways- but at this point in the story, is that really so surprising? Now, while I can't say much on how wrong or right your theory is, I _can_ say...that you forgot some evidence. Heck, you even forgot something in the previous review- it just took me until now to realize it.**

 **Namely- the piece of red thread found caught in the wooden support beam at the crime scene and the burned scraps of possible clothing found in the fireplace alongside the memo. Do these pieces of evidence break your theory? Probably not, but _I_ won't say for certain- I'll let you decide. Just thought it was a little odd they weren't mentioned- they were shown for a reason, after all!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Class Trial (Part 1)**

 _ **Class Trial: START!**_

 _ **ALL RISE!**_

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma spoke, as was basically routine at this point. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone else will graduate!"

Hinata scoffed. "Yeah, like that's a big challenge this time."

"Hey, were you looking at me just now!?" Ryoto demanded, returning the thief's glare with a blazing one of his own.

"To be fair...the bloody clothes don't really help your case," Asuna pointed out hesitantly.

"Well I wanted to change, but SOMEBODY wouldn't give me extra time to do that!" the racecar driver explained again, turning his fierce gaze towards Monokuma.

"...Psst, Red- he's totally talking about you," Monokuma 'whispered' to Akira, who did not return the sense of humor.

"Save the accusations for _after_ we discuss the basics," Akira told the other Ultimates.

Adjusting her glasses, the prosecutor began, "Unlike the previous case, there's only one victim. That victim was Shiori Sauchi, the Ultimate Surgeon. The Monokuma File states she died at 12:30 last night, with her body being found at the apex of the eastern watchtower."

"The Monokuma File also said she died due to exsanguination- that is, blood loss- after being impaled through the right lung by a sharp object," Hiroshi went on. "I could confirm the approximate time of death as well as the lethal blood loss due to impalement, so those parts check out."

"Okay...well, at least we know more stuff than what we were given in the last trial," Rumi qualified. "But still, where do we start?"

"Well, I think it would be beneficial to discuss the elephant in the room," Akira suggested, turning her gaze towards a certain Ultimate Racecar Driver. "...Miura."

"Huh? I'm not an elephant! I'm not even that fat!" Ryoto swiftly refuted.

Hana sighed. "No, Ryoto- she means we should talk about you first. Since, you know...you're the main suspect right now?"

"Oh! Hah, why didn't you say so- I love talking about Ryoto Miura!" Ryoto responded, his mood improving...before he remembered the situation he was in and his expression dropped again. "...Oh. Right, uh...murder."

At this point, the room went silent- which Hana expected to have been filled by Shiori's sarcasm towards Ryoto like usual. However, the surfer quickly remembered who the victim in this case was- and if anything, the silence just made her sad again.

"...At any rate, that's as good as a place to start as any," Akira finally spoke up, breaking the now awkward silence. "Proving whether or not Miura is the true blackened or not."

"HAH! Of course I'm not the real killer- proving that should be easy!" Ryoto confidently boasted...but Hana could tell there was a glimmer of fear in his grin and his eyes.

 _Well, it's now or never I guess...whether Ryoto really killed Shiori or not, we're about to find out._ Hana told herself, steadying her nerves. Personally, she wanted to believe in her arrogant yet dim-witted classmate, but...would the evidence support that?

"So, Miura- I don't suppose you have an alibi for the night in question?" Akira questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Or, well, any explanation for what you were doing during the night of the murder?"

"Alibi? Well- I mean, it was late, so it's not like there was anyone around to- what's the word- corroborate it!" Ryoto responded- he was already growing rather anxious by the interrogation.

"I-I mean...he does bring up a good point," Asuna spoke up. "The murder happened so late at night, s-so unless someone was spending the night with someone else, _none_ of us have actual alibis."

"But not all of us are suspects right now," Rumi then pointed out. "Ryoto's the one who's most suspicious."

"We don't even need his alibi- he obviously went to the East Wing last night," Hinata claimed. "How else would he have ended up at the top of the watchtower?"

"Well, that's- uh, WRONG!" Ryoto suddenly shouted before confidently claiming, "It just so happens I had NO REASON at ALL to go into the East Wing! So-"

Before Ryoto could finish his claim, Hana heard the clear contradiction in his testimony, and as such she shouted out, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Ryoto- you _did_ have a reason to go into the East Wing last night," Hana responded, a hint of exasperation entering her tone. "Your talk with Shiori yesterday? Remember?"

"O-Our talk!?" Ryoto yelped. "HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!?"

"You _told_ me about it!" Hana shouted back at him. "In the watchtower!"

"...Oh- yeah, I did, didn't I?" Ryoto sheepishly admitted, his nervousness only becoming more apparent. "Sorry! I'm- not really used to being interrogated, you know?"

"Dude! Ya just lied to everyone's faces!" Hinata told him. "Take it from a criminal- that doesn't make you look innocent."

"I have to agree with him- you shouldn't lie about that sort of thing, Ryoto," Hiroshi added. "Whether you're the blackened or not, it _will_ make you seem more suspicious."

"I PANICKED, OKAY!?" Ryoto cried out. "I've never been the prime suspect of ANYTHING! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

"Hold on," Akira began, interrupting the racer's panic. "Amari, what are you blabbering about? You say that Miura and Sauchi spoke to each other prior to the murder?"

"From what Ryoto told me- yeah," Hana responded, not acknowledging Akira'a rudeness. "Basically, Shiori talked to him in private after the emergency meeting, and she told him she thought someone was going to try and set off a murder plan that night."

"That's right- yeah! Someone else- DEFINITELY NOT ME- was planning some kinda murder! I mean, Shiori didn't really know who it was, but it wasn't me!" Ryoto confirmed. "So, she wanted my help to find out who it was and put a stop to it!"

"So, that's why you were in the East Wing?" Rumi inquired. "Shiori asked you for help?"

"Yeah! We were gonna stop that asshole before they struck!" Ryoto went on. "So, really- it's kinda the opposite of going there to kill her!"

"Well, that sounds a lot better than saying you didn't go there at all," Hiroshi stated with a smile and a nod. "And it doesn't sound like you've changed your story at all."

"I dunno- should we really believe it so easily?" Hinata then asked, visibly skeptical. "It's not like anyone else can say the two of them had a talk after the meeting, right?"

"A-Actually- Shiori did mention to me, Rumi, and Hana that she had to talk to Ryoto about something," Asuna confessed. "But she said later that it was just medical stuff, not...you know, trying to stop a murder."

Hinata glared at the small gardener. "Asuna, shut up."

"S-Sorry! But it's true!" the Ultimate responded, her timid nature briefly resurfacing.

"Plus, the two of them _were_ trying to keep it a secret," Hana added. "Isn't that right, Ryoto?"

"RIGHT! We didn't want the killer to get freaked out and bail before we had a chance to find out who it was!" Ryoto explained. "How's THAT for testimony!?"

"It...still puts you at the scene of the crime, though," Rumi pointed out. "Or at least _near_ the crime scene."

"I agree with Hamasaki- since it was just the two of you and Sauchi is not around to confirm or deny your claims, we can't quite take the story at face value," Akira stated. "Perhaps further information would be necessary- Miura, when exactly did you go to the East Wing, and what happened when you arrived there?"

Suddenly, Hana remembered how Ryoto described the sequence of events...and she didn't have a very good feeling about how his defense would look afterwards.

 _No, no, don't panic just yet..._ Hana told herself. _Maybe, after all that thinking he did...he figured out what could have actually happened when he was knocked out?_ _Or at least figured out a way to explain it in a way that doesn't make him seem crazy?_

"Okay, no more lying! Shiori asked me to be at the East Wing by 11:30 PM- and Ryoto Miura's a punctual guy, so of course I was there on time!" the racecar driver explained. "But a little bit after I got there...WHAM!"

He clenched a fist and dramatically claimed, "One of the armor suits from the training room came to life and attacked me from behind! Just like that, I was knocked out cold!"

And all of Hana's hopes came crashing down like a wave. _...Nevermind, he's as good as executed._

The other students- save for Hiroshi, who had heard the story from Hana- stared at the Ultimate in bafflement.

"...The armor...came to life?" Akira inquired, unable to hide how dumbfounded she was.

"Yeah! I recognized those metal arms as the gauntlets from the armor! So what else could it have been but the armor coming to life, huh?" Ryoto confirmed. "Hana, I told you that- you can confirm it, right?"

But Hana was burying her face in her hands, only able to respond with, "Please...stop wording it like that..."

Ryoto furrowed his brow. "Huh?"

"Ryoto? Uh...suits of armor...can't come to life," Asuna told him in the same tone as a parent would use to tell their kid the Tooth Fairy wasn't real.

"Yeah- maybe in, like, movies or books," Rumi added. "But this is real life, and I'm pretty sure the castle isn't haunted or something, so..."

"I can confirm, this place is 100% ghost-free!" Monokuma chimed in. "Ruined my best vacuum cleaner to make sure of it, but you students are all worth it!"

Akira sighed. "Miura, enough with the asinine testimony. You're just digging yourself a deeper hole."

"Asinine!? I dunno why you're bringing up chemistry, Akira, but I'm being honest here!" Ryoto insisted. "I got attacked by a walking armor suit, I know what I saw!"

"Ryoto, I will PAY you to stop trying to explain," Hana pleaded with her classmate- why did hoping to/trying to defend a suspected classmate always have to be so difficult?

Hiroshi, however, was a little more patient. "Well...maybe he's not exactly lying. He's probably just mistaken in what he saw, is all."

"Or- and this is the more likely one- he's just making shit up," Hinata refuted. "Come on, just look at him- he knows he's suspicious, so he's trying to make up a story to explain everything. And since he's a dumbass, of course he'd say something completely insane!"

"INSANE!? Why don't you say that to my face!?" Ryoto shouted at him, furious.

"I _am_ saying it to your face!" the thief responded with equal rage, his gold eyes meeting Ryoto's electric blue.

"And arguing with stuff doesn't help you either!" Hana then yelled at Ryoto. "Remind me to never become a defense attorney..."

"Hey...you know, Ryoto, the bloody clothes and the weird story stuff aren't the only things that makes you look suspicious," Rumi then spoke up in a much calmer tone than her classmates. "We all saw you, so I think we can all agree on what else I'm talking about, right?"

"If you and I are thinking the same thing..." Akira began. "Then I can also agree."

"What? What are you talking about now?" Ryoto asked, growing panicked again.

 _Something else, huh? Rumi says we all saw something, so it's probably something else on Ryoto..._ Hana pondered to herself. _If that's the case, then...I think I know what she and Akira are talking about._

"You're talking about Ryoto's injuries, right?" Hana answered. "The bump on his head and the cut on his arm?"

Rumi nodded. "I'm not a detective, but...if you got hurt like that, Ryoto, would that mean Shiori tried to fight back?"

"HOOOOLD ON! Don't jump the gun like that!" Ryoto quickly responded. "I don't know how I got the cut or the bump, that all happened during the time I can't remember!"

"Which includes the time the murder happened?" Akira inquired.

"YES! Seriously, the injuries don't connect me to the murder just like that!" Ryoto insisted.

 _Well, if the topic's on those wounds of Ryoto's..._ Hana thought to herself. _I guess I'd better solidify whether they make him look more suspicious or not. I really hope they don't but...something tells me Ryoto and I are gonna be in for a world of hurt..._

"I agree with Rumi- those injuries are _waaay_ suspicious," Hinata agreed, glancing at the scuba diver. "And ain't it pretty convenient that he can't remember how he got them?"

"Convenient for the killer, maybe!" Ryoto refuted. "If I hadn't blacked out, I'd have given them WAY worse!"

"Ryoto not being able to remember what happened isn't that far-fetched," Hiroshi claimed. "He got hit in the head, too, so that likely had something to do with it."

"Also, assuming he was telling the truth about being attacked..." Akira went on. "There's a large gap in time there. So, many things could have transpired that would explain the injuries."

"Okay, maybe the head injury, but what about the cut?" Hinata then asked. "There are only so many things that could have caused that."

"I-I mean- it's no more strange than the head bump," Asuna qualified. "I don't think there was anything at the tower that could have caused a slice like that, o-or at least none that I saw..."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted, stopping the gardener in her tracks.

Settling down, the surfer asked more calmly, "Asuna, you didn't look at the crime scene too long, did you?"

"Uh...n-no, not really," Asuna responded. "Can you blame me, though?"

"No, I get it- but there was something by Shiori's body that, I think, would have caused that cut on Ryoto's arm," Hana explained. "It was one of her scalpels- you know, the kind she always carried around in her pocket?"

"Really?" Asuna responded, surprised. "Then- nevermind, that would explain it."

"HUH!? Hana, I thought you were on my side!" Ryoto cried, dismayed.

"S-Sorry! But I couldn't just let the contradiction go, you know how I am!" Hana indignantly (and apologetically) replied.

"Wait- how do you know the scalpel was what caused the cut on his arm?" Rumi asked, frowning in confusion. "I didn't really look too closely at where Shiori's body actually was, so I didn't get a good look at the scalpel, but..."

"Well, there was a small amount of blood on the blade of the scalpel," Hiroshi explained. "And that cut on Ryoto's arm is very thin and not too deep. Based on that, I don't think there's anything else in this castle that could have created such a cut _but_ a scalpel."

"Wha- but- I-!" Ryoto stammered, his face growing more pale by the second.

"What, got no more boasts at how innocent you are?" Hinata sneered, a cocky grin directed towards the racecar driver.

"SHUT UP! Something like that...it could have easily been staged!" Ryoto insisted. "The killer...they must have grabbed a scalpel from Shiori's coat and sliced my arm while I was knocked out!"

"While I agree the wounds would be easy to stage, there's no proof this is exactly what happened," Akira stated. "On the other hand, this case against Miura appears circumstantial at best."

She crossed her arms and went on, "Besides, no one here has established one of the most important aspects to a murder..."

"What's that?" Asuna inquired.

"Motive, obviously," Akira answered. "The way I see it, Miura had no reason to want to kill Sauchi. If anything, assuming his story about what happened the night of the murder has any semblance of credibility, he was trying to help her."

"Hah, that's right!" Ryoto boasted, relief flooding into him. "Akira Rimutsu, you are exactly right! Not once have I ever wanted Shiori dead- hell, you guys know me, I hate, HATE murder!"

Hinata, however, scoffed. "Yeah right, of course he had a motive. We all got one!"

"Hinata, are you talking about the videos?" Hana asked him.

"Well, duh, it's the only motive we got," the thief deadpanned. "Ryoto probably watched his, and whatever was on there was enough to make him want to kill!"

Ryoto let out another confident laugh. "Well that's where you're wrong, Hinata Yonade! I know I can say with certainty that I never watched my motive video! Not once!"

Hana let out a sigh of relief- finally, something seemed to be working in favor of the Ultimate Racecar Driver's innocence.

"But...didn't Monokuma say the icon would look kinda dull when someone watched it once?" Rumi pointed out.

"True- it's easy to say you never watched it, but one look at that icon would prove otherwise," Akira conceded, turning her attention towards Ryoto again. "Miura, I assume you have your handbook with you? Show us your homescreen- that should clear this up in a second, one way or another."

"You got it! I've got nothing to hide!" Ryoto declared, whipping out the gadget in question and turning it on. "Take a look!"

He flipped it so the screen was facing the circle of other students; the screen flashed with Ryoto's name before transitioning to the homescreen like the other e-Handbooks. There, the students could see clear as day the red icon indicating Ryoto's motive video. As for what the icon looked like...well, everyone was taken aback in some way. Akira's eyes widened in surprise before she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration; Hinata was grinning again; Hiroshi, Rumi, and Asuna appeared quite shocked; and Hana...well...

"...Are...you...KIDDING ME!?" she shouted in a combination of shock of frustration.

Now, Ryoto went from confident to confused. "What? What's the problem?"

"Look at your screen," Asuna told him.

The young man did so, still visibly baffled...but then his confusion turned to total bewilderment as he stared down at the screen. That was because his video icon wasn't bright crimson like he expected it to be...it was a dull, dark color.

Upon realizing the problem with his icon, Ryoto let out a loud and horrified scream- the loudest scream Hana had ever heard from him, and that was saying a lot. She and the rest of her classmates instinctively covered their ears to try and block out the auditory barrage, but it only helped slightly; Monokuma seemed to be the only one enjoying himself, but then again robots didn't have to worry about damage to ear drums.

"NO! NO NO, THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! I mean it is, but I- I NEVER WATCHED IT!" Ryoto insisted in his panic. "I-I know the icon looks like it, but I- I swear I didn't-"

"Can we, uh...take a break for a minute, I think I just went deaf..." Rumi, who was positioned to Ryoto's immediate left, remarked in a daze.

"Dude, you can't argue this!" Hinata called to him. "That icon's clearly dark, so you obviously watched it!"

"Ryoto- why did you watch the video?" Hiroshi asked him, his surprise genuine. "What could have possibly been on-"

"I DON'T KNOW! I'M TELLING YOU, I NEVER WATCHED IT!" Ryoto roared. "I- I don't know what the fuck this is all about, b-but I would have DEFINITELY remembered something showing my biggest goddamn fear!"

Hana grimaced as she watched the Ultimate floundering. _This is bad- no, this is worse, how did this get worse!? Why,_ why _did the icon have to be dull and dark!? I still want to believe in Ryoto, but- damn, how am I gonna prove him innocent when it's like this? But I...dammit, I still have to try!_

"Okay, Ryoto, stop with the yelling," Hana spoke up, attempting to ease the racer out of his panic. "Are you absolutely sure you never watched your video?"

"Y-Yes? YES! I, uh- the killer! They must have- they must have taken my handbook at some point a-and turned the video on!" Ryoto speculated.

"Was there a time when someone could have done that?" Hiroshi then inquired, a slight frown on his face.

"Uuuh...probably...?" the racecar driver guessed. "I-I don't know! I didn't do anything! I told you, I would have remembered watching something like a fear video!"

Suddenly, Asuna perked up- a realization had evidently dawned on her. "Maybe...you _don't_ remember."

Akira furrowed her brow. "Izumi, what are you implying?"

"W-Well...Ryoto got a head injury, right?" Asuna explained. "And his memories blacked out after a certain point, right?"

"As the person with the blacked-out memories, I can confirm," Ryoto said, concern visible in his eyes.

"Well, what if...it's _because_ of that head injury that you can't remember anything?" Asuna offered. "Like, _something_ happened after you got to the East Wing that gave you that bump, a-and that injury was what made your memory blackout?"

"Now that you mention it...isn't that what happened to Hana?" Rumi remarked, glancing at the surfer in question. "After Tadao hit on her the head with that wine bottle, she could remember much of anything about the time during and a little before she got attacked."

"You're not wrong about that..." Hana confirmed with a frown. "...Actually, I _still_ can't remember much, now that I'm thinking about it."

Ryoto's face grew pale. "What...? C-Could that really have happened to me!?"

"It's...not such a far-fetched explanation," Hiroshi admitted, thoughtful. "It has some credence with that severe bump you've got."

"And it'd explain the weirder parts of your story- I mean, blacked-out memories, of course things would sound weird when you remove a lotta the context," Hinata added with a shrug. "Like the armor part- that's the last thing you could remember, so obviously that wasn't what _completely_ happened."

"No way..." Ryoto gasped, horror materializing in his eyes. "So that means..."

He gripped the podium like his life depended on it. "That means I really could have killed Shiori!? I could have killed her, and I don't even remember doing it!?"

"Hey, Ryoto, it was just a suggestion!" Hana quickly told him, hoping to calm him down. "That doesn't mean that's what actually happened."

"No, they're right! It's only way anything makes sense!" Ryoto cried, trembling. "My weird story, me being at the tower, me blacking out, my injuries, my video-"

"Ryoto, it's okay, you don't have to-" Hiroshi began as well.

"Oh- oh, WHAT HAVE I DONE!? I KILLED MY CLASSMATE, AND I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER IT!" Ryoto yelled, tears starting to form in his horrified eyes. "I'VE GOTTA BE GUILTY! I'VE GOTTA BE, THROW THE BOOK AT MEEEE!"

"...Does that count as a confession...?" Hinata asked, glancing around at the others.

"I-I was just making a hypothesis, I didn't...mean to make him freak out like that..." Asuna spoke up, lowering her fedora as if to try and hide her face.

As Hana tried to think of a way to get Ryoto out of his situation...someone else spoke up. But it wasn't to accuse the racecar driver- and in saying that, the person who spoke next was a surprise to many.

"...Miura. Quit blubbering, this trial's not done yet," Akira said- her tone was calm, but it was as stern as ever. "You may have forgotten much of what happened the night of the murder, but you obviously haven't forgotten everything, right?"

"R-Right, but-" Ryoto began, despite how flustered he was.

"Then testify again," Akira instructed him. "Testify about everything you can remember before you woke up in the tower today- and be sure to do so in as much detail as you can, understand?"

Hana's eyes widened in shock. _Hold on- is Akira...trying to_ help _him?_

"Uh- Akira?" Hinata began, just as surprised as the surfer. "I think we've got this case in the bag, he doesn't need to-"

"Did I stutter, Yonade?" Akira snarled at the thief, her glare as deathly as ever. "Or perhaps there's something profound you'd like to share with everyone?"

Hinata gulped, immediately appearing regretful of interjecting. "I, just, you know- think you might be overthinking this...?"

"What I do has purpose, Yonade," the prosecutor responded in annoyance. "This is no different. Now stop interrupting and allow Miura to state his testimony."

In addition to being grateful that Akira's irritation wasn't directed at her for once, Hana was glad she and the others now had another chance to see if they could prove Ryoto's innocence- or confirm that he was, in fact, Shiori's killer. Surely, _something_ in the Ultimate Racecar Driver's testimony would lead somewhere either way- after all, Hana still wanted to believe in his innocence, despite everything that had been discussed so far.

"Okay, uh...so, I got to the East Wing at around 11:30 last night, just like Shiori said," Ryoto began, calming down enough to be able to relay the order of events without freaking out further. "The place- it looked the same as it always did! Nothing too weird happened at first, the only thing was I didn't see Shiori anywhere."

"You didn't see her at all?" Akira inquired, crossing her arms.

"No- I mean, it could've been she was running late or was just in another room," Ryoto pointed out with a frown.

"So- it was at this point that you were attacked, right?" Hiroshi asked. "The, uh...sentient armor suit?"

"Yeah! Uh- I think it was a few seconds after I first walked into the main hall," Ryoto reminisced. "That's when it happened. I heard something behind me, and I thought it was Shiori- at least, I think I did- but before I could turn around, BAM! Metal hand on my mouth!"

"And you're sure it was a gauntlet from one of the armor suits?" Asuna inquired. "Y-You keep saying it happened fast, so..."

"No way, I know metal when I see and feel it!" Ryoto quickly refuted. "Besides, as fast as it was, it's not like I didn't see _anything-_ I wouldn't be testifying in that case."

"Details, Miura- what did the assailant actually do to you?" Akira questioned. "You said they knocked you out, but how?"

"Oh, yeah- could that be how you got that bump on your head?" Rumi suggested.

"No, I don't remember them hitting me on the head," the racer explained, having to stop and think as if trying to remember. "I...I think they might have hit me more in the neck or the shoulder? Maybe they were going for a nerve thing?"

"Well that can't be right..." Hinata began. "You don't have any injuries on your neck or anywhere near it."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana quickly interjected upon hearing a clear contradiction. "Actually- Ryoto's got one more wound on him. Not only that, but it's exactly where Ryoto just described- on his neck."

"Wait, he does?" Rumi asked, quickly glancing at the young man in question.

"Ah- yeah, I do," Ryoto confirmed, turning his neck so the others could see the tiny, red scab on the side of his neck. "We were focusing on my other injuries so much, I kinda forgot about it."

The scuba diver frowned, then turned back to Hana. "Well- it looks like you knew about it, so why didn't you bring that up earlier?"

"Well, in her defense, it wasn't as relevant until now," Hiroshi pointed out. "Like Ryoto said, we were all mainly focusing on the head bump and arm laceration- there wasn't much of an opportunity to bring the puncture wound up. But, seems like Hinata's claim fixed that."

Meanwhile, the thief didn't appear as upset that he had been contradicted, rather he seemed a little confused. "A puncture wound? Is that what that is? I can barely see it..."

"Yeah, I didn't notice it until Ryoto asked me to look at it," Hana conceded.

"That's right! I felt something weird on my neck, and she said it was some kinda scab from a vaccine," Ryoto elaborated. "Or, uh- what'd Hiroshi call it? A puncture wound?"

"Yeah, I guess that's the better word for it," Hana stated with a nod.

"Okay...so what? Just one more weird injury from the struggle," Hinata stated, shrugging.

"No, I don't believe a puncture wound like that would come from any form of struggle," Akira refuted, shaking her head.

"Besides, the puncture wound proves something else," Hiroshi claimed. "It confirms Ryoto was, in fact, knocked out by someone."

"It does!?" Ryoto asked, shocked. "Well, th-that's great!"

"W-Wait, how?" Asuna asked. "It's just a puncture wound- h-how would that knock someone out?"

"Well, it's not necessarily the puncture wound itself..." Hiroshi began. "Rather, it's what _caused_ the puncture wound- something I found at the crime scene. That's what we need to focus on."

The coroner then turned to Hana. "Hana? I'll let you explain this one- after all, I recall showing you the evidence in question, right?"

"Yeah, you did- I know exactly what you're talking about," Hana assured him with a nod. A part of her still wondered why he insisted that she be the one to explain it, but the rest of her simply accepted it at this point in the killing game. Besides- it wasn't like she didn't know what Hiroshi was talking about.

It took only a moment to formulate a response before the Ultimate answered, "It's the syringe, right? The one you found in Shiori's pocket?"

"A syringe...didn't she always keep medical stuff on her?" Rumi inquired, frowning.

"Well, she had scalpels and, sometimes, gloves- but not syringes," Hiroshi stated, shaking his head. "And in case you're wondering- no, she didn't keep supplies like this in her room, either."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Was this syringe used?"

"Well, yeah- it was totally empty of any kinda fluid," Hana explained. "So really, I don't see what else could have caused that puncture wound on Ryoto's neck."

"But...that's not the only thing that proves the syringe was used to knock out Ryoto," Hiroshi stated. "I believe the evidence of that lies in where I believe the syringe came from: the medical room."

Hana glanced at her classmate and quietly remarked, "I didn't know you investigated the medical room."

Hiroshi let out a sheepish chuckle and responded, "I- didn't. So that's why I'm gonna give you the wheel again- and trust that your investigation was thorough."

The surfer gave him an unamused look. "Seriously? This again?"

"Yes, 'this again'," Hiroshi responded, frowning for a moment before his smile returned. "And once again- I'm sure you found something that I just happened to miss, right?"

Hana gave him a dry chuckle in acknowledgement. "You can be a really bad support sometimes, you know that?"

"HEEEY! What's with the hushed conversation!?" Ryoto cried out, his gaze towards his two classmates. "If you've got evidence, then- do your thing! _I_ don't even know if I'm innocent or guilty, so if this can prove things one way or the other, then can one of you actually EXPLAAAAIN!?"

"Gah-! S-Sorry!" Hana stammered, turning away from her discussion with Hiroshi. "Uh- Hiroshi's right. See, the syringe that Shiori had, it _did_ come from the medical room. There's a whole stand in one of the cabinets with space for...six needles, I think, but one of them was missing. Plus, those syringes looked just like the one at the crime scene- only, you know, they weren't used."

"Um...if we're focusing on these syringes so much..." Asuna spoke up. "What about them proves that Ryoto was knocked out? Were they filled with sedatives or something?"

"...Actually, that's...where I was gonna go next," Hana remarked, her eyes widening a bit. "See, the needles were also labeled- you know, so you'd know what exactly was in them. Not only was the one at the crime scene missing its label, but I didn't really get what the different names really meant."

She then added, "Except for one of them! One of the syringes was labeled as, get this: midazolam."

"Midazolam?" Hinata began. "Hey, wait! Wasn't the stuff that was in that 'Despair Drink' from the last murder? The thing that made us have that memory blackout?"

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation. "And if I recall, Shiori herself explained that midazolam is a type of anesthetic. Bearing this in mind...I think we can figure out what that means for the other five syringes, right?"

Hana nodded. "Yeah. The six syringes, including the one Shiori had...they had to have been different kinds of sedatives!"

"Well of course- why else would they be grouped together like that?" Akira added, crossing her arms- the look she had seemed to indicate she had already deduced much or all of what Hana had figured out- perhaps that was also why she wasn't trying to refute what the surfer was saying, despite her anger towards Hana.

"O-Oh! So I was right?" Asuna inquired, surprised. "Heh- that's good, I guess."

"So- Ryoto really was knocked out?" Rumi asked. "And whoever attacked him used the syringe to do it!"

"And...it's not like it would have been hard for anyone to grab a syringe or two! The medical room was open to anyone!" Ryoto added, evidently regaining his confidence. "Even walking suits of armor!"

"For the last time, Miura- the suit of armor did not come to life! It's more likely someone was wearing it when you were knocked out," Akira snapped.

Upon hearing about the armor suit yet again, Hana remembered something else. "Hey, Ryoto...wasn't there something else you said about after you were knocked out?"

Akira furrowed her brow. "After he was knocked out?"

"Well- sorta? Ryoto, you said something about...feeling something while you were knocked out?" Hana inquired. "Like- you could feel something cold and hard around you? Like a locker or something?"

"Oh, yeah...that's true, I did kinda have a sensation like that..." Ryoto confirmed with a nod. "But honestly? I mighta dreamt that- it was so short, and hazy, and vague, it sure _felt_ like it was dream."

"But what if it wasn't?" Hana responded, leaning in slightly.

"What _if_ it wasn't?" Hiroshi asked, subtly urging the Ultimate Surfer onward. "What would explain what Ryoto felt?"

"Well...I think it'd be good to put yourself in the assailant's perspective for a second," Hana began, thoughtful. "Obviously, they weren't trying to kill Ryoto- they had plenty of time between when they knocked out Ryoto and when Shiori was killed to do that, so the fact that they didn't should be proof enough. But then the question is: what did they do with Ryoto afterwards?"

"They...took him to the tower, right?" Asuna guessed. "That's where we, uh...found him this morning."

"I don't think so," Hana replied. "I think the culprit's main priority would have been making sure Shiori, who was also going to be there, didn't see Ryoto all unconscious like he was."

"Hey, that's a good point!" Ryoto remarked. "Seeing the person you were supposed to meet with knocked out would be EXTREMELY suspicious!"

"And...how does that relate to what Ryoto felt?" Rumi asked with a frown. "Or... _thought_ he felt."

"Easy! If I were in the culprit's shoes, I'd probably try to hide Ryoto somewhere," Hana went on. "And judging by what he described...I'd say the culprit hid him inside one of the the suits of armor!"

"Wait, _what?"_ Hinata asked, incredulous. "You're saying the person who knocked Ryoto out stuffed him _inside_ one of the armor suits?"

"Actually...that's not too hard to believe," Hiroshi stated. "After all, we found evidence that proves it."

Hana nodded in confirmation. "See, the evidence that proves Ryoto was in the armor suit was this strand of hair we found stuck inside the helmet."

"And...it belonged to Ryoto...?" Asuna finished.

"Well..." Hana began, before turning to the racecar driver himself. "Ryoto? What's your natural hair color?"

"My- _natural_ hair color?" Ryoto asked. "Uh- it's like a brown. Like, a paler-looking brown, but it's still brown hair."

Hiroshi smiled slightly and responded, "Well, that confirms that- see, the hair strand Hana's referring to was primarily yellow, with some brown towards the end. And since Ryoto's hair is dyed yellow but is naturally brown, there's no doubt the hair belonged to him."

"Really? So there was just a strand of my hair lying around?" Ryoto asked himself...before angrily shouting, "HEY! How dare you two touch my hair without my CONSENT!"

Hana had no idea how to respond to that, so she simply went on, "A-Anyways...so, what I think happened was the killer knocked out Ryoto, then dragged him into the training room- or at least out of the main hall- and put him inside the armor to make absolutely certain Shiori wouldn't see him and get suspicious."

Akira didn't nod, but she still seemed to agree with Hana's line of thought. "It would explain the hair strand that was left behind, as well what Miura described- this 'cold' and 'hard' thing seemingly surrounding him."

"Well...I did wear one of the suits the other day, and I agree that the metal _was_ pretty cold and solid," Rumi added with a nod.

"So- I really was knocked out?" Ryoto then asked, sounding hopeful. "And I didn't- run off anywhere to go kill anyone? And by 'anyone' I mean Shiori?"

"Yeah! I mean, it kinda confirms your 'knocked out' story- even if it still probably wasn't caused by a _living_ suit of armor," Hana told him with a happy nod. "And if you were telling the truth about that, then you were probably telling the truth about everything else, and that means you're probably not the killer!"

Just as Hana said that, Hinata suddenly interjected, "Lemme snatch that logic!"

While Hana was too stunned to immediately respond, Hinata took the opportunity to continue, "No way! We can't be done with Ryoto yet!"

"What? Why not?" Hana quickly asked in response.

"'Why not'? Because you didn't prove a damn thing!" Hinata yelled. "Ryoto could still be the killer, we shouldn't let him off the hook just like that!"

 _Dammit, Hinata...why's he being so insistent on saying Ryoto's the blackened?_ Hana asked herself, glaring at the thief in annoyance. _Okay, I_ really _need to prove Ryoto's innocence here- we might be stuck on this topic a lot longer otherwise, and we need that time to find out who_ actually _killed Shiori!_

"You're saying Ryoto's story is completely believable now...but is it really? It's just his word, that's it- and it's not like Shiori's around to confirm or deny what he's saying," Hinata began. "So how easy would it be for him to just make up a story, and maybe set up a few things to make it look true? Besides, did you just forget about everything else? The signs of a struggle, the blood on him, the motive?"

"A lot of that stuff could have been set up by the killer to frame Ryoto! There's nothing that proves he actually committed the murder!" Hana retorted. "If anything, the fact that he was in the armor suit only proves his innocence more!"

"How does that even make sense!? So, okay, the hair strand shows he was wearing the armor- or at the very least, the helmet- at some point," Hinata began. "But to me, that just makes him look even more suspicious! The only reason he would have worn something like that would be to protect himself against his target, right? The fact that he was in the armor at some point doesn't really prove him _innocent-"_

Having heard the problem with Hinata's claims, Hana shouted and interrupted him with, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

"Hinata- it's really not as simple as using the suit for protection," Hana told the thief. "See, the armor in the training room has this...quirk to them. When you're wearing the full suit of armor, it's...actually really hard to move around."

"Oh, she's right!" Rumi blurted. "Uh- yesterday, when me, Hana, Asuna, and Shiori were in the training room, I tried on one of the armor suits, and I could barely move at all. I even fell over a bunch because of how immobile it was!"

Hinata frowned. "S-So?"

"What she's saying is obvious: since Miura was inside the suit, there's no way he could have been able to move around to kill somebody! He'd be practically trapped!" Akira explained. "And it's not like he only wore a part of it either- he himself said he felt the metal from the suit all over him. Isn't that right, Miura?"

"RIGHT! It may have felt hazy, but I totally felt cold, heartless metal all over me! On my back, my arms, my legs- that's why I thought I was inside something!" Ryoto explained. "Which...I guess I was!"

"But hold on...by that logic, h-how did Ryoto's attacker...you know, do what they did?" Asuna then asked. "It's hard to move when you're wearing the full suit, so how did they attack him?"

 _Well, that's an easy one._ Hana thought to herself. _For the killer to have attacked Ryoto while in the armor, they must have..._

"Well...who says they wore the entire suit?" Hana responded. "Yeah, when Rumi wore the armor she had trouble moving around, but remember- she was wearing the _entire_ suit. If the culprit only wore, say...the gauntlets or the helmet, I think they'd be fine."

"Come to think of it...Ryoto, you only saw their arms, right?" Hiroshi inquired. "The gauntlets?"

"Yeah...?" Ryoto responded, furrowing his brow.

"Then, it's likely they only wore enough of the suit so they could both move freely and avoid being identified by Ryoto," Hiroshi surmised. "It helps that he was attacked from behind, which would _already_ make it hard for Ryoto to know who attacked him- I'd say the armor added on to that."

"So, it really was just someone wearing the armor?" Ryoto asked, shocked. "It DIDN'T come to life and attack me!?"

"...That's what we've been telling you from the beginning..." Hana told him, sighing. "But, on the bright side...it means you're innocent, Ryoto!"

"I'm...innocent?" Ryoto began, his hopefulness returning. "I-I'm not a suspect anymore?"

"You didn't kill Shiori- I think we've proved that by now," Hana assured him with a smile. "You're not the killer, Ryoto- you don't have to doubt yourself anymore, okay?"

"I...I didn't kill her! Haha- I'm not the killer! I DIDN'T KILL ANYBODY!" Ryoto happily cheered, relief flooding his features at last. "Oh my god- Hana, Hiroshi, Akira, I could KISS you guys right now!"

Hana's smile faltered. "Heh, uh...please don't."

"Your appreciation is enough," Hiroshi quickly responded to him.

"Don't try it," Akira told the racer, her glare enough to communicate her command.

Hinata frowned somewhat, sighing. "In our defense- you panicking a bunch didn't really help your case with all the other things pointing to you being the culprit."

"Well EXCUSE ME! How would you react if you were in my place!?" Ryoto demanded- not only had he regained his dramatics, but now he was expressing his fury at the student who had been most vehemently insisting on his guilt. "Honestly, NO ONE in here knows what it's like to be accused of a crime you didn't commit!"

"..." Asuna was silent for a moment, before muttering, "Yeah, _no one_ here knows what _that's_ like..."

"Anyways- now that we've proved Miura's innocence, it's time to focus our attention on figuring out the rest of this case," Akira began, adjusting her glasses.

"Like finding the REAL killer, right!?" Ryoto asked, grinning.

"Well, obviously..." Akira responded...but then went on, "But there's another aspect to the case that I feel we should go over first."

"There's...another aspect?" Hana began, confused. "What do you mean?"

Akira just ignored the surfer and went on, "Think about it, all of you- didn't any of you notice some...odd details or pieces of evidence that just didn't seem to fit with anything relating to Sauchi's death?"

"Well, there were a bunch of weird things like that, so you're gonna have to be more specific," Hinata stated, raising an eyebrow.

Akira narrowed her eyes and elaborated, "Fine, I guess I'll just have to explain myself. First of all, the attack on Miura- the person who did it and the syringe they used."

"The person who attacked him...?" Hiroshi began. "It had to be the killer, right?"

"You think too small, Ashi," the Ultimate Prosecutor replied. "But let me start by asking a question- Miura, you said you didn't see Sauchi in the East Wing when you arrived at 11:30, correct."

"Yup! I looked around for a few seconds before I got attacked, and I saw no trace of her!" Ryoto confirmed.

"Doesn't that seem the least bit strange to you- or anyone?" Akira asked, glancing around. "If Sauchi was so concerned about a possible murder plot, so worried that she would go as far as to ask for _Miura's_ help, wouldn't she make sure to be at the location at the necessary time as well?"

Ryoto frowned and replied, "Uuh...maybe she just lost track of time...?"

"No way, Shiori was way more organized than that!" Hana immediately refuted. "If she _really_ needed to be somewhere at a certain time, she'd be there!"

Hiroshi then furrowed his brow. "But...then...why wasn't she with Ryoto by 11:30 like she was supposed to be...?"

"Precisely my point, Ashi," Akira stated. "Now, let's move on to something similarly related: the syringe."

"What about it...? Yeah, we don't know exactly what drug was in there, b-but we know it was a type of sedative at least, and we know it came from the medical room. S-So what's the problem?" Asuna questioned.

"You see, that's the issue. We only figured out it and the other drugs were sedatives because one of the other syringes just so happened to contain midazolam- a drug that we had prior experience with, and therefore knew its effects thanks to Sauchi explaining it during the last trial," the prosecutor explained. "But think realistically- would the majority of us have been able to identify the other needles as containing anesthetics prior to this trial?"

Nobody answered that. Hana glanced around, then back at Akira- just what was the Ultimate getting at with this line of questioning?

As if sensing her confusion, Akira directly asked Hana, "Amari, you looked at the syringes during the investigation- did you recognize that the drugs labeled were all sedatives right away?"

"Wha- me? I...recognized midazolam, like you said, but-" Hana began.

"Did you recognize the other ones as sedatives?" Akira repeated herself, this time more forcefully.

Hana grimaced slightly. "No, I didn't. At least, not until I actually had to think about it for this trial- during the investigation, I didn't know what to make of all the labels, I couldn't even pronounce some of them!"

"And I may work with medical-esque equipment, but since I work with cadavers, I've never needed to be around anesthetics- so I don't think I would have been able to make the connection either," Hiroshi added. "At least, not unless I really thought about it."

Akira nodded. "Understand now? The way I see it, there's only one person who would have been able to identify the drugs and their effects at a glance, as well as have the knowledge to know which of the six sedatives would be best to use on another person."

 _The person who would know what the drugs did right off the bat and which one would be best to use...I don't think I like where Akira is going with this, but..._ Hana thought to herself, before answering, "Are you...talking about Shiori...?"

"I am," Akira confirmed with a nod.

She then inquired, "Now, riddle me this- why was the syringe found in Sauchi's pocket?"

Hana cringed, but she still held out faith in the Ultimate Surgeon. "M-Maybe, she just...happened to be carrying one around...?"

"But didn't you and Hiroshi say earlier how she never carried syringes around? And she didn't keep any in her room either?" Hinata pointed out.

"Hinata, please shut up," Hana replied with deathly calm.

"...Akira. Are you saying Shiori was the one who knocked out Ryoto?" Hiroshi finally inquired, a hint of shock entering his voice.

"WAIT! That can't be right!" Ryoto immediately refuted before Akira could respond. "Shiori was the one who told me to go down to the East Wing! She said someone _else_ was planning something bad, even if she didn't know exactly who it was!"

"Uh...Ryoto?" Rumi spoke up. "I don't like this either, but maybe...Shiori lied to you...?"

"R-Rumi! What are you saying!?" Asuna yelped. "This is Shiori we're talking about! Sh-She's not- _wasn't_ the kind of person to try and do something like this!"

"Hey, I'm just saying!" Rumi insisted. "It's- It's just possible, you know!"

 _Okay, I'm_ really _not liking where this is going now..._ Hana thought, dread starting to build up in her stomach. _I...don't want to believe it, I really don't, but...could Shiori have been...more involved in this than we thought...?_

"Akira, are you saying Shiori was the one who attacked Ryoto?" Hiroshi asked again, his brow furrowed.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Akira responded this time, her arms crossed and a resolute shine in her eyes. "As I said, Sauchi was the only one who would immediately know what the different drugs were, how to use them, any subtle differences in effects..."

"W-Well, if Hana and maybe Hiroshi could figure out what the syringes did, who's to say nobody else did?" Asuna asked. "And besides, anyone could have grabbed the syringes, it's not like the cabinet was locked or anything!"

"But you gotta admit, it's weird how Shiori had the syringe used on Ryoto in her pocket," Hinata pointed out. "Unless you wanna say the killer planted it or something."

"Well- that wouldn't be difficult," Hiroshi stated. "They set up Ryoto by fabricating evidence- the wounds, his e-Handbook...maybe they did the same thing with the syringe."

"Yeah! That's totally possible!" Ryoto agreed with a nod. "And hey- what about the armor suit?"

"That's a good point- didn't we say the person who attacked Ryoto wore parts from the armor suit?" Rumi asked. "But there's no proof Shiori ever put on the armor, is there?"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted in response- as much as she hated where this trial was going, she couldn't leave the contradiction hanging.

"That's...not necessarily true," the surfer informed her classmate. "See, the strand of Ryoto's hair that Hiroshi and I found in the helmet- that wasn't the only hair we found. There was another one stuck in there too- this one was kinda shorter, and it was black."

"Black hair...?" Rumi began. "Are you saying it belonged to-"

"Well...unfortunately, there's no one else it could be," Hiroshi admitted. "I've got black hair, but mine's longer and a bit wavier, so it doesn't match that strand."

"My hair's black too- but it's dyed, as you can see," Hinata told the others, pointing to his purple spikes. "It doesn't sound like the hair you found was dyed, was it?"

"It wasn't- Ashi showed me the hairs as well," Akira confirmed. "By simple process of elimination, it's clear the second hair found in the helmet belonged to Sauchi. And unless she wore the helmet at an earlier time...I think we can confirm she was the one who used the sedative on Miura on the night of the murder."

"I...don't remember seeing her put on the armor at any point..." Hana stated, looking downward.

"Akira! What are you going on about!?" Ryoto demanded. "S-So what if, you know...Shiori knocked me out? What are you trying to say, that _Shiori_ was the one who was planning a murder!?"

"...Yes, Miura, I am," Akira replied, although her tone indicated she hadn't expected him to guess correctly like that.

"O-Okay, _now_ you're going too far!" Hana cried, her denial taking hold. "I don't know what to make of the other stuff, b-but saying Shiori was gonna kill somebody- that's not her! That wasn't who she was!"

Akira scoffed. "Naive as ever, I see- as expected, Amari."

"WELL I DON'T BELIEVE YOU EITHER!" Ryoto shouted. "For the last time, Shiori told me that SOME OTHER person was probably planning something bad! That's why she wanted me to go to the East Wing and to keep what we talked about a secret!"

"Yes Miura, we are well versed in your story by this point," Akira told him. "What I want to ask, though...did you actually find anything that corroborates what Sauchi told you?"

"...I, uh...well, I was knocked out, and I spent the investigation in the tower, so..." Ryoto responded, his face paling somewhat.

"Then what about those of us who _did_ investigate?" the prosecutor then asked. "Did anyone find something that indicated someone else was, in fact, planning to commit a crime? I certainly didn't, but perhaps one of you found something that I missed?"

Once again, nobody had a response to that.

"...M-Maybe...the killer disposed of that evidence after killing Shiori...?" Asuna attempted to suggest.

Akira, however, shook her head. "There would have traces of that disposed evidence somewhere- ashes in the furnace, some sign that something had been moved or tampered with- but there was nothing like that. All the evidence that doesn't pertain to the murder of Sauchi herself does connect back to a murder that _she_ was planning."

"...Tch- so she was gonna try and kill somebody herself?" Hinata began, a deep frown on his face. "Unbelievable..."

"I-I...I still can't believe it..." Asuna spoke up, shaking her head. "Th-There has to be some kind of misunderstanding! Maybe she knocked out Ryoto, but if that's all she did-"

"That's the thing- her attack on Miura was _not_ all she did before her death," Akira refuted. "I know you all saw it. At the tower? Remember?"

 _At the tower...? If it's something at the watchtower, then she's gotta be talking about..._ Hana told herself before answering. "Are you...talking about the broken stairs?"

"Oh yeah- that was pretty weird too," Rumi stated with a nod. "I couldn't imagine why the killer would do something like that, unless it was to maybe delay us finding Shiori and Ryoto."

"I agree, Hamasaki- there doesn't seem to be a clear reason for Sauchi's killer to destroy the stairs leading to the crime scene..." Akira responded with a nod. "Unless...it wasn't the blackened's doing at all, but rather the work of some third party."

"That 'third party' being Shiori?" Hiroshi concluded- though, like Hana, he didn't seem too happy about it.

Akira nodded. "I do, however, have proof that ties Sauchi to being the one who demolished the east tower's steps- and it ties into the armory."

 _She's bringing up the armory now...? Oh, wait, I remember this- she told me and Hiroshi about it during the investigation._ Hana reminded herself. _Akira's gotta be talking about that thing, right?_

"Hey...are you talking about the axe?" Hana spoke up. "The one that was all scratched up?"

For a moment, Akira didn't seem to appreciate how Hana answered for her- but she simply shrugged it off and responded, "Yes, Amari- it's as I informed you and Ashi. My belief is one of the smaller axes from the armory was taken and used to demolish the wooden stairs- the proof of the axe's use being the scratches that were clearly visible on the blade."

"Well that's nice and dandy, but how does it relate to Shiori?" Hinata inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, if some of you had paid a little more attention, you would notice something about how the steps were broken," Akira scolded the others with a shake of her head.

"I remember you describing it to me and Hana- you said the parts that were still attached to the wall didn't seem terribly uneven or splintered," Hiroshi recalled. "In addition, you described how the person responsible used 'quick' and 'precise' strikes when destroying the stairs."

"Correct- now, think about that. I imagine it would be difficult to make such blows with a weapon such as an axe without proper experience wielding one," Akira explained. "However...I think we all know who among our surviving classmates- prior to this latest crime- would have the skill to make such clean and precise blows."

 _Don't say it...please don't say it, I don't even want to_ think _it let alone hear it...!_ Hana silently begged while trying to hide her distress.

"You're...talking about Shiori, aren't you...?" Rumi asked, her own cracking with sadness- oddly enough, she didn't sound _surprised_ necessarily, but it was obvious she didn't like what she was hearing either.

"B-But- an axe!? Doctors don't use axes!" Ryoto interjected.

"W-Well...Shiori always did try to be perfect in whatever she was doing..." Asuna pointed out, adjusting her fedora so the brim was partially obscuring her face- maybe she was trying to hide how visibly upset she was becoming (though, evidently, it wasn't working).

"And she was the Ultimate Surgeon- if anyone could make such surgically-precise cuts with a one-handed axe, of all things, it would be Sauchi," Akira concluded with a nod.

"But did she have an actual reason to break the stairs that way?" Hinata inquired, crossing his arms.

"I...don't think so- being precise and perfect like that was just how Shiori was," Hiroshi responded, shrugging. "I guess she just...couldn't help but keep that up, you know?"

Akira gave a small nod- but then, the prosecutor added, "But, in case some of you have yet to be fully convinced...let's ask the closest thing to a primary source we have."

To that, Hana furrowed his brow. "Who are you talking about?"

The Ultimate narrowed her eyes at the surfer before jabbing her thumb behind her. "Who do you think? I'm talking about him."

"Oh? I'm being included again?" Monokuma asked. "Well I hope you're not gonna ask me if Doc was the one who smashed the tower's steps, because my furry lips are sealed, sister!"

"No, I figured you wouldn't give a direct answer like that," Akira told him. "What I was going to ask is...how would you respond to someone vandalizing an area in the castle?"

"How would I respond? Well...I'd be pretty mad, for one thing!" Monokuma explained, already growing rather angered by the thought. "This place cost a lotta money to build, and I wouldn't want you people to just smash something willy-nilly! Same reason I put that lock on the cabinet in the east lounge- teens are so rambunctious, they'll break whatever they want just for the hell of it!"

"But would it result in that student being punished?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"...Well...it's technically not in the rules, so I can't give the student a true 'punishment'..." Monokuma went on, looking down sadly. "I'd probably do something to them, though- maybe a smack in the head or a claw to the face, that sorta thing."

"What if the vandalism was for the sake of a murder plan?" Akira then asked. "What would you do then?"

"Oooh! Well that's very different!" Monokuma replied, his cheery demeanor returning. "If a student were to destroy castle property as part of their murder, then I'd let it slide one hundred percent!"

Akira smirked in satisfaction. "As I figured- thank you for the confirmation."

The Ultimate Prosecutor turned to the others and explained, "Understand now? If a blackened vandalizes castle property as a part of their crime, they will not receive any repercussions from Monokuma. Since we established our current blackened was not the one who destroyed the stairs- that means someone else was putting a plan into motion last night. And based on our previous discussion...that leaves one person."

"Shiori..." Hiroshi finished, his voice solemn. "No doubt about it, now."

"S-So then...it's true...?" Asuna asked, her voice nearly a whisper. "Shiori...really tried to kill someone...?"

Akira nodded. "She did. I suspected it for a little while now, what with the seemingly odd pieces of evidence that didn't seem to tie into her death. As I investigated more, however...that became the sole possibility. This trial has allowed me to confirm that theory."

"...God...dammit...!" Hana choked out through gritted teeth. Deep down, she knew Akira was right, and she had more than enough evidence to solidify that, and yet...hearing it spoken about in such a way was like being stabbed in the heart over and over again.

"But...But what about me!? If she was gonna kill somebody, then why did she get me to go to the East Wing last night!?" Ryoto then asked, his distress visible.

"Well, you weren't the one she was targeting, like we said earlier," Akira told him. "It's more likely she was going to pin her crime on you, just as the one who killed her tried to do in this trial."

"Sh-She was gonna WHAT!? To ME!?" Ryoto cried out. "You've gotta be fucking KIDDING me! I got played! Played like a fucking violin in a concert! This is HORRIBLE!"

"As for the rest of her plan...well, I can't say. I certainly don't know why she chose to break the stairs in the tower," Akira admitted. "I'm certain there _was_ a reason- it's just there's no evidence to indicate what it was, so as of now I can't fathom it."

Though she was heavily focused on sorting through her own grief, Hana saw something out of the corner of her eye. Glancing to her right, she saw Rumi hunched over her podium- the scuba diver was pale, her eyes were teary, and she looked like she was about to either faint or throw up.

"...Why...?" Rumi finally asked, her voice cracking as she tried to fight back tears. "That's what I want to know...w-why would Shiori do any of that...?"

She looked up at the others- this time, the tears came full force. "That's all I want to know! She may not have been the nicest, but we still cared about her! We were friends, whatever she was going through she could have- we could have-"

Rumi lowered her head again, still sobbing. "Even if not murdering meant staying in here forever...she still had a lot to lose...so why risk it...? Why throw...throw it all away like that...? There was no reason...there couldn't have been..."

"...There was, actually," Hinata then spoke up- he sounded hesitant, and he gazed at Rumi sympathetically. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd be asking the same questions as you, but...Shiori had a reason."

"See what?" Hiroshi asked the thief.

"Hana- you saw it too. You and I, we both found it, so you know what I'm talking about," Hinata stated, his eyes now directed at the distraught surfer. "Tell 'em."

 _Wait...he's not talking about...that, is he...?_ Hana asked herself, taken aback. However, she knew it was the only thing Hinata could be referring to in regards to Shiori's motive, it was just a matter of bringing it up.

"Uh...you see, the thing is...Shiori watched her motive video," Hana confessed to the others with a grimace.

"She _what?"_ Asuna yelped, shocked.

"Hiroshi- remember when you told me Shiori's e-Handbook wasn't on her when you were exampling her corpse?" Hana said to the coroner. "Well, Hinata and I found it- it was in her room. We checked it because we thought it might have a clue or two in it, and..."

"We saw the icon- it was all dull, which I guess means someone watched it," Hinata continued rather bluntly. "Of course, we figured there was only one person who could have done that..."

"You two- did you watch the video yourselves?" Akira inquired.

"We...did..." Hana hesitantly admitted. "But- I don't think it's our place to talk about what it was about. Just...trust us, it wasn't pretty- it wasn't even directed at _us,_ and we were kinda unnerved by it."

"Weeell luckily, you don't have to!" Monokuma declared. "It just so happens that I've got backups of everyone's motive videos, allowing me to broadcast them onto this room's monitor at my convenience!"

"What?" Hiroshi began. "No- something like a video depicting someone's greatest fear, you have no right to-"

"Tough luck! I'm the one that made the videos in the first place, so if I wanna show one to all of you, I'm gonna do that!" Monokuma retorted with a laugh. "Besides, I know some people in here desperately want to know the 'why' of Ms. Sauchi's plan- who would I be to rob them of those answers?"

Hana wanted to argue- though she realized many of the others wanted answers, she also knew there was a reason Shiori had never discussed her family with the other students, if that video was any indication. Even if the surgeon had tried to do something as terrible as murder a classmate, they should at least show some respect to her- then again, this _was_ Monokuma, 'respect' was a word that was unlikely to be in his vocabulary.

"Now, without further ado..." the robot bear announced as the large monitor, the same one that usually displayed a blackened's execution, smoothly descended from the ceiling. "I present to you: Shiori Sauchi's motive!"

A few seconds later- no doubt Monokuma's controller doing something behind the scenes- the screen came alive with that same ominous warning preceding every motive video. From there, Hana turned away from the screen, for she already knew the dark contents of the video; however, she could still hear the playback, doubly so thanks to the larger speakers. She could hear the cold voices of Shiori's parents, urging their daughter to graduate Hope's Peak Academy lest she become the disappointment of the family; the surfer also heard a few surprised noises from her other classmates, who had yet to view the video's contents.

Soon enough, the video ended, and the dark monitor disappeared into the ceiling once again- for now, anyways.

"...Hey, guys...?" Ryoto began, finally breaking the silence. "Is it- is it wrong to want to punch a pair of adult skulls in?"

"As terrible as those two seemed, I think that's besides the point, Ryoto..." Hiroshi told the Ultimate, frowning.

Rumi's eyes were wide. "Was that...was that real? Were those actually Shiori's parents?"

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't- I'll let you guys debate that amongst yourselves later if you want," Monokuma 'answered', giggling.

"S-So...Shiori's biggest fear was...disappointing her family...?" Asuna guessed, a small grimace on her face.

"That's what Hana and I figured- seems about right," Hinata stated- he didn't seem as upset by the video, although that was likely due to a combination of already seeing the video and not being as close to the victim as Hana and several others had been.

"Well no duh! Of course she was afraid of failing her mom and dad!" Monokuma confirmed as if this was common knowledge. "Honestly, everything she did- from her choice of career to doing her best in school to even becoming a student of Hope's Peak- she did to please the two people who were supposedly closest to her! Haven't you ever heard the saying 'blood is thicker than water'- between blood and water, which do you think she valued just a _little_ more?"

"Oh would you shut up already!?" Hana snapped at the bear. "We get it! Shiori decided to try and commit a murder! Stop rubbing it in!"

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm just trying to help put Ms. Sauchi's mindset into perspective!" Monokuma shouted right back. "I mean, not like she's here to speak for herself, right?"

"Although, I will say it was a bit of a missed opportunity- the Ultimate Surgeon _killing_ somebody? Think of the irony!" the bear lamented then with a sad sigh. "Bah...then she had to go and get killed during her own murder plan- and I thought Ms. Kurobe was an amateur! At least _she_ managed to kill her victim, Doc over here just got offed herself! If were her mom- or dad- yeah! I'd be _mega_ disappointed, without a doubt!"

"Monokuma, I swear to God, if you don't shut up I'm gonna take this podium and _bash your head in with it!"_ Hana roared at him, her teeth gritted with frustration.

"Amari! I implore you- shut up, right now, and keep your emotions in check for once," Akira hissed at the surfer. "Monokuma, you can be quiet now- and I mean it, quit flapping those artificial lips of yours."

"Puhuhu- whatever you say, Cherrytop!" Monokuma responded. "Not that the despair train needs me to keep it rolling anymore- I have a feeling the rest of the trial will do that just fine! So- get back to it! Don't keep your judge, jury, and executioner waiting!"

Hiroshi glanced at Hana, who was still visibly distraught, and whispered, "Hana- I get that you're upset, I really do. But you need to calm down- freaking out won't get anyone any closer to finding Shiori's killer, and attacking Monokuma will only end worse."

"C-Calm down!? I'm sorry, did you forget the revelation that Shiori- my _friend,_ who literally saved my life and tried to help me out in more ways besides that, was going to betray us!?" Hana demanded. "It was one thing when it was Azami, or Itachi, or...Tadao if we were friends, they at least got to explain themselves and all that!

If Hiroshi tried to interrupt her, the Ultimate ignored him as she went on, "All we know about why Shiori did what she did was the video, she's not here to defend herself or explain herself or anything! We'll never know how she felt going into this murder, whether or not she felt remorse, whether she tried to back out of it-"

"Amari! For the last time, pay attention!" Akira snapped at Hana. "And you too, Ashi- if she wants to wallow in pointless sadness and give grief that Sauchi doesn't deserve, then let her. She's of no concern to me or anyone else."

Finally, Hana went silent- but she hadn't quite calmed down. Her eyes were filled with tears she was desperately trying to hold back, her mind was racing so much it was difficult to focus on what was in front of her, and anger was evident in her countenance- but at this point, Hana had no idea who she was angry at. Monokuma? Shiori? Akira? Perhaps all three, perhaps something else entirely?

Hiroshi was staring at his classmate with concern, and it was clear he wanted to say something to give her some peace of mind- but he remained silent, possibly because no such words existed at that moment.

"..." Akira looked round at all the other students, sighing. "Oh come on, don't tell me _everyone_ is moping now. Look, it was inevitable that Sauchi's actions would be discussed. After all, she was the one who attacked Miura and demolished the stairs in the eastern watchtower, so we would have had to reveal it sooner or later- though whether we did that now or later in the trial doesn't matter.

The Ultimate Prosecutor crossed her arms. "Sauchi planning a murder is the truth, or at least one of them, whether you like it or not. The best we can do now is use these revelations to pinpoint the blackened, otherwise we'll all be joining her."

"W-We know, and we get why you had to bring it up..." Asuna stated with a sigh. "I'm just...wondering where we go from here..."

"Well...if we think about what's been revealed, I think we can actually narrow our suspect pool quite a bit," Hiroshi claimed. "If Ryoto was going to be her scapegoat, then maybe...the person she was planning to actually kill ended up murdering her instead."

"No- I don't think we can assume the person Shiori was planning to kill is the blackened," Hinata then argued.

"...Uh- why not?" Rumi asked. "Not that I disagree, but- why?"

"Because I don't think there's anything that even proves this target even went to the East Wing last night," the thief then explained. "We've got proof Ryoto was there- obviously; we've got proof showing what Shiori was up to; everything else we found was left by the killer, but I don't think any of it points to that person being Shiori's target."

"Actually, I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Yonade," Akira admitted. "I don't believe Sauchi's target- whoever they were- ended up murdering her. A scenario like that would appear more in the heat of the moment, but this murder has elements that suggest something a little more premeditated."

"Well- what do we do then?" Rumi asked. "If whoever Shiori's...target was isn't the killer, then how do we find a suspect?"

"Simple- Yonade as well as Amari brought it up earlier in the trial," Akira explained. "Everyone here had a reason to kill- a reason we can _truly_ use to narrow the pool of suspects."

"Huh? What'd I say?" Hinata asked.

"Hold on...the motive videos?" Hana began, realizing what the prosecutor was talking about far quicker than Hinata. "How's that gonna help us?"

"See, we all received videos that would depict something we feared the most- as Monokuma explained and demonstrated with Sauchi's video," Akira answered. "I don't believe everyone here watched their respective video, but if we can find out who _did_...then those people would have the greatest reason to commit murder, and thus we have our suspects."

"I get it...so the people who watched their videos are the most suspicious," Asuna concluded. "That...makes sense, but how are we going to know who did and didn't see anything?"

"It's obvious," Akira responded, scoffing at the question. "Everyone- take out your e-Handbooks and turn them so everyone else can see the home screens. The icon being dulled out means the video has been viewed at least once- whoever has a dull icon will be our suspects for now. Of course, we can exempt Miura from this- we already saw his video's icon, so we know the video was played already."

"I never saw it though! Don't forget that, the killer musta played it while I was unconscious to make me look suspicious!" Ryoto sharply reminded everyone.

"We already cleared you as a suspect anyways, so I don't think you need to worry about that," Rumi assured the racecar driver, pulling out her handbook...albeit somewhat hesitantly.

Hana followed suit, but she also moved with some trepidation. She and Hiroshi glanced at each other- they knew what Hana's icon looked like, and that could very easily spell trouble for the surfer.

 _Well...maybe it won't be that bad..._ Hana told herself. _My video was...kinda weird, so if push comes to shove I can just show the others and prove I had no reason to kill Shiori. For now, I just need to show my screen and...see if anyone else watched their video..._

"Okay, everyone- turn your screens, now," Akira instructed once everyone had taken out their respective handbook.

One by one the students turned on their gadgets and spun them around so their peers could see the screens. This time, Hana's apprehension was lessened when she realized there would be no point in trying to hide anything, and thus she found herself quickly doing the same.

Once everyone's screens were in full view, the students started looking around for any dull red icons- Hana included. She first saw Akira, Hrioshi, and Asuna's icons still had their original, bright crimson glow- which didn't surprise her, she wouldn't have expected those three to watch their videos. The surfer continued to look around, making sure to not see the looks on her other classmates' faces when they saw her own icon was dull.

Finally, she did see two other students with dark red icons- but they were certainly _not_ who she expected. It was Hinata and Rumi- their icons dark to indicate their videos had been viewed at least once.

Unable to hide her shock, Hana exclaimed, "R-Rumi!? _You_ watched your video!?"

"Wha- I- _you_ watched _yours!?"_ Rumi yelped right back, her own bewilderment just as tangible.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Wow- didn't think either of you would go for the video."

"Like you're one to talk! You watched your video too!" Hana shouted at him, pointing to the e-Handbook in question.

"Gh-! Well so did you!" Hinata retorted with a glare in Hana's direction.

"Yeah! So you're not really one to talk!" Rumi added.

"W-Why're you two ganging up on me!? You're as guilty as watching your video as I am!" Hana angrily responded, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Okay, you three, calm down!" Akira commanded with a glare. "Aside from Miura and Sauchi, it would appear you three were the only ones to watch your motive videos. Or are any of you going to say someone took your e-Handbook and played the video without your knowledge like Miura's situation?"

Hana sighed. "Well, I'm not gonna say that- I watched my video, I'll admit it."

"Me...too- I actually watched mine, no tampering involved," Rumi also confessed, looking down in shame.

Hinata shrugged. "No point in hiding it, you guys saw the icon- I watched mine too, I'll admit it."

"Y-You guys...why?" Asuna asked, looking between her three classmates. "You all knew the risk- the video was the _motive,_ s-so why...?"

"I..." Hana began with a grimace. "Well, for me, I just...wanted to know what Monokuma could have had on me. My imagination did most of the work, I just...wanted to see for myself, I guess."

"Why I watched mine...it's, uh..." Rumi began, shifting uncomfortably in her spot. "I...can't really explain it..."

"I'm kinda in the same vein as Hana- I didn't think I was scared of much, so I was wondering what Monokuma could have possibly put in a video made for me," Hinata admitted, putting his hands in his pocket as he put away his handbook.

"It doesn't matter why they watched their videos- what matters is that they did, and now we know who our new suspects are," Akira stated with absolute certainty, looking towards the three of them with a cold gaze.

"...Actually..." Hana began- if there was ever a time to be honest, it was now. "I might be able to prove my innocence right now."

Hinata furrowed his brow. "You can?"

"What? How?" Akira quickly asked, unable to hide her confusion.

"WAIT! It's obvious how Hana's innocent- she must have an alibi we don't know about!" Ryoto deduced with a confident laugh. "That MUST be it!"

"Actually- no, it's about my motive video," Hana explained, frowning. "See, my video, it's...kinda...weird? Ah- it's kinda hard to explain..."

"I know what Hana's talking about, actually," Hiroshi spoke up. "She showed me her video a day ago. For that reason, I have to say...Hana, it might be easier if you just showed them the video."

"Yeah, I can't really explain it anyways..." Hana conceded, turning her handbook so she could tap the icon. "Here, lemme just-"

Rumi's eyes widened somewhat before she quickly said, "Hey, Hana, your video- you don't need to show us-"

Hana, however, shook her head. "It's alright, just...take a look."

Once the familiar warning went away, Hana turned the e-Handbook back around so the screen was facing the others once again. The faces of the other students (minus Hiroshi) were a mix of confusion and apprehension- and Hana couldn't blame them; considering the disturbing content in Shiori's video, they had no reason to believe Hana's would be anything different. Of course, that quickly changed when the video itself began to play; the content was the exact same as all the other times Hana had played it, from Monokuma appearing to his odd statement of the surfer not having a motive.

By the time the video finished and turned itself off, everyone (except, again, for Hiroshi) had varying levels of bafflement displayed on their faces.

Hana gave them an apologetic shrug and told them, "Yeah- I don't have an actual motive. My video was just...weird like that, I guess. And don't ask me why it was like that- I tried to ask Monokuma about it, but he wouldn't tell me a thing."

"And I'm _still_ keeping my mouth shut!" Monokuma confirmed. "You guys are on a need to know basis, and Cowlick's video is something you guys don't need to know about!"

"But...you said we'd all receive a video based on something we feared the most," Akira said to the bear, though she tried to mask how dumbfounded she was. "What does _that_ mean? Did anyone else get a...junk video like Amari did?"

"No- she was the only one to get a video without an actual motive," Monokuma admitted with a sigh. "Shame, too- I would have loved to see her reaction to something so horrifying. But alas, she ended up being the lucky one, whoop-de-fucking-doo, I guess."

Hana sighed. "Look, I didn't choose to have a weird vid- honestly, I wasn't lying before about why I clicked on the icon the first time, and I'm _really_ just as confused about my video as you guys are- honestly!"

"But more importantly- it means, even though she watched her 'video', Hana can't be considered a suspect," Hiroshi claimed. "After all, you all just saw how she doesn't have a real motive, right?"

"Fair enough, I suppose- not that there was evidence to incriminate her to begin with," Akira conceded, adjusting her glasses. "You two, on the other hand..."

Her ruby-colored gaze turned towards Hinata and Rumi, who evidently didn't have the excuse of their motive videos being fake like Hana's. Rumi was avoiding eye contact with just about everyone, awkwardly fiddling with her shirt as if to try and take her mind off the situation she was in; Hinata was frowning, his hands in his pockets, and his shoulders were hunched up defensively- yet his eyes had a certain, more resolute steeliness to them.

"HAH! It was one of you two!" Ryoto shouted. "Alright, whichever one of you did it- RAISE YOUR HAND!"

"Uh...I don't think we should say they're guilty just based on motive alone," Asuna pointed out. "Hey, maybe there's some evidence that'll narrow down who it could have been?"

"Izumi is correct- while the motive videos helped to shorten our list of suspects, it doesn't necessarily _prove_ anything," Akira agreed. "That will require further discussion."

"Hey, Hiroshi- weren't you wondering about something that was giving you trouble before?" Hana asked the coroner. "It was about the murder weapon, right?"

"The, uh- murder weapon-?" Rumi began, only to shake her head. "Oh, wait- the katana. That's right."

"Ah, yes...that," Hiroshi responded. "Well, see...there are a few things odd about the katana..."

"A few? C'mon, it's gotta be the murder weapon, right?" Hinata stated somewhat forcefully. "What could be so weird about it?"

"I don't know- Hiroshi's the Ultimate Coroner, s-so if he thinks something's weird, w-we should listen to him, right?" Asuna pointed out.

"Asuna, _shut up,"_ Hinata growled at his shorter classmate.

"W-What now?" Asuna asked, shrinking back with a small grimace. "A-Am I wrong?"

Hiroshi let out a soft sigh before stating, "Well, seeing as how the topic's switched to the katana...I guess we should focus on that."

 _If we're talking about weird things about the katana...well, I can already think of one._ Hana told herself. _I don't if that's the_ exact _thing Hiroshi was talking about, but it's definitely something._

"I mean...we can definitely say the katana was the murder weapon, right?" Rumi asked.

"It _was_ stabbed through Shiori's chest, so that seems like a given," Hinata agreed, putting a hand on his hip as he spoke.

"I...think the katana _could_ be the weapon, you two aren't wrong to say that," Hiroshi said. "Yet, I can't say I was able to confirm without a doubt that it was, in fact, what killed Shiori."

"But it's not completely unlikely that it was the weapon, right?" Akira asked.

"No, it's not impossible," Hiroshi conceded. "I just...have some doubts, based on my examination, is all."

"If that's true, then...I guess my question, personally, is where the killer got that katana in the first place," Rumi then spoke up.

"Ryoto Miura's got that covered!" Ryoto boasted. "Weird-looking sword- the only place it _could_ have come from is the _ARMORY!"_

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted. "Ryoto- the katana didn't come from the armory. You looked around the armory when the East Wing first opened, didn't you see there were no katanas in there?"

"Weeeell, maybe I just missed them the first time!" Ryoto refuted. "But if the katana isn't from the armory, then where the hell _did_ it come from?"

"Uh...I think I saw it in the lounge?" Asuna guessed. "The east one, not the south one."

"No, you're right- the katana came from the eastern lounge," Hana explained. "It was kept in that display cabinet with all the other weird expensive stuff."

"The cabinet? Doesn't that have some kind of lock on it?" Rumi reminded the others.

"Yes- and actually, that's one of the questions I have surrounding the katana," Hiroshi stated. "How the killer was able to obtain it."

"KEEEEYS! KEYS ARE HOW YOU GET THROUGH LOCKS!" Ryoto shouted. "Without a key, locks are IMPENETRABLE! So says Ryoto Miura!"

"...In other words, the killer probably just used the cabinet's key, wherever it was," Hinata translated with a shrug.

"Uh...I don't think so," Hana responded with a frown.

"See, according to Monokuma, the key to unlocking the cabinet is hidden pretty well- so well, that only Monokuma himself can access it," Hiroshi explained. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh-huh! Because of the priceless nature of the things kept in that cabinet, I've made sure to put the key somewhere so hidden, only I can get to it!" Monokuma confirmed. "Nope, not even Grape-hair over there could find it, and he's numero uno when it comes to stealing!"

"Th-The fuck did you say about my hair!?" Hinata demanded, his voice a combination of shock and anger.

"Not that the lack of a key matters much- there are other ways to break through a lock," Akira pointed out. "More specifically: lockpicking."

"Lockpicking...? Well- I guess the lock on the cabinet was just a, uh...normal cabinet lock, so I'd bet those aren't _too_ hard to crack..." Asuna added with a thoughtful nod.

"Looks can be deceiving, Tiny!" Monokuma told her. "For you see, though it looks average on the outside, inside the lock is actually waaaay more complex than what you'd normally see! I spared no expense when it came to security, after all!"

"T-Tiny's a bit of an exaggeration, d-don't you think?" Asuna indignantly responded, gripping her fedora and pulling it over her face as if the hat would shield her from further height-related insults.

"Well, lockpicking would be the only method the killer _could_ have used," Hiroshi claimed. "Using the key is basically impossible, the lock didn't show signs of any other form of tampering, and the culprit _definitely_ didn't get into the cabinet by force."

"I concur with Ashi," Akira stated with an approving nod. "And in saying that...the way I see it, only one student in this room would have been capable of picking through a more complex lock."

With a confident smirk, the prosecutor added, "And what do you know? That same student also happens to be one of our two main suspects."

"One of your...? W-Wait..." Rumi began, shaking her head slightly as if to try and comprehend what she was hearing. "Are...you saying what I think you're saying...?"

 _If Rumi and I are thinking the same thing, then...I know exactly what Akira's talking about._ Hana thought. _And she's right- whether I like it or not, and I_ really _don't like it...there really is only one person who could have gotten into the cabinet without force or something..._

With a newfound heaviness in her chest, Hana turned to face the Ultimate in question- the person who could very likely be the blackened, the one who murdered Shiori.

"The...The only person in here who could have lockpicked their way into the cabinet and grabbed the katana..." Hana began, taking a deep breath. "...Is you, Hinata."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, that's enough plot and murder for one part! Man, this trial sure is going in a whole lotta directions, isn't it? But it seems like the class has gotten a firmer grasp on what's going on (for better or worse), and it points to one suspect being the most likely culprit: Hinata Yonade, everyone!**

 **...So then why does it say this is only Part 1?**

 **Anyways, onto something a little more pressing...yeah. Shiori tried to kill a man (or woman, depending on who she was targeting), tried to make Ryoto the fall guy, broke some stairs with an axe (as teens do)- she was a busy would-be blackened. Of course, the plan didn't do her much good in the end, but- semantics. I will say this: I'm genuinely curious to see how her popularity will fare after such a reveal. Now, Chapter 4 ain't over yet, so there might still be more to be revealed, but for right now- yeah, I'm a curious little writer. Maybe nothing'll change, who knows? I don't, and that's the fun part.**

 **So next time- Part 2! More mystery, more trial, more of our plucky surfer hero trying not to cry- what more could one want? Now, will it take me a month to write it like this part did? Well...truth be told, I have no idea. See, I actually started school a week ago, and while so far it hasn't been any more or less detrimental to my progression...it's early in the year, so I don't know what the future will hold. Still, I'm gonna do my best to make sure things don't get _too_ quiet around here, and I feel like I did pretty decently last year, so there's hope! **

**Anyways, next time- next part is probably gonna end up being longer, considering the _things_ that'll happen. What kinda things? Hehehe...you'll just have to wait and find out, and I look forward to both writing it and seeing how you guys react! So be on the lookout for that, and I'll see you guys next time! **


	39. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 9)

**A/N: Aaaaaahahaha...I'm excited.**

 **Hello everyone! Back to the class trial, we are- and as you can tell, I'm pretty eager to write it out. Because lemme tell you, this part...stuff happens in this part. And I love when stuff happens, stuff is** ** _incredibly_** **fun to write. Now, school has slightly delayed my stuff-writing, but even so- I have returned from the void to share the stuff with y'all!**

 **And of course, gotta recap the 'stuff' that happened last time- trial started, Ryoto is not a murder man, Shiori** **tried** **to be a murder _ma'am_ , Hana's slowly but surely becoming done with all of this, and Hinata is looking like the most suspicious at the moment! Where else could this trial go? And will Hinata turn out to be the blackened? Let's just see, let's just see...**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Thank you for acknowledging the joke, I'm still very proud of it.**

 **And, well- whether Hinata's truly the killer or not shall be revealed in this part, so get ready for some truth to be dropped!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Ah yes, the power of curiosity- or whatever caused Hinata and Rumi to watch their videos. And as for the accomplice thing- yes, that's an interesting observation regarding accomplices, you're absolutely right in that there could still be one. Veeeeery interesting indeed...**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Class Trial (Part 2)**

Hinata practically jumped in his spot, yelping, "Me!?"

"Yeah, you," Hana repeated herself. "Based on what we've been talking about, with the lock and everything...it really could _only_ have been you, Hinata."

The thief's gaze was still one of bewilderment, but now it gained some shades of rage as he stood upright again. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Yeah, I mean- lockpicking's not easy, right?" Rumi quickly pointed out. "And you'd need something, like...thinner to stick into the lock, don't you? Where would Hinata have gotten something like that?"

"Actually...Hinata did have something he could have used to pick the lock," Hiroshi observed. "We saw it- or, them- a few days ago in the dining room, remember?"

 _We...did?_ Hana asked herself. _Crap, I really need to think back...what's Hiroshi talking about? What does Hinata have that he could have used to lockpick the cabinet?_

Once she finally dug the memory out, the surfer answered in what was more like a guess, "Do you mean...those paperclips that fell out of his hoodie?"

"Huh? What paperclips?" Rumi asked in confusion.

"You were making pancakes that day, so you weren't there to see it," Hiroshi explained to her. "But the rest of us were having a conversation in the dining room that, day, and during that talk..."

* * *

 _"I just don't see why she'd try to do it all herself," Hinata stated, his hands casually hidden in the pockets of his hoodie as he sat. "Seems like a lotta work for just one person."_

 _"T-To be fair, I don't think the rest of us are exactly experts in the kitchen," Asuna pointed out._

 _"Besides,_ you'd _probably just try to prank us or something- or steal a frying pan!" Ryoto added with a pointed glare at the Ultimate Thief._

 _"Hey, gimme a break, I'm a changing man!" Hinata insisted, taking out one of hands as he did...but in doing so, something accidentally tumbled out of his hoodie pocket and onto the dining room floor._

 _Hana leaned over slightly so she could see what fell out of his pocket and saw it was...several paperclips?_

 _"...Paperclips?" Hana inquired, glancing at Hinata._

 _"Fight me, they're good for lockpicking," Hinata briefly explained, scrambling to pick up the small metal items and put them back in his pocket._

* * *

Hinata let out a soft growl of anger. "Y-Yeah...that happened...so what?"

"Y-Yeah! I'm still no expert on locks or anything, but wouldn't lockpicking with paperclips be a little hard?" Rumi then claimed. "You've gotta like...turn it and activate the tumblers or something, right? That's how locks work, I think."

"You're right, Hamasaki. The average criminal would have a difficult time picking a lock with something as small and thin as a paperclip, and would likely try to use something more practical," Akira stated. "But Yonade is no average thief- he's the _Ultimate_ Thief."

Now, Hinata's anger was beginning to grow more prevalent. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be? You guys are gonna focus on me now, _just_ because of my talent?"

"I mean...are we wrong to think all that?" Asuna asked him with a frown.

To that, Hinata had no answer- he just went silent, glancing off to the side to avoid the gazes of the others.

Rumi shook her head again and spoke up, "Okay, look- maybe Hinata could have grabbed the katana-"

"He's the ONLY one who could have!" Ryoto loudly reminded her.

"-but, really, why does it matter?" Rumi nervously asked, fiddling with a lock of her hair. "He's not-"

"Don't be dense, Hamasaki- it's obvious!" Akira declared. "Hinata Yonade is the blackened of this case!"

Hana almost did a double take- she should have known an accusation was inevitable, especially since checking which students had watched their motive videos made the thief a suspect, yet hearing it still sent a shock through her spine. There was just no getting used to accusing your classmates of murder, was there?

"I..." Hinata softly began. _"I'm_ the blackened?"

"Wha-? _What!?"_ Rumi blurted- Hana didn't think the scuba diver would be more shocked if all their deceased peers rose from the ground and dismantled Monokuma.

"HAH! Shoulda known- the guy who literally does illegal stuff ended up killing someone! IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!" Ryoto shouted.

"...Based on what?" Hinata growled. "On what _fucking_ evidence am I the killer!? The katana!?"

"Well, that- or rather, how you were the only one who could have accessed it- and how you were one of only two people with an actual reason to kill Sauchi," Akira explained matter-of-factly. "The other being Hamasaki, but _she's_ not under scrutiny at the moment."

"Bullshit! I'm not gonna take this based on just that!" Hinata angrily retorted. "Watching my motive video doesn't automatically mean I did something, and for all you know I took something else from the cabinet! Maybe I just didn't close it right, and that's how the killer got the katana!"

 _Wow, he is..._ really _grasping at straws..._ Hana remarked to herself, cringing internally. _He's got a point, though- we can't prove he's the one who killed Shiori with those alone. There's gotta be something else we can use to tie him to what happened..._

"Knock it off already! I didn't kill Shiori!" Hinata yelled at his classmates. "Maybe, uh- you should look at Ryoto again, yeah? He watched his vid too, y'know."

"FUCK YOU! We already proved how I'm not the killer!" Ryoto shouted back at him. "Don't try and change the subject, bud!"

"But- he wasn't at the crime scene!" Rumi insisted. "I don't think Hinata was up at the tower before we found Shiori's body this morning!"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana interjected, stopping her classmate cold. "Rumi, I'm...not sure how you didn't see this, it _was_ at the crime scene, but- you seemed pretty upset about what happened, so maybe that's why."

"See...what? What are you talking about?" Rumi asked, an edge of panic entering her voice.

"You know that support beam that the middle of the tower's top floor? Old, made of wood?" Hana described. "Well, it's kinda splintery, and stuck in one of those rougher parts...was a piece of dark red thread."

"Red thread, huh?" Hiroshi remarked. "Do you know where it came from, Hana?"

"I think so..." Hana answered, her eyes turning to Hinata. "Now that I think about it- the color of that thread is really close to the color of your scarf, Hinata..."

"My scarf!? Leave my scarf outta this!" Hinata defensively responded, one hand going up to the dark red clothing in question.

"I despise agreeing with her, but I agree with her," Akira said, sending a small glare towards Hana before continuing, "I've never looked at your scarf up close, Yonade, but I can at least assume the fiber at the crime scene is the same material as the fibers making that rather comfortable-looking scarf of yours."

Hinata grit his teeth slightly, glancing down at his scarf for a moment.

"Furthermore, nobody else here wears anything of a dark red color- aside from me," Akira went on. "However, my suit isn't loose or hanging, so it's unlikely to have gotten caught on anything. Your scarf, on the other hand, could have easily gotten caught on the support beam during a struggle, resulting in a thread being pulled off without you realizing it."

"That's...I-" Hinata stammered. "That- That couldn't have happened! Not a chance!"

"Hinata, calm down," Hana attempted to reason. "Look, it's not like we want to accuse you, but-"

"No! I couldn't have been at the crime scene because..." the thief began. "Because...the stairs! The stairs were busted because of Shiori, remember?"

Akira raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"What do you mean 'and'? If the stairs were busted, there's no way I could have made it to the tower's top!" Hinata insisted. "Hell, you guys had to make some kinda...axe-bridge to get to the top! How do you know _I_ did that? How do you know I could have made it to the top of the tower at all?"

"No, Hinata, I...think you could have," Hana refuted. _At least, I_ think _he could have- I probably should have figured that out before I said anything..._

"Oh, really?" Hinata began in a mocking tone. "Well we're all ears, Han- _please,_ enlighten us."

"First of all, don't call me that," Hana responded. "Second of all..."

 _Okay okay okay, just think through it- if he didn't make a bridge or something, then how did Hinata make it across the gap in the stairs...?_ Hana asked herself. _He had to have been up there, that thread proves it, so...how?_

The surfer did, in fact, have to think about the possibilities...but it didn't take long before she remembered something else regarding the Ultimate Thief.

"You...probably jumped across," Hana answered. "Well, uh, wall-jumped, like- y-you parkoured your way across, okay? You used parkour."

"Parkour?" Asuna asked, glancing at Hinata. "He can do that?"

"Yeah- I've seen him do it," Hana replied. "Like, when we first got into the East Wing, I saw Hinata on the Themis statue in the main hall- heck, he and Rumi said he used his parkour skills to get up the statue."

"I remember that..." Hiroshi remarked. "Hinata, didn't you also tell us you've used parkour in past heists? Something about how you learned to be a little more 'dexterous' for what you do?"

"Gh-!?" Hinata yelped, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..."

"Wait! Uh- you can't prove that's what he did, though!" Rumi pointed out. "Maybe he did make a bridge to get to the crime scene, you know!"

"...But that still means he was at the crime scene when Sauchi was killed," Akira reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

"...Uh...o-okay, nevermind about the bridge thing! O-Or the crime scene, while we're at it!" Rumi quickly spluttered out. "Uh, well-"

"You CANNOT deny Hinata was at the scene of the crime!" Ryoto told her. "Even Ryoto Miura knows that string from his scarf proves he was there!"

"And whether he wall-jumped or used a makeshift bridge is irrelevant- although I will say the parkour theory only adds to your suspicion, Yonade," Akira spoke. "However, the main crux of this argument is the red string, which concretely puts you at the scene of the crime, as I don't see how your scarf could have gotten caught on the beam if you were just casually investigating like the rest of us."

"Yeah, well-!" Hinata began, but he stopped as he tried to come up with a good argument. "Well, I- that string could have been planted there!"

"Y-Yeah! Maybe a string fell off at some point, that can happen with clothes!" Rumi added with a rapid nod. "That thread doesn't actually prove Hinata took that katana and stabbed Shiori with it!"

To that, Akira chuckled. "The thread itself is only partial proof, that much is true. But do you really think I'd make an accusation without more evidence to support myself?"

 _"More_ evidence!?" Rumi yelped. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah-! H-Hey, Rumi, c'mon- don't worry so much," Hinata reassured her, though his own voice was continuing to falter somewhat. "They'll figure out I'm innocent, don't sweat it!"

"H-Hinata..." the Ultimate Scuba Diver softly and shakily responded.

 _Rumi...she must be feeling awful right now..._ Hana thought, glancing at the scuba diver sadly. _Not that we have a choice, it's either the blackened or us, but...was I expected to be used to this by now? Because I'm not, I'm really REALLY not..._

"Okay, okay- so a string from my scarf was at the crime scene, big whoop," Hinata began, regaining his usual casual behavior. "Like Rumi said, the killer could have just planted it there at some point."

"B-But...you're always wearing that scarf," Asuna pointed out. "I don't think anyone could have gotten a chance to take a thread off of it."

"I agree- if someone came along and took a string off of your scarf, even in secret, I doubt you wouldn't have noticed," Akira pointed out. "Unless you took your scarf off at some point and left it in a place where someone else could have gotten to it."

"W-Well...I can't exactly say that..." Hinata admitted with a shrug. "Still, it's not _impossible_ that someone took a thread off, right?"

"Not impossible, but highly unlikely, I'll admit," Hiroshi conceded.

"Would you guys forget about that string!?" Rumi demanded, her frustration reaching its boiling point. "It doesn't prove Hinata physically killed Shiori! Isn't that the important part of these trials!?"

"But the thread puts him at the crime scene! And with the video and the lock and the parkour stuff, what more do we need!?" Ryoto angrily responded.

"Again, those don't show he _actually_ killed her! If anything, it makes him look more like an accomplice than the actual culprit!" Rumi pointed out.

"Exactly- hell, do I look like I was in any kind of struggle?" Hinata asked. "No way- I'm not injured, there was no blood on me..."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana shouted to interrupt Hinata's testimony. "Okay, Hinata- maybe there wasn't blood on you this morning or right now, but I found something that I think proves you did have some blood on you at some point."

"In the furnace room, there was what remained of some article of clothing- the end of a sleeve, black, and the rest of it evidently being burned away in the furnace itself," Akira explained, cutting off Hana. "But most interestingly...there was blood on the sleeve as well."

"Uh...actually, I was about to say that-" Hana awkwardly tried to respond.

Hinata, also ignoring the surfer, replied, "Yeah? Lots of people here wear dark clothes, alive and dead- so what?"

Akira narrowed her eyes. "Don't even try it, Yonade- if I was able to figure out that a piece of dark red thread came from a scarf, _your_ scarf, do you really think I wouldn't be capable of identifying where that sleeve came from?"

Hinata went silent again, though now he was growing stiff once again from unease.

"Indeed, when I examined it, I recognized it as the sleeve of your hoodie- or, I suppose, one of your hoodies," Akira explained.

"Hey, my wardrobe is none of your business!" Hinata retorted.

Akira rolled her eyes and replied, "Anyways, like I said- that piece of your hoodie also had blood on it. I don't think I need to spell out the implications of that, do I?"

"AHA! You _did_ have Shiori's blood on you, and that's why you tried to burn the evidence!" Ryoto deducted, an accusatory glare towards Hinata.

"Wha...?" Rumi began, turning to Hinata. "H-Hinata...! What Akira's saying- i-it can't be true, right? B-Because you didn't- you couldn't have-"

"Rumi- I saw the sleeve too," Hana told the other Ultimate. "I didn't realize it was a piece of Hinata's hoodie when I first saw it, but looking back...I think Akira's right. And yes- there _was_ blood on it, and I can't think of anywhere else it could have come from besides the crime scene."

Rumi's eyes widened. "I...no way, that's...!"

"And, well...as is constant in these trials, the killers always do things for a reason," Hiroshi added. "Why would Hinata burn a clearly bloodstained piece of clothing, a piece of evidence, if it didn't incriminate him in some way?"

Hinata was quiet still- he seemed to realized there was no way to explain something like that.

"Nothing to say this time, Yonade? Well, that's fine- that wasn't even my last piece of evidence, anyways," Akira responded, a small smirk appearing.

"Oh come on! Isn't this overkill!?" Rumi yelped, her voice sounding almost pleading at this point. "It's bad enough that you're accusing him of a crime he didn't commit, but-"

"What's 'overkill', Hamasaki, is that someone is once again attempting to sacrifice every last one of us so they can escape. They've _already_ sacrificed Sauchi, and she planned to do the _exact same thing_ before the blackened got to her!" Akira hissed, glaring daggers at Rumi. "If I have to present a thousand pieces of evidence to ensure the culprit doesn't succeed in fulfilling their selfish desires, then I will, and I would do the same if Sauchi had succeeded and become the blackened of this trial instead of its victim."

The prosecutor leaned forward slightly and added, "So no, I don't think the amount of evidence I have against Yonade is 'overkill', and if you value your life I'd hope you would want the truth to be as clear as possible- unless, of course, I should be doubting _you_ as well."

Rumi was strongly taken aback by the Ultimate's harsh response, and as a result she didn't have any reply. The scuba diver shrunk back slightly, grimacing and her gaze being averted to the podium in front of her.

 _Wow...I could tell Akira's been on edge and kinda angrier than usual, but I just thought her anger was only towards me..._ Hana thought, just as shocked as the Ultimate Scuba Diver. _Guess she's just on edge in general. I'm kinda glad she wasn't telling me off for once, but still- it's not fun being on the receiving end of Akira's wrath, I know that feeling a little_ too _well..._

Hinata, on the other hand, was a little more vocal in his disapproval towards Akira. "Hey, Akira! Who the hell do you think you are, going off on her like that!? She didn't mean anything bad by it, she was just trying to defend me!"

"Defend _you?_ The person who committed the murder?" Akira responded, then shook her head. "I won't debate on that- for now, I'm going to focus on proving your guilt in full."

The young woman then adjusted her glasses as she continued, "And in bringing up Sauchi's plot once again...it actually ties into my last piece of evidence."

"How is that?" Hiroshi asked, his brow furrowed. "Are you going to say Hinata was Shiori's target or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Akira replied, shaking her head. "I was referring to the armory- remember how Sauchi took an axe from there?"

"Yeah- we figured out she used to break the stairs in the tower," Asuna said. "W-Why are you bringing it up again?"

"Maybe...THE AXE WAS THE MURDER WEAPON ALL ALONG!" Ryoto vocally guessed with another grin.

"No, Miura, no- I was going to say the axe wasn't the only thing she took from there," Akira explained. "Or, rather, it wasn't the only weapon that showed signs of use."

 _Oh, that- I know what she's talking about. She showed that to me and Hiroshi at the same time as the axe._ Hana remembered with a little nod to herself. _The other weapon that Shiori took from the armory was..._

"It was that dagger, right?" Hana spoke up. "The one from that rack, the one that was kinda discolored?"

"Discolored!?" Ryoto began. "That's not good! Every time something comes up that's colored weird, it usually means it was BLOOD!"

"Uh...didn't that only happen one other time?" Asuna reminded him.

"Even so, I saw the dagger too, and I'll say the discoloration on the blade looked...suspiciously like someone wiped blood away, though I couldn't confirm it was blood," Hiroshi stated, putting a hand on his hip. "Is that where you were going with this, Akira?"

Akira nodded. "Like Ashi, I also couldn't confirm with certainty that the discoloration was caused by blood. However, given the context of the situation, I think some assumptions can be made."

"Similar to the axe, the dagger showed no signs of use prior to Sauchi's murder, much like the other weapons in the armory- but now, after the crime, it shows clear signs of staining," the prosecutor explained. "The stain, mind you, being exclusive to the blade itself and taking on a rather...dark, somewhat reddish coloring, faded as the discoloration was. Given these facts, I think we can safely say the discoloration on the blade was caused by blood."

"Well then, that begs the question- assuming Shiori took both weapons out of the armory, what was she going to use the dagger for?" Hiroshi inquired.

"Maybe...that was what she was going to use on her target? Y-You know, her chosen murder weapon?" Asuna suggested. "Yeah, she had scalpels, but I'd bet those wouldn't be the _best_ murder weapons when you get down to it..."

"Unless- I dunno, maybe the killer tried to use it on her?" Hana added. At wasn't a completely solid theory, but it wouldn't hurt to throw anything out there to see if something stuck.

Hiroshi shook his head. "Shiori had no other gashes or lacerations on her body, and the dagger wouldn't have been able to impale her like that- the blade's too short. So, it's highly unlikely the dagger was used on her."

"Then why would it have been bloody?" Rumi asked.

"Well, going off of Izumi's guess that Sauchi also took the dagger as well as the axe, which _is_ most likely what happened, and it wasn't used on her nor on whoever she was targeting, I propose she used it as a means of self-defense," Akira theorized. "Now, I'm sure she _initially_ planned to use it as a murder weapon, but when the killer attacked, she must have used what she had on her- in other words, the dagger."

"And if there was blood on the dagger...that means she got a hit on whoever attacked her!" Asuna realized.

"YEAH! So whoever has some kinda stab wound or cut on them...HAS TO BE THE KILLER!" Ryoto declared...before glancing at his arm and adding, "EXCEPT ME! We've established that!"

"S-So then...what are you gonna do...?" Rumi asked, her face paling slightly.

"Simple," Akira responded, then turned her attention back to the silent Hinata. "Yonade, take off your hoodie."

"..." Hinata was staring downward, his face scrunched somewhat in irritation. "...Why?"

"You've been listening, haven't you?" the Ultimate demanded, crossing her arms. "You know exactly why- take it off, Yonade."

Hinata clenched his jaw somewhat in thought, then he responded with a simple yet quiet, "...No."

Rumi's eyes widened. "Hinata...?"

Akira sent her signature death glare towards the Ultimate Thief, ordering him yet again, "Yonade. I won't ask again. Take off your hoodie, or I'm going to have one of the others get it off by force."

Hana grimaced, turning to Hinata and telling him, "Hinata, come on- you keep saying you're innocent, right? So just- if you have nothing to hide, th-then just do it! Real quick, you can clear this all up right now! Just- please, don't make us doubt you any more, just do _something_ to clear this all up!"

"..." the thief kept silent at first, then he sighed- not a sigh of relief, nor of defeat. It was just...a short, emotionless breath.

"Welp- guess I should have figured this would happen eventually," Hinata commented, only half joking. "Ah...you're right, no reason to drag this all out anymore. Sure, I'll clear things up- I'll clear things up right now."

Before Hana or anyone else could respond, the thief shuffled around as he took off his hoodie. He succeeded after a few moments, setting the clothing article down on the podium in front of him once he did; underneath his hoodie, Hinata wore a plain light gray t-shirt with a red-orange skull graphic on his right side. Of course, though it was surprising to see Hinata's outfit without the hoodie, that wasn't the most important detail.

There, on the side of the Ultimate's left arm somewhat below his shoulder, was a laceration- actually, there were two cuts, one right below the other. The bottom one was thinner, resembling the one Ryoto had received; the one above that appeared to be deeper and somewhat wider, meaning it was caused by something a bit bigger than a scalpel.

Hana was staring at the cuts in disbelief- though she wasn't the only one. Akira was gazing at Hinata's exposed arm with an icy calmness, as if she fully expected this to occur; Rumi was also staring, although it was hard to make out just what emotion she felt- it was as if the scuba diver had yet to fully comprehend what she was seeing.

"You have...a cut? _Two_ cuts?" Hiroshi began, taken aback.

"Yup- you can probably tell one was from the scalpel, and the other was from the dagger," Hinata informed them. His tone had returned to its normal calm, almost casual tone- he seemed more relaxed than he had been since this trial started, that much was certain.

"So you're just...admitting to everything? Just like that?" Ryoto asked, dumbfounded.

Hinata shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah. Look, I could keep going on to try and make excuses that explain all this weird stuff like the other three did- but really, would that matter? They don't say _fourth_ time's the charm, do they?"

"S-So you're saying...you actually killed...!" Asuna began, her face going pale from horror.

"Yup," Hinata stated, turning to the rest of the class. "Not really sure who I should congratulate, honestly- Hana? Akira? Ah, whatever, you guys figured it out either way."

The Ultimate put his hoodie back on and shrugged. "So, I'll admit it: I'm the killer. The one who murdered Shiori was me. The blackened of this trial is Hinata Yonade- however you wanna put it."

Hana stared for a moment, before softly sighing and lowering her head. As grateful as she was that Hinata wasn't putting up as much of a fight as the previous killers, it didn't take away from the sting that came from knowing who had betrayed everyone.

The surfer then spoke up, "Hinata...w-why? Why did you- I mean, what did Shiori do to-"

"Ah-ah-ah, the motive stuff comes after the trial, doesn't it?" Hinata responded, holding up a finger to quiet her.

"After the...b-but..." Hana stammered, shaking her head. "I...I guess, but..."

Rumi's eyes widened as she listened to Hinata further. "After the...trial...!?"

She then cried out, "Hinata! What are you saying!? Why are you saying you're the killer!? Stop it, just stop it already!"

That caused the thief's calm exterior to fade slightly, as he grimaced and responded, "I...really don't know what to say, Rumi. I knew you were pretty good friends with Shiori, but just-"

He shook his head. "I gotta face the facts, Rumi. After hearing all that, all the proof...there's really nothing else I can do."

Rumi, meanwhile, looked like her whole world was crashing down around her. "B-But you- I- why are you-!?"

"Why are you being so damn CALM!?" Ryoto shouted at him. "You caused ANOTHER murder! ANOTHER TRIAL! And you tried to frame MEEEE!? WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO COLLECTED!?"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do, kick and scream some more about how I'm innocent? What's that gonna do besides drag this all out even more? At least this way, things are a bit more concise."

"I suppose that's for the best- even if you did try to fight back, the evidence speaks for itself," Akira responded, shaking her head. "Honestly, I should have expected a degenerate like you to pull something like this sooner than later- you always had a knack for troublemaking, after all. It's right in your talent, after all."

Hinata shrugged once again, giving off a sad chuckle. "What can I say- once a criminal, always a criminal, right?"

"Hinata...!" Hana began, surprised- didn't he always try to defend himself whenever someone took a jab at his talent? The Ultimate Thief really _had_ given up, hadn't he?

"Wait a second," Hiroshi began, turning to Hinata and sternly asking him, "So, you admit to _everything?_ All the stuff that we speculated about, you're confirming it's all mostly true?"

"I guess- I mean I've got nothing to hide at this point," Hinata admitted. "Yeah- I used a paperclip to lockpick my way into the cabinet so I could take the katana, I used my parkour skills to clear the gap in the stairs- though I kinda wish I'd come up with that bridge idea- and then Shiori and I fought at the top of the tower...though I'm not really sure how she planned to get down with the stairs broken, but I'm sure she had a method."

He held up his wounded arm again. "She used the dagger and one of her scalpels to defend herself, but I managed to take her down with the katana- guess my scarf got caught on the beam during the fight. Anyways, I smeared blood on Ryoto and did all that other stuff to him to set him up as a scapegoat, then tried to hide the evidence by putting the weapons back and burning the one hoodie in the furnace."

"God, WHY ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS!?" Ryoto demanded once again. "I swear, it makes me wanna PUNCH YOU IN THE FUCKING TEETH!"

"Ryoto, you can punch him in the teeth after the trial's over," Asuna informed him rather matter-of-factly.

"And with Yonade's full confession, I believe we can commence the voting," Akira added with a nod. "I can't say Sauchi didn't deserve, at least to some extent, what happened to her, but we certainly can't allow the blackened to go free."

"Huh? Already?" Hana spoke up. "I-I just- wow, this...kinda happened fast, don't you think?"

"All the better for the spotless though, eh?" Hinata replied with a weak chuckle.

"No way...no way! Voting time!?" Rumi cried, the Ultimate's panic growing ever greater.

"Yeah, you know- that part where you use the levers to vote on who you think the blackened is?" Monokuma told her. "Ding-ding-ding, 'GUILTY!'? Any of this ringing a bell, Snorkel?"

The bear then turned his attention to the others and inquired, "Speaking of, uh- should I get the levers out _now,_ or...?"

Hana glanced at Hinata again- he still appeared relaxed, the most relaxed she had ever seen him. Sure, the Ultimate Thief had always been rather laidback, but this level of casualness in this situation was odd to her. Surely, Hinata new what would happen to him once the voting ended- had the thief simply resigned himself to his fate to the point where he could remain composed right then and there?

"No! Wait! We, uh-" Rumi began. "Haven't...established...a motive...?"

"I watched my motive vid," Hinata reminded her, patting the pocket that held his e-Handbook. "As for the details...I can fill you guys in after the voting. I've got nothing to hide, but that's kinda deeper stuff, so..."

"Have it your way, Yonade," Akira coldly responded.

"Wait...no...!" Rumi gasped. "No, no, wait...!"

Adjusting her glasses, Akira stated, "Then, I believe now we can-"

 _"I SAID WAAAAAAAIT!"_

The entire courtroom turned to the source of the scream: Rumi, who had gone from quite and scared protests to an all-out _scream_ of objection.

"...Did you just interrupt me, Hamasaki?" Akira began, visibly surprised by the protest.

"Yes! And I...I don't think we can vote yet!" Rumi insisted. "No, we _definitely_ can't vote yet!"

"WHAT!? Why not!?" Ryoto furiously asked her.

"Because! Because, ah..." the blue-haired Ultimate began. "Aren't we kinda, you know- jumping the shark a bit? Like...we're forgetting some things?"

"Hehehe- uh, Rumi? What are you doing?" Hinata began with a chuckle. "I already confessed to the murder, what else can we talk about?"

"I-I'm just saying, there's probably a bunch more evidence, right?" Rumi pointed out with a deep frown. "What about other possibilities, huh?"

Hana glanced down and furrowed her brow in thought. _She's got a point there...there's still a lot more evidence I'm confused by, and yet we haven't really talked about any of it..._

Akira, however, shook her head. "Hamasaki, the killer has confessed. Why try to prolong this trial?"

"Because this isn't right! And I'm not saying that just because I don't want to think Hinata's the killer, I'm saying it's possible there's something we missed!" Rumi sharply insisted. "If that's the case, then- then we can't vote yet!"

"What do you mean something we missed? I explained everything, didn't I?" Hinata responded, grasping the top of his podium as he spoke. "Hell, I'll explain any other stuff about the murder itself if you guys still have doubts, I ain't gonna hide anything."

"Stop it, Hinata! You're not the killer!" Rumi snapped at him, before she pleadingly turned to the others and went on, "Come on, guys! I know how it looks, I know what the evidence says, but Hinata- he's innocent!"

Hana's attention was now turned to her fellow Ultimate, the surfer thinking to herself, _Rumi's still defending Hinata, even after what Akira talked about? That's not just dedication, that's...kinda something I'd do- no, something I_ have _done, who am I kidding?_

"Why are you sure certain of that, Rumi?" Hiroshi inquired, his own gaze now directed at Rumi.

"Because..." the scuba diver began, her shoulders slumping as she tried to formulate a response. "Uh...I-I can't explain it, I-"

Hinata shook his head. "Rumi, you need to stop being in denial- I'm the killer, that's all there is to it."

Before Rumi could respond, Akira spoke up and added, "Hamasaki, if you really think Yonade's innocent, then you'd best provide evidence to convince the rest of us."

"I...was guarding the crime scene, so I didn't really investigate..." Rumi admitted, but shook her head and continued, "But I know he's innocent- you guys did the investigating, one of you has to have seen something!"

Not only did Hana understand how Rumi felt, but now she was beginning to doubt Hinata's guilt as well- a doubt that took the form of a deep, nagging feeling in her gut.

 _Again, she's right to say there's more evidence that we haven't explained yet._ the surfer told herself. _But...the way she's defending Hinata...she doesn't sound too desperate or panicky, she sounds so_ certain- _even if she doesn't have anything to back it up. Could Rumi...have a point, maybe...?_

"I WAS IN THE TOWER!" Ryoto reminded her. "So I didn't get to investigate either!"

"I...what I found, I don't really know if it proves Hinata innocent or not..." Asuna responded with an uncertain frown.

Hinata growled and shook his head. "This is a waste of time- can we just get the voting over with already?"

"No! Please, just...wait, please, I'll figure something out!" Rumi told her classmates. "I'll prove he's innocent, just...!"

"..." At last, Hana sighed- she knew better than to ignore the bad feeling coming from her instincts at this point. With this in mind, the surfer decided to speak up once more...

"Hey, Hinata," Hana began, turning back to the thief. "Can you...answer something else for me? It's not about your motive or anything like that, it's related to the murder."

"Sure, as long as it's nothing too deep," Hinata responded with a casual shrug.

"Amari, what are you doing?" Akira began. "You'd better not be wasting our time."

"This'll only take a second, don't worry," Hana replied, turning her attention back to Hinata himself. "It's just...I found something weird, and since you're explaining how the murder happened, I was hoping you could clear it up real fast."

"I...don't really know what else I need to explain, but sure," Hinata affirmed with a nod. "I'm all ears."

"Hana...? While I'm sure you have a plan- or, well, I'm hoping you do- what _are_ you trying to do?" Hiroshi whispered to the surfer questioningly. "Did you really find something?"

"I did, it's not like I'm lying," Hana softly told him. "Just...you'll see in a second."

 _Well...you always did tell me to trust in the evidence, Hiroshi._ Hana thought as she faced the supposed culprit again. _And this thing that I found...it'll either prove there's more going on here or that Hinata really is the killer. I don't think either one is the better option, but if it means saving everyone else from certain death...I have no choice, do I? I_ have _to show him this..._

Not taking her eyes off Hinata, Hana grasped something in her hand and held it in a way that wouldn't allow the others to see it.

"Uh- Hana? Whatcha got there?" Ryoto curiously asked, gesturing to her hand.

Hana didn't respond to him. "Hinata...do you mind explaining what _this_ is?"

With that, she held up the tiny item with her fingers: small, firm, pale blue- it was the pearl she had found in the East Wing's central hall. An item that had gone overlooked by the others, and perhaps it really was insignificant...but somehow, Hana's gut told her that wasn't the case. Now, here was, putting that instinct to the test- though whether it supported Rumi's defense or Hinata's confession remained to be seen.

Hiroshi furrowed his brow for a moment, before surprise appeared in his features. "Hey, isn't that a...?"

Asuna also gazed at the small pearl, shaking her head somewhat in confusion and remarking, "Uh- where did you-?"

Hana ignored all of them- she was laser-focused on Hinata, or rather his face and other features to see how he would react and respond.

The Ultimate in question leaned in a bit, as if he couldn't get a sufficient look at what Hana was showing him from his vantage. But then, something changed; at first, Hinata appeared mildly surprised as he gazed at the pearl...but after a few moments of looking, a flash of recognition passed through his gold eyes. In that instant, Hinata's eyes widened slightly, he let out a small and fearful gasp, and his face paled slightly.

That was the only answer Hana needed.

After taking a moment to rapidly look back and forth between Hana and the pearl, the Ultimate attempted to recollect his composure and he responded, "I...don't know why you're showing me that, I've never seen it before."

"Really? Because I saw the way you were looking at it," Hana told him, narrowing her eyes. "You know _exactly_ what this pearl is, don't you?"

"Saw the way I was-!?" Hinata began, dumbfounded, before he growled at her, "Oh, so what!? You saying you're some kinda master analyst now!?"

"No, I'm saying I know a freaked out person when I see one!" the Ultimate Surfer retorted. "And _you_ looked pretty damn scared when you saw this!"

"I-I- shut up!" Hinata yelped. "Look, I don't know anything about that pearl, so just knock it off!"

Akira then spoke up and inquired, "Amari, what the hell are you going on about? What's so significant about that little pearl?"

"Nothing, it's nothing," Hinata blurted. "She, uh- probably just got that from the treasure room!"

"I did _not_ get this from the treasure room! It was somewhere that it really shouldn't have been, but it was, and it was suspicious!" Hana insisted. "I've got no doubt there's something to this, and if Hinata's really the killer, he _should_ be able to explain it!"

"W-Well, I'm the killer, but I can't explain that pearl, so there!" Hinata angrily responded.

"Amari, quit wasting our time, would you?" Akira told her, shaking her head.

"But Hinata did say he's got nothing to hide, right?" Hiroshi pointed out, a calm understanding in his eyes. "If that pearl was found in a suspicious location, then he should be able to explain why it was there, right?"

"Uh...where _did_ you find it, anyways?" Asuna asked, tilting her head slightly. "I don't think any of us- or most of us, I guess, saw it during the investigation."

"That's..." Hana began, before shaking her head. "It'll come up. Just trust me, it was in a weird place."

Akira's glare towards Hana intensified as she spoke, "Stealing my tricks now, Amari?"

"I, uh..." Hana began, her confidence melting- the surfer wouldn't be surprised if the area around her spontaneously combusted under the immense power of Akira's glare. "No, it's just...I thought things were off like Rumi said, so I, you know...followed my instincts?"

"Well, I think it was a good move," Hiroshi stated with a smile. "Because _I_ think this was pretty telling. Hinata recognized the pearl, which Hana found in an odd place, yet he's insisting he's never seen before."

"Because I haven't! What part of that don't you guys get?" Hinata demanded, stubbornly shaking his head.

Turning away from Akira and not expecting a real answer to her inquiry, Hana asked him, "No, Hinata- you're still hiding something, aren't you?"

"WHAAAT!? But he confessed, what else could he be hiding!?" Ryoto shouted, dumbfounded.

"Well, I don't think anyone's sure right now," Rumi answered. "Buuuut, it's weird, right? Weird enough to keep the trial going, right?"

"That's right! Whatever Hinata's hiding, it could make a _massive_ difference- he might not even be the killer!" Hana told the others. "And we can't vote until we figure it out- because if we end up being wrong, then we're all dead!"

Akira shook her head again and responded, "Now you're just being ridiculous- are you honestly trying to make us doubt everything we've just discussed just because Hamasaki can't accept Yonade's guilt?"

"But he's not guilty, that's the thing!" Rumi insisted. "At the very least, that thing with the pearl proved there's something else going on!"

Hinata, meanwhile, just appeared utterly bewildered by this turn of events- so much so that he had gone completely silent.

"But- what're we supposed to talk about!?" Ryoto asked. "He talked about how the murder happened, he had a motive, he had those cuts- hell, HE was the only one who could have done some of the things the killer did, like grabbing the murder weapon!"

"The murder weapon...can we go back to that topic for a moment?" Hiroshi spoke up once more. "Truth is, there was more I wanted to say on that- at least, before the accusations against Hinata started."

"Well, if there was more you wanted to say, why didn't you?" Asuna asked him.

"Uh...probably because we didn't give him much of a chance, in retrospect?" Hana pointed out.

Ryoto scoffed. "Of course he had other chances, he probably just didn't want to interrupt Akira!"

"No, Hana's right," Hiroshi flatly informed the others. "I went along with Akira's discussion, but I was still kind of hoping for a chance to get back to my original topic."

Regaining his cheerful demeanor, he added, "Well, _now_ I have that chance, thanks to Hana."

At the mention of the surfer, Akira sent another furious glare her way- it was as if she really was trying to kill Hana with a look.

Hana, meanwhile, just gave an apologetic and sheepish grin. _I know Hiroshi was trying to compliment me and all, but I feel like he accidentally threw me even further under Akira's bus..._

Turning her attention to the Ultimate Coroner, Akira inquired, "Well then Ashi, tell us- what else about the katana did you want to discuss?"

"Well, through my thorough analysis of Shiori's corpse, I have to say..." Hiroshi began. "I...have my doubts that the katana was really the murder weapon."

Hana pursed her lips somewhat upon hearing the coroner's admission. _Well, he mentioned that to me a bit before the trial, so I shouldn't be that surprised it's coming up now..._

Ryoto, on the other hand, was _very_ surprised. "WHAT!? DOUBT!?"

"Th-That sounds like something _really_ important!" Rumi yelped. "Why didn't you say so earlier!?"

"Again- the discussion turned to Hinata before I got a chance," Hiroshi repeated, glancing at Akira as he did.

"...Oh- right," Rumi stated in response. "Nevermind, keep going."

Nodding, Hiroshi concluded, "Regardless...yes, I really do doubt the katana was the true murder weapon."

"But wasn't the katana, you know- STABBED THROUGH HER CHEST?" Ryoto loudly pointed out. "That's NOT where katanas go! Not at all!"

"We, uh...figured, Ryoto," Asuna replied.

"AND ANOTHER THING- didn't the Monokuma File _say_ she was impaled with a katana?" the racecar driver then asked.

"Actually, the Monokuma File said she was impaled by 'a sharp object'- it never specified that object was the katana," Hiroshi refuted, shaking his head. "While it _could_ have been the murder weapon, I don't think it was."

"Well then- I guess we'd better clear _that_ up, before anything else," Hana remarked with a little nod. _And that means_ I _need to start thinking about other things that can impale a person- that can be found in a castle. ...Yeah, this case is still super weird, and I don't quite care for it, thank you._

"How are you so sure the katana wasn't the weapon?" Hinata inquired. "What, did you test it or something?"

"Something like that," Hiroshi explained. "Between the shape of the chest wound and the size of the blade, the katana's width and shape just aren't consistent."

"Is it possible the wound was distorted in some way?" Akira offered. "Perhaps movement of the body and the weapon ended up changing the shape of the wound."

"I already thought of that possibility, and I concluded no amount of moving either the corpse or the weapon would distort the wound like that if the weapon was the katana," Hiroshi explained. "No, I'm certain the killing blow was struck with a single attack that cut through Shiori's chest, and that was that."

"So what you're saying is the weapon was something bigger than a katana..." Rumi observed, thoughtful. "What about a sword?"

"I, uh, saw some javelins in the armory- could those work?" Asuna suggested.

"Forget all that, the weapon was clearly A LANCE!" Ryoto declared.

"I compared all manner of weapons from the armory- and none of them seemed to match the wound Shiori had," Hiroshi told the others.

"This is absurd- the only items from the armory that showed signs of use were the dagger and the axe," Akira reminded the group. "The only other weapon involved in this case was the katana, therefore it's the only thing that could have been used to commit the murder!"

The mention of the various weapons brought something to Hana's mind- it was a stretch, no doubt, but perhaps it would be the answer the class was looking for. With this in mind, the surfer interjected Akira's claim with a resounding, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Not so fast, Akira- there's one more thing that could have been used as a weapon against Shiori," Hana told her. "It's a little...weird, but hear me out, okay?"

Akira narrowed her eyes at the Ultimate and responded, "Amari, it would do you well to keep your mouth shut, you've derailed this trial enough. Besides, you're probably relying on your damn gut to make this claim, aren't you?"

"Well- at first, I figured it would be important based on instinct, yeah, but now...I think I know why I felt like it was important," Hana explained. "See, the weapon that I think actually killed Shiori was: the glass statue in the East Wing's main hall!"

"The...statues?" Asuna began. "You mean the ones of the horse and, uh, the Roman goddess?"

"Themis, Lady Justice, to be more accurate," Hiroshi corrected her. "But even I'll admit, I didn't think anything was off with those statues during the investigation- what made you think otherwise, Hana?"

"Like I said- my gut, at first," Hana admitted. "But right now, there are a _few_ things that make me think the statues played a bigger role in all this. Or, to be more specific, the statue of Themis."

"The Themis statue, huh?" Akira remarked, shaking her head yet again. "Let me guess- you're going to say Sauchi was impaled by the sword being held by the statue, aren't you?"

"...Well when you say it like that, it sounds like a dumb theory..." Hana muttered, frowning.

"The sword being held by Themis being the true murder weapon...?" Hiroshi asked himself, before closing his eyes and seeming to do some calculations in his head. "...Monokuma, answer me this: is the sword from the sculpture larger than the swords in the armory?"

"Well of course! Sizeable statue of a sizeable lady needs an equally sizeable blade!" Monokuma confirmed with a nod. "The glass sword is even bigger than the greatswords, if only by a little bit because- you know, scale and all that."

"If that's the case, then...with that width, a bigger width than any of the swords I saw..." Hiroshi told himself, before gasping. "If that's true, then- by process of elimination, the blade being held by Themis would be the only thing that would match the size of the wound in Shiori's chest!"

"What the-? No! Akira's right, it's a dumb theory! There's no way anyone used the sword- it's a part of the sculpture!" Hinata insisted. "They'd have to break it off or something!"

"Well I'll get to _that_ in a second, but as for nobody being able to use the sword...that's not really true," Hana told him. "See, in order for the killer to have impaled Shiori on the statue's sword, I think they had to have...pushed Shiori off the top floor of the East Wing."

"Pushed her off!?" Ryoto cried out. "No way! GRAVITY'S THE KILLER!"

"But where's the proof that's what happened?" Akira demanded. "You can't make such a claim that throws the entire previous theory out the window without solid evidence."

"Well then it's a good thing I _do_ have proof! In fact, I've got a couple things that prove it, now that I'm thinking about it!" Hana declared. "The most obvious one being the railing on the East Wing's second floor."

"Th-The railing? What about it?" Hinata inquired, appearing to grow somewhat anxious.

"Well, there was a section above the Themis statue that was broken," Hana explained. "...Well, technically it had been put back together some time earlier with glue, but still- broken."

"If it was glued back together, then how did you know it was broken?" Rumi asked her with a frown.

"I saw the little adhesive bits coming out of the cracks in the wood and thought it was weird," Hana replied...then sheepishly admitted, "...Then I might have leaned on it a little too much and broke it off again."

"Now that I was there for," Hiroshi confirmed with a nod. "If I hadn't grabbed her in time, no doubt she would have fallen off and, most likely, gotten hurt."

"Aw, so you were trying to protect her? That's so sweet of you, Hiroshi!" Rumi cheerfully remarked. "You don't meet guys like that every day, do you Hana?"

Immediately seeing where the scuba diver's mind was, Hana yelled with a furious blush, "Not the time, Rumi!"

"WAIT A SECOND!" Ryoto interjected. "Ryoto Miura just remembered something! Didn't Monokuma say the railing up there was, you know- unstable?"

"That's right- he said it was incredibly loose, and leaning on it too much would be kind of...risky," Hiroshi responded. "Seeing as how that's the case, then the idea of someone pushing Shiori off the top floor, resulting in the railing being broken...it doesn't seem so far-fetched."

"And there was something else- I saw a crack in the blade of the glass sword, a little bit above the hilt," Hana continued. "I don't think the statue was damaged at all before the murder, and if I'm right about Shiori falling onto the sword...well, don't you think a person suddenly falling on a sharp and thin piece of glass would, you know, break it? It's sculpted, but it's still glass, still pretty fragile."

"Well, uh- what about the blood?" Hinata inquired. "If Shiori got impaled on that sword, then the statue would have been covered the stuff!"

"...They probably cleaned it...?" Asuna responded, glancing at Hinata as if to say 'why is this even a question'.

"Actually, that was something else that bothered me," Hana remarked. "How clean the statues were- not just Themis, but the horse too. They were _super_ dusty before the murder, but during the investigation they looked _really_ clean."

"Who's to say Monokuma didn't decide to so some housekeeping?" Akira pointed out. "Maybe he's the one who cleaned the statues by coincidence."

"Since when does Monokuma do any actual maintenance around here?" Hana demanded, glancing at the bear in question.

"...Eh, she's not wrong," Monokuma conceded. "I'm a headmaster, not a maid- I've got enough on my plate without having to sweep the cinders!"

"But then why clean _both_ sculptures?" Hinata questioned. "If Shiori was stabbed on the Themis statue, then all they'd have to do was clean off the blood on that one! Why bother with the horse? There's no reason!"

"No- like Akira says, killers always do things for a reason when it comes to their crimes," Hana responded.

"First you use my tricks, and _now_ you _dare_ to quote me!?" Akira growled at her. _"You_ have no right to use my sayings in court!"

Though a part of Hana realized she was pushing her luck with the prosecutor, she nonetheless admitted to herself, _Okay, I didn't think of that...but I've come this far, I can't choke up now. The reason both statues were cleaned was because..._

"See, both statues were cleaned because...the culprit probably wanted to make the Themis statue look less suspicious," Hana answered. "Think about it- if one sculpture was obviously clean and the other wasn't, we'd notice and think it was weird right off the bat. But if _both_ were cleaned, we'd probably think it was more like someone doing housekeeping instead of hiding a crime scene."

"That...does make sense," Hiroshi realized with a nod. "All of it makes sense- from the size of the blade compared to the wound to the crack in the blade, the cleanliness, and the railing..."

He sheepishly chuckled to himself and concluded, "Heh, and here I was thinking how insignificant the statues were. Good job on following your instinct, Hana."

"Don't be so calm yet, Ashi," Akira admonished the coroner. "Amari here is claiming something quite bold- that the murder weapon wasn't the true murder weapon, and the method of murder was completely different. However, in my opinion, it's not concrete enough."

Narrowing her gaze in challenge, the prosecutor went on. "Amari, if you're so certain of this theory of yours, then why not provide some evidence that further proves Sauchi was killed by falling onto the sword?"

 _Akira's really pushing for Hinata to be the killer, huh? Guess I can't take that personally- she's just doing what she thinks will prevent the blackened from winning._ Hana rationalized. _But...I know she's wrong, I can feel it- if I can't prove her wrong, then we're all as good as executed._

 _So, let me think...the evidence that shows Shiori was killed by falling onto the glass sculpture's sword was..._ the Ultimate Surfer asked herself. When she did, she remembered...one other detail that she had considered odd.

"Well...there was one other thing..." Hana responded, then turned to Hiroshi and asked more resolutely, "Hiroshi. Do you remember those bruises you saw on Shiori's back? What you said about them?"

"B-Bruises?" Rumi began, surprised.

"On her back!" Ryoto repeated, as if Hana hadn't just described that seconds prior.

"Ah...yes, I did see some strange bruises on Shiori," Hiroshi confirmed. "They certainly couldn't have been from any form of struggle, and it didn't appear that anything was broken or ruptured to cause those bruises."

"What about falling?" Hana inquired. "Are those bruises closer to the kind someone would have after falling?"

"Falling, huh...?" Hiroshi said to himself thoughtfully. "Well, I haven't dealt with many fall victims in the past, however..."

Closing his eyes as he pondered, the Ultimate went on, "Considering one story is 15 feet, which happens to be the height of each of the wings' floors including the East Wing, and taking into account Shiori fell onto the sculpture's sword first and _then_ fell the rest of the distance after it broke, she likely fell a distance of about...ten feet at the most, maybe less. A significant height to fall from, but not high enough to cause serious traumatic injury."

"...Guuuys! He's talking fancy again!" Ryoto complained, grasping his head as if he was having a headache. "ENGLISH, MAN, WE'RE IN A CRISIS!"

"In other words: assuming Shiori landed along her back, where I actually saw the bruising..." Hiroshi summarized. "I'd say Hana's right- those bruises were caused by Shiori falling from the statue, which in turn adds to her theory about how the murder actually happened."

"So...she wasn't killed with the katana, she was actually killed by the statue...?" Asuna asked herself, before suddenly adding in, "W-Wait a minute! That means what we thought was the crime scene, I-I mean the tower, that was all set up!"

"N-No way! Hana's wrong, I'm telling you!" Hinata insisted, rapidly shaking his head. "The tower _has_ to be the real crime scene, it's gotta be!"

"Hinata, why do you keep saying that? It's obvious we were wrong, with the railing and the statues and the bruises..." Hana told him.

"Not to mention the glass sword does appear to be the only weapon that would match Shiori's chest wound, at least better than the katana," Hiroshi added. "Unless you're going to say _you_ were the one who pushed Shiori to her death, but considering the way you're insisting on your watchtower story..."

"..." Meanwhile, Akira had gone silent, as if contemplating these new revelations...before a metaphorical lightbulb seemed to go off above her and she interjected, "That's right! Given the facts of the case, the watchtower _must_ be the true crime scene."

"What? _You're_ still on that too?" Hana blurted, dumbfounded. "After everything we just talked about?"

"I'll admit, that's a good theory you've concocted, Amari..." Akira began. "But unfortunately, I've realized there's a massive contradiction within it- one that causes your assumption to collapse completely!"

"Akira, let it go," Hiroshi evenly told her. "Hana's theory is sound, even if it does cast doubt on whether Hinata is the blackened or not."

"So you believe, Ashi- but listen well, and you'll see what I'm talking about," Akira informed him. "As for you, Amari...I thought I made it clear on several occasions that I _didn't_ want you getting in my way again."

"I-! I'm not trying to get in your way, but when something's wrong I can't just-" Hana began, defensive.

"No, Amari, the only reason we've gone down this rabbit hole is because you like to doubt everything, you reject the evidence in favor of what you 'feel' is right..." the prosecutor growled at her. "I'd put as much blame on Hamasaki for our situation, as she's the one who brought up Yonade being innocent in the first place, but you're the one that took that idea and created this flawed narrative!"

"M-Me!?" Rumi indignantly blurted.

"H-Hey, don't drag her into this! You're right, I'm the one that's been spearheading this theory, so if you've got something to argue, then say it to _me!"_ Hana immediately jumped in to her classmate's defense.

Adjusting her glasses with a chuckle, Akira responded, "With pleasure."

She then yelled out before Hana could respond further, _"I object!"_

"Arguing that I'm the one in the wrong is bold, coming from you- at least my theories are based on more than just goddamn _instinct!"_ the Ultimate Prosecutor furiously said to the surfer. "You haven't changed in the slightest, Amari, and I refuse to allow you and your faulty reasoning to get us all killed. There is no way Sauchi was killed anywhere besides the tower, and I will prove it!"

"Ah, you've gotta be kidding me...!" Hana told herself, staring back at Akira as she tried to hide her apprehension.

"Okay...so Akira thinks there's some big contradiction in what you've said..." Hiroshi softly stated. "As someone who also thought the glass statues were of no importance, I'm not sure how to help you, so I'm hoping-"

"Hey- it's fine, Hiroshi," Hana responded, taking a breath to calm herself. "Whatever Akira throws at me, I just need to remember any evidence that might prove her wrong. Not like she'll listen to anything _besides_ evidence anyways..."

"Really...? You're not nervous about going up against her?" Hiroshi inquired, his eyes going wide for a moment out of surprise.

"Amari! Do you have a response or not?" Akira demanded.

 _'Not nervous'? Of course I'm nervous, it's Akira! But I mean...I was able to prove her wrong the last time she and I debated, right? Even if it was, like, barely?_ Hana reassured herself. _Whether I'm nervous or not, I have to prove the scene in the tower was staged, whatever Akira has to say!_

"I-" Hana finally spoke up, turning away from Hiroshi. "Yeah, just- just tell me what this 'massive contradiction' is."

"I plan to," Akira responded, crossing her arms. "Listen well, Amari, and prepare yourself- because this time, I refuse to lose!"

"Your claim is Sauchi was killed in the East Wing's main hall, and that the culprit cleaned the blood and the statues to hide the evidence," Akira recapped. "But that can't be what happened, despite the evidence that you've presented. Simply put, if you look at Sauchi's body and her cause of death, you'll realize the only external wound she had was the hole in her chest. I don't think I need to spell out what that means, do I?"

"N-No, you don't need to spell it out..." Hana began. "But, uh, for the sake of argument- how exactly _does_ the chest wound prove the tower is the crime scene?"

"Do you have the memory of a goldfish? Think about how the tower looked- all the blood spatter that was around," Akira elaborated. "Spread around the floor, coating the weapon, even smeared on the wall behind where Sauchi was lying. This is what proves the tower is the true crime scene- the clear signs of a struggle combined with the blood all over the place paints a clear picture of where the murder truly occurred."

"If the blood is your main evidence, then it's possible the blood spatter just came from somewhere else," Hana pointed out. "It wouldn't be the first time we've seen something like that happen."

"The last time we saw a situation like that, the victim had other wounds that explained the blood spatter in the falsified crime scene. However, as I said, Sauchi didn't have anything like that," Akira reminded the surfer. "The only wound that would have drawn blood was the fatal one, therefore she could only have bled from that area. And seeing as how there would be no other location to obtain such large amounts of blood-"

That was when Hana heard the contradiction in the Ultimate's claims, and as she always did the surfer called out in interjection, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

Akira's gaze turned into a glare as she called out, "Amari! Once again, stop trying to distract me with your idiotic catchphrases!"

"My catchphrases might be weird- and I swear I just get caught up in the moment real easily- but that doesn't make what you said any less wrong!" Hana retorted. "There's another place the blood could have come from- the medical room."

"The- medical room? What are you talking about?" Akira began, her furious gaze only intensifying.

Trying to avoid making eye contact with the angered prosecutor, Hana explained, "You know that blue box next to the cabinets? It's like a...cooler thing, and inside is a bunch of plastic blood bags. You know, like they use for transfusions and stuff."

"Wait, even Ryoto can tell where this is going!" Ryoto interjected. "You're saying the culprit used those bags to make the tower all bloody, right?"

"Yeah! And I'm not just saying that because it's the only other place in this castle someone could have gotten blood- I actually some some bags that were open and empty," Hana added. "And they weren't just lying towards the top either, they were buried with all the other bags- like someone was trying to hide them."

Akira said nothing to object, but it was clear she wasn't happy with how this was turning out...

"That...makes sense," Hiroshi agreed, nodding. "When we saw all that blood at the top of the watchtower, we'd naturally assume it was Shiori's blood- it's not like we'd have the means or equipment to prove otherwise anyways. And with how she died along with the fact that the chest wound was the only external wound Shiori had...well, it makes for a pretty convincing crime scene, at least in my eyes."

"So...does that mean all the blood on Ryoto wasn't Shiori's blood either? It was from those blood bags?" Rumi then inquired, glancing at the racecar driver in question.

"That'd be my guess, yeah," Hana agreed with a nod.

"So this is just random-person blood and not classmate blood?" Ryoto concluded, glancing down at his still-bloody torso. "AWESOME! That's WAY less horrible!"

Akira grit her teeth before growling at Hana, "Quit talking like you're some intellectual, Amari- no matter what deductions you make, you're still no investigator! Admit it, half of what you've told us thus far has been nothing but 'gut feelings', right? Why, that's probably why you believed Hamasaki's claims about Yonade being innocent before, right?"

She then raised her voice and concluded, "You think you can take control of this trial and lead us down a rabbit hole like this!? _I_ am the Ultimate Prosecutor, not you, and I won't allow the truth to escape and lead to us all being killed!"

"...Look, Akira- I know you won't listen to Hana, but I also know you listen to the facts," Hiroshi then implored her. "Think about everything she's talked about so far, you know she has a point! Can you _really_ still say Hinata's the culprit beyond a reasonable doubt, with all this evidence proving otherwise?"

Once again, the prosecutor went silent, but it more so to contemplate the argument Hana had made so far.

"A-Akira! Hey! You're not actually considering what they're saying, are you!?" Hinata yelped. "I confessed already, I'm the culprit! You said it yourself, know how much of an idiot Hana is! You can't listen to her!"

"H-Hey! She never called me an idiot!" Hana indignantly responded. "Not in this trial, anyways!"

"She's probably been thinking it, though!" Hinata pointed out.

"...Okay, probably, but you don't have to point it out!" Hana retorted.

"Yonade, be quiet, right now," Akira hissed at him, now directing her rage towards him. "You're right, I won't listen to Amari herself, but I will listen to the evidence. And though it highly damages my suspicions against you being the blackened, I can't deny it."

She then went on, "Which means...if you've been playing us for fools all this time to try and make us vote wrongly...!"

"N-No no no! Don't look at me like that!" Hinata insisted, shrinking away from Akira's deathly glare. "I _am_ the killer, I am! This is all just misleading, honestly!"

"Hinata, why do you keep denying everything?" Rumi asked him, her voice cracking at the edges due to emotion. "They know! They figured out how the murder actually happened! There's no use trying to say the watchtower was the real crime scene!"

"That's-! Because it-! It's-!" Hinata stammered, panic starting to reenter his tone.

"Waaait...if Hinata's still insisting the tower's the crime scene..." Asuna spoke up. "And it was clearly staged, then...d-doesn't it seem like _Hinata_ was the one who staged it?"

Adjusting her fedora, she went on, "I mean, obviously whoever set it up would want us to think Shiori died in the watchtower from the katana, wh-when that's not really what happened. That...seems like something the _killer_ would do, b-but Hinata confessed to killing her in the _tower,_ and he's sticking with that story even though he _clearly_ knows more than he's letting on-"

"Get to the point, Izumi!" Akira ordered the gardener.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Asuna summarized, "W-What I'm trying to say is- I think Hinata's more like an accomplice than the actual blackened, a-and he's going as far as to frame himself for Shiori's death! H-He's gotta be protecting somebody!"

"Accomplice...?" Hana began, turning to Hinata for a moment.

"No! I'm not an accomplice! Didn't we say in the past how accomplices would have nothing to gain from helping with a murder, since they'd be executed with everyone else!?" Hinata angrily reminded everyone. "So why the hell would I willingly let myself get killed!?"

"I don't know! B-But that thing with the pearl earlier, it showed you're still hiding something, and you've been sticking with your watchtower story all this time..." Asuna pointed. "A-And actually, knowing the murder happened in the main hall actually makes you _less_ suspicious, since there was less evidence in there to-"

"Shut up, Asuna!" Hinata shouted at his smaller classmate with a mixture of panic and frustration.

"STOP TELLING ME TO SHUT UP!" Asuna suddenly snapped right back at him.

In that instant, Hinata immediately went silent, as if unsure of how to respond to his shorter classmate's sudden outburst. He awkwardly shifted away from her before muttering into his scarf, "S-Sorry, geez..."

"Hinata...tried to frame me _and_ himself?" Ryoto asked himself, as if trying to make sense of what Asuna had speculated. "Dude! That plan is WACK as HELL! You actually carried me AND our dead classmate up a whole watchtower JUST to turn around and frame YOURSELF!? THAT'S FUCKING INSANE!"

For a moment, the thief didn't seem to have a rebuttal...but then, his gold eyes seemed to spark with an idea and he responded, "No, that's...that's not possible...!"

Letting out a short chuckle, Hinata more vocally declared, "Yeah! I couldn't have taken you _or_ Shiori up the tower! That woulda been impossible!"

"I-Impossible?" Rumi began.

"Yeah! Shiori broke the stairs, remember? And there was huge gap in the middle?" Hinata reminded the others. "Okay, so- let's assume I did stage the crime scene and everything. If I wall jumped across the gap, I could have done that while holding a katana or a few blood bags- those things aren't too heavy, and I'm pretty dexterous."

He eagerly went on, "But not a body or two! I couldn't have wall-jumped that gap while carrying a dead or unconscious person, they'd be too heavy and I'd probably fall to my own untimely death. Not like a bridge made of weapons would help much either, it'd be a little too unstable to do me much good."

"So...what are you saying?" Hana began, frowning in worry.

"I'm saying I couldn't have taken Shiori or Ryoto up the tower with the stairs broken like that. Ryoto was probably hidden somewhere on the bottom floor if he was stuffed inside the armor suit, and Shiori- supposedly- died in the East Wing's main hall!" Hinata explained. "For me to have staged the scene in the watchtower, I'd have to get them to the top floor somehow, and that'd be impossible with those broken stairs!"

Hiroshi contemplatively for a moment before responding, "Actually...I think there _could_ have been a way."

"Wha-!?" Hinata yelped.

"Hey, Hana- you've been the eastern watchtower a lot, so I'm sure you've noticed this..." the coroner began, "But, aside from the wooden stairs and general mirror layout, there's something else about the east tower that's very different from the western watchtower. And I'm thinking it was that difference that Hinata used to move Shiori _and_ Ryoto up the tower."

"You think so...?" Hana muttered. "Well, nothing's gone wrong by listening to you before, so..."

 _There he goes, being all cryptic again..._ the surfer thought to herself with a little sigh. _Still, this shouldn't be too hard to figure out- there are only so many differences between the eastern and western watchtowers. The thing Hinata used to move Shiori and Ryoto up the east tower...if I think about it, it had to have been..._

"I think I've got it!" Hana spoke up after some pondering. "For Hinata to have gotten Shiori and Ryoto to the top of the tower...he must have used the watchtower's pulley system!"

"PULLEY SYSTEEEEEEM!?" Ryoto exclaimed.

"Yeah, that! The western watchtower doesn't have a pulley thing, but the east one does- I've seen it, and I think the others noticed it in the past too," Hana continued. "It wouldn't be that hard to use, either. All Hinata would have to do is lower the platform to the bottom of the tower, _head_ to the bottom, drag Shiori and/or Ryoto onto it, go back _up_ the tower, then lift them up to the top using the ropes and stuff!"

Hinata shook his head. "That's- That's not good enough! The pulley by itself wouldn't have been enough, there's no way!"

"Why not?" Asuna asked, furrowing her brow.

"Well, if I had to guess, I can think of two main reasons," Akira began. "The platform itself, for one thing. If you failed to distribute the weight properly, the platform may tilt a certain way and the person laid on top of it may slide off."

Flicking some bangs out of her face, she went on, "Alternatively, there's the opening where the platform was meant to be lifted through; it's sized just enough for the platform itself to fit, meaning you wouldn't be able to transport anything larger than it. Granted, the platform is rather wide, but say a stray arm or leg was hanging off of it, then it wouldn't fit through the opening."

"Aha! See, it's impossible!" Hinata declared with a grin that didn't quite reach his ears.

"Well, I never said _that,_ did I?" Akira added, narrowing her eyes.

"Besides, I don't think it'd be impossible anyways," Hiroshi said. "After all, it seems like the most plausible explanation to how you got Shiori and Ryoto up the tower- now we just need to smooth out those issues Akira mentioned."

 _Guess I should have known it wouldn't be that easy..._ Hana bitterly thought to herself. _Come on Hana, think! There must have been_ something _I saw that explains the issues with the pulley system idea, right? What else could Hinata have used...?_

After thinking about the evidence, the Ultimate remembered something peculiar she had seen at the crime scene- well, something _else_ peculiar alongside all the other odd things.

"Hey, Rumi- do you remember when you and I were looking at the crime scene a bit, and we found that one open crate that had blood inside it?" Hana quickly asked the scuba diver.

"Well, I was still a little out of it, but- yeah, I remember," Rumi confirmed. "Why?"

"I think that's what Hinata used," Hana explained. "That pulley is supposed to be used to bring things like crates and sacks up and down the tower, right?"

"That's...what pulley systems are generally used for, yeah," Asuna stated.

"Okay, so the crate would be the perfect size to fit on the platform and through the opening, wouldn't it?" Hana then pointed out. "So maybe Hinata put that crate on the platform, lowered it to the base of the tower, then put Ryoto or Shiori- or maybe even both of them at the same time- inside it. That way, there'd be less risk of them slipping off and not being able to fit through the opening."

"Well, that crate was a pretty good size..." Rumi pondered.

"And I'd imagine the platform and the opening would be at least a little wider than any of the crates or sacks kept in the watchtower," Hiroshi guessed. "That'd be poor design on the part of the architects otherwise."

"D-Don't talk so confidently about things I may or may not have done!" Hinata shouted at the others.

"Not like you'd admit anything anyways, ya lying liar!" Ryoto yelled right back at him.

"The conclusion...works," Akira begrudgingly admitted. "At any rate, it would also explain the blood inside that crate- if Sauchi was carried up in that crate, then it's most likely blood on her body was smeared onto the surface of the crate as she was moved."

"Ah, the magic of transference," Hiroshi cheerfully commented. "Makes the world of forensics go 'round."

"So...we're all in agreement by this point, right?" Rumi asked the others. "Hinata's not really the killer, he's like...more of an accomplice?"

"That's what it looks like," Hana agreed with a nod. _But that still makes me wonder...why would Hinata try and lie in the first place? Is he really trying to protect the real killer- oh who am I kidding, that's gotta be what he's doing. But then, who would he try to protect-?_

"Hey! What about the string from my scarf at the tower!? And the remains of one of my hoodies!?" Hinata then reminded the others. "Or the cuts on my arm, what about those!?"

"At this point, I think it's most likely you planted that evidence yourself," Akira deduced. "It's not like it would be difficult- take a string from your scarf and put it on the support beam, put your hoodie in the furnace but leave the end of a sleeve out so there would be something for us to find..."

"And the cuts? You think I 'planted' those too?" the Ultimate Thief inquired with a glare.

"...Well, yeah," Hana responded. "It wouldn't have been hard for you to take one of her scalpels and the dagger she had and give yourself those slices to make us suspect you even more."

"Besides, you're still the only one who could have made it across the gap in the stairs via wall-jumping and obtain the katana via lockpicking," Hiroshi then pointed out. "And since we've established the scene in the watchtower was staged..."

"Not to mention you tried to frame ME first! Even though framing me was TECHNICALLY Shiori's idea before that!" Ryoto furiously reminded him. "You even made me think I was actually guilty! SERIOUSLY, WHAT DID I EVER TO YOU!?"

"I-! I, I-!" Hinata stammered, his panic only growing.

"Hinata, enough, please! You can't prove you're the killer anymore, stop trying to mislead everyone!" Rumi practically begged the young man. "If everyone votes for you, then they'll be-!"

"Knock it off already!" Hinata snapped. "I- I'll figure out something, you guys'll see! I'm the one that killed Shiori, I-"

"No you didn't! Stop trying to frame yourself!" Rumi cried. "Stop trying to get yourself killed!"

"I'm trying to stop everyone _else_ from getting killed!" Hinata retorted. "If they vote wrong, BAM! Execution! That's why I'm trying to say I'm the-!"

"NO! You're not the killer, Hinata!" Rumi shouted...before crying out for the rest of her classmates to hear:

 _"BECAUSE_ I'M _THE KILLER!"_

In that instant, the entire trial grounds fell into a deafening silence.

Hana stared at Rumi in shock, yet she remained silent. _What...did she just say...!?_

"It was me! It was me, I killed Shiori! Not Hinata, not Ryoto, me!" Rumi blurted out, her voice breaking as if she was about to start crying. "Hinata didn't kill her! I...I'm the blackened...it was me...!"

By the time she was finished, the scuba diver had her hands clenched into fists and resting on her podium, her head lowered and her shoulders slouched. She just looked...exhausted, more than anything, as if some massive weight had been placed upon her this entire time.

At last, Ryoto was the first one to speak up, responding, "That...is a BUNCHA BULLSHIT!"

Rumi swiftly looked up, the bewilderment on her face tangible. "W-What!?"

"R-Rumi- _you_ being the killer? Th-That's...That can't be right! You're no killer, and you definitely wouldn't have killed Shiori!" Asuna insisted, resolutely shaking her head.

"N-No...! You don't actually...believe me...!?" Rumi began as she slowly stood up, the color draining from her face.

"While you all know quite well how I feel about the sentimental argument, I will say I don't see how you could be the killer, Hamasaki," Akira told her. "There was nothing, in either the watchtower or the East Wing's main hall, that tied you to _anything_ that happened in this case, so-"

"Hana!" Rumi suddenly blurted, regaining her energy and quickly turning to the surfer. "That thing you showed earlier- can you show it to me?"

"Th-The...thing?" Hana stammered, still busy trying to comprehend just what was going on.

"Yes! What you showed Hinata, how you first figured out there was more going on in this case, show it to me!" Rumi desperately insisted.

 _I-I'm still trying to figure out the confession she just made, what in the world could she be talking about!?_ Hana rapidly thought to herself, starting to feel overwhelmed by the situation. _Uh, uh, something I showed Hinata, it was..._

"Wait a sec...!" Hana softly said, taking out and holding up that same small pearl from earlier. "Are you talking about...this?"

Rumi nodded, then held out her own hand. "Can you...let me see it real fast?"

Furrowing her brow, Hana nonetheless nodded and handed the pearl to the other Ultimate, who proceeded to hold it up in her fingers to get a closer look at it.

After a moment, she and turned back to Hana and responded in a serious tone, "This pearl...was from my bracelet. You know, the one Hinata gave me a little while back, from the West Wing's treasure room."

With a sigh, Rumi went on, "You found this in the East Wing's main hall, didn't you? Maybe, I dunno...by the Themis statue? Maybe on the second floor by where the railing was broken?"

The scuba diver's response sent a powerful chill through Hana's body, and the surfer's eyes widened in horror. "How...How did you know that...? I never once mentioned where I found the pearl, n-no one else should have known about it except...except-"

"Because I was there. Because it's like I said..." Rumi quietly responded, closing her hand into a fist around the pearl. "I'm the one who killed Shiori. I'm...the blackened..."

Hana went dead silent, but the shock she was feeling was written all over her face. _No way...sh-she can't be serious, she...she...!_

"NO! No, she's lying! She didn't kill anybody!" Hinata suddenly shouted, his own face as pale as a ghost. "She's doing this to protect me!"

"No, _you've_ been trying to protect _me!"_ Rumi retorted. "I- I didn't know what you were doing at first, I didn't think you were actually trying to frame yourself or that you were trying to mislead everyone, but after you confessed I...!"

Now, Akira's attention was fully turned to Rumi, but she seemed more dumbfounded than anything. "Hamasaki...you're serious about this? _You're_ the killer?"

"I..." Rumi began, sorrowfully sighing. "Yeah...I-I'm so sorry for not confessing earlier, but I...I did it."

"...Rumi..." Hiroshi began, slowly shaking his head. "Weren't you and Shiori friends...? At least, to some extent...? Why would you-?"

"..." the Ultimate Scuba Diver went silent, but the sadness and remorse in her eyes was clearly felt.

"No way...! Are you guys- are you guys starting to turn on _her_ now...!?" Hinata began, glancing around at the others. "A-Asuna?"

"I...I..." Asuna stuttered, trembling in her spot. "I-I don't even know right now, it's...!"

"Hana! Hana, what about you!?" Hinata then swiftly asked. "Come on, you're her friend too! You can't seriously be buying into this, right!?"

"Hinata, I...!" Hana began, shaking her head. "I don't want to believe this, I don't! B-But Rumi...Rumi was able to explain where I found the pearl, something that I had never mentioned and something that- yeah, I think you knew about it too, but other than you and me, the only other person who would have known is-"

"STOP IT! Don't you _dare_ say it!" the thief shouted at her. "You're suspecting her!? Seriously!? _Seriously!?"_

"I just said I don't want to! I really, _really_ don't!" Hana insisted. "But what choice do any of us have!? If we don't, we-"

 _"Shut up already!"_ Hinata furiously interjected. "I'm not gonna let you or anyone else keep accusing her like this! If _you_ of all people don't wanna believe in Rumi's innocence, then I'll just have to make you see how wrong you are!"

Hana could only grimace in response to Hinata's rage- after all, what _could_ be said to calm him down in a situation like this? _I don't understand anything anymore- does Hinata have a point? Are we missing something here? Or is Rumi telling the truth about being the real killer?_

"All this stuff about Rumi being the blackened...it's bullshit! So what if she knew about where the pearl came from, I knew where it came from too!" Hinata argued. "Maybe she saw it during the investigation, ever think of that!? Right now, that's the only thing even remotely tying Rumi's to Shiori's death, so just knock it off, would you!?"

"But Rumi was guarding the crime scene in the tower during the whole investigation- she never left, and if she did I'm sure Ryoto would have noticed," Hana pointed out. "The way she was so specific about where I found it...don't you think that's a _little_ weird?"

"I don't know! I just think you guys are putting too much stock in this stupid pearl thing!" Hinata retorted. "You wanna accuse Rumi, how about you show some _actual_ evidence, huh!? Rumi hasn't done anything suspicious today or the day before! She was asleep in her room, same as almost everyone else last night, and she definitely didn't have a reason to go to the East Wing!"

 _"I'll cut through that claim!"_ Hana shouted, interrupting Hinata as he had done to her a moment ago. "I don't think that's entirely true, Hinata. See, towards the end of the investigation, Asuna and I were in the South Wing when we noticed the door to the lounge was open, and someone had lit the fireplace."

"WHAT!? That's a fire hazard!" Ryoto shouted.

"Well you're right, but more importantly, we found some evidence in there," Hana explained. "And one of the things we found was a small piece of paper with writing on it. The good thing is we found it before it got completely burned, and that makes me think whoever set off the fireplace had just left, but the main thing is what the paper said."

"Uh- the paper had a weird message on it," Asuna added. "It said 'Meet at midnight'- and that was it, no signature or anything."

"So...?" Hinata began. "Sounds to me like anyone could have written that note..."

"Maybe, but there was something else that caught my attention...the handwriting," Hana elaborated. "Whoever wrote that note had some really good handwriting, no joke. I didn't recognize it on the note at first, but looking back...I'm pretty sure it was Rumi's handwriting."

"What? How do you know what Hamasaki's handwriting looks like?" Akira inquired, frowning.

"That's...I..." Hana began, thinking back to the first time she had seen the scuba diver's writing...

* * *

 _Hana furrowed her brow and, before the scuba diver could stop her, went to pick up one of the crumpled balls of paper. She uncrumpled it and looked over it, seeing not a drawing of any kind, but...writing?_

 _"This isn't a drawing, this is...writing? Well, a lot of it's scribbled out, but..." Hana said, looking over the paper to try and see what Rumi had written. "What is this, a...poem?"_

 _"Uh- uh- that's nothing! Ignore that!" Rumi yelped, jumping to her feet and snatching the paper away._

 _Unfortunately, that left the rest of her paper unguarded, allowing a curious Hiroshi to pick up another crumpled piece and unfold it himself. "No, Hana's right- this is poetry. It looks like...a love poem? If I'm reading through these scribbled-out parts correctly-"_

 _"Ignore that, too!" Rumi exclaimed, ripping the paper away from him, too._

 _Hana picked up yet another piece of paper while the Ultimate was distracted by Hiroshi. "Two things- one, you've got some pretty handwriting. Two- what do you keep trying to write all these love poems for?"_

 _"Thanks!" Rumi replied...before furiously grabbing the third paper away and exclaiming, "Now stop looking at them!"_

* * *

"...Y-You know, where I saw it doesn't really matter, what's more important is that I _did_ see her handwriting, and if my memory's fine then it's the same writing as what was on the note!" Hana insisted with a nod.

"If Hana's referring to what I think she's referring to..." Hoiroshi spoke up. "Then I can confirm, her and I both saw Rumi's handwriting at one point."

"But you never saw this burned note, did ya Hiroshi?" Hinata pointed out.

"And besides, I doubt you could make a comparison based on memory alone," Akira pointed out. "It would help to have something tangible to be used for comparison, but otherwise..."

"Oh! Wait! I, uh..." Asuna began, taking off her fedora and reaching in to pull something out. "B-Before the trial started, I wanted to clean up some of the ash and soot that got on the floor when Hana and I pulled the evidence out of the fireplace. A-And when I did that, I decided I'd take the note with me, j-just in case it came up or something- you know, for handwriting or something."

Sure enough, the Ultimate Gardener pulled out the damaged yet still legible memo from the fedora, putting it back on her head afterwards.

"Y-You brought the memo with you!?" Hinata yelped.

Hiroshi raised his eyebrows in interest before requesting, "Hey, Asuna- can I see that memo real fast? You guys know I have a good memory, so if the writing on there really is Rumi's, then I'll recognize it."

"Uh- sure," Asuna responded, passing over the small piece of paper to the coroner.

Looking the memo over for a few seconds, Hiroshi sighed and confirmed, "Well, this isn't a true handwriting analysis, but just looking at it...I don't know who else among us has handwriting like this."

Hana leaned over to examine the few words on the burned paper herself- now, having remembered the encounter in the furnace room, Hana could see the resemblance between the handwriting, and it only made her filled with more dread.

"You guys...are really just gonna take his word for it?" Hinata asked.

"As Ashi said, we haven't the means to perform a proper handwriting analysis," Akira pointed out with a sigh. "So, it's not like we have much of a choice..."

Rumi herself looked to where Hiroshi was holding the note and admitted, "Uh- if it helps, I can admit I did write that memo. That's my handwriting, and that's my message."

The scuba diver then furrowed her brow and added, "Although...I coulda sworn I left in my bedroom last, I have no idea how it got into the fireplace..."

"So you _did_ write it!" Ryoto remarked, ignoring the comment about Rumi's bedroom. "...But, uh, why? What does 'meet at midnight' even mean?"

"She was gonna meet someone at midnight, obviously," Asuna told him, raising an eyebrow.

Rumi sighed and explained, "To be fair, it wasn't meant to be seen by anyone else- it was just supposed to be a little reminder to _myself,_ that's why I wrote it like that."

"Okay, well, _who_ were you gonna meet?" Hiroshi then inquired. "You _were_ meeting a person, right?"

"You're right, I..." the Ultimate Scuba Diver began, looking down in shame. She then looked towards Hana and told her, "Hana, I- I'm sorry, I lied to you before. Ooh, I lied right to your _face_ and you were being so nice to me and it's just-!"

"What...did you lie about...?" Hana hesitantly asked. She was getting another feeling in her gut, although this time her instincts seemed to be screaming in warning...

"R-Rumi...! Come on, y-you don't have to...!" Hinata began.

Rumi cringed, looking down and responding just as reluctantly, "Remember...at the crime scene, and you asked about what me and Shiori talked about yesterday? And I told you it wasn't important, or at least not important the case?"

"Y-Yeah...?" Hana began, although somewhere in her mind she already knew what her classmate was about to say.

"I..." the scuba diver hesitated yet again. "That's what I lied to you about. Shiori didn't talk to me about nothing...she asked me something- or, uh, to do something."

"Uh- do what?" Hiroshi inquired with a small frown.

"She wanted me to..." Rumi began, sighing before continuing. "She wanted to meet up with me in the East Wing at midnight. She told me there was something that had been bothering her, and she wanted to keep it as private as possible, and-"

"And...you _believed_ her?" Akira inquired in bewilderment- evidently, she too understood where this story would potentially go. "That request didn't raise any, _any_ red flags?"

"No, it didn't! I never doubted Shiori for a second, I was her friend!" Rumi candidly yelled in response. "That's why I wrote that memo to myself, so I wouldn't forget about the meeting!"

"But...considering what Shiori did to Ryoto..." Asuna began. "W-Wait a second...! Rumi, when Shiori told you to go to the East Wing, w-was she actually...!?"

"..." Rumi closed her eyes, lowering her head. "Shiori...didn't actually want to talk to me about anything. Obviously, I didn't know it at the time, but..."

"R-Rumi-!" Hinata yelped in a futile attempt to prevent her from continuing.

Somehow, Hana could already tell what the scuba diver was about to say, but she would have much preferred to hide inside the bedrock beneath the trial grounds than hear it- to hear as an already awful trial became even worse.

"The _real_ reason Shiori told me to go to the East Wing was because... _I_ was her target," Rumi admitted, her voice cracking from sadness. "Last night, when we met...she was going to kill me."

* * *

 **A/N: Another part done, down, AAAAAAAAH-**

 **So! This was an experience, eh? Looks to me like the killer's pretty clear at this point...OR IS IT? This trial's not over yet, oh no- we haven't even had a Closing Argument yet! So, like Chapter 3, the next and final part will cover the end of the trial itself, and _then_ we'll be getting into all the post-trial stuff and the blackened's execution. Might end up being a little on the _longer_ longer side, but since it's the class trial, I'm not too concerned about that. Trust me, there's gonna more than enough to fill up the part, you're not gonna wanna miss it!**

 **Now, I'd like to say the killer seems pretty clear at this point, but...like I said, this trial ain't over yet, there's still a few things for Hana and the others to go over and discuss, so who knows? Maybe there'll be one more curveball in an already twisty case...or maybe you guys'll see right through me and figure out the full details of the case, I've got some pretty smart readers.**

 **Whatever the case may be, whether you've locked in your answer to who you think the killer is or you're staying true to another suspect entirely, everything will be clear by the end of the next part! So stay tuned for that, and I hope to see you all next time for the finale of this trial!**


	40. Chapter 4: Halls of Regret (Part 10)

**A/N: Hehehehe...HAHAHAHAHA...**

 **IT IS TIME.**

 **Helloooo beautiful people! Here we are, back again, with the third and final part of the class trial and the last part of Chapter 4 in its entirety! It's been quite a ride in this trial alone, and now we're here- so with everything that happened in the last part, what could possibly be left? There ain't much left for the class to talk about, right? The killer's obvious, right? ...Well, I think the fact that the end of the trial has spilled into Part 3 much like the third trial did speaks for itself. Additionally, I'd say to get some popcorn ready, because this part's gonna be a longer one- of course, it's not a Daily Life part, so I'm okay with that.**

 **Now then! I don't have too much to say on this, I'm just SUPER excited to write this part- and if you're a long-time reader, you know that means pain for the 80th Class is abound! So buckle up and get ready, it's time for the conclusion of Chapter 4!**

 **...Actually, P.S: I know I gave a warning about blood and gore at the start of the story, but I feel like it needs to be said again- if you ain't good with gruesome stuff, you might want to skip over the execution, it ends...badly for the killer, to put it lightly. Then again, this is the same fanfic where a character got their throat slashed and another was burned to a skeleton, so I'm probably just being paranoid for no reason.**

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 ** _PokeDrifter:_ ...Well everyone, I've hit another milestone: I have officially broken one of my readers. Yup, I...think I just broke him. Huh.**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Let it be known, and no spoilers here- Shiori's parents are more or less the true villains of Chapter 4, m'kay, they're terrible people and Shiori deserved so much better. At any rate, I'm glad to hear/read that you're looking forward to this part, I'm sure you're not the only one, I certainly am looking forward to this- though probably not for the same reasons as you readers (mwahahaha). There's quite a bit to sort out, so let's see where things go from here!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- Class Trial (Part 3)**

Hana went completely silent at this new revelation. What could she say? What was _anyone_ supposed to say to finding out one of your friends planned to murder another one of your friends, and that same friend might have actually murdered the other?

Well, that wasn't entirely true- it was Ryoto who broke Hana's stupor with three simple words:

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Wait, _you_ were the one Shiori was trying to kill?" Hiroshi recapped, taken aback as well.

Rumi nodded solemnly, saying nothing else.

"B-But-! You and Shiori, you guys were- well, more or less friends!" Asuna cried out. "Sh-She was probably closer to you than she was towards me o-or Hana or-"

"Which, I'm sure, is precisely why Sauchi chose her," Akira deduced. "Hamasaki probably put so much trust in her that she didn't suspect anything was off with Sauchi's request for a meeting."

Shaking her head with a growl, the prosecutor added, "Not that that explanation _excuses_ such naivety..."

"Well...you're not wrong about how you explained it..." Rumi admitted with a sigh.

"Rumi...!" Hana began, unable to continue her train of thought.

Hiroshi frowned and looked down at the burned memo again...then he furrowed his brow in thought. "Hang on, Rumi- you said a few seconds ago that you left this note in your bedroom, right?"

"Uh- yeah. At least, that's where I _thought_ it was..." the scuba diver confirmed. "Seriously, I have no idea why it was in the south lounge's fireplace, _I_ definitely didn't put it in there..."

"Well, uh...maybe _you_ didn't, but..." Hana began, trying to get herself back into the groove of trial-going. "But, uh..."

Finally, she was able to recollect her thoughts and continue, "But...I think I know who did."

 _Yeah...Yeah, that's right- it was during the investigation, and_ that _person was definitely being a little suspicious..._ Hana reminded herself as she turned to the student in question.

"Hinata..." Hana began. "When I was about to go investigate Shiori's room, I saw you coming out of Rumi's bedroom. Wanna explain that?"

 _"Want_ to explain that?" Hinata spoke up. "Not really, no."

"Wait, you did what?" Rumi began, before gasping. "Did _you_ put the note into the fireplace?"

"W-What? Where's the proof of that?" Hinata responded, looking around in a dodgy manner.

"Well, you did seem like you were hiding something in your hoodie pocket," Hana pointed out. "And not only that, but Asuna and I only found the fireplace and the note a little bit after you and I looked around Shiori's room, so the fire had to have been lit pretty recently at the time, right?"

"N-Not only that, but...I think the only people that went into the South Wing at the time were me, you, and Hana," Asuna pointed. "S-So unless somebody else went in and we didn't see them..."

"AHA! PROCESS OF ELIMINATION SAVES THE DAY!" Ryoto declared...before frowning and pointing out, "Hey, wait- if Hinata wanted to burn the note, why did he use the fireplace? Why didn't he use the furnace, the flames in there are WAY stronger! Hell, that's what he did with that hoodie of his!"

"...Maybe that was the point," Hiroshi realized, crossing his arms in thought.

"What do you mean?" Rumi asked.

"Hana, Asuna- how did you two know to look in the lounge for evidence?" Hiroshi calmly inquired.

"Well- the door was open a little, and we thought that was kinda weird," Hana explained with a shrug. "Especially since Asuna told me it had been closed earlier, so that made it more suspicious."

"And would you two have thought to look in there for evidence without something catching your attention like that?" the coroner then asked.

"Uh- me, personally? Probably not," Hana admitted.

"W-Well, I was planning to look around the whole South Wing, so _ideally_ I would have gotten to it eventually," Asuna explained. "B-But, considering the time constraint...I don't think I would have gotten to it in time for the trial."

"What's your point, Hiroshi?" Hinata asked in a low voice.

"My point is- nobody would have expected evidence to be hidden in such a random place as the south lounge," Hiroshi explained, turning back to the rest of his classmates. "But we _would_ expect the killer to dispose of evidence in the furnace. I mean, it's been used for that purpose in the past, hasn't it?"

"Hm- so what you're saying is Yonade disposed of the true incriminating evidence in a location we'd be less likely to investigate, while he put the evidence he wanted us to see in the furnace room- the place we'd be more inclined to consider suspicious," Akira concluded, closing her eyes as she pieced together Hiroshi's logic.

"Exactly," Hiroshi confirmed with a nod and a calm smile. "After all, why would we think to go back to other wings to look for evidence to a murder that happened in the East Wing?"

"Hey! Would you quit talking like you know for a fact that I did all these things!?" Hinata snapped.

"You have no right to complain, Yonade- you're still the most suspicious next to Hamasaki over there," Akira told him.

"Right...the trouble is, an argument could be made for either of them, regarding who the true killer was," Hiroshi pointed out with a frown.

"Well, it was obviously me! I was way more involved in this crime than Rumi ever was, I set up everything, I set up Ryoto, I've got cuts on my arm from Shiori's weapons-!" Hinata rambled on.

"Well it was a pearl from _my_ bracelet that was at the real crime scene, where Shiori actually died!" Rumi retorted. "And that memo proves I had reason to go to the East Wing a little while before the murder, so that puts me there too!"

"Wait wait wait! Ryoto Miura's getting confused again!" Ryoto cried out, furiously shaking his head. "Enlighten me! Which one of you's the killer, again?"

"I AM!" Rumi and Hinata shouted at the same time.

"Look, I'm sorry that I waited so long to confess, but I'm not gonna drag this trial out any more!" Rumi resolutely insisted. "Look, Shiori lured me down to the East Wing to kill me, and it was when I was trying to defend myself that...that..."

"She's lying! She's just trying to protect me!" Hinata yelled. He then added with a crooked grin, "I-In fact, you know what? I admit it, that was my real motive! The motive video had nothing to do with why I killed Shiori, I was really just trying to stop her murder plan! I was trying to protect Rumi!"

All the while, Hana's eyes were darting back and forth between the two Ultimates- it was a tennis match of accusations, except the opponents were attacking _themselves_ rather than each other. She had no idea who or what to believe at this point- of course, she didn't want either of them to be guilty, but truth would be much harsher than that, no matter which of the two was telling the truth.

"Oh, this is getting ridiculous!" Akira snapped, turning her attention to Monokuma. "Monokuma, is it possible for both of them to be blackened at the same time?"

"Whoa, what!?" Hana yelped.

"Calm down- I doubt that's what's actually going on, but at this point I don't think we can rule it out," Akira explained. "At least, depending on what Monokuma says."

"Huh- two blackened at the same time? Now wouldn't _that_ make for a crazy trial, hoo boy!" Monokuma excitedly remarks. "Man, that sounds like something you don't see every trial!"

With another laugh, he then went on, "But alas, and I probably shouldn't even say this, that is not the case in this trial! There's only one killer, and it's up to you guys to figure out who! I dunno, just flip a coin if you guys need to, it'll be no skin off my back!"

"There's no way we can make a decision like that based on blind luck..." Hiroshi responded with a deep frown. "We need to solidify which one of you is the killer, one way or another."

 _Hiroshi's right...at this point, it's pretty obvious either Rumi or Hinata killed Shiori, but...which one was it? There's a bunch of evidence pointing to either of them..._ Hana thought with a small grimace. _There's gotta be some way to figure out who the actual blackened is- just think things through for once, Hana! Think about it!_

"Isn't it obvious by now? I was at the actual scene of the crime, the note and pearl prove it!" Rumi repeated. "That means I'm the only one that could have killed Shiori!"

"No it doesn't! That pearl could have fallen off earlier, and the note only says you _planned_ to go meet her at midnight!" Hinata pointed out.

"W-Well, why did you try to get rid of the memo, then?" Asuna asked the thief. "A-And why try to deny anything about the pearl?"

"But hey, Rumi seemed pretty clueless about all the cover-up stuff Hinata pulled!" Ryoto then spoke up. "If she was the killer, wouldn't she be a part of all that?"

"N-No! I had no idea what Hinata was up to after the murder!" Rumi refuted. "Really, I was trying to figure things out just like you guys!"

"Besides, what _really_ matters is who dealt the killing blow to Shiori- that's what we need to figure out," Hiroshi pointed out.

"Not to mention they both had equal motive beyond the videos- which they both watched," Akira went on. "Hamasaki was Sauchi's chosen target, and Yonade wanted to prevent Sauchi from murdering her."

"That's not true! He didn't know about her plan at all, at least not until after everything happened!" Rumi refuted.

"What, is it _that_ outta the question!?" Hinata demanded. "There's no _real_ way to know you even went to the East Wing last night, anyways!"

Finally hearing something she could contradict, Hana shouted, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Wait a second, Hinata- there's one more piece of evidence Asuna and I found in the fireplace," Hana explained. "I, uh...don't think Asuna brought it with her..."

"I think I know what you're talking about, a-and I did not think to bring _that_ with..." Asuna confirmed apologetically.

"Well, what's this other evidence you found, anyways?" Hiroshi inquired. "If it was in the fireplace, then it must mean whoever put it there didn't want us to find it- like Rumi's memo."

"Y-You don't know that!" Hinata interjected. "I-It could have been, I dunno, some sorta weird fuel!"

"No way that thing was fuel for a fire!" Hana refuted. "It was...black, sticky-looking scraps of...something!"

Frowning, the surfer added, "Honestly, it was hard to make out just what it was, but it was clearly all burned and kinda melted-"

"Well if you couldn't even tell what it was, then why bring it up?" Hinata then interrupted. "It might have been something completely unrelated to the case!"

"But if the fireplace was only burning for a little bit before you and Asuna found it, then how'd it get all- what'd you say? 'Burned and kinda melted'?" Ryoto then pointed out. "Unless whatever you found was something even MORE fragile than paper!"

"N-No- I think what happened to the scraps we found was that it was thrown in and set on fire at an earlier time, _before_ they tried burning the memo," Asuna hypothesized. "That's why it already looked so melted, even though the fire had only been going for a little bit."

"D-Does it really matter when or for how long it was burning!?" Hinata frantically asked. "You still can't figure out what the thing actually was, so why is it so important!?"

"It's important because one- it was in the fireplace, so whoever put it there was trying to hide it," Hana angrily explained. "And two- if anything, I know I saw what looked like traces of blood on the scraps! So if that's not suspicious, I dunno what is!"

"Blood...?" Rumi began, only for realization to seemingly dawn on her. However, the scuba diver kept silent, as if unsure of what she had just thought of...

"Hana's right! That's SUSPICIOOOUS!" Ryoto roared, before turning his electric blue gaze towards Hinata. "Hinata Yonade, EXPLAIN!"

"I-I don't have to explain shit!" Hinata refuted. "Those scraps you saw in the fireplace don't mean a thing! You're just grasping at straws, that's all you guys are doing!"

He then directed his attention back to Hana herself and growled, "Hana, why do you keep trying to pursue this!? You're Rumi's friend, right!? Do you _want_ her to be guilty or something!?"

"N-No! Of course I don't!" Hana quickly responded. "We just- we don't have a choice, you know how these trials are by now!"

"I know that you keep accusing a friend of yours of a crime she didn't commit!" Hinata snapped at her. "How could you do something like that so easily, huh!? After everything's that's happened to all of us!?"

"That is _not_ fair, Hinata, and you know it!" Rumi scolded him, trying to keep her voice steady.

 _"This_ isn't fair!? This whole trial is bullshit, and _you_ know it!" Hinata retorted. "Nobody can actually prove you're the killer, and those scraps Hana found in the fireplace don't prove a thing!"

He then shouted, the angriest Hana had ever seen the usually cool-headed Ultimate Thief, _"Just what the hell was that piece of garbage supposed to be!?"_

"..."

Hana was doing her best to keep her emotions in check, though Hinata's angered words made that difficult. "...Hinata- I really don't want to do this, I know you know that. But if the killer goes free, then the rest of us die, and-"

She took a deep, shaky breath. "And after everything, I...I can't let that happen. I...I'm so sorry about this, not just to you but to-"

The surfer shook her head as she cut herself off- _that_ would come soon enough. Hana then answered, "That 'piece of garbage'...it was Rumi's jacket, wasn't it?"

Hinata went dead silent, and it was clear the last of his arguments had been shattered.

"Rumi hasn't been wearing that jacket since last night- which is weird, since she cares about it so much and wears it every other time," Hana explained, trying to keep her voice from breaking too badly. "S-So that's...that's weird, that she suddenly doesn't have it today..."

"Granted, she ended up spilling something on her jacket during the last dinner meeting," Hiroshi pointed out. "However, I think Rumi would have been able to clean out the stain enough where she'd be comfortable wearing it again. Even if it wasn't perfect, her attachment to that jacket would have made up for it- like me with my vest or Hana with her necklace."

"Well...you're not wrong there," Rumi admitted. "I mean, I didn't know the jacket got burned like that, but that's..."

She shook her head. "That's a long story."

"Hey, Hana- did you say you saw _blood_ on the- uh, jacket?" Ryoto then asked. "You know, the _suspicious_ kind?"

Hana nodded. "That's why I thought the scraps were suspicious in the first place- why I thought whoever put the jacket in there tried to get rid of it in the first place-"

"-Because the blood would link the killer to the crime in some way, right?" Rumi surmised. "If that's it, then...I can prove one more time that I'm the killer, without a doubt."

That's when the Ultimate Scuba Diver reached down with one hand and grasped the end of her white shirt.

"H-Hey, Rumi, you don't have to-!" Hinata quickly began in a futile attempt to dissuade her.

Rumi then lifted the shirt just enough so the others could see her stomach area; there, they could see several bandages wrapped around her midsection, with some small spots of dried blood poking through the fabric just above her navel.

Hana's eyes widened as she stared at the bandages. "R-Rumi-! When did-!?"

The scuba diver sighed and explained, "Like I said, Shiori tried to kill me- I was her target. She, uh...got a hit on me, to put it lightly, and uh...yeah, I didn't really get out unscathed, heh..."

Akira's widened in realization, and she spoke up, "The bloodstains on the dagger...! They weren't just from Yonade slicing himself, they were from-!"

"And...And earlier in the watchtower, when I gave you that hug and you flinched away..." Hana also began. "Y-You said it was back pain, b-but-!"

"I lied about that, too- I'm really sorry, Hana," Rumi responded, pushing her shirt back down. Her gaze then drifted down again as she choked out, "I...I'm so, so sorry...!"

"...S-So... _that's_ why the jacket was bloody...?" Asuna concluded, her face going pale from this latest, decisive revelation.

"Without a doubt- that'd also explain why it had to be disposed of," Hiroshi added. "The blood on that jacket would have made Rumi as suspicious as can be, and it probably would have linked her to the incident pretty strongly. And combine that with the pearl from her bracelet that was at the real crime scene, and the memo Rumi wrote to herself that puts her at the crime scene near the time of Shiori's death-"

"It's like I said before- Hinata didn't kill Shiori. He was just...trying to cover for me, is all," Rumi sadly repeated. "The actual killer...was me. I admit it, I _still_ admit it- I'm the blackened."

On another side of the circle of podiums, Hinata looked like he still wanted to argue Rumi's confession...but in the end, he only let out a defeated groan and lowered his own head, his hands now balled into frustrated fists.

Hana, meanwhile, was still staring at Rumi with a combination of horror and grief. Yes, the class had found the blackened, and once the trial ended they would be free to live another day...but that didn't change the reality of what would happen to Rumi once the voting ended. It also didn't change the truth of what happened before- that Shiori had planned to betray everyone, even going so far as to target one of her closest friends, only for that friend to end up murdering her instead.

Rumi seemed to sense her classmate's immense sorrow, as she glanced at Hana without a word passing between them. The remorse on her face only seemed to grow in that moment, and she looked away just as quickly- only now, she seemed to be fighting back tears of her own.

"I...I dunno when, but I think I got lost on some of this..." Ryoto spoke up, looking around as if he had no idea where he even was anymore. "Th-This murder, it's just...all of it, just...!"

Hiroshi grimaced and agreed, "Yeah, it's...a lot to take. I think we'd all benefit from one last recap of the case, from start to finish, just like we usually do."

"Y-Yeah, I think...that'll put a lot of things into perspective..." Rumi agreed, sniffling before turning to Hana. "H-Hey, Hana- that means you, right? You're usually the one who explains the case- if I trust anyone to be the one to explain all this, it's you."

 _Trust me...? I...I'm part of the reason she's about to be executed- after everything we've been through, this is how it's gonna end...?_ Hana asked herself, turning her attention away from the blue-haired Ultimate. _I know she's the blackened, there's no doubt about that, but...but it's Rumi, she's been my friend since this killing game started, I can't just...I...!_

"I..." Hana began out loud, her voice quiet at first. "I...I can't do it..."

"What?" Hiroshi responded- his surprise was almost tangible.

"I can't...I can't just condemn Rumi like that...!" Hana choked out, her breathing becoming less steady due to her emotional state. "I-I know she killed Shiori, I know that's the truth, but I...I can't just forget everything we've been through, I-I can't just forget how we've more or less been friends since we first got trapped in here, I-I-"

"But you _know_ her guilt is the truth," Akira told her, as unsympathetic as ever. "Why try to hide from-"

"Just because I know it's true doesn't mean I want it to be!" Hana snapped, slamming a fist onto the top of her podium with a resounding _bang._

Now, the surfer was unable to prevent tears from spilling out of her eyes, and she choked out, "I'm sorry, but...please, please don't make me do this...not this time, please...!"

"H-Hana...!" Rumi spoke, but was unable to finish her statement as she stared at the surfer in surprise.

For a moment, the trial grounds went quiet again...that is, until Akira softly scoffed.

"You spend all this time trying to sort out this case...and you can't even bring yourself to finish it?" Akira inquired, shaking her head. "Here you are, letting your emotions keep you from doing what needs to be done- knowing you, I shouldn't be surprised."

Adjusting her glasses, the prosecutor continued, "Well, if that's how this is going to be, then it looks like it's up to me to put an end to this."

"Huh? Akira, are you saying you're going to...?" Hiroshi began with a frown.

"That's right- I may have been...mistaken throughout this trial, but that's not to say I haven't paid attention to the rest of what we discussed," Akira explained. "Ergo, I'll be more than capable of piecing together the events of this case from beginning to end. That way, we'll be able to finish this off without any lingering doubts."

Hana kept silent- she was more focused on trying to calm herself down, which was proving easier said than done.

"...Uh...o-okay then," Rumi agreed with a nod. "You're smart, Akira- I'm sure you can handle this, too."

"I didn't ask for _your_ validation, Hamasaki," Akira growled at the blackened student before regaining her composure. "Now then..."

Taking a moment to ready her statements, the Ultimate called out, _"This_ is what happened!"

"To explain this case, it's important to go over what instigated the events in the first place: Monokuma's newest motive. Each surviving participant received a video on their e-Handbooks that depicted their 'greatest fear'- something that would drive them to kill in order to prevent the contents of the video from coming to fruition. Though we were not required to watch the video, several of us ended up caving in- one of those students being Shiori Sauchi, the victim of this case. After viewing her motive video, Sauchi developed a plan to commit a murder of her own, which she began setting up several hours before the incident."

"First, she set up a scapegoat for her plan- the student she chose being one Ryoto Miura. Likely exploiting his desire to prevent another murder, Sauchi told him how she suspected another student of plotting a murder, and told him to meet her in the East Wing at 11:30 that night so they could confront this supposed person- and Miura fell for her lies quite easily. Completing that, the next step was to set up her actual target. She spoke to that student later on in the day- and ironically, that person would ultimately become the culprit of this case. Anyways, the killer agreed to the meet-up due to their faith in Sauchi- they even went as far as to write a short memo to themselves so they wouldn't forget about the meet-up."

"And so, nighttime arrived, and Miura went to the East Wing at the agreed time of 11:30. What he didn't realize, however, was that Sauchi had arrived earlier and obtained a sedative from the medical room. In addition, she also took some armor from the training room, only wearing enough of the suit so she would be able to move freely as well as avoid Miura recognizing her. With these items, Sauchi ambushed Miura from behind shortly after he arrived, injecting him with the sedative and rendering him unconscious. From here, I believe she took Miura into the training room, where she then stuffed his unconscious form into one of the armor suits- I believe she did this to ensure her chosen victim wouldn't see him and become suspicious as a result."

"After dealing with Miura, Sauchi continued making preparations for the murder itself. To that end, she took two items from the armory- a dagger and a short axe. With the axe, she went into the eastern watchtower and chopped through several of the stairs leading to its apex- as the stairs in that tower are made of wood rather than stone like the western tower. Honestly, I can't figure out what role this was meant to play in Sauchi's plan, but it must have had some significance if she thought to do something like that."

"Anyways, midnight arrived, and the killer went into the East Wing to meet with Sauchi as planned. Even at this point, I doubt the killer was aware of Sauchi's true intentions- but needless to say, that changed very quickly. At some point, after their initial meeting on the second floor of the East Wing's main chamber, Sauchi used the dagger to attack the culprit, even managing to wound them. However, the killer fought back, and the two of them ended up in a struggle. Ultimately, it's my belief that the killer shoved Sauchi away into the railing overlooking the rest of the main hall- and the railing, as Monokuma warned us, is rather unsteady and loose. As a result, the railing broke, causing Sauchi to plummet off the mezzanine."

"Now, the fall alone would have caused significant injury to the victim, but it wasn't the fall that killed her. No- beneath the area where Sauchi fell, a glass statue of the Roman goddess Themis stood, with the glass sword she held pointing upwards. And it was on this sword that Sauchi fell, resulting in her being fatally impaled through the chest; additionally, the force of her body hitting the blade caused the glass to break off, resulting in the victim falling the rest of the way down and giving her the bruising along her back when she landed. There, Sauchi ultimately bled to death, murdered in self-defense by her own would-be victim."

"I believe this is the point where the blackened's role in this crime ended, save for perhaps tending to their injury and fleeing the crime scene...and where another student's role would begin. That person: Hinata Yonade. Perhaps the culprit themselves told him, or he found out about what happened some other way- whatever the case may be, he ended up in the East Wing after the murder and came across the scene...and developed a plan of his own."

"For his plan, Yonade had to gather some supplies of his own. He went into the medical room and obtained some blood bags from the cooling unit- not too difficult, it was open to anyone. Additionally, he went into the eastern lounge, where a katana was kept inside a glass display cabinet; now, this cabinet was closed with a simple-looking but advanced lock, one that would be challenging for any average person to break into...but not for the Ultimate Thief. After lockpicking into the cabinet and taking the katana, Yonade had to bring these items up to the top of the eastern watchtower- but with the gap in the stairs caused by Sauchi, that would be an issue. However, Yonade had some experience in free running- once again, thanks to his experience in burglary- which allowed him to jump across the gap with ease and access the tower's top."

"I believe it was during this initial setup that Yonade came across the still-unconscious Miura, most likely by chance- however, Yonade would decide to incorporate him into his plan as well. So, with the items set up, now Yonade needed to transport Sauchi's corpse and Miura to the tower's apex as well, and he wouldn't be able to carry them up like he did with the blood bags and katana. Luckily for him, the eastern watchtower had something else that set it apart from its western counterpart- a pulley system. Using this and a crate from the tower's uppermost area, Yonade lowered the platform and the crate to the tower's base. After removing the armor from Miura and the piece of the glass sword from Sauchi's chest, he put the two into the crate and raised the platform back to the top of the tower- not realizing some of Sauchi's blood would remain in the crate once they were removed."

"With Sauchi and Miura now in the tower, Yonade got to work setting up a false crime scene. He opened up the blood bags and spread their contents all around the floor and on the wall, as well as smearing some blood on Miura's torso. After that, he laid Sauchi's body against the wall, then stuck the katana through the open wound in her chest, making it appear as the murder weapon. He then took one of Sauchi's scalpels, the ones she kept in her lab coat's pocket, and gave both Miura and himself a wound on their arms, then placed it next to her hand to make it appear as if the victim tried to defend herself. Also for the purpose of framing Miura, Yonade gave him a head wound- likely to take care of the inevitable issue of Miura being unable to recall the events of that night. Of course, framing Miura wasn't his only goal, and so Yonade took a thread from his own scarf and left it at the same- like the scalpel wound, he did this to incriminate _himself."_

"Once the false crime scene was completed, Yonade had to dispose of the true evidence and crime scene. He hid the emptied blood bags deep in the cooler, then cleaned the dagger to the best of his ability and placed it back in the armory- but not before using it to give himself yet another wound on his arm, further 'connecting' him to the crime. He then had to clean the actual main hall and repair the damages to the statue and railing; I believe he did this with cleaning supplies from the furnace room and some sort of glue, which he likely obtained from the storage room in the South Wing. However, since the Themis statue being so obviously clean would raise suspicions, he cleaned up the glass statue of the horse as well."

"After cleaning the real crime scene, Yonade only had to dispose of evidence. He went into the furnace room to dispose of his ruined hoodie- however, to create more evidence against himself, he purposely made sure a piece of his bloodied sleeve would remain intact for us to find later. He then went to the southern lounge and used its fireplace to dispose of a piece of evidence he genuinely didn't want anyone to find: the culprit's bloody jacket, which he no doubt received from the blackened themself. He threw the jacket into the fireplace and left it to burn overnight- although, since a fireplace is significantly weaker than a furnace, the jacket was not _completely_ destroyed. Yonade would later return to the lounge during the investigation, in order to burn the memo the killer wrote to remind them about their meeting with Sauchi."

"At that point, I'm sure Yonade felt confident in his plan- frame himself and frame Miura for Sauchi's murder, all for the sake of protecting the true killer. But there was one thing he, for all the detail he put into this, completely missed: a single pearl from the killer's bracelet, which I believe was broken during the struggle between victim and blackened. Although I'm sure Yonade tried to pick up all the pearls and such while he was tampering with the scene, he overlooked one- and that pearl was all it would take to set off the beginning of the end of his little masquerade."

"Indeed, Yonade may have been heavily involved in this crime's cover-up, but in the end he was not the one who dealt the killing blow," Akira concluded, turning her fierce gaze towards the blackened student. "The _true_ murderer...is right there! Rumi Hamasaki, the Ultimate Scuba Diver!"

With that, a blanket of silence fell over the 80th Class once again.

Finally, Rumi broke that silence by responding, "Ah- great job, Akira-"

"Again, I didn't ask for _your_ validation," Akira snarled at her, before turning her attention to the other students. "Moreover- any objections to what I've explained?"

"N-No...it sounds like you covered everything..." Asuna answered, her gaze lowered out of sorrow.

"Yeah, we should just...move on to the voting," Hiroshi added, his voice not betraying any emotion at all.

"Really? It's that time again, eh?" Monokuma eagerly spoke up...before adding, "Uh- for real this time, right?"

"Yes, for real this time," Akira told him with a slightly annoyed sigh.

"Grrrreat! I was starting to get a little sleepy, you know- not because I was bored, no no this trial was like a rollercoaster, but moreso because you guys just took so long and it's late," Monokuma spoke. "So, to stave off the oncoming sleep deprivation, let's get right into the voting! Pull that lever, pick a classmate, you don't need me to tell you how this goes!"

"Now then- who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?" the bear asked with suspense dripping off his words. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

Although Hana still felt like the immense weight of sorrow on her, she knew that, unlike recapping the case, she had no choice in _this_ matter. Thus, she reached out and gripped the lever as she always did, then solemnly made her vote alongside the other students. While a few others also appeared hesitant, they too cast their votes, and soon enough the voting ended.

Moments later, that all-too familiar monitor lowered from the ceiling, turning itself on. Once the static screen cleared, the slot machine was displayed in all its flashy glory; the three slots began their rapid spinning- and at this point, the faces depicted on the slots appeared more gray than colored- before they slowed down and stopped, one by one. Once all three slots went still, they all depicted the same graphic: Rumi's face, followed by the colorful 'GUILTY!' fanfare- flashing, colors, coins, same as ever.

And almost as quickly as it had begun, the video had ended, and the monitor went black once more- and so, silence fell over the trial grounds once more.

* * *

Monokuma hopped up to stand on his throne, half-heartedly declaring, "Well, it's basically a formality at this point, buuuut- the spotless have prevailed once more!"

"W-We did...?" Asuna spoke up, her face paling. "S-So then...it really was-!"

"That's right! The student who sent the good doctor to a rather sharp, rather bloody death was the one and only..." Monokuma confirmed, pausing for dramatic effect. "Rumi Hamasaki!"

To this, Rumi said nothing- but her hands were rolled into fists and her teeth her clenched, her face lowered to the point where her sky blue bangs were partially obscuring her face.

"R-Rumi...!" Hana began, shaking her head a little bit. "I...I don't know what to say, I-I'm so-"

"Oh! But there is one little thing that makes this a little more interesting!" Monokuma then added more eagerly. "The vote was _not_ unanimous this time!"

"What? How can that be?" Akira immediately asked, surprised. "The evidence, my explanation, the truth is as clear as day!"

Monokuma shrugged. "I dunno- why not ask him yourself?"

The bear then turned to the student in question and admonished, "You're lucky the rest of your classmates are more astute than you, Mr. Yonade- if things had been a little more split, you could have given the blackened the victory! And how anticlimactic would _that_ be?"

Hinata didn't respond- his eyes burned with frustration and grief, and he was heavily breathing through clenched teeth.

At that, Hana immediately understood why the thief voted the way he did- although it _was_ somewhat of a risk considering the rules of the trial.

"Rumi..." Asuna began, her voice choked up from unshed tears. "Rumi, I...w-why...?"

"H-Hey, come on now- it was self-defense, y'know? It wasn't like...it wasn't like she _wanted_ to kill Shiori, it was just...heat of the moment!" Ryoto rationalized, his reassurance half-hearted.

Rumi appeared like she was going to respond, but she shook her head and began, "You guys...did a great job, you know? Akira with your recap, Hana for figuring out a lot of what happened in the first place..."

"D-Don't," Hana began, trying to sound stern, but the grief in her voice betraying her. "Don't...congratulate me, really..."

This time, Akira said nothing, having made her feelings about Rumi's praise quite clear.

"You guys got everything right," Rumi confirmed, before continuing, "Well... _almost_ everything."

"Almost...?" Hiroshi began, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean? What did we miss?"

Rumi frowned again, contemplating silently before sighing. "I guess...I guess I've got some explaining to do. We _both_ do."

Hinata was silent, looking away from everyone sullenly.

The scuba diver straightened herself up before beginning, "You see, the thing about how Shiori died, it- you're right, I didn't mean to kill her, I _never_ wanted to hurt her, but..."

She shook her head, trying her gather her thoughts as she started again, "Let me just...let me start at the beginning. So, yes- Shiori wanted to meet at the East Wing at midnight, I even wrote that note to myself as a reminder. Obviously, I didn't think anything was going on, even with the motive going around, because I just...I couldn't see Shiori trying something like, okay? I just...couldn't."

 _"Nobody_ is above murder in a situation like this- I thought that would be _extremely_ evident by now..." Akira bitterly reminded her with a shake of her head.

"Well, whatever you believe, I trusted Shiori- so, I went," Rumi went on, unable to meet anyone's eyes. "And I got there, and...she was waiting for me up on the mezzanine, so I went up there..."

* * *

 _"Shiori! There you are- I thought you'd be on the bottom floor or something," Rumi remarked as she finished ascending the stairs to the second floor. "But anyways- here I am!"_

 _"That...you are," Shiori observed- the surgeon was facing the side, looking out over the main hall before glancing at the other Ultimate. "I'm surprised, honestly- I wasn't sure if you'd actually show up."_

 _"Well, I told you I would back in the training room, didn't I?" Rumi pointed out. "And besides, I was a little worried by the way you were talking earlier, and that big outburst you had after the thing with the armor..."_

 _She then went on, more cheery, "But, I'm just glad you're finally opening up to someone! Not just because we're friends- whether you admit it or not- but because you always seemed a little more on the...'cold and distant' side?"_

 _Shiori raised an eyebrow, at Rumi, but didn't immediately respond as she turned to face her directly._

 _The Ultimate Scuba Diver took a few steps forward and inquired, "So...what_ did _you want to talk about?"_

 _To this, Shiori suddenly grew a little more apprehensive. "Ah, that- well, you see, it's...it's kind of...sorta like, uh..."_

 _She glanced away, before letting out a frustrated growl and turning away. "Rumi, just- I have a question, and be_ _honest with me here, alright?"_

 _"Uh...sure," Rumi agreed with a simple nod._

 _"Rumi, let's...let's say something you cared about, cared about_ really _deeply was in jeopardy. And I'm talking something_ actually _important to you, whatever it might be," Shiori rambled, pacing away from her companion as she spoke. "How...How far, exactly, would you go to protect it in an...uncertain scenario like this?"_

 _The Ultimate Surgeon's question caught Rumi completely off-guard. "H-How far would I...?"_

 _She deeply frowned as she thought about her answer. "I...I don't know, there are a lot of things that are important to me, some more than others, so I...I don't even know what exactly I'd be trying to protect..."_

 _Rumi sighed and went on, "But...if I had to be general, I...I still don't know what I'd do. I'd_ like _to think I wouldn't resort to doing something...really bad to protect what I love, but...I don't know what would happen, realistically."_

 _She self-consciously put a hand in her jacket pocket. "Honestly, that's the reason I've been avoiding my motive video- because if Monokuma is being legit about what's in them, and if I see what's in mine- my 'greatest fear'...I'm scared I won't be strong enough to resist trying to graduate. I wouldn't be above it- I mean, hardly anyone thought Azami or Itachi or- at one point- even Tadao would be capable of the things_ they _did, and yet..."_

 _Rumi shakily sighed. "You're right, things really are uncertain, I think they've been that way ever since this killing game started..."_

 _"..." Shiori was dead silent, her brown gaze aimed at the floor again- only now there was a certain cloudiness to them. "...I get it. It's hard, yeah, and not...everyone is..."_

 _The surgeon then turned to Rumi once again, the look in her eyes still hard as stone. "Rumi. Come here- and keep looking at me."_

 _Confused, Rumi obliged and approached her classmate. "Yeah...?"_

 _Soon enough, the two were standing face-to-face in the silence of the East Wing's central hall, barely an arm's length between them._

 _"...Rumi. I...I want you to know something real fast," Shiori began, her countenance softening to show a hint of...regret? "I...have something I need to protect, too. And for that...I don't expect you or anyone to forgive me for what I'm about to do. But if it means anything at all, then know that...I'm sorry about this."_

 _Rumi was about to ask Shiori what she meant- but the words died in her throat. For in that moment, Shiori reached into her lab coat and swiftly pulled something out, and in the next instant Rumi saw a flash a silver and felt a deep, piercing pain in her gut._

 _When she looked down, bewildered, she saw Shiori's arm outstretched towards her, her hand clutching a dagger that was driven straight into her stomach._

* * *

Hana grimaced. "You...really never saw it coming, did you?"

Rumi shook her head. "I really didn't. No matter how weirded-out I was getting from the conversation, it never crossed my mind that maybe she was planning to..."

The scuba diver then let out a small, sad laugh. "It's kinda funny, thinking about what I told her. There I was, talking about how none of the killers ended up resisting their motives, when the whole time...Shiori was also planning to...sh-she also wasn't able to..."

"S-So then...is that when you guys got into that...that struggle?" Asuna tentatively inquired. "Where you ended up...y-you know..."

"You're...not wrong," Rumi admitted, fingering a longer lock of her hair with a grimace. "At first, I was kinda...frozen, you know, from surprise and all. Then the pain set in, and then came the adrenaline, and I just- I knew that, if I didn't do _something,_ we were both as good as dead. Me because I'd be murdered, and Shiori because she'd be the blackened."

"You don't need to mince your words, Hamasaki," Akira spoke up. "In your adrenaline rush, you two ended up fighting, which ended with you pushing Sauchi off the second floor and onto the glass sword. We all know that's what ultimately happened, and the evidence supports it."

"Hey, Akira- why don't ya let her finish?" Hinata growled at the prosecutor.

Sure enough, Rumi continued as if Akira hadn't spoken, "So, yeah, we got into a scuffle up there- I was trying to get her to stop, or at least get the dagger away from her, and Shiori- I don't think she expected me to fight back like that, because she didn't really struggle back _too_ much. In the end, I managed to kinda pin her against the railing- I don't know how I did, I think it was the adrenaline- and..."

 _"...That's_ when you pushed her...?" Ryoto guessed, gesturing for her to go on.

Again, Rumi ignored the commentary. "I just...I tried to talk to her, okay? I could tell something was off, it was like she was so...hesitant about what she was doing. I didn't know why she tried to kill me- I figured she'd watched her motive video, but at the time I didn't know for sure. And really, I wasn't so focused on her motivation as much as I was trying to get through to her."

"So you were...trying to talk her down, basically?" Hana summarized. She then asked hesitantly, "Did it...work...?"

For a moment, the Ultimate Scuba Diver was silent again. She then answered, "Well...I was just saying the first things that came to my mind- really, I was talking more from the heart than anything. I don't completely remember what I said to her, but...I think I was trying to tell her, whatever Monokuma had on her or whatever was motivating her, she didn't have to listen- she still had a choice. I...think I also reminded her that we'd all find a way out of the castle together, no matter what it took."

She shook her head. "I think I said a few more things, she might have said some things too, but after all that...yeah, I think it did work. I mean, I remember Shiori calming down a bit and dropping the dagger, so..."

"Wait a second! If you were able to calm Shiori down, then happened with the-? The pushing, and the railing, and the sword, and-" Ryoto rambled, having been overcome with his confusion.

"Not that I'm not glad Shiori didn't go through with killing you in the end..." Hiroshi began. "She still ended up impaled on that statue, and you still became the blackened..."

Rumi hesitated, clearly not wanting to describe what happened next- but she sighed and explained, "Remember how I said I had Shiori up against the railing? Because I was trying to more or less restrain her?"

"Yeah...?" Hana began.

"The thing is...because of everything that was going on...we both forgot about Monokuma's warning about the East Wing's railing," Rumi confessed. "S-So...when Shiori dropped her dagger, and I was relieved and the adrenaline was wearing off, and I was about to let Shiori go...I heard this snapping sound, and then..."

Taking a shaky breath, she finished, "The next thing I know, both Shiori and I are falling back with the broken piece of the railing. We kinda separated when we fell- I don't think I saw her get impaled, and if I did I-I don't remember. Anyways, I didn't hit the statue at all- I think I fell straight down, and...I got knocked out when I hit the floor."

As this part of Rumi's story sunk in, Hana came to a horrifying realization. "Oh my god...! You didn't push Shiori off at all, she fell...she fell by _accident...!?"_

"That's...one way to put it, yeah. Even after she stabbed me, I...I didn't want to hurt Shiori, I _never_ wanted to do that. All I wanted to do was stop her from doing something that would put herself and everyone else in danger!" Rumi cried in response, tears starting to well in her eyes. "R-Really, if I had remembered the thing about the railing, I wouldn't have risked pushing her against it! I would have used the wall or something!"

"So...if the murder was a freak accident..." Hiroshi concluded, his own eyes widening as he made the connection. "That means...Monokuma made you the blackened on a _technicality?"_

"Well, yeah- so what if I did?" Monokuma inquired matter-of-factly.

"'So what'!? This wasn't a REAL murder, this was- this was- GRAVITY!" Ryoto furiously shouted at him. "Rumi didn't mean to kill Shiori, she didn't even PLAN on it! It was exactly what Hana and Hiroshi said- AN ACCIDENT!"

"Oh cry me river- did you all forget what I said during the very first trial?" Monokuma asked, annoyed. "It doesn't matter if it's 'Yeah, I killed him!' or 'Oops, I killed him', a murder is still a murder! Did you guys think I was exaggerating or something?"

"B-But that case was different! That was a heat of the moment thing, this wasn't even-" Hana tried to implore.

The bear, however, interrupted her. "Ah-ah-ah! Would Ms. Sauchi have fallen to her impalement if Snorkel there hadn't pushed her against the railing like she did? I highly doubt it! So, yes, while technically technical- considering the circumstances, I have no qualms about making our good friend Rumi this trail's blackened!"

Hana was shocked into silence- this case had been hard to go through enough when she thought Rumi killed in self-defense, but this new revelation broke her heart even more.

"Don't look so horrified, all of you," Akira scolded the others. "Keep in mind, even though Sauchi's death was accidental, Hamasaki still hid the truth from everyone, not to mention Yonade helped cover up what truly happened- so, neither of them are completely innocent."

Hinata glared at her and responded, "You really think it was that simple?"

Akira narrowed her eyes right back. "It doesn't take long to confess- if Hamasaki had any sense of remorse for what happened, then why didn't she come clean in the first place? Why did _you_ try to obscure the truth as well?"

"Uh...there's something else I'm wondering about, too..." Asuna added, but she sounded much less accusatory. "Rumi, you got stabbed in the gut by Shiori...and then you fell all the way from the second floor to the first, g-getting knocked out from the fall...h-how did you survive?"

"I mean...it had to be Hinata, right?" Ryoto guessed. "He found Rumi and fixed her up, and that's how he found out about the murder and all that."

However, the Ultimate Thief shook his head. "No, it wasn't me. I was sound asleep- I had no idea anything was going on in the East Wing."

"Yeah- while I'm sure Hinata would have helped me if he was there, it wasn't him," Rumi confirmed.

"Well, if it wasn't Hinata, then the only other person it could have been was..." Hiroshi pondered, before realization struck him. "No way. It couldn't have been...!"

Akira seemingly came to the same conclusion and spoke, _"Sauchi_ saved you? No, no, that's impossible- she was impaled, bleeding out, she would have been dead!"

"Uh...technically, the Monokuma File said she died at around 12:30- so...if she was actually impaled a little after 12:00..." Hana deduced. "Then...there's a pretty big gap of time where Shiori was still alive."

"But she was stabbed through the chest with a big sword!" Ryoto insisted. "How could she still be alive after that!?"

"Well, the glass piece pierced the lower half of one of her lungs- while still very much fatal, it wouldn't have killed her right away," Hiroshi explained. "Even moreso if the piece remained inside and in place- with the glass sword still stuck in the wound, it would hold off or at least slow down any blood flowing out of the severed blood vessels, causing her to lose blood at a slower rate."

The coroner added, "From what I've heard, that seems to be the case with many impalement victims, and people have survived being impaled with things like fence posts, steel beams..."

"Well, regardless of all that- yeah, it _was_ Shiori who saved me," Rumi confirmed with a sigh. "...Even though I was unconscious the whole time, so I can only imagine how she did it while still bleeding out. Guess that came from being a talented surgeon..."

"But that still doesn't explain why you didn't confess to your _unintended_ murder," Akira pointed out with a glare.

The Ultimate Scuba Diver had to take a moment to compose herself before responding, "Trust me, there's...a reason."

She then explained, "Like I said, I didn't know what had happened- I didn't know Shiori got stabbed by the statue, I didn't immediately realize the railing had broke, I didn't even know if I had died or not. But...at some point, I'm guessing a bit before 12:30, I woke up again, and..."

* * *

 _When Rumi opened her eyes again, her mind was foggy- she had forgotten where she was. She lying on her back, facing the lighted ceiling, and she could feel tile underneath her- so this wasn't her bedroom. Her head was sore, but her stomach slightly moreso- not that either were too debilitating. She let out a small moan as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, the memories of what had happened beginning to slowly but surely flood back to her._

 _"Rumi...?" a very familiar voice called out from nearby. "Rumi...! Rumi, can you- can you hear me? S-Say something, come on..."_

 _"Shiori...?" Rumi spoke up, shaking her head a little. Though she couldn't immediately see the surgeon, she recognized her voice quickly- however, something was off about it. Shiori sounded a little more hoarse, her tone a little more strained._

 _Regardless, Rumi barely made out a soft, relieved sigh followed by Shiori telling her, "Just...wait a second. Don't- Don't go moving too fast right away, got it?"_

 _"What...? Why-?" Rumi began, propping herself up with her elbows so she could get a better look at herself- and was shocked to find her jacket and shirt were splattered in blood. Instinctively, she lifted her shirt slightly, and saw some bandages wrapped around her midsection. "What the...? Shiori, did...did you...?"_

 _"Of course I did, I'm-" a wet-sounding cough cut off Shiori's response. "I...I'm the Ultimate Surgeon, I never...lose a patient, dammit...!"_

 _Finally, everything came back to Rumi, and the Ultimate quickly looked around to try and find Shiori. Luckily, s_ _he found the surgeon almost right away- she was a few feet away from where Rumi was laying, leaning against the side of the Themis statue._

 _However, as soon as Rumi saw her...she became frozen with horror._

 _For one thing, the statue itself was soaked in blood- Themis's forearm and part of her face and shoulder area were covered in dark red. The blade that she had been holding up was broken, almost the entire thing gone save for the actual hilt and a bit of glass that remained attached. Of course, Rumi knew where the broken portion of the sword was: it was piercing the lower right side of her chest, going through the front and coming out through her back._

 _Despite her horrible injury and the visible amount of pain she was in, Shiori still seemed more focused on Rumi. "Okay, you're...you're definitely doing fine if you can sit up and move around like that, I was...starting to wonder if something had...gone wrong or...something..."_

 _A terrible cough racked the Ultimate's damaged frame and- as if whatever had been keeping Shiori on her feet all this time had now_ _vanished- she dropped to the ground, still slumped against the tall statue next to her._

 _Finally pulled from her stupor, Rumi screamed, "Shi-!? SHIORI!"_

 _Disregarding her classmate's earlier warning, the scuba diver scrambled to her feet and staggered over there where Shiori was as fast as she could._

 _Kneeling next to the dying student, panicked words came tumbling out of her mouth. "W-What happened!? How did you- w-we were up on the mezzanine, how did- I mean we were talking, and- and-!"_

 _She then saw the broken piece of the upper area's_ _railing- then looked up to see the area where it had broken from, the same spot she had restrained Shiori in her attempt to talk her out of murder._

 _Putting two and two together, Rumi's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god...that snapping sound, it was the...!"_

 _"Rumi..." Shiori began._

 _"And- And the reason we fell, that was because- because of what Monokuma said, the railing is unstable, it...!" Rumi tearfully went on._

 _"Rumi...!" Shiori spoke again, still trying to get the diver's attention._

 _"You- You fell on the statue because of me, didn't you?" Rumi finally cried out. "I-I had you against the railing, I totally forgot about what Monokuma said, and when you fell you must've-!"_

 _"Rumi! Stop- Stop it!" Shiori finally snapped, leading to another round of coughing. "Knock it...off, Rumi..."_

 _"What are you talking about!? I made the railing break, that's how- that's how you got stabbed, isn't it!?" Rumi sobbed. "Shiori, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- I-I_ never _wanted to-!"_

 _"I said- I said to stop it!" Shiori repeated herself, even going so far as to gently shove her away. "This wasn't...your fault...don't you dare think...this was_ _your_ _fault..."_

 _"But I...I..." Rumi choked out, unable to stifle her remorseful sobs. "Uh, m-maybe- maybe there's something in the medical room that can help you, maybe I can- maybe-"_

 _"Rumi- it's gotta be almost half-past midnight by now...I've been bleeding like this for a little while now..." Shiori responded, shaking her head. "I'm not just an expert on medical stuff, I know my own body pretty well...and I can say I've- I've lost too much blood, it's a miracle I've lasted_ this _long, honestly..."_

 _She shook her head again. "I'm as good as dead- I_ am _gonna die, there's nothing...that can be done about it now."_

 _Rumi's face went pale as the realization sunk in. "No...no, no no, you- you can't die, not here, not like this! I- I'm not gonna let you, I-!"_

 _"Rumi, quit trying to ignore the facts, and listen to me," Shiori told her in the firmest tone she could manage. "You...You know what's gonna happen...when I die, right...?"_

 _"What's gonna...? A trial?" Rumi answered. "N-No! Th-This was an accident, it wasn't a real murder!"_

 _"Do you honestly think Monokuma's gonna see it that way?" Shiori then asked. "He'll find a way to spin this into murder, you know he will. And- And when he does, even though you didn't do anything wrong, you're probably gonna end up being...you know..."_

 _As if the Ultimate Scuba Diver couldn't feel more awful about what was happening, the realization regarding a new class trial shattered those expectations. "Oh...Oh my god, I'm gonna...!"_

 _"Listen Rumi- I...I know I don't have any right to ask you for anything, but..." Shiori began, suppressing another cough. "I want you...to win the trial. To...To escape this hellhole of a castle."_

 _"W-Win the-!?" Rumi yelped, bewildered. "No way! I-If I do that, then everyone else- Hinata, Hana, Asuna, they'll all be...!"_

 _Shiori grimaced, but not from pain. "I know, I know it's not fair, but- I-I'm gonna die, you're gonna be the blackened, and there's gonna be a trial, th-there's nothing you can do to stop that. S-So...please, at least_ try _to win!"_

 _She then sat up a little more, weakly grasping Rumi's arm. "Please, you shouldn't...you shouldn't have to be punished because_ I _did something unforgivable!"_

 _Rumi was completely speechless for a few moments, tears still spilling out of her eyes. She then glanced down at where she had been stabbed before softly asking, "Is that...why you saved me...? Because you wanted me to get through the trial?"_

 _"..." Shiori appeared to be about to respond...before she went silent in thought again. Then, without warning, she broke into a dry, humorless chuckle. "You know, you're not wrong."_

 _While Rumi was baffled, Shiori's chuckle turned into a small laugh. "You're not wrong at all, and really I could just...I could just leave it at that, couldn't I? You'd just see right through it anyways. Haha...even now, I can't be totally honest, huh? Heh...hehe-"_

 _Then, she started coughing again, but even in between the splutters of blood she choked out, "I...I really am the worst, aren't I...?"_

 _With that, what little strength she had left seemed to_ _evaporate, and she was about to fall over onto the floor- and she would have,had Rumi not quickly caught her, being mindful of the glass sword piece still jutting through her chest and back._

 _"Sh-Shiori!" Rumi cried out again as she grabbed the surgeon, staring down at her classmate- who at this point appeared to be barely clinging to life._

 _"Rumi..." Shiori softly choked out while the scuba diver was practically holding her up. "I'm sorry...for being an idiot...!"_

* * *

At this point, Rumi was crying again, staring down at her hands before burying her face in them. "And that...that was it..."

Hiroshi stared at her in abject shock. "So your reason for not confessing to the murder, even though it was accident...you were trying to survive the trial...?"

"No way- you were trying to honor Shiori's dying request!?" Ryoto yelped, his face going pale. "I-I have got SO MANY mixed feelings about this, I don't even know where to start!"

Hana was also staring at her classmate, unsure of what to say. Knowing that Rumi had never meant to kill Shiori in the first place was a hard enough pill to swallow, but hearing her reminisce about Shiori's final moments- from her last request to the surgeon more or less dying in Rumi's arms, Hana had to wonder just how much emotional strain the Ultimate Scuba Diver had been under all this time...and how she had been able to hide it.

Akira, however, did not seem as moved. "You actually wanted to fulfill Sauchi's last request? Even after she tried to murder you and graduate herself? Did you think this course of action through at all?"

"A-Akira! Hinata was right, it really wasn't that simple!" Asuna implored her. "I-I don't know, if I were in Rumi's place, I don't...I don't know what I'd do..."

"B-Besides! Even after she died, I still didn't know if I wanted to go through with it!" Rumi shouted at the prosecutor, her tears now burning with frustration. "After everything that had happened, I was a mess! I could barely think straight!"

"But...in the end, you did decide to do it," Hiroshi observed. "How...did you make that choice? Was it your motive video?"

"Yes and no- she did watch her video, like you guys saw," Hinata spoke up. "But before that...she came and talked to me."

"You? When?" Hana asked.

"A little past 12:30," Hinata answered, his arms crossed. "I got woken up by Rumi pounding on my door like she was trying to break in- and when I let her in, I didn't know what was going on. She was bloody, she was crying...but, eventually she calmed down enough to tell me what had happened."

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck and went on, "And...she also told me how, even after what Shiori said to her, she was still considering confessing that morning. I'm...I'm the one that convinced her not to."

"Yonade, why the hell would you do that? If she won the trial, you'd end up being executed like the rest of us!" Akira told him. "Do you have some kind of death wish!?"

"Well if anyone here is expendable it'd be the actual criminal, wouldn't it!?" Hinata snapped, before calming down enough to respond, "Besides...I agreed with what Shiori said. I didn't think Rumi deserved to be killed so...unfairly. Really, _all_ of this was unfair, so I guess it was a matter of 'pick your poison' or whatever."

"Another thing..." Rumi spoke up. "Hinata was the one who gave me the idea to watch my motive video. You know, to give me more reason to graduate beyond Shiori's last request."

"Really? What was in it?" Ryoto asked, tilting his head as he did.

"It...uh..." Rumi began, going pallor as she seemed to be remembering the contents of her video. "I'd...rather not say...I'll say this, though- all those things Monokuma said about how our videos would be? He...really wasn't kidding..."

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Monokuma cheerfully remarked. "I take pride in psychologically damaging my students- and a lot of you make it _very_ easy for me!"

He then glanced at Hana and muttered, "Well, most of you..."

"But then why did you watch your own motive video?" Akira inquired of Hinata. "Was it just so the icon would be dulled out and we'd consider you a suspect for it?"

Hinata shrugged. "You're not wrong, I wanted you all to think I was suspicious, and clicking on the video was a good place to start."

He then added with a small, sly grin, "But here's the thing- I never actually watched my video."

"What? Th-That's impossible, your icon was dull like Rumi's and Hana's!" Asuna pointed out. "That means you watched it!"

"Mm-mm- the icon dulling means the person _clicked_ on the video, and the video ran all the way through at least once- doesn't mean the person actually watched it," Hinata told her. "I clicked on it, then stuffed my e-Handbook in my closet where I wouldn't be able to see or hear it before the video actually got started. I waited a few minutes, and when I went to grab it again after the vid was over, and the icon was dark. I did what I needed to do, and I never watched a second of that video."

"Using that loophole to create evidence against yourself..." Hiroshi observed. "Just like you did throughout this whole case- all this time, you were trying to frame yourself to help Rumi graduate."

"That was the plan- and I think I did pretty decently," Hinata admitted, before sighing. "If I hadn't missed that one little pearl while I was cleaning up the main hall..."

"Actually...what happened to the rest of the bracelet?" Hana asked. "Did that get burned up too?"

Hinata shook his head, then reached into one of his pockets to pull something out. There it was, the broken pieces of the pearl bracelet the thief had given Rumi all that time ago- time that felt like years in that moment. "It was probably a big risk keeping this on me, but...I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. Hell, it was hard enough destroying that jacket Rumi loves so much, I couldn't do the same to the bracelet."

"YOU HAD IT THE WHOLE TIME!?" Ryoto shouted in shock. "Are you keeping some _other_ revelatory things in your pockets!?"

Hinata put the broken bracelet back in his pocket and elaborated, "But there's something you guys need to know- Rumi had nothing to do with me covering everything up, okay? I didn't tell her anything, I just told her I was gonna do something."

"He's right- he didn't tell me much of anything about what he was going to do. So, for a good chunk of the trial, I was just as confused as everyone else," Rumi confirmed, candid in her tone. "Really, the only part I played was giving him my jacket, and even then he asked for it- I didn't know he was gonna _burn_ it."

She then glanced down, grimacing as she went on, "It...wasn't until this trial, when Hinata 'confessed' to killing Shiori that I realized what he was doing. I don't know why I didn't make the connection until then, and before that I was kinda...playing along, you know? I still wanted to fulfill what both Shiori and Hinata wanted me to do, but then...hearing him confess like that, and knowing you guys were about to make the wrong decision, I just..."

She sniffled again, seeming to be on the verge of tears once again. "I know Hinata did so much to try and help me, Shiori too, but I just...I couldn't do it! I couldn't sacrifice all of you guys, everyone that I'd become such good friends with! I'm so sorry to both of them- to you, Hinata, but I...I could never do something so terrible..."

"...I'm not blaming you," Hinata told her reassuringly, despite the pain in his eyes. "I was pretty frustrated during the trial, but I...I know where you're coming from, I really do..."

"Rumi- it's like Shiori told you, what happened wasn't your fault, okay?" Hana reminded her, doing her best the comfort the other student. "Even when you first went to the East Wing, it was because you were worried and wanted to help her, you know? You were just trying to help, you know that!"

Rumi glanced at the surfer and sadly responded, "It doesn't matter whether it was my fault or not- at the end of the day, I...I still killed my friend, and I kept the truth from all of you, so I...need to face the consequences, whether I want to or not. Otherwise, I'd have to let the rest of you die, and...I can't do that to my friends."

"Rumi-!" Hana yelped, her heart sinking as she realized what was going to happen next.

As if on cue, Monokuma declared, "Couldn't have said it better myself! Well except for the part about friends, I don't really need those."

Rubbing his paws together in anticipation, he said, "Now then, the time for chit-chat is over! You guys got your explanations, so now it's time for me to have my...PUNISHMENT TIME! Puhuhuhu- I'm real eager to see what you guys'll think of this one!"

"Enough with the dramatics, bear- we all know how these trials end," Akira stated, no triumph or superiority in her tone.

"..." Hinata clenched his fists with a newfound determination, before he stepped up to face Monokuma. "Monokuma, dude, look- you know this is stupid, Rumi didn't _really_ kill anybody! All that stuff with the tower and the blood and stuff, that was all me! If anything, I was more involved in this than she ever was!"

"Oh my, still trying to gamble for dear Rumi's life, are we?" Monokuma asked Hinata, his tone as sickeningly sweet as his voice. "Well, too bad! Rules are rules, and even I must abide by them!"

"But this- this isn't fair! This as unfair as it gets!" Hinata shouted at him. "Can't you just- make an exception for accidental deaths or something!?"

"Noo, because even accidents are caused by _someone's_ negligence! Honestly, the only death that doesn't constitute as murder around here is illness-related, and I'm pretty sure you're all fit as a new hard drive!" Monokuma explained.

"Hinata, you can't argue this, please..." Rumi pleaded with him. "I don't want this either, but there's...there's nothing we can do!"

"She's right- if there was a way to put a stop to this, we'd do it in a heartbeat," Hiroshi agreed. "But as it stands, we...can't really do _anything."_

 _'A way to put a stop to this'...those messages on my handbook keep telling me there's a way to end this whole killing game, to stop more people from dying..._ Hana reminded herself with growing frustration. _Why...Why couldn't I have found it when I had the chance? If I had searched more, searched harder, I could have found something! I could have found something before any of this happened! I...could have...couldn't I have...?_

"I don't care, I'm not letting this happen!" Hinata insisted. "I don't give a damn about your rules, you are NOT killing her like you killed everyone else!"

Now, Monokuma was starting to look annoyed. "Look, Grape-Hair- it was all fine when you were messing around with the crime and the trial, made things super spicy and all that. But now you're starting to inconvenience _me-_ and I _hate_ being inconvenienced."

He looked Hinata dead in the eyes and went on, "Let me remind you- you are the _accomplice,_ she is the _blackened._ Did you forget which one gets the axe? I don't think so- so quit trying to interfere, or I'm gonna make sure _both_ of you are sleeping with the fishes!"

"H-Hinata! I hate him too, but I hate DYING even more!" Ryoto implored him, growing pale at the threat. "So QUIT BEING AN IDIOT!"

"Please, stop it! I-I don't want anyone else to die today!" Asuna cried out.

"Yonade, you can't fight this- these executions are terrible, but they are what they are!" Akira told him. "Don't be a fool! We were all lucky to make it through this trial with your interference, why would you throw away your survival over a murderer!?"

"SHE IS NOT A MURDERER!" Hinata shouted at the prosecutor. "She's one of the best people here, she always has been! And she's way too good of a person for a killing game like this!"

"Hinata...?" Hana began, confused as to where he was going with his words.

"You know how I know? Because she looked at me, she talked to me, she smiled at me, and when she did...she never saw me as a burglar in the night, or just the Ultimate Thief..." the Ultimate went on, the words pouring out now. "She just...she saw _me,_ she didn't focus on all the bad stuff, she never...she..."

* * *

 _Hinata was sitting on the stairs leading to the second floor of the South Wing- though he was the only one in the spacious central hall, he preferred the quiet to the clamor in the dining room- especially after what had happened mere minutes ago. Now, he just wanted to forget, and tried to focus on the quiet of the large room._

 _In fact, he was so focused that he didn't even realize someone was walking over to him from the hall leading to the dining room._

 _"Uh- hey."_

 _At that, Hinata awoke from his stupor and turned to the source of the voice- Rumi Hamaski, standing at the base of the stairs a few feet in front of him._

 _The thief raised an eyebrow. "Followed me out here, did ya?"_

 _"Well, yeah," Rumi responded simply. "I saw what happened between you and Itachi- I mean, we_ all _did, but I thought maybe..."_

 _"What, gonna accuse me too?" Hinata sharply asked her. "Well, I'm used to it."_

 _"No, I wasn't gonna accuse you!" Rumi insisted, putting her hands up innocently. "Kinda the opposite, actually."_

 _The Ultimate Thief, however, rolled his eyes and stood up, turning so he could ascend the stairs..._

 _"For what it's worth!" Rumi quickly called up to him. "I-I don't think you stole his knife!"_

 _"Ah, stop," Hinata dryly responded, shaking his head as he took another step upwards._

 _"And! I think it was pretty unfair that Itachi and the others accused you just because of your talent!" Rumi then added, taking a step up the stairs herself. "...And the other times you took stuff, but mostly your talent!"_

 _"..." Hinata glanced over his shoulder. "Really?"_

 _"Of course! You seemed so genuine with your responses, and you're really not one to drag out a joke so long..." Rumi agreed with a nod._

 _Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Huh- that's a first, not a lot of people take_ my _side in things."_

 _Shrugging, he added, "Not that I blame 'em, really. And I don't blame Itachi for being suspicious of me either, no matter how mad I got in the dining room- the joys of being the country's best thief, my reputation tends to precede me."_

 _"Well...I don't think that's fair, either," Rumi responded, sympathetic. "Yeah, our talents are big parts of who we are, but I don't think they_ define _us, per se. And I don't think yours defines you, either."_

 _She went on, "Like...aside from the stealing, you're pretty laidback and calm a lot of the time, those are some pretty good qualities!"_

 _Now, Hinata was fully turned back around, looking down at his classmate from his higher point on the stairs. "Heh- first not thinking I'm guilty right off the bat, now you're actually complimenting me? You're giving me a lotta firsts here, Miss Ultimate Scuba Diver."_

* * *

"She's...one of the first people I've met who was actually willing to look past me being a thief, to actually want to get to know me! And- And she liked being around me, and I like being around her!" Hinata cried. "Not a lot of people have that kinda faith, you know!? Faith that I'm better than what most people think of me! That's why I don't want anything to happen to her!"

"Hinata...!" Rumi gasped, one hand going up to her mouth.

"So please... _please..."_ Hinata pleaded with Monokuma- and as he did, the thief himself started shedding tears of his own, to the surprise of those who saw. "I'm begging you! I'll do anything, just please don't kill her!"

To this, Monokuma laughed cruelly. "Wow, seeing _you_ begging like this is a real treat! Honestly, I almost don't want this to end- too bad that's how the world rolls."

"...Hinata. Hinata, listen to me," Rumi began, running over to the young man and grasping his arms. "I...thank you, Hinata, for at least trying to help me. I...don't like that you and everyone else could have died from it, but I...I know you meant well too, at least for me. And it doesn't change how I feel about you, i-if anything it sort of proves me right! You were willing to take the fall for my killing to save me, even though you knew what would happen!"

Shaking her head, she went on, "But... _you_ don't deserve to die in here, either. You are _not_ worthless or expendable or anything like that- you really are wonderful, Hinata, no matter what. And that's...that's why I want you to escape with everyone."

"But...But- are you saying you're okay with this? With _dying?"_ Hinata asked her, trembling as he tried to fight back any more tears.

"Of course I'm scared of being executed, but really...i-it'll be okay," Rumi reassured him, though her voice was still somewhat shaky. "If...If it means you and everyone else can still have a chance at escaping and ending this game, then...I'll be okay."

Turning away from him to the others, she spoke up, "Uh...I've actually got a little request of my own. I don't know how easy it'll be, but...hear me out, okay?"

"Y-Yeah, sure- what is it?" Hana answered with a nod.

"Can you guys...try to forgive Shiori for what she did?" Rumi requested. "I know, a lot of what happened was instigated by her, I'll admit it. But, she- I don't think she really wanted to go through with it, she just- she just didn't know what else to do, you know?"

Smiling a little, she went on, "And...she told me the reason she saved me was because she wanted me to survive the trial, but in the end she was right- I could see right through her, even when she was...she was dying. I know that wasn't the full reason, even if it was kinda true."

"Well, what _was_ the real reason?" Ryoto then asked. "She didn't tell you what it was, how did-"

"It's the same reason she did all those other nicer things in the past. The reason she stood up for Asuna, the reason she took care of Hana, the reason she agreed to spend time with me and the others- because, deep down, she really did care, even if she never wanted to admit it," Rumi explained. "I mean, look what happened last night! She was a great surgeon, she could have used that all time to try and save herself and salvage her plan...but she didn't. She chose to save _me_ instead, so _I_ could escape the killing game. It wasn't perfect, but...she died trying to make things right, as best as she possibly could."

Glancing at the other students, she concluded, "At least...try to forgive her, even if it's only little bit, okay? If nothing, if she hadn't saved me, I would have died too, a-and I never would have gotten to properly say goodbye to all of you!"

Hana lingered on Rumi's last request- and in the surfer's mind, it wasn't too hard to come to a decision. _Shiori...she always was kind of cold and standoffish to everyone, but...thinking back on all the things she did for us, I know Rumi's right. Despite how she grew up, how she acted around everyone, even what she tried to do to Rumi- I_ know _Shiori wasn't a bad person at heart._

"...I don't know about everyone else, but..." Hana spoke up, trying not to sound too choked up. "But- I'll at least make good on what you're asking, Rumi."

Rumi smiled, though her eyes were still tear-filled too. "Thanks, Hana- but I kinda expected that from you. You've...You've always been pretty understanding and compassionate, way more than me sometimes."

The scuba diver then walked over to Hana and directly told her, "Just...keep being that compassionate person I became friends with, okay? Having someone like you around makes this whole killing game thing a lot more bearable- everyone's gonna need that, I'm sure."

She glanced at Asuna, who was standing solemnly silent nearby and added, "Asuna, Hana- both of you, remember to stick together, okay? You're all that's gonna be left of our little 'library group', after all. As long as you two are still kicking it together...it makes me feel a little better about...you know."

Remembering that visit to the library all that time ago- and since it was in the first days of the killing game, it truly did feel like such a long time- only caused Hana's grief to grow further. _She's...accepted what's about to happen...? She's not even a little upset at me?_ I'm _the reason Hinata's plan fell apart, the reason she got found out, the reason she's about to_ die, _how can she...how can she not...?_

Asuna herself looked like she didn't know what to say- but it didn't take long for her own eyes to start filling with tears, although she was trying her absolute hardest to stand straight and resolute and keep a semblance of composure.

"...We, uh- we done here? Sorry to interrupt the heart-to-heart, but now I'm getting bored again!" Monokuma called out to the others. "So, let's finish off this trial with a BANG! Or, considering our blackened, should I say- a _splash?"_

Rumi took a long, deep breath before responding. "Okay...okay. Yeah, I'm...I'm ready."

"W-Wait, Rumi, I-!" Hinata yelped. "I need to- I mean, I haven't even told you-!"

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Rumi Hamasaki, the Ultimate Scuba Diver!" Monokuma eagerly declared, his eyes practically gleaming with cruelty.

Rumi took another deep breath, then looked at the others one last time. Though there were still tears in her eyes, she had a smile on her face all the same. "...Goodbye, everyone. Maybe, in another time...things could have been better."

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma excitedly shouted. "It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

He whipped out his miniature gavel from the same ambiguous location while, at the same time, the red execution button ascended from the floor. His red eye gleamed with anticipation, and with a flourish he slammed the mallet right onto the button's surface with another audible 'click'. The screen on the cube base lit up with the same scene as all the other executions, only this time it was a pixel sprite of Rumi being dragged away by Monokuma accompanied by text.

 _ **GAME**_ ** _OVER_**

 _ **Rumi has been found guilty.**_

 _ **Time for the punishment!**_

* * *

The scene showed a sky full of dark, practically black storm clouds, shooting out lightning bolts all over the area. The camera panned down to show a vast ocean churning with waves, and bouncing in those waves was a boat- specifically, a cabin cruiser. Inside the boat, or rather the cockpit, was Rumi herself- she had been thrown into a full set of scuba diving gear (wetsuit, goggles, flippers, air tank, etc.), and was seated in a leather chair in front of the controls. Well, 'seated' in that she was tied to the chair- completely restrained of making any movements, save for moving her head around.

 _ **Execution: Rampage of the Monylla**_

Without warning, the boat sped forwards, cutting through the waves and jostling its restrained passenger about. It didn't take long before a rocky island came into view- and then, consequently, the cruiser ran aground on the stones. Just like that, the boat became as trapped as Rumi, all the while the storm continuing to rage outside the cabin.

In perfect timing with a crash of thunder, the cliff face adjacent to the boat seemingly exploded, sending debris flying into the water below. Then, out of the cave that had been revealed, a giant monster emerged; its dragon-like body was black and white like Monokuma's, as were its six reptilian heads- each one with a white half and a black half, the latter with Monokuma's signature red eye as well. The six heads glared down at the immobilized ship; Rumi stared up at the monster- though her face was obscured by the equipment, her eyes were still visible through her goggles, and they were filled with fear.

With a quick _snap,_ one of the two middle heads lunged down and lifted the defenseless boat upwards in its jaws. As it started to thrash the boat around like it was a toy, the other heads started snapping at it themselves- soon, all six heads seemed to be fighting over the cruiser, while Rumi would have been tossed about if the chair she was tied to hadn't been attached to the floor. Then, all six heads were biting down onto the boat at the same time, each pulling the vessel away from the others.

Inevitably, the cruiser was split apart; metal and wood was sent flying back into the ocean, and Rumi was thrown into the water with them. Fortunately, she was no longer stuck to the chair, but she was instantly thrown underwater by the heavy waves; beneath her was a large coral reef, where numerous kinds of sea life were swimming about, seemingly oblivious to the storm, the sea monster, and the scuba diver. While Rumi could only drift in the water for a moment, evidently dazed from being tossed out of the boat, things were about to shift again.

A massive vortex of water was making its way towards the Ultimate- while the sea creatures noticed the swirling mass and swam away, Rumi was not so lucky. Too late she came to senses, and thus she was sucked into the rapidly spinning current brought upon by the vortex. Around and around, the whirlpool spun with violent speed- not only did it tear apart the reef sitting at the sandy floor, but Rumi herself was completely unable to free herself no matter how hard she fought against the current. The vortex was so fast, in fact, that parts of her equipment were torn off and tossed into the depths- her air tank, her mask, and one of her flippers. After what seemed like an eternity, the whirlpool seemed to either die out or vanish, the water calmed down yet again; Rumi was left spinning but ultimately stopping, and her hands were up and covering her mouth and nose to prevent water from going into her lungs (or to stop herself from vomiting- she did look as nauseated as she did terrified).

Then, she took notice of something else returning- the dozens upon dozens of sea animals that lived in the now ruined reef, from sharks to sea turtles to flounders and things in between. With their home destroyed, the animals were now surrounding the helpless scuba diver- and they did _not_ look happy. In a split second, they all opened their mouths to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth- even the creatures that shouldn't have had teeth like that. Rumi didn't even have time to react as all the sea creatures seemed to converge on her at once, the water becoming filled with bubbles as the creatures thrashed about and Rumi (presumably) tried to swim away- which would prove to be futile.

In a few seconds, the dark blue water became marred with crimson as the animals tore into the defenseless teen, pieces of her wetsuit floating away from the terrible carnage. This mauling, which was more or less obscured by the mass of animals and the bubbles, lasted for a few horrible seconds; then the animals, seemingly satisfied after taking their anger out on Rumi, quickly dispersed and swam away to parts unknown. This allowed for a better view of Rumi's brutally mutilated corpse drifting in the stained water, her disheveled hair covering her face while the cloud of blood only slightly obscuring the rest of the gruesome details from those watching. Bite marks and gashes were scattered about her body, pieces of her wetsuit were ripped and hanging off, and whole chunks of flesh had been torn away. The mauling was so merciless that one of Rumi's forearms had been ripped clean off of her, the dismembered limb floating a few feet away.

That didn't last, either; in one second, the sea monster from before swam past and snapped up the arm in one of its middle jaws, gulping it down in one movement. It then kept moving, and could be seen swimming away to parts unknown like all the other sea animals, leaving the rest of Rumi Hamasaki's dead body to float lifelessly in the blood-colored depths.

* * *

The monitor went dark as the execution came to a close, leaving the rest of the class in horrified silence. It was over- Rumi's death was over. The trial was over, all of it was over, and the 80th Class was free to go out and live another day.

Hana, however, knew better- this was no victory. These trials never were, but this time...this time, the loss was especially hard-hitting, and it was punctuated by that horrible execution. The surfer had once believed Tadao's death would be as bad as the executions got- clearly, she had expected too little of Monokuma and the mastermind. What had been an awful yet tolerable feeling of sickness after the execution of the Ultimate Waiter was back full force- Hana had to try extremely hard to not throw up right then and there, not helped by the fact that her legs were shaking and ready to give out at any moment.

Hana's mind was blank, yet she knew how she felt- and she wanted nothing more than to scream in fury and grief. However, someone else did that for her...

 _"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

Hinata let out his own scream, one of pure sorrow and rage, and it was more enough to bring Hana back to reality somewhat. She slowly looked around at the others- Ryoto was staring, absolutely shell-shocked; Asuna had given up all attempts to remain calm and was crying her eyes out near her podium; Hiroshi's stoic demeanor had been frayed yet again, as he stared down at the floor with his fists clenched and his eyes shut tightly; Akira had a look of disturbance in her, although it was unlikely out of any sympathy towards Rumi but rather the reaction any sane person would have after witnessing something so brutal.

Of course, the only one who seemed to be in high spirits was Monokuma.

"Like I said- sending the blackened out, not with a bang, but a SPLASH! Ahahaha!" Monokuma called out in an attempt an humor. "...No one? Not gonna say anything, just gonna keep shrieking and crying? And...being silent?"

Hearing Monokuma's childlike voice caught Hinata's attention right off the bat- the Ultimate Thief snapped his head towards the robotic bear before an unstoppable fury filled his eyes and face.

"You-! You BASTARD!" Hinata roared. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

With a ferocious war cry, Hinata charged right at Monokuma and his throne. Ryoto was the first to snap to attention and sprint to intercept him- Hana, breaking out of her own stupor, was quick to join him. Soon, the two athletic Ultimates nearly tackled the Ultimate Thief to the ground as they struggled to restrain him- each of them were grasping one of his arms, but Hana was unsure if they'd be able to keep him trapped.

"Hinata, don't try it!" Hiroshi called out to him. "Remember what Rumi told you!"

"No no, let 'im at me! I wanna see what he actually tries to do!" Monokuma urged with a wicked chuckle. "It'll be fun to execute someone for something other than murder!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Hinata roared at him, still viciously struggling against Hana and Ryoto. "I'll kill you! Not just you, but whoever's controlling you! Whoever set this up this damn killing game! I don't care who you are, _I'll kill you with my bare hands!"_

"Yeesh! Okay then, I'll just come back when you've taken a chill pill or ten, it's no fun when you're being all serious and stuff..." Monokuma responded, deflated. "Besides, I've got some cleaning up to do, sleep to catch up on, just normal headmaster stuff! So until we meet again- _adios!"_

With that, Monokuma hopped out of his throne and ran behind it, disappearing when he did.

Even though the bear had disappeared, Hinata was still attempting to thrash around, still boiling over with grief and rage. Soon enough, however, the thief's struggling slowed more and more; in the end, the student just...stopped, sinking to the ground onto his hands and knees with his head lowered. At this point, Hana and Ryoto released him- it was clear he was in no more danger of breaking Monokuma's rule regarding violence against him. Still, looking down at him, Hana felt a strong ping of sadness- he just looked so...deflated, a stark contrast from his usual unconcerned demeanor.

"..." For a second, it seemed Ryoto was going to say something- however, he went silent again, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped away from Hinata.

Akira sighed and spoke up, "Yonade, let it go already- for one thing, Hamasaki's gone and there's no reversing that."

Hiroshi frowned and replied, "Akira, not now- it's not that simple, really. Everyone's in a lot of pain over what happened, so-"

"For what? Yonade was willing to get all of us killed for his little 'sacrifice', Sauchi instigated all of this, and Hamasaki was the killer- accidental or not, as she still chose to hide the truth," Akira retorted. "All of them are guilty in some way of putting our lives at risk, have you already forgotten that?"

"Akira...do _not_ talk about them like that," Hana growled at the prosecutor- she had no idea where she obtained the courage to talk to Akira in such a tone, but she didn't focus on it.

"I'm not even going to listen to your opinion on this, you've always been too forgiving for your own good," Akira angrily replied, turning back to Hiroshi. "Look, perhaps Hamasaki meant the least amount of harm, as her crime was accidental. Yonade, on the other hand- he proved _quite_ well how he was willing to kill himself and _all of us_ to allow her to escape. And making a fool out of us, trying to get us to vote him as the blackened..."

"..." Hinata said nothing, still on the floor.

"No one's saying it was the right thing to do- he was misguided, we can all agree on that," Hiroshi conceded, narrowing his gaze. "But just- look at him! He's clearly remorseful, clearly in grief- what do you want him to do?"

"For one thing, I'd hope he learns his lesson from this," Akira growled at the coroner. "Honestly, I'll never understand his thought process- and I _especially_ can't understand why he'd try to fulfill the last request of a would-be killer."

"..." Hana didn't know what was going on now, but she felt a white-hot rage building up inside her as she listened to Akira.

"D-Don't talk about Shiori like that!" Asuna spoke up, wiping away her tears. "Yeah, she was going to kill Rumi, but- but like Rumi said, she tried to fix things as best she could! I-In the end, she...she-!"

"It doesn't change how she essentially caused this entire incident to begin with! After three trials, she _still_ had the audacity to try and graduate, should that really be forgiven so easily!? No, it shouldn't- I don't give a damn about what Hamasaki said at the end, it doesn't undo Sauchi's actions!" Akira forcefully insisted. "She was as much to blame for this as the killer herself, and Hamasaki was a fool to trust her like she did!"

Upon hearing that...well, Hana didn't quite know what happened. That festering rage from before now grew into something worse, like a deep primordial feeling hidden in the back of her brain.

Whatever it was, it caused the Ultimate Surfer to act without a single thought, more than she usually did; in one swift movement, Hana nearly closed the distance between her and Akira. Her hand flew upwards and sharply connected with the side of the Ultimate Prosecutor's face with a resounding _THWAP!_ The force of the slap was not only strong enough to make Akira stumble a little, but it also knocked the prosecutor's glasses right off her face, which then clattered onto the floor moments later.

For a moment, the room had grown silent again, so quiet one would have been able to hear a pin drop in the outer hallway. Akira slowly looked up again in bewilderment, her hand going up to the spot where Hana had hit her- a red mark was already becoming visible in that selfsame area.

"Don't you DARE keep talking about them like that, do you hear me!? Every time you just make the people who just died out to be some villains- I don't care what your beliefs are about criminals or whatever, NEITHER of them were bad people!" Hana snapped at her, furious tears streaming down her face. "You didn't a single thing about them! You didn't care about them, you never took the time to _know_ them! I did, and THEY WERE MY _FRIENDS!"_

The surfer was practically screaming at this point, but the frustration she had been holding back had taken control. "NOBODY asked to be a part of this killing game, _including_ Shiori and Rumi! AND _I_ DIDN'T ASK TO HAVE TO KEEP WATCHING MY FRIENDS DIE OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

Her throat now thoroughly sore from the yelling, Hana went quiet again- however, her ragged breathing and stifled sobs were more than enough to prevent another true silence. Even Akira had no rebuttal- for once, she appeared to be genuinely speechless.

"...Here's the thing, Akira," Hiroshi spoke up, but his tone was devoid of its usual friendliness or neutrality. "Nobody made a fool out of anybody- you're the one that 'lost' here. This incident wasn't some cold-blooded plot or a crime of passion- it was a tragedy. A terrible, terrible tragedy between friends who tried to sacrifice themselves for someone they cared about."

Narrowing his grey eyes, he continued, "But you never thought of it like that- because of your focus on pure logic, because you didn't have an _ounce_ of empathy for anyone, you couldn't comprehend that maybe, _maybe_ your classmates were capable of acting beyond a selfish desire to escape!"

Finally, in a voice that was the closest Hiroshi had ever come to truly snapping at someone, the coroner concluded, _"That_ is why you couldn't figure out this case!"

Hiroshi didn't even wait to see if his words garnered a reaction- which they didn't, Akira was still staring in dead silence- as he, alongside Ryoto and Asuna, briskly left the courtroom without another word. Akira, still seeming to contemplate what had just happened, retrieved her glasses and followed suit- keeping her eyes ahead the whole time. Hana took a moment to wipe her eyes- though the tears were still there. She began to make her way towards the red doors leading to the hallway as well- before she realized Hinata was still on the ground, on his knees staring downwards.

Hana sighed, knowing the thief couldn't just be left in the trial grounds like that, lest Monokuma punish him for straying. She walked over to him, preparing to say something...only to see he wasn't just staring at the floor anymore. He was solemnly looking down at his hands, which were now holding the remains of Rumi's pearl bracelet- the last remnant of the scuba diver, aside from memories.

"..." Seeing this, Hana walked over and awkwardly cleared her throat to get Hinata's attention.

The thief glanced up at her, saying nothing- and that's when Hana held out something to him. It was that pearl she had first found in the East Wing's main hall, the one piece of the bracelet Hinata had missed during his cover-up. Upon seeing it, Hinata stood up, staring at Hana- the surfer, in response, held out her hand a little more- a clear signal for the other Ultimate to take it. Sure enough, the thief reached out a free hand, glancing up to look Hana in the eyes...before something subtly shifted in his expression, as if he just came to understand something.

Hinata looked down again and gently pushed Hana's hand away- he even went as far as to close Hana's fingers around the pearl, making his own signal loud and clear. With that, he pocketed the ruined bracelet and trudged out of the room, his shoulders slouched.

"..." Hana opened her hand back up and stared at the pearl, still sitting in her palm. She then closed her hand once more into a fist, holding the pearl tightly- she supposed it wouldn't hurt to have some keepsake of her own. And yet, as she exited the trial grounds to join the others in the elevator, the tiny pearl felt as heavy as a boulder in her grasp.

* * *

The first thing Hana did upon reentering her bedroom was place the pearl under her pillow, leaving it to sit on the sheets next to the photo of her and her parents. She put the pillow back in its normal spot, then sat down on her bed- her shaking hands grasping her knees and her eyes directed at the floor. She thought about a lot of things, including her blowup at Akira after the execution- however, she found she didn't quite regret it.

When sitting became too unbearable, the surfer took to furiously pacing the length of the room- she needed _something_ to take her mind off the recent trial. Just when it seemed she was starting to find some semblance of calmness, an all-too familiar noise caught her attention.

 _Bleep...bleep...bleep..._

The irritating beeping emanating from her e-Handbook cut through the bedroom's tense quiet. Gritting her teeth, Hana grabbed the device- just like before, the blue screen flashed a deep green in tune with the beeping. How was it that this thing had such impeccably bad timing?

 _You...You're not gonna tell me anything...! You're just gonna tell me something confusing and weird, but it's not gonna help me end the killing game!_ Hana told herself, staring down with increasing wrath at the e-Handbook. _I don't care what this thing tells me, it's useless! It's absolutely USELESS!_

With an enraged shout, Hana hurled the still beeping handbook across the room; it flew through the open door leading to the bathroom, hitting the bathroom wall with a loud _CRACK_ and then falling to the tiled floor. Despite the force, it wouldn't be enough to damage the high-tech gadget, but Hana wasn't thinking about that. The frustration all but exploded out of her- as a result, the Ultimate let out a cry of grief and ran towards one of the bedroom walls before proceeded to mercilessly beat her fists against it- better to take her anger out on something she wouldn't be able to actually break.

 _Why why WHY did it have to be them!? Why Shiori, why Rumi, why ANYONE!? They didn't deserve this! NOBODY deserves this! WHAT DID ANY OF US DO TO DESERVE THIS!?_ Hana thought to herself- she was still just screaming out loud out of catharsis, but it also helped to stop her from shouting her thoughts out loud to an empty room. _Why can't we find some way to end this!? Why won't any of this end!? WHY CAN'T THIS STUPID GAME END ALREADY!?_

Finally exhausted from shouting and beating on the wall, Hana just devolved into sobbing once more as she sunk to the floor on her knees, her forehead now pressed against the cold surface. She thought back to the vow she made following Saku and Shiro's trial- her promise to nobody, a desire to take the chance to end the killing game and save everyone who was still alive- should that chance ever come. Despite everything that had happened since then, her desire to see that promise through only felt strengthened, but not in a particularly positive way.

 _I just want to end this...I want this to be over..._ Hana thought to herself in between her sobs. _I don't care what it takes, what it costs me, I don't even care if I die trying- I'll do whatever it takes to end this game, I don't...I don't want to see anyone else die..._

After a few minutes, the Ultimate was quiet again- her hands were sore and her eyes were stinging, but all was silent in the bedroom yet again. She then glanced towards the bathroom, where she had thrown her e-Handbook. The beeping had stopped- had a message appeared? That was usually what happened. Hana sighed- though she doubted whatever appeared on the screen would truly help her, she couldn't leave the handbook in the bathroom forever. Thus, she rose to her feet and made her way into the bathroom.

The e-Handbook was still lying on the floor, but now the screen had gone black and text was displayed- the message had arrived, whether the recipient wanted it or not. Frowning and rubbing any remaining moisture out of her reddened eyes, Hana kneeled down and picked up the device, scanning the text that had appeared...

 _ **Hello again, Hana- so...the fourth message that's been embedding into this handbook. I'll be honest, I'm not sure if you'll get this far. I'd like to think the last three messages have been more than enough to help you realize some...things. On the other hand, by this point a lot of time should have passed since the start of the killing game- I don't know if you guys have been able to avoid a murder and trial still. Hell, I don't know if you're even still alive- these messages will send as long as the e-Handbook isn't broken or something, so for all I know you got killed and nobody's seeing these. Still, considering the stakes, I'll take my chances.**_

 _ **Okay- now, if you're still seeing these messages, whatever's happened, it's clear the killing game is still going on. Which means I'll need to bring out something a little...extra, to help you out. These two things that come with this message, well...honestly, I don't even know if I should be showing them to you, they're not exactly...like the other files. I know you'll be freaked out, and I don't know if your mental state is fragile or what, but...just know, this is for the greater good. And also know this- these things that you're going to see are, unfortunately, completely and 100% real. They're awful, but...the truth can be like that sometimes, you know?**_

 _ **Look, just- whatever you see, don't lose faith, okay? With any luck, this will be the ACTUAL kick you need to realize how to put a stop to the killing game. So, think on this, and don't forget what you need to do: remember everything.**_

 _ **Remember the class.**_

 _ **Remember your own role.**_

As the message implied, two files were attached. Hana had no idea which to open first, but it didn't help that she had no hope that the contents of either would give her some amazing revelation about the nature of the killing game. After all, the last two things the mysterious messenger had sent her had been odd photos of her and her classmates attending Hope's Peak- and yes, those were suspicious, but they hadn't provided a clue to ending the game, who the mastermind was, what their motivation was, etc.

Even so, perhaps the contents would provide her... _something,_ as the last two had. Thus, she tapped on the file on top, simply because it was the one on top- there was only one thing in the file, an image. But upon seeing that image...Hana froze instantly.

It was that insignia again- the one from the sunroom and the banners hidden behind the east lounge's cabinet. Displayed on a jet black background, that same hand symbol draw with a red outline, and in the 'palm' was that altered version of Monokuma's red eye.

Immediately, Hana had an almost visceral reaction to seeing it; the first thing was a headache that pierced her skull, causing her to grit her teeth and nearly drop the e-Handbook out of surprise. As quickly as it had arrived, however, the headache went away- and the surfer was immersed in that sense of eerie calmness from the last time she had seen the symbol. At that moment, though Hana's instinct told her what she was looking at was anything but good, the girl felt more at ease than she had the entire day.

 _What's...going on...? Why do I feel...like this thing is...important to me...? It's...just a weird symbol, I've never...seen it...before, right...?_ Hana tried to ask herself through the fogginess that was quickly overtaking her. However, her thoughts took another turn as she told herself. _No...No, I_ do _know this, I have seen this before, it's...it's something good, I don't need to be worried about it. This symbol, it's...it's from..._

Before the Ultimate could realize it, something was resurfacing in her mind- a word, a name. _D_.. _.Da...rk...H...an...d..._

A second afterwards, Hana furiously shook her hand and lightly smacked the side of her head several time to bring herself back to her senses. As usual, she had no idea what had just happened, where those feelings of creepy composure came from, she could barely even remember the name she had just thought of. Hana wasted no time exiting out of the file- the less she had to see that freaky symbol, the better.

With a little sigh, Hana looked down at the screen again...only to remember, with slight annoyance and apprehension, that there was a second file for her to open. Bracing herself for some other odd yet revealing piece of information, she clicked on the other file.

What popped up was much different from the image of the hand symbol as well as the photos from the previous messages. This one appeared to be a news article of some kind, or at least part of one- nothing strange about that. At least, that's what Hana believed...until she saw the pictures. The photos depicted scenes of what only be described as total destruction and chaos; entire city streets demolished, flames licking buildings and residential areas, people running for their lives from some unseen threat, etc. Upon seeing these images, Hana became quickly aware of the nightmares she had experienced in the recent past- scenes of destruction, flames, and murder. No, surely there couldn't be a connection- this was merely a coincidence...right?

Fueled by a desire for answers, Hana read the actual words on the text...but there was very little that could have prepared her for what she read.

 **Today marks yet another day in what has become weeks of increasingly violent riots and attacks that have been spreading throughout the country. The crime rates have risen to astronomical levels, with the death toll becoming uncountable by this point. Reports also show an increase in the level of overall destruction caused by these incidents, which sources have been likening to terrorist attacks. However, the scale of these incidents indicates this is much more than a series of terrorist movements; the chaos is not just exclusive to Japan, but has grown widespread across the globe. There have been reports of similar, horrible events taking place in nations such as the United States, Russia, Brazil, etc.**

 **What once started as demonstrations to protest talent and other social issues, stemming from the destruction at Hope's Peak Academy which led to the school closing its doors indefinitely, has grown into something much larger- an apocalypse, and no end appears to be in sight. As this is being written, there is no doubt more destruction is being spread in other parts of the world, whether in large nations or the smallest village.**

 **Thus, reporters all over the world have taken to calling this movement of anarchy and death "the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history".**

The more she read, the more horrified Hana became. A lot of things not only freaked her out, but also confused her. The images, the description of the world being reduced to chaos, the idea of people just going about causing destruction and death...since when had that happened? She thought back to the day she was supposed to enter the Academy- no cities or towns had been burning or destroyed that day, nor had there been mention of any riots or terrorist attacks on the news.

And speaking of the Academy...that was the part that sent the strongest chill down her spine. 'The destruction at Hope's Peak Academy which led to the school closing its doors indefinitely'- it was one line, one part of a sentence, but it contained so much confusion to be dumped onto Hana. Hope's Peak couldn't have closed- Hana distinctly remembered speaking to the school's talent scout about attending, then receiving the invitation that made it official days after. She even had photographic proof right under her pillow of the Academy still functioning on what was supposed to be her first day! Besides- if something massive happened at a prestigious school like Hope's Peak, wouldn't it have been all over the news?

 _This...isn't real...this_ can't _be real, none of this can be real!_ Hana desperately thought to herself, aware of the sound of her anxious heartbeat. _Maybe...the person sending the messages...made a mistake...?_

Even Hana couldn't believe her own excuses, and it wasn't just because of the messenger's claim that the contents of the files were '100% real'. As much as she wanted to believe this was all fake, and she had reason to believe so, something in her head told her otherwise. She didn't know if it was the memory of those oddly vivid nightmares or the experience with the hand symbol, but there was _something_ nagging in the back of her mind that told her this article was anything but a complete fabrication. Still, it all seemed too surreal- the closure of Hope's Peak? The world being reduced to anarchy? And that symbol...that symbol that, no matter how hard Hana tried, she just couldn't force out of her mind.

Needless to say- after everything that had happened and with this new information weighing down on her, Hana wouldn't get much sleep that night.

 **Chapter 4: Halls of Regret- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 6**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

 **A/N: And so, Chapter 4 draws to a close- with some more death! What else is new, honestly. But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed writing this part- the part where Akira does the Closing Argument instead of Hana, the part where karma comes to smack Akira in the face (literally), and the execution- okay, lemme talk about the execution real fast.**

 **So for anyone who's not up to date with their Greek mythology, Rumi's execution was referencing _The Odyssey-_ y'know, the one by Homer that takes place after the Trojan War (if I remember correctly)? Anyways, the execution was based on the part with the sea monster Scylla and the whirlpool beast Charybdis- although in the story, Odysseus and his crew have to go between the two of them, the whirlpool doesn't just come outta nowhere like it did in the execution, but the inspiration is still there. **

**Also, another piece of trivia- originally, Rumi died in a pretty different (but equally graphic) way. Like, the execution started out the exact same, but after the part where Rumi gets tossed into the ocean, the monster was going to be the one to _make_ the whirlpool by swimming around in a circle really fast. Rumi would have gotten caught in it, and eventually the centripetal forces of the swirling water would have become so strong that her limbs would be ripped off (and _then_ the monster eats her forearm). I changed it to her being ripped apart by sea animals, however, because it would have added an extra layer of irony most executions are so good at- Rumi loves the ocean, and she loves the animals that live there, so why not have her be killed by the very creatures she's spent her time as a scuba diver learning about and connecting with? (And _then_ the ****monster eats her forearm)**

 **But yeah- I'm gonna miss writing Shiori and Rumi, they were both pretty fun to write, especially Shiori with her sarcasm. It had to be done, though- this chapter's case changed quite a bit throughout the initial months of planning, but the things that never changed were: Shiori was gonna be the victim, Rumi was gonna be the killer, and Shiori was gonna try to kill Rumi for some reason but then be killed by her by accident. Even the Hinata stuff wasn't there at first, mainly because I made Shiori and Rumi's characters before I came up with Hinata.**

 **Anyways, with all that trivia out of the way- what's next? Well obviously Chapter 5, right? You're not wrong, but...before we get to that, FF's next installment is gonna be a little bit different. What do I mean by that? Hehe- you'll just have to wait and see, just wait and see- it's gonna be interesting, at least I think it will be. But until then, I'm interested to see what you guys think of this conclusion to such a complex case (though a lot of you guys had a good chunk of it figured out beforehand, and good on y'all for that) and the stuff that came after. Speculate, criticize, whatever you do, I'm just excited to see what people say! And until next time- goodbye!**


	41. Chapter ? ? ?: Fragment of Hope

**A/N: Oh? What's this? Another oddly named chapter to act as an intermission between Chapters 4 and 5? You bet your butts it is, and this one's gonna be pretty different from the last 'mystery chapter'- not just because it's longer, but because the events depicted here are...well, I'll just let you guys see for yourself.**

 **(Also I have no idea why I took so long to get this part out it wasn't even that long compared the last few parts what is wrong with me-)**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Thank you, I take pride in my ability to horrify people. And Hinata- well, that's gonna have to wait until the next installment. As will any questions you have regarding 'Dark Hand', that too will come later (of course)- for now we've got stuff that will likely lead to _more_ questions! Yay!**

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 **Chapter ? ? ?: Fragment of Hope**

It was a beautiful day outside; there was hardly a cloud in the sky to cover the sun hanging directly overhead, the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, and a gentle breeze occasionally swept across the grounds of the campus. Not that the person crossing the expansive courtyard paid any mind to that- they passed through the doors of the South Quarter building, entering into the peaceful courtyard and scanning the large area, as there was someone in particular they were searching for.

So, there the student went, strolling across the stone path with purpose, darting their gaze around for any sign of life. Yes, other students were mulling about, but they weren't who the person was looking for. It took a bit of walking, but finally the student saw the classmate they were looking for- they were sitting by themselves on one of the numerous fountains dotting the campus' exterior, reading over something in a notebook.

Immediately upon seeing their classmate, the student broke into a run and called out, "Hanaaaaa!"

The Ultimate in question- Hana Amari- nearly fell off her seat on the fountain from being startled, and her brown eyes darted around as she looked for the source of the shouting. Quickly enough, she saw the other student almost sprinting towards her, and spoke up, "N-Nanako? What are you yelling for?"

"What am I yelling for? Do you have _any_ idea how long I've been running around the school looking for you!?" Nanako Tokumei demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Hana.

When Nanako didn't add anything else, Hana furrowed her brow and answered, "Uh...how long?"

"Five! Whole! Minutes!" Nanako angrily answered. "I though you'd be at the convenient store because you go there a lot, but _nooo_ today you decide to be spontaneous and I need to actually _try_ to look for you! And you know the only thing I like putting effort into is tech stuff!"

Hana could only stare for a moment, dumbfounded by Nanako's rant. "I, uh...sorry?"

"Okay, that's my frustration outta my system, onto business," the Ultimate then stated, her gaze shifting from annoyed to dead serious. "Hana, I'm telling you this for your own good and survival- the reason I'm looking for you is because our little 'illusionist' friend told me to, and believe me she's not the happiest right now."

"Azami? What does she need?" Hana inquired, tilting her head. "And how come she couldn't come look for me herself?"

"Well apparently you two had some kinda meeting planned that you didn't show for- something about looking for things in the Old Building's warehouse," Nanako explained, crossing her arms. "As for the other thing- I don't know, I guess she figured I'd have an easier time finding you, since we spend so much time together?"

"Looking for-?" Hana began, then shook her head. "No, she must've made a mistake, we agreed to meet up a little after noon."

Nanako raised an eyebrow and told her, "Check your handbook."

Hana, still evidently skeptical, obliged and retrieved the device from one of the pockets of her uniform. Turning on the screen and viewing the time, it took a moment for the information to register- but when it did, the Ultimate Surfer's face turned as white as a ghost.

"Oh my god, it's 12:25!?" Hana exclaimed in panic. "Why didn't someone come get me sooner, this is TERRIBLE!"

As her classmate flew into a panic, Nanako couldn't help but stifle a chuckle- her mood was improving already.

Hana sent a glare Nanako's way as she jumped to her feet and gathered up the notebook, dryly remarking, "Glad to see my utter panic is giving you some joy!"

"Well kinda, yeah," Nanako responded candidly- after all, it wasn't her fault Hana was so animated with her reactions. "Look, calm down a bit, alright? I don't think Azami's gonna be _that_ mad at you, m'kay?"

"I'm almost half an hour late, you don't know that!" Hana indignantly responded. "You said it yourself, she wasn't too happy when she asked you to look for me!"

"Ah, I mighta been exaggerating a little," Nanako replied, dismissively waving her hand. "Besides, she's probably over it by now, if anything."

Hana grimaced, "If you say so- not that you're the one who has to deal with it if she is still mad."

Just as the other Ultimate was about to leave, she turned on her heel to face Nanako yet again. "Waaait a second. I didn't see you this morning, so I didn't get a chance to ask you, but- did you eat something, you know, _good_ for breakfast? Like, something more than just, I dunno- a muffin?"

Nanako groaned. "Oh come on, when are you gonna quit it with monitoring my eating habits?"

"As soon as you stop making me _worried_ about your eating habits!" Hana retorted. "Or, I guess, lack of habits- look, did you eat a better breakfast or not?"

 _Ah- serves me right for being friends with an athlete, I guess..._ Nanako begrudgingly told herself as she hesitated to answer. "Well, see, funny story there- I was just so eager to do some new things with my e-Handbook, that the time kinda...got away from me, y'know? So by the time I was done, it was already later in the day, and it just seemed a little pointless to-"

"Nanako, I'm telling you this as your friend," Hana began, walking over to look the other Ultimate directly in the eye- which was a little less impactful considering Nanako was slightly taller than her. "Eat something- like, soon- or I'm gonna be really, _really_ mad at you."

"Aah, but actually making something like a sandwich or something takes, like...time!" Nanako whined. "But- okay, okay, I'll try at least. Satisfied?"

"I'll be satisfied once I know you're taking better care of herself," Hana responded, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah whatever you say, Mom- don't you have an illusionist to go help?" Nanako reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh shit, you're right!" Hana yelped, overtaken by panic again. "Uh uuuh- I-I'll see you later Nanako!"

With that, the Ultimate Surfer sprinted away- only to remember she left the notebook she had been looking at, turn on her heel to run back and retrieve it, then turn around _again_ to run off to the Old Building of Hope's Peak. Nanako chuckled a bit, happy her sole obligation had been taken care of...only to be interrupted by the sound of her stomach rumbling. The Ultimate sighed- she had to admit, as annoyed as she was with Hana reminders of self-care, she was actually hungry. Thus, she chose to make good on her agreement to her classmate and head to the Academy's east side, where the cafeteria was (well, the Old Building had one too, but the east side was closer than the north).

As she walked, Nanako couldn't help but wonder about the talk she had just had with Hana- and think that she should have been a little nicer to her classmate. Sure, she could do without the nagging, but Nanako knew Hana only did it because she cared.

Nanako, however, shook her head. _Eh...it's not entirely my fault, is it? I've never had someone around before who cared about me enough to tell me this kinda stuff, it's just...taking some getting used to, yeah._

Speaking of things that were taking some getting used to- the Hope's Peak uniform. She had never worn something so...formal, so _suffocating._ Even the school she had gone to prior to attending Hope's Peak Academy was pretty lax with its uniform policy- not that it was a top-notch school to begin with, but apparently it still counted towards the academy's 'students must already be attending high school' requirement. Now, almost two months into the school year, and Nanako still found herself fighting with the red string making up the uniform's tie as she walked.

 _Thank god no one's around right now..._ Nanako told herself as she gave up with a frustrated sigh- now she was hungry _and_ feeling inadequate. _Face it, Tokumei- you're the only person in this damn school who can't wear a regular uniform the right way..._

Hoping to distract herself from these meddling thoughts, she fiddled with her bracelet as she entered the East side building. At least she was allowed to wear _that_ along with the uniform.

* * *

The building was as empty as the courtyard had been- not that this surprised Nanako. After all, today was a day without classes, so of course most of her fellow Ultimates would be off doing other things. For this student, however, her target was the cafeteria; along the way, she had finally managed to force her uniform's tie into place- now she just had to hope it stayed that way.

As she approached the doors that led into the Ultimates' cafeteria, she caught sight of somebody else walking in before her. Squinting somewhat, Nanako asked herself, _Is that who I...?_

Grinning, Nanako stealthily approached the double doors and cracked them open- sure enough, only one person was in the expansive cafeteria, his back to the door as he made his way to the kitchen. However, Nanako recognized him rather quickly- his somewhat taller stature, his short dark blue hair, the glasses he appeared to be wearing- yes, it was who she thought it was after all.

Her mischievous grin only widened as she threw the doors open, calling into the otherwise empty cafeteria, "Ooooh Mikio!~"

Immediately upon hearing Nanako's voice, Mikio Nakamura visibly tensed up like a stray cat, and he quickly turned around to face the doors. "N-Nanako!? Where did you come from?"

"Oh I dunno- I come and go into a lotta places," Nanako casually responded, quickly walking up to Mikio while still donning that grin. "But enough about me, let's talk about you- whatcha up to in here, Mr. Developer?"

"N-Nothing that concerns _you,_ that's for sure!" Mikio immediately responded, backing away as quickly as Nanako approached him. "I'm just here for a muffin, that's it!"

Before he could escape into the kitchen, the green-haired teen grasped his tie and pulled him down somewhat so her purple eyes were locked with his pale green ones. "Well well well, it just so happens I'm heading in there to grab some lunch- fate's pretty interesting that way, don't you think?"

Mikio appeared too flustered to immediately respond; to Nanako, seeing Mikio's reactions (which were almost as animated as Hana's) was fun on its own, but considering the...contrast between their talents, it gave the Ultimate another way to mess with him.

"You know- I've been wondering how progress on that game of yours is coming," Nanako told him, fiddling with his tie absentmindedly. "I was wondering- would you, by any chance, need some kind of tester? Maybe someone to see your code, make sure it's-"

"Absolutely not!" Mikio quickly responded, snatching his tie back. "And if I do, I won't be asking for _your_ help!"

"Why not? You and I are both pretty tech-savvy, I could be a pretty good asset, don't ya think?" Nanako suggested, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"No way, I haven't forgotten what happened last time I let you went near my game and files!" Mikio retorted. "In fact, I didn't even _let_ you, you got in all on your own!"

Nanako rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're acting like I messed around with something major, all I did was change some things in the assets and stuff, nothing you couldn't fix with...whatever it is you use to make tiles and stuff."

"Spoken like someone who has no idea how much time and effort it takes to create entire custom tile sets and other assets to replicate a 16-bit style while also incorporating a unique style while _also_ not looking _too_ completely retro!" Mikio growled at her.

Nanako shrugged. "Could have been worse- if I wanted to, I could have written some unique little comments in your coding."

She then stepped somewhat closer to the Ultimate Game Designer, a sly grin on her face. "I don't suppose you want me to give it another try, Mikio- maybe see how you've improved your digital defenses since last time?"

"M-My digital defenses are none of your business!" Mikio yelped, stepping away as Nanako stepped towards him.

It wasn't long before Mikio had backed away into the kitchen, with Nanako following him just as quickly. However, before Mikio could back away into the wall- the bickering duo became aware that there was somebody else in the kitchen. They glanced to the side at the same time, towards the opposite end of the spacious room; sure enough, somebody was standing there, staring at them with no amusement in his sea-green eyes.

"...I was curious to see where exactly this discussion between you two was going," Tadao Shimaru, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "But now you two have migrated into here, and now I just find all this incredibly distracting."

"Hello to you too, Maru," Nanako greeted the Ultimate Waiter. "Hard at work on...something, I see."

"I told you not to call me that," Tadao told her with a sigh, returning to the various plates of food he seemed to be prepping. "Are you two going to be long? I work better when there's less bickering around me."

"I just came in here for a muffin," Mikio stated, putting his hands up innocently.

"And I was about to grab- I dunno, _something_ for lunch, but uh..." Nanako began, looking over the plates. "I dunno, you need a taste tester or something? I'd be happy to oblige-"

"No no no, don't _either_ of you touch these!" Tadao quickly responded, holding out his gloved hands defensively. "These are for the festival, and _only_ for the festival, prepped beforehand and _not_ to be messed with beforehand! I'm just making sure everything's in order before bringing them over to the Old Building, where they'll be kept until then."

Mikio curiously looked over the plates. "Huh...pretty good-looking though, really. Did _you_ make these, Tadao?"

Tadao scoffed. "Please, did _I_ make these, haha-"

His cocky face immediately faded. "Ah- no. Naturally, I'm helping with the preparation as the Ultimate Waiter, but the one who actually made these dishes was that upperclassman of ours-"

"Oh yeah, the cook guy," Nanako dismissively concluded. "Why're you helping, though? I'm pretty sure there are a few others in the program with...food-related talents, so..."

"As if I'd pass up the opportunity to hone my own skills!" Tadao responded, as if offended by his classmate's question. "And beyond that, acquainting myself with someone who will likely go on to shape the culinary world after graduation will, undoubtedly, give _me_ a valuable resource when _I_ graduate."

Grinning, he went on, "For when I graduate and use the skills I've earned to open the greatest restaurant in Japan..."

 _Ah great, here he goes again..._ Nanako thought, softly sighing in annoyance. It wasn't that she was against her classmate having such a huge dream- but she _was_ against him rambling about it for extended periods of time.

Tadao continued, "...I will of course attempt to hire the services of a culinary alumni to create only the _best_ dishes for my clientele, cementing my restaurant's reputation as a _high_ standard for dining!"

Mikio had an awkward grin on his face- he, too, seemed to be less than pleased about Tadao's sudden spiel regarding his ambitions. "...Ah...good for you, Tadao!"

Nanako was less subtle with her annoyance. "Yes, we're all thrilled to hear about your grand plans for the future- now can you move those dishes to make some room on the counter?"

Tadao narrowed his eyes at them, but specifically Nanako. "What do I even bother for- you people would never appreciate the intricacies of what people like me plan for. _Especially_ slum like you, Tokumei."

Upon hearing that, Nanako narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth, clenching her fists. _I just can't go one conversation with this guy without him bringing up..._ that, _can I?_

One of the good things about Hope's Peak Academy was that anyone, regardless of class or such, could attend- all one needed was to be in high school and to be the best of the best at what they did. In saying this, the school acted as a sort of equalizer amongst those of high social standing and those of...less ideal upbringing. That said, it didn't do anything about the attitudes of some of these teens- including Tadao.

However, before any sort of argument could ensue, the three students in the kitchen heard the doors to the cafeteria loudly swing open yet again. This was followed by footsteps in quick succession- as if someone was running. Moments later, the doors opened again and someone else ran in, followed by a voice slightly muffled by the kitchen walls and door.

"H-Hinata! Hinata, you can't run now, I-I've got you cornered!" a female, shaky yet very angered voice called out, and it didn't take long for Nanako to recognize who was talking.

"Well, I _could_ just run into the kitchen and block the door, then what would you do?" another voice teasingly responded. This one was male, deeper and a little gruffer- even if the name hadn't been said, Nanako would have immediately realized who the voice belonged to.

Tadao furrowed his brow. "What the...?"

"Is that- Asuna and Hinata?" Mikio asked, walking over to the door. "What are they-?"

The game designer cracked the door open so he could peek outside; Nanako and Tadao followed suit, peeking around them so they could see into the cafeteria. Sure enough, the two Ultimates in question were running around the various tables in the room; Hinata Yonade, Ultimate Thief, was sporting a playful grin as he skillfully dodged around tables away from his pursuer. The other student in question: Asuna Izumi, Ultimate Gardener, appeared exhausted from the running she had presumably been doing- but nonetheless, she continued to try and catch up to her taller classmate.

"I-I've caught you already, so knock it off a-and give them back!" Asuna demanded- which lost some weight due to her stuttering. "Th-This wasn't funny to begin with?"

"Really? Because seeing the way you run made it real funny to me," Hinata responded, twirling something on his finger- upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a pair of glasses. Looking over at Asuna again, Nanako noticed the gardener's glasses were gone- and that certainly explained her chasing down of Hinata.

Tadao sighed in annoyance. "Oh this is just great- now I have to carry these plates while those two are carrying on?"

Mikio grimaced, glancing at Tadao and responding, "I'd say you're better off going now rather than later- not sure how long they're gonna be at it."

"My thoughts exactly," the waiter muttered, making his way back into the kitchen so he could gather up the plates.

"Ooh, this should be good..." Nanako told herself with a smirk, moving to the side alongside Mikio so Tadao could exit the kitchen with the plates.

Moments later, Tadao (balancing the plates rather well- must come with being such a competent waiter) emerged from the kitchen into the cafeteria calling out to Hinata and Asuna, "Both of you! Do not move a muscle towards me- if I end up dropping and messing up this food, I will hold you _both_ personally responsible!"

 _Oh my god, he's actually trying to reason with them..._ Nanako thought, stifling a chuckle as she went back to spying through the barely open door.

"Tadao? How long were you-?" Asuna began, glancing towards the kitchen before running up to Tadao directly (despite the waiter's orders for them to stay away). "N-Nevermind, can you _please_ tell Hinata to give me my glasses back?"

"I will _not_ get involved in whatever you two are fighting over, I have my own business to attend to!" Tadao sharply told her, making his way towards the exit. "If you need assistance, get someone else to-"

"Nah, don't worry man, Asuna and I are just having a little fun!" Hinata told the Ultimate Waiter, sliding up next to him (again, disregarding the student's demands). "You're absolutely right there's no reason you gotta deal with this..."

He then grasped Tadao's shoulder and sent him spinning towards Asuna, calling out, "Unless I need a diversion!"

With a yelp, Asuna was barely able to jump out of the way to avoid Tadao crashing into her; as for the Ultimate Waiter himself, he was barely able to regain his balance and stop the food from sliding off the plates. When he was successful, he sighed in relief and sent a withering glare towards his two classmates before walking out of a cafeteria with a huff.

Seeing this scene, Nanako was barely able to hold back laughter- it was wonderful seeing karma in action. It was just as wonderful as seeing two grown teenagers (well, 'grown' in the metaphorical sense, considering Asuna's height) running around a cafeteria like they were in an old cartoon- that, too, made it difficult for Nanako to remain discreet in her spying.

"Uh...don't you think we should be helping?" Mikio pointed out, also watching, but with a frown. "Asuna kinda needs those glasses, you know-"

"Mikio, Mikio- relax, we don't need to get involved," Nanako assured him with a smirk. "Trust me- give it a minute or two, you'll see what I mean."

"W-What? But how do you- shouldn't we-" the Ultimate softly stammered, only to be stopped when Nanako grabbed his tie again.

By this point, Hinata and Asuna were no longer running around- however, Hinata was casually standing towards the middle of the room, one of his arms outstretched to hold Asuna back at arm's length by pressing his palm against her forehead. Meanwhile, Asuna was trying to push against him so she could run up to him- but her lack of general physical strength meant she'd might as well be trying to run through a brick wall, despite Hinata's strength only being average.

"Hey, you were telling me about how you wanted to try out some exercise- think of this as, uh...cardio!" Hinata told her with a chuckle.

"Th- _This_ isn't what I meant!" Asuna indignantly retorted, stopping momentarily to catch her breath.

"Well ya shoulda been more specific," Hinata responded jokingly as he continued to hold back Asuna.

Mikio grimaced and whispered to Nanako yet again, "Seriously, I really think one of us should-"

"Hush now- we're about to see the best part," Nanako told him, glancing towards the cafeteria entrance yet again. Sure enough, she could see movement just outside, meaning someone was about to enter- and if it ended up being who she thought it would be, that would make this entire encounter even more hilarious to her.

The doors in question swung open, and somebody practically burst through and shouted, _"Hinata!_ There you are!"

Both Asuna and Hinata froze as they heard the familiar voice- the former out of surprise, the latter out of surprise and a bit of fear.

Immediately, Mikio realized why Nanako had told him to stay put, and he glanced at Hinata and muttered, "Weeeell...now I feel kinda bad for him."

Nanako simply chuckled. _Aaand here we go._

The newcomer was yet another member of the 80th Class- and she wasn't hard to identify, what with her tall figure and the fedora that seemed to be her pride. Hinata hesitantly glanced over to see Kaneki Tenmaru, the resident Ultimate Explorer, briskly walking over to him with a glare in her eyes.

"H-Hey! Kaneki! Great to see you, where did you-" Hinata began as nonchalantly as he could. "Where did you, uh- come from, exactly?"

"I was in the gym! And I saw some people from one of the other classes in there, and they told me you and Asuna were in there earlier, and that _you-"_ Kaneki pointedly explained, poking him in the chest to punctuate herself. "-took Asuna's glasses and ran off with them!"

"...Oh. Did they now?" Hinata began, his casual demeanor cracking. "Uh, I, don't know what you mean! Asuna and I were just going for a little run!"

He shrugged to fein innocence- only for Asuna to point out. "Hinata, my glasses are right there."

Sure enough, the glasses in question were still in Hinata's hand- something he had forgotten in his attempt to not make his classmate any more angry with him. Of course, it now had the opposite effect, as Kaneki was now staring down at the Ultimate Thief with more intensity.

Once again, it took much of Nanako's willpower to stop herself from laughing too loud. Very rarely did Kaneki ever become truly mad at somebody- but when she did, she could be downright terrifying; of course, Nanako was amused by it, as she wasn't the one on the receiving of it.

"Okay, lemme explain-" Hinata began, putting his hands up in a calming gesture. "See, I was chilling in the gym, when Asuna here walks in, right? We talked for a minute, and she mentions she wants to do some exercising, right? Sooo I thought I'd help her out a bit, kinda give her some...incentive, you know? All in good fun, nothing-"

"I-I had to chase you all over for the place! For a-about ten minutes!" Asuna yelped. "If you wanted to help, y-you didn't have to mess with me like that!"

Yet again, Hinata's cool-headedness cracked at the edges as he looked towards Kaneki again- who now appeared angrier than before.

"...I...mighta got a little carried away," Hinata spoke up, glancing away.

She gestured to Asuna, then firmly told him, "Give. Them. Back."

"Pfft, don't gotta tell me that! I was gonna do that, here-" Hinata insisted, quickly returning the glasses to their rightful owner; he even went as far as to put them back on Asuna's face himself, nevermind the fact that he put them on upside-down in his haste (which Asuna quickly fixed).

Backing away, Hinata coolly added, "See? No harm, no foul- I got some fun, Asuna got some good ol' cardio work, everything worked out!"

He chuckled yet again...then turned on his heel and swiftly left the room, not even glancing back as he exited.

At last, Nanako couldn't contain herself anymore, and she burst out laughing from her vantage point. Unsurprisingly, Kaneki and Asuna heard and turned their attention to the kitchen's door, simultaneously calling out in surprise, "Nanako?"

Having been caught, the Ultimate stepped out from behind the door with a grin. "Hey, guys."

"What the-? Where you in there the whole time?" Kaneki asked, looking back towards the door.

"Guilty as charged- but it wasn't just me, technically," Nanako responded, crossing her arms. "Tadao was in there for a little bit, and then there's-"

As if summoned, Mikio quickly emerged from the kitchen with his much sought-after muffin, pointing an accusatory finger at Nanako and declaring, "I am an unwitting accomplice in all this!"

With that, he ran off out of the cafeteria as Hinata and Tadao had. When he did, Nanako shrugged and admitted, "Eh, he's not wrong."

"S-So you could have helped me that whole time?" Asuna indignantly asked.

"Yeah- but it was way too hilarious, I just couldn't look away!" Nanako responded with a laugh. "The way you two were running, the banter, the part where he just held you at arm's length- it was like something out of some TV show!"

Asuna looked down, visibly embarrassed...

"And besides- I had a feeling Kaneki would be around to handle it soon enough," Nanako added, walking around to pat Kaneki on the shoulder before taking a seat at the nearby table. "Even if someone hadn't tipped her off- so, you didn't need my help, really."

Asuna sighed, clearly not fully agreeing with the sentiment. Despite this, Nanako did not feel too entirely guilty- in the end, everything had worked out (more or less), and it wasn't like her gardener friend would _die_ from the embarrassment.

Kaneki crossed her arms and responded, "Still, it wouldn't have killed you to help her out a bit."

"Ah, you guys'll live, just give it a few hours and everyone'll be over it," Nanako dismissively responded. "Besides, I just came here to get some food of my own- I _still_ need to do that, actually..."

Shaking her head, the Ultimate asked Asuna, "You know, I was wondering- was Hinata serious when he said you were trying to do some exercise before the glasses theft?"

"Ah...yeah," Asuna responded, rubbing the back of her neck with a frown. "I-It's something I've been thinking about for a little while now, actually. I was going to try it out, before- y-you know, Hinata."

"Eeh...I mean, I never took you for the athletic type, but if you wanna try getting a little stronger- more power to ya!" Nanako remarked.

Kaneki raised an eyebrow, looking down towards Asuna and replying, "Really? I didn't know you were thinking of trying some exercise stuff."

Her eyes then lit up with eagerness as she suggested, "Hey! Maybe I could help you out with that! I do a lot of exercising too- we should try doing some gym stuff together!"

"R-Really? Uh- I've never actually done any actual fitness stuff, I-I wasn't even that good at regular gym at my old school," Asuna warned her friend, hesitant.

"That's okay! Everyone starts out somewhere, and it's not like this would be a serious regiment anyways," Kaneki reassured her. "You and I, just doing some casual exercise stuff- not a bad idea, right?"

Nanako grinned and jokingly added, "Hey, you know what they say- gotta climb those walls someday. They probably say that in some part of the world, totally."

"Ooh, wall climbing...if I did that, I'd probably be able to get a vantage of the Academy's campus..." the explorer pondered, before grinning eagerly. "And if I had a view like that, I'd be able to draw up an amazing map!"

The Ultimate was about to run off, presumably to go climb the school's walls, only for Asuna to grab her blouse and quickly yelp, "N-Not literally!"

At that, the much taller Ultimate let out a little 'Aw...' of disappointment, stopping in her tracks. Meanwhile, Nanako snickered- when it came to exploration, it was all too easy to get Kaneki excited.

"A-Anyways- if you're sure about being my exercise partner, th-then I'd like that a lot!" Asuna happily agreed- evidently, the suggestion of exercising with her best friend was more than enough to cheer her up after the chase with Hinata. At the same time, Kaneki's mood also bounced right back up from her dejection just a moment ago.

While the two girls excitedly talked about future gym stuff, Nanako simply sat back and watched them, softly chuckling to herself. Though she'd never say it out loud, she did genuinely enjoy seeing the two Ultimates interact.

 _Look at those two nerds- I don't think I've seen a pair of people so eager to go exercising together. Well, except maybe those other two in the 78th Class._ Nanako thought to herself. _It's kinda cute- they're starting to be like sisters, honestly._

As this thought crossed her mind, however, her smile faded somewhat. _Can't say I know what that feeling. Maybe if I had a sibling of my own, or if I was as close as siblings with someone else..._

"Hellooo? Nanako?" Kaneki spoke up, having walked up to Nanako whilst the Ultimate was zoning out. "Did you hear what I asked?"

"Huh-?" Nanako began, breaking out of her stupor. "Uh- nope, sorry! Kinda zoned out while you guys were talking."

"Uh...w-we were talking about maybe bringing Hana along, because she has an actual sports talent," Asuna explained. "A-And Kaneki asked if you knew where she was."

"Oh! Well, you're probably outta luck- she's off in the Old Building, helping Azami in the warehouse," Nanako answered. "Don't know what she's doing in there, though..."

"I think I know what it is! It's probably for the festival- Azami's set to put on a show during it, so that's probably what she's preparing for," Kaneki spoke up. "Not that she's the only one- a lot of other Ultimates are gonna be doing something for the festival too."

"Oh yeah...now that you mention it, I think Tadao said something about helping with the catering," Nanako replied, crossing her arms. "Seems like everyone's running around doing stuff- no wonder there are no classes today."

"I-I'm just surprised you didn't know about Azami's show- i-it's all she's been talking about for the past few days," Asuna stated, tilting her head. "Then again, uh, you and her don't really talk, so..."

Nanako shrugged. "Whatever she ends up doing- hope it turns it well, I guess."

She absentmindedly took out her e-Handbook and started playing around with it- she looked over the extra apps she had pirated onto her device early on in the school year, which had been only difficult in terms of not getting caught (although she had a feeling the Academy's staff wouldn't care as much). With this train of thought, an idea began to form in Nanako's mind.

"You know...maybe I should try to show off my own talent during the festival," Nanako thought out loud, putting her tampered Handbook away. "There's bound to be something tech-y at the show that I can use..."

"Uh- I don't know if that'd be a good idea," Kaneki told her with a concerned frown.

The green-haired Ultimate raised an eyebrow and responded, "This coming from the girl who tried to go through the Hope's Peak air ducts on the first day- and got lost?"

"W-We don't need to bring that up!" Kaneki retorted.

"You really are on a bit of th-thin ice, though- like, what you did with your e-Handook, that's, uh, probably breaking _several_ rules..." Asuna told Nanako, just as concerned.

"Oh please- this place has a biker gang leader, a yakuza, our own class even has a thief!" Nanako pointed out, rolling her eyes. "And besides, I'd be honing my talent- isn't that kinda the whole point of the Ultimate program?"

"Eh, still, you should probably be careful if you _do_ try something," Kaneki advised. "Wouldn't want to screw someone up or something."

"Ah, I'll be fine- not like I'm some newbie or something when it comes to tech," Nanako assured her. "I'm an expert, I'm the Ultimate-"

 _"GUYS!"_

A shout cut off the conversation as yet another classmate of theirs burst into the room- only this time, to Nanako's surprise, it was none other than Hana.

"H-Hana?" Nanako began, surprised to see her friend. She was just as surprised to see how exhausted and disheveled the Ultimate Surfer looked- one would think she had just ran a marathon nonstop with how she looked.

"Oh! Hey there, Hana! We were just talking about-" Kaneki cheerfully began...only to notice the condition her classmate was in. "-yooouu...look like you're about to pass out."

"I am! But that's not important!" Hana gasped, running over to the three of them. "Okay okay we've got a huuuge problem- o-over in the Old Building, there's- there was-"

"Hey hey, Hana, remember to breathe!" Nanako told her, standing up. "What happened in the Old Building? I thought you were with Azami-"

"That's the thing! We were in the warehouse and there was something she needed higher up on the shelf, so she climbed up it even though I _told_ her not to, a-and the next thing we know the thing tips over and she's pinned under it!" Hana hastily explained. "I couldn't lift it off myself and there was no one who could help in the Old Building so I ran all the way here to find someone!"

"Wh-Wh- _What!?"_ Asuna yelped. "Y-You ran all the way here from the North side!?"

"What about Azami, she's not hurt is she?" Kaneki just as quickly asked in worry.

"I don't think so but- but she's definitely stuck, and I couldn't get her out myself-" Hana went on, still attempting to catch her breath. "I-I saw you guys in here through the window and- and Kaneki, you're pretty strong, I thought maybe- you know-"

"I, uh- I can try to lift the shelf a little, but I don't know if I'll be able to do it by myself!" Kaneki responded with a grimace.

"Oh, uh- m-maybe there's still someone in the gym! I could go there and look!" Asuna suggested.

"And I..." Nanako began, frowning in thought. "It'd probably be best to go look for someone medical anyways, even if Azami's not that hurt or anything. I think Shiori's doing some studying in her room, so I can go get her."

"Great...great, and I can-" Hana began...only to cut herself off and collapse onto the floor, unconscious, leaving the other three girls to stare at her in shock.

"...And in addition, I'll take Hana to her room, since I'm going that way anyways," Nanako added with a sigh. "You guys go off and do- whatever you need to do."

"Gotcha!" Kaneki responded, already taking off out the door, presumably to the Old Building. Asuna wasted no time following her out of the cafeteria, no doubt going back to the gym.

Nanako looked down at the unconscious Hana, taking a breath and walking over. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around her classmate's torso- as she wasn't strong enough to lift up and carry the surfer outright- then proceeded to more or less drag her out of the cafeteria and into the hallway.

 _Well, so much for grabbing lunch- hope Hana here doesn't get too mad at me._ Nanako thought to herself as she slowly made her way down the hall to where she could exit into the courtyard. _I just wish I didn't have to drag someone all the way to the South side- guess I should be grateful I'm in the east, but still..._

As she shouldered the doors open and found herself outside yet again, the Ultimate half-joking asked herself, _You know, I'm pretty sure someone's gonna think I'm carrying a dead body- wouldn't that be funny-?_

"Uuuh...Nanako?"

A male's voice caught her attention, as if summoned by her thought. She slowly turned her violet gaze to the side to see a young man standing in the path, yet another member of the 80th class; his neat, short black hair and somewhat shorter stature didn't do much to help him stand out, but the black vest he wore over his uniform (which Hana had said looked good on him, though Nanako begged to differ) as well as the latex gloves did.

"Well hello there, Hiroshi," Nanako greeted him, her eyebrows raised. "Hope you didn't come to talk the weather or something, because as you can see I'm a little busy."

"I...can see that, uh-" Hiroshi began, frowning in worry as he walked over to take a closer look. "She... _is_ okay, right?"

"Ah, yeah, she just ran from the Old Building to the East side here," Nanako dismissively explained. "I'm just taking her to her room so no one thinks she's sleeping outside her room."

"Okay, but- why'd she do that?" Hiroshi inquired, furrowing his brow.

"Because Azami got stuck under one of the shelves in the warehouse- ah, it tipped over on top of her- and she ran over to find help," Nanako went on, just as casual.

"What!?" Hiroshi yelped.

Nanako went on, as if her classmate hadn't spoken, "Kaneki went over there, and Asuna's looking for some other muscle-types- I was actually supposed to go to the dorms to look for Shiori, figured I'd give Hana a hand here while I'm at it because- I mean, look at her."

 _"What!?"_ Hiroshi cried yet again- those dull yet perpetually nervous gray eyes widening with increased worry. "You are being _way_ too nonchalant about this!"

"Oh Azami's gonna be fine- Hana said she didn't think she was really hurt anyways, I'm just grabbing Shiori just to be safe," Nanako told him, rolling her eyes. "If you're that worried, maybe you could try grabbing Shiori? Or helping lift the shelf too- even though you're not the strongest but I'm sure the thought will count?"

"I, uh-" Hiroshi stammered, immediately backing off. "I mean, the way you worded it, it sounded pretty bad, b-but if you all have it handled then- then who am I to- you know-"

Nanako sighed and responded, "You really are impossible sometimes, dude."

Despite the school year having been in progress for a little while now, Hiroshi Ashi probably showed the most aversion when it came to interacting with his classmates; he spent most of his days in the Old Building's bio lab or in the East quarter's Biology Building whenever classes weren't in session. Even Asuna, who was arguably more socially awkward than even Hiroshi (not that that said much), had managed to make a few good friends since the year started- Hiroshi only seemed to be marginally close to Hana and Nanako and, to a lesser extent, Mikio.

Not that Nanako could blame him- being known as the Ultimate Coroner would be bound to make some people weirded out by him, and it wasn't exactly the best conversation starter either.

Hiroshi sighed. "Just...you know, t-try not to let anyone think you're dragging around a corpse or something..."

"That's the plan!" Nanako responded, attempting to sound optimistic. "Although- you didn't see Shiori anywhere outside her room, did you? Because I'm pretty sure she's there, but if it turns out she's somewhere else then-"

"N-No, I haven't seen her, I agree that she's probably studying in her room," Hiroshi answered, shaking his head.

"Alright, just making sure," Nanako replied, going back on her way- still dragging the motionless Hana with her. "See you around, Hiro! And don't worry- she's still alive!"

"Um...b-bye, I guess," Hiroshi awkwardly responded, waving goodbye a little as she departed.

Putting aside her brief interaction with the coroner, Nanako continued to make her way towards the South side building- all the while making sure she didn't drop her unconscious classmate in the process. It wasn't even one o'clock yet, and already this day had turned out more eventful than she expected- would it continue that way, though? Nanako couldn't know- she certainly hoped it wouldn't, as she still had things of her own she wanted to take care of, even moreso now that she had an idea of how to show off her talent during the upcoming festival.

 _Okay, okay- I'll do some...work in a little bit, first I gotta get ol' Han here to her room and look for the good doctor._ Nanako told herself. _She's probably not gonna be happy about the intrusion- good thing she's got that Hippocritical Oath or whatever to follow, so she can't really say no either way._

As she went on, the afternoon sun still hanging a little less directly overhead, the green-haired Ultimate thought to herself, _Man- if someone had told me in the past that I'd be spending my high school years in_ the _Hope's Peak Academy with these buncha weirdos...weirdos just like me- nevermind the different talents- I never would have believed them..._

Still, she found herself glancing down at the Ultimate Surfer- her classmate, her _friend_ even- and suddenly, she felt a little less tired, a little less annoyed.

 _Ah, well- I'll die before I say this out loud, but...Hana, Hiroshi, I guess even Mikio and Kaneki and Asuna- they're my buncha weirdos._

* * *

 **A/N: Soooo...whatcha think, huh? Finally, after...what, two chapters of her being an enigma, we see the mystery lady in the flesh, starring in her own chapter! Nanako Tokumei, everyone! A pretty fun character,** **she's...a bit of a fickle gal, is she not? Pretty smart but equally lazy, almost as much as a jokester as Hinata, has some internal baggage going on** **\- sadly, there's only so much I could show of her in one part of average length. In spite of that, I hope she was able to make some kinda impression on you guys. Well- impressions beyond being the mysterious 16th member of the class.**

 **And aside from the obvious stuff with Nanako, I'm sure this chapter raises a few more questions- which is good! That was the- okay it wasn't _the_ intent, the questions left behind are just kinda par for the course, but like...obviously I can't go into detail with much of anything, but it'll all make sense in the future, just like in the first "Chapter ? ? ?" back when Chapter 3 first concluded. Until then...I'm interested to see what y'all think of- well, anything. About Nanako herself, about any certain inconsistencies you may have noticed, just go ahead and speculate! It fills my belly and waters my crops!**

 **And next time...next time, we begin Chapter 5- the start of the endgame. I hope you guys are ready, because it's gonna get wild. ...Okay maybe not right away but- aaah, it's Chapter 5, you know what I mean, BE PREPARED!**


	42. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 1)

**A/N: Mmmmm-hmmmm...we are here, my dudes. Too me long enough, been about a month now, but...life happens. My birthday passed, had to do college application stuff- that sorta thing. In short, I have had barely any time to myself as of late, let alone time to make great chunks of progress with this part. But even so- I'm back, and I bring _stuff._**

 **So, without _further_ delay- welcome to the beginning of Chapter 5, also known as the beginning of the end! ****Still kinda surprised we've come so far, and yet it's not over yet- far from it, even. Now, there's not really much to say right now- start of a new chapter and a new Daily Life, and after the absolute heartbreak that was Chapter 4...let's check in our good ol' main character, eh?**

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 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Well keep those shorts on standby, because the mysteries surrounding Nanako Tokumei (including her talent) are gonna remain mysteries for a little while, that much I can say.**

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 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Daily Life (Part 1)**

 _The scenery Hana found herself in was filled with fog- a white sheet so thick, the girl could barely see a few feet in front of her. Still, she felt compelled to move forward, if only for the sake of finding some way out of this strange environment._

 _The area beneath her feet was grassy, occasionally cut off by a stone path- although Hana had a feeling following the path wouldn't provide too much assistance. In the distance, she could hear fountains, but from where or if they would be a reliable landmark she didn't know either. Somehow, the surroundings had a...familiar feeling to them, as if she knew this place despite the fogginess. It wasn't unlike her previous, death-filled_ _nightmares- but unlike those dreams, this one didn't feel like some kind of flashback. It may have just been a feeling, but Hana believed this was, truly, a real dream._

 _Finally, the Ultimate arrived at what appeared to be a plaza of some kind- an ivory fountain in the middle (different from the one in the castle), with stone paths leading to parts unknown._

Hey, wait...I think I recognize this place... _Hana told herself as she stopped._ I've seen pictures of this place...this is the courtyard of Hope's Peak Academy, right?

 _Before long, the fog faded somewhat, revealing the area was most likely a central plaza of some kind, although the mist had not cleared enough to allow Hana to see too much farther beyond the enlarged radius. Furrowing her brow, the surfer was about to continue on her way, when she heard footsteps approaching her area. Confused, she looked around- who else could possibly be here, and why?_

 _A figure soon became visible through the fog, prompting Hana to look in their direction. Of course, she couldn't make out any features of the silhouette, but she slowly made her way over anyways..._

 _"Huh-? Hey! Hey, Hana!" the person called out, waving his arm into the air to further garner her attention. "Over here, it's me!"_

 _It took less than a second for Hana to recognize the young man's voice, and she froze in place as soon as she did._ No way...it can't be- can it...?

 _The figure ran into the clearing, allowing the surfer to see his full features and confirm what she believed. Short dark blue hair, pale green eyes behind black glasses, a white shirt with a light blue tie..._

 _Hana's eyes widened, and she began to slowly make her way over to him. "M...Mikio...!?"_

 _"Hah- hiya," Mikio greeted her, somewhat awkward. "I know it's been a little while, but I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten about me."_

 _"O-Of course not! How could I- I-!" Hana stammered, her gait turning into a sprint as she ran over to him. "I-I can't believe this, how are you here?"_

 _"Truthfully- no idea. Not that I'm gonna complain," Mikio responded with a chuckle._

 _At this point, Hana was rendered speechless from disbelief- but it was a joyful disbelief. Hearing Mikio talk again, seeing him standing and breathing again...truthfully, it was quite overwhelming._

 _"Hehehehe...you didn't think you could have a reunion without_ me, _did you?" a new voice called out with a dramatic tone._

 _Yet again, Hana recognized the speaker right away, quickly turning to where it came from. "Wait...isn't that-!?"_

 _A new person stepped out of the fog- immediately recognizable by her deep black cloak, which cast a sharp contrast to the whitish-gray mist surrounding the area. Those piercing, emerald-green eyes were narrowed, and a grin spread across the girl's pale face._

 _"No, don't be so foolish- in a place like this, it's only fitting that I, master of all things veiled and unseen, would make her grand appearance!" Azami declared with a flourish of her cloak. "Rejoice, mortals!"_

 _"A-Azami!?" Hana exclaimed, running over to her too. "Y-You're here too!?"_

 _Caught off guard by the surfer sprinting over to quickly, Azami stammered in her normal voice, "Ah, well- yes, yeah it's me, I- obviously, it's me, it's not like you forgot me...uh, right?"_

 _"I-I didn't forget! Neither of you, I didn't-" Hana responded, barely able to control the emotion in her voice. Just seeing the Ultimate Illusionist alone, she was reminded of all the things she wanted to say to the other girl- the things she wanted to apologize for._

 _"Whoa, Hana- you seem pretty happy," Mikio observed, walking over himself._

 _"I am! I really, really am!" Hana joyfully responded, looking back and forth between the two Ultimates. "I-I still can't believe you guys are actually here, there's- there's so much I want to say to you guys, I-I don't even know where to start!"_

 _"Okay, okay, take your time, don't want you to be overwhelmed or anything," Mikio responded._

 _"Yes, it has been a while since you've been in the presence of the Queen of the Dark Arts- to faint from sheer emotion would be very bad," Azami confirmed with a nod...only to add, once again dropping her stage voice, "But seriously, I know you're, but please don't faint on us."_

 _"I, er- sorry, I just..." Hana began, shaking her head. "I'm just...I never thought I'd see you guys again, and I..."_

 _Holding back tears, the surfer ran up and hugged her two classmates, earning a pair of surprised yelps from them._

 _"I-I've missed you guys so much! I'm so sorry you guys died, I wish there was more I could have done, I-" Hana blurted, her voice breaking. "Azami, I'm really sorry about breaking my promise, th-there wasn't much of a choice, I-"_

 _"H-Hey, Hana, it's alright," Mikio responded, still caught off guard by the girl's sudden embrace._

 _"Ah-!?" Azami yelped as she, too, was hugged. "W-Why are you blaming yourself, I was the one who...you know..."_

 _Hana kept hugging the two, "I-I can't help it, I'm just...I'm really glad to see you two again, it's like a-"_

 _Then, she looked up, her smile fading. "Like...a dream."_

 _She remembered where exactly she was at that point, and chastised herself for becoming so caught up in her 'reunion' that she forgot that one simple fact. As such, she broke away from the two other Ultimates and stepped back, glancing away._

 _"...You're not actually Mikio and Azami," Hana stated, still not looking up at them._

 _"Wait, we're not?" Azami asked, sounding genuinely surprised._

 _"I'm just dreaming all this, that's all," Hana went on with a sigh. "You guys...are still dead. Mikio was murdered, Azami was executed...and I doubt you guys are actual ghosts..."_

 _"Oh- um...sorry to disappoint you," Mikio replied with a frown. "You know- even if this is a dream, nothing's stopping you from spending at least a little more time here, even if you do need to wake up eventually."_

 _"...I'd like to do that, but..." Hana admitted, but shook her head. "Knowing none of this is real, it's just...I'd rather wake up sooner rather than later. Otherwise, when I do wake up, I'll just...be even more sad."_

 _"Mm...that makes sense," Azami conceded. "Sad as it is."_

 _Mikio nodded in agreement. "We understand, yeah- just do what you need to do, Hana. And if we do end up meeting again, ah...maybe you'll be in a better state, you know?"_

 _Hana nodded, attempting a small smile of appreciation- although the sadness was still visible. "Alright then. Ah...bye, Mikio. Bye, Azami."_

 _With that, Hana reached over and gave herself a sharp pinch on her left arm-_

* * *

-and in the next instant, Hana's eyes flew open; she was still in her bed and bedroom, staring straight up at the room's ceiling. No more fog, no more grass, no more strange courtyard. Back in the castle. Back in the killing game.

"..." Hana simply lied on her bed, silent and contemplative, thinking about the dream she had just experienced. In the end, she knew it was nothing but her subconscious, and she had left the dream relatively quickly, and yet...

Remembering her friends' voices, their faces, seeing them in-person for the first time in a while...although she had left the dream to avoid overwhelming sorrow, it wasn't long before grief gripped at her once more, and the surfer found herself burying her face into her pillow as tears fell down her face.

* * *

Some time later, Monokuma's morning announcement played right on schedule- but although she had been awake for some time prior, Hana still found it difficult to bring herself out of bed. Knowing that she'd just be reminded of her deceased classmates- not helped by the dream she had that night- as well as remembering her outburst following the end of that same trial, Hana wanted nothing more than to just stay in bed all day.

Ultimately, she knew that wasn't an option- she had to face her classmates sooner or later, or Hiroshi would come over and check on her if she was a little _too_ late. And there was something else the surfer needed to know that she wouldn't be able to if she stayed in her room: what had become of Hinata. Thus, she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for the day like she usually did.

Having finished this morning routine, Hana exited the room and made her way down to the dining room. Despite simply walking through the bottom floor to the dining room, the surfer could already feel an oppressive force hanging over the castle- a deafening quiet, like a shadow pressing down on everything. The castle looked no different, but Hana knew something had definitely changed.

Arriving at the dining room, Hana wasn't surprised to see some students already inside- namely Hiroshi and Akira. Both of them were deathly silent, and there was a different sense to both of them- especially Akira. Sure, the Ultimate Prosecutor appeared normal and she was sitting in her usual seat, and yet she seemed almost...drained, devoid of her usual confident stature. Evidently, she heard someone enter and looked up- upon seeing it was Hana, she barely even acknowledged the girl's presence and went back to her brooding.

Hiroshi glanced at the entrance to see Hana enter as well, although his attitude was much different from Akira's. Yes, he too appeared a little more tired than usual, but he still spoke to the surfer, "Morning, Hana- how are you holding up?"

"Ah...okay...?" Hana replied, shrugging. "Really could be better, I'm just..."

She looked around the dining room. "Is it...just us three in here?"

As if to answer her question, the door to the kitchen opened up and Ryoto walked out with a glass of orange juice. It seemed he had changed out of his old tracksuit at last and was wearing a new one, identical to the last one but devoid of dried bloodstains.

Upon seeing Hana, the racecar driver remarked, "Oh- hey there, Hana. When did you wake up?"

"Uh- just now," Hana answered.

"Ooh- well, morning's young, why not grab some food?" Ryoto cheerfully suggested. It would appear there was at least one surviving member of the 80th Class still in high spirits despite the tragedy of yesterday.

Hana glanced at the kitchen, expecting to be reminded of her appetite- and yet, this morning, that appetite just felt...nonexistent. The surfer sighed and responded, "No thanks, I'm...not really feeling that hungry."

Not waiting for Ryoto's response, the surfer took her own seat at the banquet table, her shoulders slouched.

"Uh...you sure?" Ryoto inquired, furrowing his brow. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day you know!"

"Ah- just...give her some space for now, Ryoto, just like with Akira," Hiroshi told him- apparently, he had already had this talk with Ryoto earlier, but it regarded the drained Ultimate Prosecutor.

For a few moments after that, the dining room was just...quiet. It felt odd to Hana, not hearing some kind of conversation somewhere else at the table- what was once a lively setting was now replaced with crushing silence.

"Ah- just Asuna and Hinata are missing, eh?" Ryoto remarked as he looked around the room.

"Seems like it- I'm not sure Hinata will be in the best condition to attend," Hiroshi surmised with a frown. "As for Asuna...I'm not sure why she's not-"

"I'm here!" a female voice suddenly called as the gardener in question ran into the room, carrying something with her.

"Oh- there she is," Hiroshi observed, his eyes turning to the entrance.

Hana glanced at Asuna, who practically made a beeline for the memorial on the other side of the room. "Asuna...? What do you have there?"

"Uh- something I made last night, s-spent over an hour on them, that's kinda why I was a little late to wake up, and I-" Asuna quickly explained, setting up the pair of almost identical items on the memorial. "I...just look for yourselves."

Having evidently completed the setup, the short Ultimate stepped aside so the others could see. It was a new pair of makeshift picture frames, made in a similar fashion to the ones Hinata and Rumi made for the other pictures on the memorial. And attached to those makeshift frames were two new pictures, drawn in Asuna's own style, depicting Shiori and Rumi.

"I...know Hinata and Rumi made the memorial before the last trial, but...it just felt wrong to to leave Shiori and her off," Asuna explained, glancing down as sorrow crossed her features. "So, I...made them their own pictures to add to it. Th-They're not the best, but I figured..."

For a few moments, the dining room went silent as the students gazed at the memorial and the two new pictures of the killing game's most recent victims. Before Hana knew it, she could feel her hands starting to shake as she tried to keep her grief in check. It wasn't that she disapproved of Asuna's addition, far from it...it just brought about too many memories, memories Hana would have preferred remained suppressed for the time being.

"...I think they'd really appreciate it, Asuna," Hiroshi told the other Ultimate, a somewhat tired smile replacing the neutral expression that bordered on a frown.

"Of course they would! I'm just- y'know, wondering how _he'll_ take it," Ryoto wondered. "I don't think he'll hate it or anything, but..."

"I-I get it- he and Rumi made it, so seeing the memorial alone might make him more upset..." Asuna responded, concerned. "Although...I'm not sure he'll even show up to the morning meeting, a-after what happened..."

A series of trudging footsteps were all that preceded the entrance of the young man in question- as if summoned, Hinata Yonade appeared in the entrance to the dining room as well, but not nearly as quick as Asuna had been.

Hana looked up, surprised to the see the thief. "Oh, uh- hey, Hinata."

"...Nevermind," Asuna said as she saw Hinata as well.

To put it lightly, the Ultimate Thief had seen better days. Sure, he was dressed in his usual outfit, scarf and all- but the usual brightness of his gold-yellow eyes was dimmed, now replaced with deadness and sorrow. His hair was slightly disheveled too, styled into only half-hearted spikes instead of their straighter and more pointed style.

Seeing as how he had been spotted, Hinata gave a simple nod of greeting before stating, "Hey. Don't mind me, I just...figured something important might come up. I'll...be over here."

With that, he made no more interactions with the others. He walked over and practically collapsed onto one of the chairs in the middle of the other side of the banquet table- in other words, as far away from anyone else as he could manage without sitting on the floor.

"Ah- Hinata! Maybe _you'd_ wanna eat something, huh?" Ryoto suggested in a friendly tone, nodding as if the thief had already agreed.

"..." Hinata was silent for a moment, before he too responded, "I'm...not feeling up for anything."

"Oh c'mon, you too!?" Ryoto cried in exasperation. "I know what happened yesterday was AWFUL, but that doesn't mean we should just GIVE UP on stuff!"

"Ryoto- your concern is appreciated, but you really shouldn't try and force him- or anyone else, for that matter," Hiroshi told him.

"Maybe, but I don't wanna just do nothing!" Ryoto insisted. "C'mon, at the very least they could eat something! Starving's not good for the mind OR body! Even Akira at least had a piece of toast!"

"My emotional state is none of your concern, Miura," Akira finally said with a sigh. "At any rate..."

She looked around at the other students- again, her usual presence had diminished, and now she just seemed as tired as Hana or Hinata. The red mark on her face from when Hana slapped her had faded overnight- now, the brief altercation was but a memory...but a prominent one.

The prosecutor went silent again, then spoke up, "Let's just...wait until we're all here, then we can-"

"Uh...we _are_ all here," Asuna hesitantly pointed out.

Hana looked around- six out of fifteen, just as Asuna said. Suddenly, the numerous empty chairs in the room seemed to stand out more than ever- to Hana, they seemed almost like a mockery of how their numbers had dwindled.

"...Right. Force of habit," Akira remarked, her voice devoid of too much emotion. She then went on, "At any rate, we..."

She sighed. "Oh, you all know how it is by now; we survived another trial, meaning another section of the castle is open, no doubt."

"There's really only one more place, isn't there?" Ryoto asked. "The, uh- North Wing, right?"

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, the...North Wing, at last."

 _The North Wing, huh...? One last...part of the castle..._ Hana thought to herself. Normally, the idea of exploring a new wing of the castle was enough to lift her spirits, if only a tiny bit...but this morning, she hardly felt anything in regards to it.

"Yes, the North Wing it is!" a new but familiar voice suddenly chimed in- Monokuma popped in as he usually did, jumping onto the table to make himself seen. "And might I just say- congraaaaatulations! You students have made it through so many trials that the entirety of the castle is now open for you to explore!"

The bear continued, "Ah, it does my headmaster's heart well to know I've got such a diligent group of students...well, minus the ones who got themselves axed, of course!"

Nobody said a word in response to Monokuma. Yes, several glares were thrown his way, but at this point the students had no response.

"...Nothing? Nothing at all? C'mon, I'm bearing my soul to you guys here," Monokuma stated dryly. "Pun only partially intended."

Once again, the dining room was dead silent.

"...Sheesh, tough crowd this morning..." the ursine robot muttered to himself.

"Monokuma- i-if you've got nothing new to tell us, then...you should probably leave," Asuna told him, trying to sound firm in her tone.

"Hey now, don't kick me to the curb just yet! I didn't _just_ come in to tell you guys about the North Wing!" Monokuma sharply responded. "I've come with a different, special piece of news!"

"Unless you're letting us out of this hellhole- SHOVE OFF!" Ryoto shouted at Monokuma.

"No, it's certainly not that, but I will _not_ shove off until I'm done here!" Monokuma retorted.

Taking a breath, the headmaster went on, "Anyways- for your outstanding performances in the class trials, for better or worse, I've decided I'm going to give you all a reward!"

"Like Ryoto said- unless you're setting us free, we're not interested," Hiroshi stated.

"More likely this 'reward' is just another motive," Akira added, shaking her head.

"Did I say anything about motives? No! Trust me, you'll find that this reward of mine- while not freedom- is probably the next best thing," Monokuma cryptically responded. "But- your reward will not be given right this second. There are still a few preparations I need to make, but those should take...a day or two, I'd say."

His grin widened as he added, "You'll know when it's ready, trust me. And I _cannot wait_ for you all to be there when it is."

With his trademark 'Puhuhu' laugh, which soon devolved into a more maniacal laugh, Monokuma leaped off the table and disappeared yet again.

"...I-I still don't like the sound of this 'surprise' of his..." Asuna spoke up, shifting nervously. "D-Do you really think it'll be another motive...?"

"No doubt- or at least something that could be twisted as a motive," Hiroshi responded, thoughtful. "Unfortunately, I don't think anything will prevent Monokuma from revealing it to us whenever he's 'ready'- all we can do is wait."

 _Of course- that's all we've ever been able to do, just wait for disaster to show up._ Hana told herself, bitter...but right after she had that thought, the bitterness faded enough for Hana ask herself, _W-Wait...what...? Why did I-?_

Akira went on, "And in the meantime...let's not waste time. As soon as we're able- the North Wing's waiting for us."

"Yeah! We've got the whole castle opened now- there is NO WAY the mastermind's gonna hide anything from us at this point!" Ryoto declared. "I, RYOTO MIURA, will scour the whole wing dry until I find ALL THE EVIDENCE IN THE WORLD!"

Ryoto's dramatic vow garnered very little response. In fact, the silence that followed was almost...awkward, as if something was missing.

The Ultimate Racecar Driver seemed to realize this as well; within moments, his cocky grin faded into a look of dismay, and he quickly cried out, "ASUNA! Quick, SAY SOMETHING CONDESCENDING TO ME!"

"W-What!?" Asuna yelped, taken aback. "Uh, uh- your, uh, eyes are...too blue?"

"..." Upon hearing that pathetic insult, Ryoto let out a loud groan of dismay and lamented, "It's not the same!"

He then landed his fists onto the table and lowered his head, seeming almost deflated.

"The same as...what?" Asuna inquired, visibly confused.

"YOU KNOW! Most of the time, whenever I'd say something, it'd usually be followed by Shiori saying something insulting towards me!" Ryoto explained.

"Oh yeah- you were always one of Shiori's most frequent targets when it came to her sarcasm..." Hana remarked, frowning.

"Uh- Ryoto?" Hiroshi began. "Are you saying you _liked_ it whenever Shiori acted snarky towards you?"

"I wouldn't say I liked it- it's just what I'm used to at this point, that's all," the caped Ultimate explained. "But now she's GONE, so it's not gonna HAPPEN anymore, and RYOTO MIURA'S HAVING TROUBLE COPING!"

"O-Okay, okay, we get it," Asuna told him, trying to help him calm down. "You know, uh- maybe investigation _will_ get your mind off of it? At least for a little while?"

Just like that, Ryoto somewhat perked up again. "Yeah...Yeah! Like I said, there's bound to be answers in this last part of the castle- THAT'S how I'll make it up to both her and Rumi!"

He went on, determined as ever, "I may have failed to realize what Shiori was planning, and failed to stop her and save her- and Rumi, for that matter- from getting killed, but that's all the more reason NOT to fail again!"

He then stood up and turned to Asuna, loudly declaring, "Asuna Izumi! You and I are gonna get a headstart on the search for answers- so LET'S DO IT!"

Before Asuna had a chance to react, the racecar driver picked up his much shorter and lighter classmate and ran out of the room with her.

"I-I DIDN'T MEAN THIIIIS!" Asuna yelped as she was practically whisked out of the dining room and down the hall, out of earshot of the other students.

Akira furrowed her brow, then stood up and said, "Well- no use waiting around, I suppose. The sooner we investigate, the sooner we can find any clues to the mysteries behind the killing game."

Hana felt the cloudiness in her mind strengthen, and she found herself muttering in response, "Yeah, _if_ we find anything, and it's not just one big disappointment..."

Hiroshi glanced at the surfer and asked, "Huh? Hana, did you say something?"

Just as suddenly, Hana quickly shook her head. "N-No, I mean- yeah, we should- we should get going with exploring, like Akira and Ryoto said."

Hiroshi nodded in agreement. "Yeah- let's go."

As she stood up to leave, Hana realized whatever had been fogging up her mind since she woke up seemed to fade. Now she could think a little more clearly, she felt a little more motivated, and her grief regarding the events of yesterday was a little less overwhelming. Still, the Ultimate couldn't figure out what had actually prompted it; she at least knew it was the same nihilistic feeling she had briefly experienced from time to time, but this morning it had seemed particularly overpowering- just what was it? It couldn't be regular feelings of sorrow and hopelessness that resulted from the circumstances of the killing game, could it?

Hana looked up again...and realized, in her pondering, she had spaced out long enough for Hiroshi to have already left the dining room. With a little groan of irritation, she started to head for the exit herself- but then she saw a certain someone out of the corner of her eye. Hinata was still sitting in the exact same seat as before, still vacantly staring at nothing at all.

Immediately, the Ultimate Surfer was wracked with a wave of guilt upon realizing she had forgotten all about him- even though she was certain most of the others had as well, that did not make the situation any more right.

After a moment of thought, Hana spoke up, "Hey...Hinata? Do you want to come look around the North Wing with us? I'm sure that'll take your mind off of things too, and I don't think the others'll mind either."

However, the thief remained silent this time- the only acknowledgement he gave her was a blink. He then silently stood up and walked over to the memorial, and it was there he solemnly stood in some form of vigil.

Hana grimaced, pondering if she should try and press him further- ultimately, however, the surfer realized she herself probably wasn't in the best mental state to be able to help him. So, with a regretful sigh, she exited the dining room completely and went off in pursuit of Hiroshi.

* * *

It didn't take long for Hana to catch up to the Ultimate Coroner, and soon the two were making their way down the main hall and towards the doors leading to the courtyard.

"So, Hana- when we get there, do you mind sticking together as we investigate?" Hiroshi proposed as they walked. "Though I'm sure you're capable of exploring the grounds on your own, it wouldn't hurt to have a partner, right?"

"No, I don't mind at all- in fact, I think I'd prefer to look around with you, honestly," Hana responded. She then added, "Actually, now that I think about it...you seemed pretty interested in the North Wing recently. I remember you tried to see if it was open after Saku and Shiro's trial, and..."

When she mentioned this, Hiroshi frowned slightly. "That...isn't important now. After all, it's open now, so any secrets it may have will be discovered soon enough."

The Ultimate then sighed and added to himself, "But I would have preferred it to have opened at an earlier time..."

Hana was curious about this comment, but considering how evasive he was already being regarding the North Wing, she figured pressing the matter would be futile. So, the two passed into the courtyard- sunlit and warm as usual.

Hana then furrowed her brow and glanced up at the sky- the peaceful, beautiful, blue sky. Memories of the night before flooded back, more specifically the article depicting what was called 'the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history'. The description, the pictures that accompanied the article- with said pictures depicting a sky that was either dark or the color of blood. Surely, this summer-esque sky was a clear contradiction to what that latest message claimed, wasn't it? Or, assuming the message was truthful, had the destruction described not yet reached wherever the castle was located?

"Hey? Hana?" Hiroshi called from where he stood, bringing the surfer back to attention once again. "Cloudwatching- not that there are many clouds to watch- is a peaceful pastime, but we've got business to take care of first."

"Ah-! Yeah, yeah I know- sorry," Hana responded, jogging to catch up to her classmate. "Sorry, I've just...had a lot on my mind."

"I can imagine, after...you know, what happened with Shiori's trial," Hiroshi responded. "Still, it seems like you've bounced back a little bit, which I'm glad for."

"I'm...still not entirely over it- but that's actually not completely what's been bothering me," Hana explained, hesitant. "It's just...you know, I've been thinking about...uh..."

 _Come on, don't say it- Hiroshi's as trustworthy as they come, but telling him about the messages...what if he thinks I'm connected to the killing game somehow?_ Hana asked herself in anxiety. _I'm not, but he doesn't know that!_

"Just, you know...they sky, reminds of the outside...and not just because we're literally outside..." the surfer awkwardly explained. "We've been in this castle for...who knows how long at this point- I'm just...wondering what's been going on with the rest of the world, is all."

She went on, more resolute, "I mean, surely our families or whoever else has noticed we were kidnapped, right? The authorities- hell, maybe even the government, Ultimates are a big deal- _have_ to be looking for us by now. We've been in here for, I dunno, weeks at this point!"

The words came out easier that time- after all, she wasn't completely lying about her curiosity about the outside. However, it was highly dampened by her knowledge of this 'tragic event' described in the message- she didn't even know why she was bothering to ask Hiroshi (or anyone, really) about this, she was the only one with this knowledge as far as she knew.

Even so, Hiroshi shrugged and looked towards the sky himself. "Who knows. Realistically, I agree- by this point, people are going to start asking questions about why a whole class of Ultimates has disappeared- however that happened to begin with."

He went on, a little more optimistic, "So, in short- I don't think we have anything to worry about. Obviously, we're far beyond the point of relying on outside help, but...just the idea that there's _someone_ out there looking for us- well, it's even _more_ reason to escape this castle, you know?"

Despite Hiroshi's cheerful smile, Hana...well, she was having a difficult time keeping her thoughts to herself. She tried to return the smile with a grin of her own...but it was as awkward as could be, and her eyes were fearful. All she could think about was that strange article, and the things it spoke of- terrorism, wars, death, anarchy. The chances of anyone being able to search for them, let alone _finding_ them, seemed incredibly unlikely if that article was true. Of course, there was no way Hiroshi knew that, so his hope wasn't unfounded in his mind; for that reason, Hana tried to appear agreeable, despite her mind screaming otherwise.

Unfortunately, Hiroshi seemed to read her like an open book. His brow furrowed in confusion and he asked, "Hana? Are you okay? You look- well, you look a little nervous."

"N-Nervous? Me? W-What do you mean I'm not nervous, I'm not nervous at all, w-why would I be nervous exactly?" Hana asked, uncomfortably fidgeting where she stood.

"...Ah...I ask again- are you _sure_ you're okay?" Hiroshi inquired again, raising an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"

"N-No! Nothing's on my mind, nothing at all!" Hana insisted. She then quickly ran up the stone stairs leading to the entrance to the North Wing- nearly tripping on the steps in her anxious state. "Look, just- forget I asked anything, we've got a whole new wing to explore, l-let's just focus on that, alright?"

"Well- alright, fair enough," Hiroshi finally conceded- although he still appeared to be contemplating just what had her so flustered.

Of course, Hana didn't plan on telling him- although she did feel bad about continuing to keep such a significant secret from one of her closest friends. Perhaps a time would come when she would be able to inform Hiroshi about the odd messages- but time was certainly not now.

 _And how do I know he'll just accept it, just like that? I have a lot of information that the others could probably use or need, and I've been keeping it to myself- it's more likely he'll think I'm connected to all this somehow, and I wouldn't blame him._ Hana suddenly told herself, her mind starting to grow groggy again.

Once again, the surfer quickly pulled herself out of her misty mindset. _Okay, okay, knock it off! Seriously, what is going on with me this morning!? Why do I keep doing- I dunno, whatever that is?_

Luckily, Hiroshi hadn't seemed to notice anything odd this time, and so the two made their way towards the large mahogany doors without any more incident. Even still, Hana couldn't help but feel some form of foreboding deep within her- not because she was afraid of what the North Wing had to offer, but because she was worried both for her own mental state and about the information from those e-Handbook messages.

But now was not the time to dwell on either of those- in fact, the exploration of the North Wing may prove to be a good distraction. With this in mind, Hana alongside Hiroshi pushed the larger, more imposing doors of the wing open- whatever secrets this place held, hopefully it would be enough to bring about an end to the killing game.

* * *

When the duo pushed open the doors, they were greeted by an entrance hall of some kind- much like the main halls present in the South and East Wings. In this room, dark walls surrounded the room, and a set of red and gold pillars ran down the chamber's center. A red carpet with gold trim made its way between the columns of pillars to the opposite end of the hall, where it stopped in front of a set of shining gold stairs. Atop the stairs was a mezzanine as seen in all the other wings; it seemed to split off directly to the right and left, presumably to connect to the West and East Wings.

A second set of large doors stood in the center of this upper floor- these were also constructed from a dark wood and gold-plated designs emblazoned onto it. On either side of the door, a pair of metallic torches blazed fiercely; similar torches adorned the pillars on the bottom floor, one on each. A dark, iron chandelier hung from the ceiling, with small candles also lighting the room with flames.

On the right and left sides of the main chamber was the entrance to a hallway- where they led, one couldn't say without looking themselves. Overall, this entire entrance hall of the North Wing carried a certain intimidating sensation- strangely fitting, considering this was the final, the ultimate, sector of the castle.

The room wasn't entirely devoid of life, however; and who else would be standing towards the stairs but Akira herself, seeming to be in her own mind space.

Upon seeing her, Hana had the strong urge to head for one of the other hallways before they were spotted- the last person she wanted to deal with was the Ultimate Prosecutor. Hiroshi, however, seemed to have the opposite idea; thus, he walked towards the end of the main hall towards the young woman in question.

"Hey- Akira," Hiroshi called out, approaching.

Hearing him, the Ultimate turned slightly to glance over her shoulder. When she did, Hana glanced away- though they had been able to coexist during breakfast, right now the surfer wasn't quite ready to interact with Akira again after the events of yesterday.

Once again, Hiroshi's feelings seemed to differ, as Hana heard him say to the prosecutor, "Sooo, Akira- this place...what's your impression of it so far?"

However, Akira responded, "Stop with the pleasantries, Ashi- what are you doing, acting so casually after...you know?"

"What am I doing? I'm trying to make informative conversation with my classmate," Hiroshi coolly replied. "Nothing wrong with letting bygones be bygones, right?"

Akira scowled softly and asked, "Oh? So am I to believe you've had a change of heart after what transpired yesterday? You made your feelings passionately clear, after all."

"...I did. And while I don't exactly take back what I said, I'm not going to remain bitter at you forever," the coroner explained. "Especially since we still need to work together, more than ever, to bring about a better end to this killing game. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way- Hana probably does, too. Isn't that right, Hana?"

"..." If Hiroshi expected the surfer to join in his forgiveness of Akira, he would be sorely mistaken.

The Ultimate Prosecutor was silent for a moment before Hana then heard her turn around and start to walk away. "Spare me your pity- _both_ of you. Leave me alone to do my own investigating."

With that simple declaration, Akira ascended the stairs and disappeared down one of the hallways- only when she turned to leave did Hana look up again.

"Well, that...could have gone better," Hiroshi commented with a frown. Glancing at Hana, he remarked, "You could have at least _tried_ to make an effort."

Hana narrowed her eyes and replied, "After what happened after Rumi's execution? The things she was saying? No way, not this time- I doubt Akira would even want my forgiveness anyways..."

She then pointed out, "Besides, you weren't much better with how you reacted to her."

"I admit- I let my emotions get the better of me. I meant what I said, and I still stand by it, but I could have been less...harsh about it," Hiroshi conceded. "And besides- I'm not the one who slapped her."

Hana went silent, having no rebuttal. After all, she had acted out of pure, enraged instinct in the aftermath of the previous killer's execution- at least Hiroshi could say he was still thinking rationally, despite his own emotions taking over.

Finally, the surfer sighed and said, "Come on, we shouldn't just be standing here all day."

Hiroshi nodded, then looked up towards the larger doors atop the stairwell. "Hm. I know we're already down here on the ground floor, but...I'm incredibly curious what could be behind that large door up there."

"Yup- that's one suspicious-looking door up there," Hana agreed. "Kinda reminds me of the entrance in the courtyard."

Hiroshi nodded, beginning to make his way towards the stairs. "Well then, let's start there."

Hana followed him down the main chamber and up the stairs- all the while, her companion was glancing and looking around, perhaps trying to get a better feel for the appearance of the large hall.

In a few moments, the two Ultimates stood in front of the doors, which appeared even larger and even more intimidating up close. Though Hana had her reservations, Hiroshi did not even hesitate and strode forward to push the doors open. Hana was quick to follow and assist him, and soon enough the immense doors opened with less trouble than the girl expected.

The room on the other side of the doors, which was only somewhat smaller than the main hall itself, was quite possibly the grandest room in the castle that Hana had seen. The circular, dome-roofed chamber was colored a pale amber color with another chandelier, this one gold, casting a similarly gold-amber hue onto the room. This was added to by some silvery torches attached to the surrounding walls, the flames further illuminating the room. A red and gold carpet ran from the entrance towards a set of stairs made from the same material as the floor. There were only about three of these steps, attached to an elevated stage of some kind that spanned the other half of the room.

Sitting upon this stage was a very familiar throne- the very one that Monokuma always sat on in his video announcements. Hanging from the ceiling on the left side of the room were four black banners with the insignia of Hope's Peak Academy imprinted in white; on the right side...well, Hana was sure there was _supposed_ to be another set of four black banners, but much like in the East Wing they were seemingly torn down with only a few scraps of black fabric hanging from their alleged spot.

Hana and Hiroshi also found they were not the first ones to enter the chamber- they saw Asuna standing atop the elevated area, not too far from Monokuma's throne.

Hearing the door open, the gardener turned around to see her two classmates enter. "Oh, h-hey you two."

"Hi Asuna," Hana greeted the girl, hoping the conversation with her would take her mind off of Akira. "So- I see you got away from Ryoto."

"Ah- yeah, he calmed down a bit once we got in here," Asuna explained, adjusting the fedora on her head. "I think he's still somewhere on the ground floor- n-not that there's too much to see down there, really."

Hiroshi stepped towards the center of the room, scanning the area with his gray eyes. "And this...is some kind of throne room, I'm guessing?"

"Looks that way," Asuna answered. "I mean- if the throne was any indication."

Hana walked up the steps onto the elevated half of the room so she could see the throne more closely. Meanwhile, Hiroshi walked the perimeter of the room, still looking around as if he was searching for something specific...

Hana wasn't paying too much mind to him, however- she was examining the familiar throne sitting atop the stage-like area. "So...this is where Monokuma makes his little videos and announcements?"

"It does look like the same one- not that you can see it too well on the announcements," Asuna surmised. "I-I'm just wondering why there's no video stuff set up at all- h-how would he have recorded and broadcasted those anyways?"

"Actually, I think most of the announcements we've been seeing- namely the morning and nighttime announcements and the BDA- are pre-recorded," Hiroshi speculated from his position, crossing his arms. "After all, they're all more or less exactly the same every day. And any of the other, more unique announcements are probably made at an earlier time and then broadcasted. So, that's probably why this room is so...well, empty of any video stuff aside from the security cameras."

"Huh...never really put that much thought into it, really," Hana commented. "Still, what you're saying makes sense- though it doesn't sound like something we can really use against the mastermind or anything..."

"No, unfortunately, it's not much of a lead," Hiroshi confirmed with a frown. "...At least the throne looks comfy."

"I-I actually did sit in it for a second- mainly because I wanted to see if Monokuma had a problem with us doing that or not," Asuna told them. "Nothing happened, so...I'm guessing we're free to use it."

"Right, because sitting in a fancy chair's gonna change the fact we're still trapped here," Hana stated, her voice losing its emotion as her shoulders slouched.

"...Uh- what?" Asuna asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Immediately, Hana's mind cleared up again, and she immediately added with more energy, "I-I mean- no! No, it's- it's neat, this throne, it's a castle why _wouldn't_ there be a throne? Hahaha, of course there'd be a throne, it's right here and it's cool-looking! Haha!"

Now, both Hiroshi and Asuna were staring at the surfer with a mixture of confusion and concern. Glancing back and forth between the two of them, Hana stood as still as a statue...

...And then a few seconds later, she bolted off the stage and ran towards the doors leading back to the North Wing's main chamber.

"H-Hana, wait!" Hiroshi called out in surprise. "Don't you at least want to keep looking around in here?"

"NOPE!" Hana shouted back as she practically threw herself against the throne room's doors to open them quicker, then running out into the open room on the other side.

* * *

After fleeing the throne room, Hana took a few moments to catch her breath just beyond the large doors. She felt an unconscious shiver go through her body as if she had contracted the chills, and she decided she'd rather sit down. So, the surfer descended the main stairwell and sat down on the bottom step, staring down at the floor and her feet.

 _It happened again...it happened again,_ why _did it happen again?_ Hana asked herself with growing apprehension. _It...can't just be me being upset about the killing game, right? It felt like...like I was in control, but not in control at the same, like- instinct or something..._

She lifted a hand and stared down at it with a small grimaced. _But...that can't be right, can it? I'm not someone who_ focuses _on the negatives, so...why have I been-?_

Her pondering was interrupted when the immense doors atop the North Wing's main hall audibly opened, followed by a certain Ultimate Coroner calling, "Hana?"

She turned around to look over her shoulder at Hiroshi, but could find nothing to say in response.

Hiroshi walked down the stairs as well, asking as he went, "What happened in there? You were talking weird, and then you just..."

"Weird? Weird? Nah, everything's- everything's just fine, I was just..." Hana began, awkwardly fumbling her words. "Um- overwhelmed, was all."

Hiroshi furrowed his brow. "By what?"

"...You know..." Hana responded again, her voice rising somewhat out of nervousness. "...Wondering how a bear can afford a throne...?"

"..." The look on Hiroshi's face was a clear indicator that he did not believe the other Ultimate in the slightest (and rightfully so). But then his expression softened somewhat, and he regained his trademark calm smile as he told her, "Hana- if something's really bothering you, you can tell me. I've always been here for you, haven't I? And that hasn't changed at all, I can assure you of that."

Hearing Hiroshi's words did lift Hana's spirits at least somewhat, and she believed what he told her. In fact, she wanted so badly to be able to tell him about what had been going on with her...but in the end, she didn't. It wasn't out of a lack of trust in Hiroshi, but rather she didn't know how she could possibly explain all these strange occurrences in a way that would allow him to understand.

"...Thanks, Hiroshi, but- really, it's not that big a deal," Hana responded, trying her absolute hardest to sound genuine. "But- if something does come up, I'll let you know."

Hiroshi's smile faltered ever so slightly, but regardless he said, "Glad to hear it. Now...let's get to looking around this bottom floor. Asuna told me the hallways only lead to one other room each, though she didn't know what kind of rooms they are."

Hana furrowed her brow as she stood up. "Wow- kinda a small wing then, compared to the others..."

Hiroshi nodded in agreement, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Yeah...I can't imagine what there is to see in the other places."

He added, slightly more optimistic, "Regardless, let's still do our best- in a place like this, you never know what could be hidden around every corner."

"Well now you're sounding like Kaneki," Hana commented, raising an eyebrow. "But, yeah- let's go."

The duo chose to investigate the room on the left side of the North Wing's bottom floor. Proceeding into the hallway in question, they found it only led a short distance before coming to a stop, being replaced by a set of gray, stone steps that led downwards. About halfway down, the wall changed from the dark red and mahogany walls that made up the rest of the wing to gray, stone bricks- much like the steps themselves. At the base of the stairs was another short corridor, which appeared to lead to an iron door that did not appear too inviting.

"...Well that's ominous," Hana remarked, staring down the stairwell. "Looks like the entrance to a basement- you know, the kind you'd see in a horror movie."

"Indeed- there's bound to be _something_ down there, though," Hiroshi speculated.

He once again led the way, putting his hand against the stone wall so as to not fall. But then, Hana noticed he was once again glancing around, and it even appeared he was slightly feeling the wall as he went rather than just keeping his hand against it. Before, Hana had simply chalked it up to the coroner trying to be thorough, but now she had to wonder...was he actually looking for something in particular?

It only took a few seconds for the two to reach the dark, metal door in front of the stairs' base- and somehow, they seemed even more foreboding up close. Admittedly, there was nothing particularly unique or eye-catching about the design of the door, but somehow Hana knew deep in her gut there was something...off about whatever this place was.

Conversely, Hiroshi did not seem too fazed- then again, rarely did he ever appear particularly bothered by something- and he pushed the door open with a surprising lack of difficulty. However, the moment he did, colder air seemingly poured through the opening and sent a chill across Hana's skin.

"Ah man, i-it's gotta be freezing in there..." Hana apprehensively remarked, hugging herself to conserve warmth. "What'd we find, some weird...underground...freezer?"

"Really? Doesn't feel too bad to me," Hiroshi stated as he fully stepped into the room.

"Well yeah, you've got a sweater and a vest," Hana pointed out with a pout as she followed. "I'm here with a T-shirt and a skirt..."

On the other side of the door was, well- if the throne room was one of the fanciest rooms in the castle, then this room was one of the most foreboding. The floor and ceiling, which were about 12 feet apart, were made from a dark gray stone; the walls themselves were made of many dark gray, borderline black, bricks. It would probably be difficult to see anything if not for the ominous lights hanging between the wooden beams going across the ceiling, casting spotty illumination down on the hard floor.

On each side of the room were what appeared to be...prison cells? Indeed, ten cells lined the left and right sides of the room, iron bars separating the interior from the outside- in all honesty, it was not unlike the arrangement of the students' own bedrooms. Each cell appeared identical in layout- a pair of beds on each side, a sink on the end opposite of the iron-barred door, and a toilet in the upper-right corner. The room was cut in half by a corridor about eight feet wide.

"Uh...did we find the prison or something...?" Hana asked as she looked around- evidently, there was no one else in the dark room, meaning she and Hiroshi were likely the first ones to investigate it.

"More like a dungeon- I suppose a medieval-style castle wouldn't be complete without one..." Hiroshi quipped as he glanced about. "Still, I can't imagine why Monokuma would keep it so cold..."

He walked down the path towards the end of the dungeon, scanning the room as he had been doing all day; Hana, meanwhile, looked into the first cell on her left. Oddly enough, one of the beds appeared displaced somewhat, having been dragged more towards the center of the cell; in fact, eight other cells appeared to have this similar discrepancy. Even more strange was these displaced beds seemed to be devoid of any pillows or such except for the (rather thin) mattress itself and a white bedsheet, covering up...something on the bed.

Furrowing her brow, Hana tried the door of the first cell- and found, to her surprise, that it was completely unlocked. "Wha-? Hey, Hiroshi- the cell doors are unlocked."

"Really? Well, that makes sense- not like there are any prisoners to keep locked away," Hiroshi observed as he entered one of the cells on the complete opposite end of the corridor- a cell where both beds were in their normal positions.

Even more intrigued, Hana entered the cell itself and approached the repositioned bed. Just looking at it normally, it was impossible to tell what was underneath the sheet- although the surfer did poke it once or twice, finding it was somewhat squishy. Not to mention as she moved closer to the bed, she began to faintly smell something...familiar. And it wasn't a pleasant scent, either.

Hana's curiosity grew into apprehension as she began to truly question what could be under the bedsheet, and it appeared Hiroshi was still looking around the general area and not at anything specific. Still, she couldn't just stand there and wait for him- after all, whatever was hiding beneath the bedsheet could be some kind of breakthrough. Thus, Hana gave in to her morbid curiosity and moved back towards the end of the bed closest to the iron-barred front of the cell.

Taking a deep, deep breath, Hana picked up the bedsheet with one hand and carefully lifted it up...and in an instant, she regretted her decision.

There was the dead body of a young man under that sheet- but it didn't belong to some random stranger. Though only his head and naked shoulders were uncovered, not to mention he was missing his familiar glasses, he was still easily recognizable due to his short dark blue hair- which was parted in some places by the various head wounds that had killed him.

The instant she saw the body of Mikio Nakamura once again, Hana was struck with the memory of first discovering his corpse in the South Wing's fitness room all that time ago. And as a result, the Ultimate let out a horrified shriek and fell backwards onto her rear, practically throwing the sheet aside as she did.

"Hana? What happened?" Hiroshi called right after, running over to where Hana was.

When he arrived, the coroner stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Mikio's body on the displaced bed.

"Oh, that's-!" Hiroshi began, his eyes growing wide in realization. "Then- these other cells with the beds that are moved, they must be-!"

Hana didn't wait for him to finish his thought- the other Ultimate jumped to her feet and ran out of the cell, making her way towards the iron doors and bursting through them out of the dungeon, screaming in horror all the while.

* * *

When she first entered the North Wing with Hiroshi, Hana didn't imagine she would be running out of two of its rooms as if to escape the people and things inside- and yet, here she was. First the throne room, now the dungeon...or morgue, more accurately.

At that moment, Hana was once again back in the North Wing's main chamber; she was sitting against the wall next to the entrance to the stairwell, her face buried in her knees, trying her best to stop practically hyperventilating.

 _Just once...just once, I'd like to go one day without seeing corpses or other reminders of horrible death around here- is that too much to ask!?_ Hana asked herself in dismay.

She couldn't help but be brought back to her most recent dream- the one where Mikio and Azami had seemingly appeared before her, alive and well. What a turn this day had taken indeed...

 _That's what you get for forgetting the reality of your situation- just leads to even worse pain than if you hadn't-_

With a short, audible groan, Hana gave herself a light smack on the face to break out of her stupor yet again.

She then softly (but angrily) told herself, "No, _no-!_ Knock it off, _why_ do I keep thinking like that...!?"

She buried her face in her knees again, thinking, _It's...this time, it was seeing Mikio's body, that's gotta be. It...It was really awful, and that's why...that's why I'm getting all nihilistic again. Blame it on the dead body, Hana- blame it on the dead body._

Even still...the darkness in Hana's mind was still not completely gone. In the back of her mind, she was afraid of what else the North Wing could hold, and all she wanted to do was go back to her room and hide from the memories of the killing game. Hide from the others who may try to talk to her and make her forget their situation again.

However, her pondering was interrupted when footsteps approached her yet again, which was preceded by the sound of the iron door opening and closing.

"Hana...? You up here?" Hiroshi softly called as he ascended the stone stairs.

"Right here," Hana responded, poking her head around the corner of the doorway so Hiroshi could see her once he was more towards the top of the stairs.

Hiroshi gave a little nod of acknowledgement, walking over to stand next to where she was kneeling. "So...that was, uh- unexpected."

"No kidding..." Hana muttered. "I know one thing- and it's that I never, EVER, want to go down there again."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding. "Well, I looked around a little more. And, yeah- looks like Monokuma converted that dungeon into a makeshift morgue, or at least some kind of storage place for the bodies of...the others."

He then went on, "That's gotta be why it's kept as cold as it is; bodies take much longer to decompose in cold temperatures. That's why most morgues in general keep bodies in cold storages."

Hana could only nod as she stood up, dryly remarking, "Thanks for the lesson, but uh...I'd really, really like to forgot what I just saw in there, so can we just- can we just go to the last room and be done with this place...?"

"Understandable," Hiroshi conceded. "Seeing something like that so suddenly, and when we _already_ saw everyone's bodies before..."

The coroner trailed off, sensing how Hana did not dwell on it in _any_ sense.

And so the two of them made their way to the opposite side of the North Wing's main hall, towards the corridor on the right side of the large chamber. Unlike the dungeon stairwell, this hall appeared to be...well, just a normal hallway that ran straight down. The most suspicious aspect of it was the door the corridor led to: it, too, was metallic, but in more of an industrial sense- it was smooth, polished even, and appeared more silvery than iron. Not to mention there was a yellow, diamond-shaped, metallic sign attached to the door with a black lightning bolt symbol on it.

"Well, this seems a little out of place," Hiroshi observed as he examined the door. "Seems like something you'd see in a factory or a school's maintenance room, not in an old-ish castle."

"You could say the same thing about the fitness room. And the treasure room. And- look, this castle's got some weird design choices, it's kinda pointless to start questioning it _now,"_ Hana pointed out with a frown.

"Fair point- let's just see what's on the other side," Hiroshi replied, gently pushing open the silvery door. It gave away with an audible _ker-chunk_ before the two were able to look inside.

When Hana saw the interior, she immediately understood the meaning of the yellow sign on the door. The floor and ceiling appeared to be made from concrete, and the wall opposite of where the door was made from dull gray bricks. Against that far wall was a desk or table of some kind made from faded wood; on the desk appeared to be supplies a mechanic or electrician would use, along with a pair of black, insulated gloves.

The rest of the room, however, what was truly made the yellow sign understandable. Both the right and left walls of the room were covered from floor to ceiling in machines and generators, the likes of which Hana couldn't even begin to figure out. Mechanical humming and whirring emanated from the machines as their diodes blinked and their gauges remained steady- if there was an Ultimate Engineer in the building, this would probably be their paradise. The other most notable aspect about the room was several cables and wires strung across the ceiling, which seemed like yet another health hazard alongside all the others the castle had to offer.

Additionally, unlike the dungeon, there was another student already investigating the room- none other than Ryoto Miura, who was trying on the insulated gloves for himself before he heard Hiroshi and Hana enter.

"My fellow classmates! Good to see you two!" Ryoto happily greeted them when he turned around. "Uh- Hana, why do you look so pale?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Hana flatly replied, glancing away.

"This place...certainly different from a lot of the other rooms in the castle," Hiroshi observed as he looked around at the machines and cables. "Judging by that sign out there and all this electrical equipment...I'm guessing this is a power room?"

"It's THE power room, baby!" Ryoto responded with a grin. "Look at all these! This has gotta be powering the _entire_ castle, there's so MUCH with these generators and other stuff- I mean it's kinda a rudimentary setup, but apparently it works!"

"'Rudimentary'? There are cables coming out of the ceiling, that can't be safe at all!" Hana pointed up, looking upwards. "Actually, come to think of it...Ryoto, aren't you worried about getting zapped by the wires up there? You're pretty tall already, and with that hairstyle of yours..."

"WRONG! There's a good couple-a inches between me and the cables- as long as I don't jump up too high, I'll be fine!" Ryoto insisted, looking up as well- at the very least, he was right about there being a few inches between the top of his mane of a hairdo and the wires.

Hiroshi then turned his attention towards the table at the other end of the room. "What's all that on the table over there?"

"TOOLS! The stuff that an electrician uses!" Ryoto eagerly told them. "Pliers, cutters, gloves so you don't get shocked as badly- _everything_ someone would need in case something happened to these machines!"

"How do you know what these tools do?" Hana asked, walking over to the table.

The surface appeared far dustier than she initially thought, with a few areas where the dust had been displaced from Ryoto picking up and moving the tools and gloves around. She could also what seemed to be...etchings in the surface? With all the dust, however, it was difficult to make out anything from the scratches.

"My dad became an electrician after he retired from racing," Ryoto casually explained. "Of course I'd pick up a thing or two, Ryoto Miura never misses a thing!"

Hiroshi approached the table as well, furrowing his brow at all the dust. "In addition to the rudimentary aspect of all this, this place could use a cleaning too- can't be good for all the machinery."

He blew on the table to get rid of most of the dust- and to the surprise of him, Hana, and Ryoto, those odd gashes from before now appeared clearer with the dust gone. So clear, in fact, they were able to see they were not random scratchings at all, but rather a phrase carved into the wood on the table.

"Whooa, secret message!?" Ryoto called out, running over to see for himself. "What does it say? IS IT A CLUE?"

"Calm down, let's actually read it first," Hiroshi told him, unfazed by his yelling. "Okay, let's see..."

The trio looked down at the words carved on the table, a simple phrase of only five words:

 _DOOM COMES TO ALL_

Hana's eyes widened as she read the message. "...That's, uh...worrying."

"'Doom comes to...?'" Ryoto said to himself, before he let out a loud gasp. "HOLY FUCK, I RECOGNIZE THAT!"

"Wha-!? You do?" Hana quickly asked, turning to the racecar driver in shock.

"OH MY GOD, I GOTTA- I GOTTA-" Ryoto stammered, before suddenly sprinting out of the room. "I GOTTA FIND ASUNA OR AKIRA OR- SOMEONE!"

Hana stared at the metal door to the power room, still swinging from Ryoto throwing it open and running through it.

Finally, she turned to Hiroshi and asked, "What was that...?"

"I'm not sure," Hiroshi answered, looking back at the craved message. "But...I feel like I've seen this message somewhere too..."

"You _do?"_ Hana asked, surprised. "Because I can't make heads or tails of it- though it is kinda freaky."

"Well, I can't remember _where_ I've heard of it, but...I definitely have, I can feel it," Hiroshi affirmed with a nod. "Given time, I'll probably remember."

"Do you think it'll be a clue to figuring about something about the killing game?" Hana then inquired, hopeful.

"Not sure, but...it could be," Hiroshi replied, also sounding optimistic. "At any rate, it doesn't look like there's much else to see in here."

"Yeah- let's go before one of us gets shocked or something..." Hana stated, glancing up at the cables warily. _Good thing I'm on the average side of height, otherwise I'd have to be mindful of my ahoge..._

With that, the two departed from the power room...no closer to finding the truth about the killing game than they were when they entered.

* * *

As the two Ultimates began to head back down the hallway towards the main hall of the North Wing, Hana couldn't help but contemplate what they had seen in their search.

 _So- the last area of the castle, and there's barely anything here..._ Hana remarked to herself, crossing her arms bitterly. _Guess I shouldn't be surprised- why would the mastermind make it any easier for us to find answers just because we have access to the entire castle?_

"Soo...personally, this place wasn't what I was expecting," Hiroshi spoke up to break the silence. "Fewer rooms, and said rooms don't seem to have all too many features..."

"No need to remind me, I was there for the investigating too," Hana told him, drifting over to the right side of the hallway and absentmindedly dragging her hand along the wall as she walked.

"Well- I, uh, don't think we should lose faith just yet," Hiroshi told her. "There will be plenty of time to keep looking around I'm sure, and once we get back to the dining room I'm sure the others'll have some things to add."

"What's the point? Hinata's not around, Akira wants nothing to do with us, it'll just be us two and Ryoto and Asuna," Hana suddenly snapped, feeling that familiar bitterness ensnare her yet again. "Face it, we didn't find a thing, would you quit it with the false hope stuff?"

Now, Hiroshi turned around to face Hana, surprise on his face. "...Uh- Hana...?"

Hana was taken aback as well- but as a result of her own words, which had come spilling out without her meaning to say them.

"I...no, I- I know we- I, uh..." Hana began, her hands starting to shake. "I didn't mean that, it just- it just came out, I don't...I..."

"I knew you seemed a little off today, but..." Hiroshi began, approaching Hana with a look of concern on his face. "Hana, look at me, and be straight with me. Are you absolutely sure everything's okay? Nothing weird is-"

"For the last time, I'm _fine!_ I am! It's just- I'm just really stressed, that's it!" Hana angrily responded. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to pry into a girl's privacy!?"

The surfer immediately felt guilty for lashing out at her friend, but the confusion she felt in regards to her mental state combined with the stress that had building since Shiori's trial made her anger boil over.

Hiroshi did not seem upset or angered by Hana's response, however- he calmly took a step back and said, "Okay, okay- I'm sorry, it's not good to pry, I'm just...you know, worried."

Hana's frustration faded, and she cringed and replied, "I...I know, I'm sorry for snapping, but I- I really can't explain it, it's just..."

She sighed, running her hand along the corridor wall again...before stopping, furrowing her brow, and turning to the wall in front of her.

Hiroshi took notice of this and asked, "Hana...? Something catch your eye?"

"Uh- maybe, lemme just-" Hana explained as the topic of her outburst was dropped for the moment.

She felt along a section of the wall, finding there was a part that felt relatively...uneven compared to the rest. This uneven section seemed rectangular in shape, like a door...not unlike that odd section of wall Hana, Hiroshi, and Shiori had found back in the East Wing.

"There's this...around here, it feels kinda...off, like I can trace some kind of outline here..." Hana attempted to clarify as she examined the wall. "It's like that thing we found in the East Wing- remember, that uneven part of the wall on the second floor, and I tried to run into it-"

She instinctively pushed against the wall section as she spoke to Hiroshi...and to her surprise, she heard an audible _click_ seemingly behind the wall where she had pushed. Hana immediately stepped away, startled; Hiroshi also took notice, watching the wall in confusion.

A door-sized section of the wall- the same area Hana had felt when she dragged her hand across the hallway wall- suddenly gave away, slowly swinging open just like a regular door. As it opened, the sound of stone grinding against stone filled the hallway until the camouflaged door halted its movement. When it did, Hana and Hiroshi could gaze into the inky black space beyond the opening, with a set of stone stairs descending into the void below.

"...Did I do that...?" Hana spoke up, her voice going quiet from shock.

"A...secret passage...?" Hiroshi whispered to himself, sounding genuinely surprised- but not perturbed at what had just occurred, unlike Hana.

Hana glanced back down the hallway. "Should we- you know, go find the others...? A weird secret staircase like that seems like-"

However, Hiroshi's eyes grew steely with determination, and he approached the hidden stairs as Hana was talking.

"Wha- Hiroshi? What are you doing?" Hana quickly asked as the coroner pulled out his e-Handbook, likely to act as a light source.

"Going down there," Hiroshi nonchalantly told her. "If a secret was being hidden anywhere, I'd say it'd be hidden in a place like this."

"Y-You wanna go _into_ the dark creepy passage!? The dark creepy passage of possible death!?" Hana blurted out. "Hiroshi, you've always been great with taking initiative and all, but this? This is going a bit far!"

"I mean, you don't have to go with me if you don't want to," Hiroshi pointed out. "I'm fine with exploring on my own from here, so if you want to go back to the others-"

Hana grimaced and replied, "No no, someone's gotta help you if you- I dunno, get lost down there or something. Besides, we've been exploring together all day- might as well see it through to the end, you know?"

"Good point- besides, you know I'm always a fan of having company," Hiroshi responded, regaining his smile. "But just to be clear, you are okay with this, right? We don't know what's down there."

"Ah...it'll be fine! Two heads are better than one and all that!" Hana answered with a nervous laugh...before pulling out her own e-Handbook and adding, "L-Let's just get this over with."

With that, the duo fell silent as they turned their attention to the aged, stone stairwell. Though Hana's heart was racing from apprehension, Hiroshi stepped down the stairs with little hesitation; thus, Hana felt compelled to follow her classmate down into the jet black maw of the hidden passage.

* * *

 **A/N: And so, we end on a mystery- what lies within the secret passage Hana was lucky enough to discover? Will it be death? Hopefully not, it's too early in the chapter for death.**

 **So anyways- the North Wing, everyone! Smallest wing in the castle in terms of room/section amount, not too much to see it would appear (minus the dead body storage, that's always something), and yet...well, no, I'll save the mysteriousness for later. Besides, Hiroshi seemed interested in this place for one reason for another- what are his reasons, I wonder...? Or, well, I'm leaving you guys to wonder, I have all the answers packed in my brain matter and will reveal them as the plot needs, _mwahahaha._**

 **Now, normally this is the part where I say 'vote for the next FTEs!' buuut...that ain't gonna be the case this time. It may or may not be related to Hana's growing mental issues- you guys'll see next time. Anyways, until then- I'm interested to see what you guys think about what's been going on so far. What do you think is down the hidden staircase? What's going on with Hana? Is there something more the North Wing is hiding? And what could Monokuma's surprise be?**

 **So speculate on all these and more if you wish, and I'll see you guys in the next part...although next time, hopefully it won't take me a hecking month to gte it out. See ya then!**

 **P.S. Just to be clear- Hana's dream at the beginning was not like the dreams she's been having in the previous parts. It was just a normal, grief-fueled dream depicting her sadness at her friends being dead (heck, originally I was going to have it where all the deceased students showed up, but cut it down to just Mikio and Azami because I didn't want the dream sequence to take _too_ long). It's not that deep. **


	43. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 2)

**A/N: Why hello again, dear readers? Are you all ready for more fear and feels, courtesy of good ol' X? Well too bad, I'm posting them anyways!**

 **Soooo...quick lil' recap: Hinata's depressed, Akira's (somewhat) depressed, Hana's depressed and kinda losing it (probably)- basically the only ones keeping themselves together are Hiroshi, Ryoto, and Asuna. Also, the North Wing! Which includes a dungeon-turned-morgue!**

 **And now, yet another mystery has presented itself- what lies beyond the hidden passage Hana discovered at the end of the previous part? That one, at least, I can say will be answered fairly quickly. And my quickly I mean- right now! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 **...And so, I return to where I was born: darkness.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Daily Life (Part 2)**

The stone stairwell turned out to not be too long; however, the deafening silence- broken only by the sound of the Ultimates' footsteps- made the descent feel like it took an eternity to Hana. Her anxiety wasn't lessened by the suffocating darkness around them, with only the still-open wall section and their e-Handbooks providing light.

When the two finally made it to the bottom, Hiroshi moved his handbook around to scan their surroundings. The corridor they found themselves in wasn't too large, only barely wide enough for Hana and Hiroshi to stand side-by-side and about seven feet in height. While the floor was made from pure grayish-brown stone, the walls were made from dusty gray bricks with a few wooden beams periodically against the walls and ceiling, like a mine shaft.

"Now this...this is interesting," Hiroshi remarked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Why was this hidden, I wonder...?"

"Yeah, the dark creepy hallway is cool, can we hurry this up?" Hana quickly asked, frantically glancing around. "I feel like I'm gonna get claustrophobia if we stay down here too long..."

As the two of them spoke, Hana noticed how their voices seemed echoed slightly, as if they were standing in a cavern.

"Alright, we won't linger too long- but I'd like to at least go somewhat farther," Hiroshi answered, leading the way as he slowly strode down the hall.

Hana followed with a small grimace, having to stifle coughs from the dust a few times. All the while, she had cast aside her doubt from before regarding whether Hiroshi was looking for something in the North Wing; there was no way the usually level-headed and reasonable Hiroshi would venture into a possibly dangerous hidden passage if he wasn't searching for something. But that then begged the question: if Hiroshi _was_ seeking out something, then what was it?

It wasn't long before Hiroshi stopped abruptly, moving the e-Handbook to the left and right- the two of them had come to a split, with the corridor going off in two different directions.

"A fork in the-? Ah, don't tell me this place is a maze!" Hana lamented in worry. "I don't wanna get lost down here!"

"Neither do I," Hiroshi replied, much more calm than his companion. "Still, _is_ this a maze of some kind...? Or does the hallway just split like-"

 _"Congratulations!"_

Hana immediately yelped and pointed her e-Hanbook in the direction of the voice- a voice that, while all too familiar, was more than enough to frighten her under the current circumstances. The soft blue light of the device reflected against a black and white metal body, with a jagged red eye slicing through the darkness all on its own.

"Monokuma?" Hiroshi spoke up- even he was surprised to see their 'headmaster' down in the corridors with them. "You're down here too?"

"But of course! I have access to just about every space in the castle, and this place is no exception!" Monokuma answered. "And speaking of- once again, congratulations! You two trailblazers have uncovered the castle's secret catacombs!"

"C-Catacombs?" Hana asked, looking around again. "Is that where we are?"

Hiroshi furrowed his brow before looking over his e-Handbook again, but not as a light source. "These...catacombs- they're not on the map provided on the handbook."

"Well they wouldn't be called _'secret'_ catacombs if they were, now would they?" Monokuma pointedly responded.

Hana turned back to Monokuma himself and inquired, "So...you seemed pretty eager that we found this place. Is there something, you know...special about the catacombs, or...?"

"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't- I'm just asserting myself as a supportive headmaster by congratulating you two on making such a profound discovery!" the bear cheerfully went on, waling over and patting them on the shins in a congratulatory manner.

"...Right," Hiroshi flatly replied before asking, "So, if these are catacombs, then there's a maze element to them, right?"

"Sort of- these halls are twisty and turny, and you'll run into a few dead ends, but otherwise it's actually not terribly complex," Monokuma explained, gesturing to the dark walls around him. "Of course, that doesn't mean you should just go running around all willy-nilly! See, it was impossible to set up cameras down here, so even _I_ would have trouble finding anyone if they were to become lost in here!"

That statement seemed to validate Hana's worries from earlier, and she softly gulped and looked around once again. Indeed, the walls now seemed more suffocating than before, and the surfer took special notice of just how identical everything looked...confusingly identical.

"H-Hey- any idea how big these catacombs are, exactly...?" Hana asked, hoping for something to lessen her worries. "They don't run through the entire castle- or, I guess, under it- do they?"

"These catacombs run under the North Wing and a bit into the northern section of the courtyard," Monokuma answered. "And that's my final answer!"

This _slightly_ lessened Hana's worries- which, right now, was good enough for her.

"Hm...very interesting," Hiroshi muttered to himself, glancing around again. "Well, I suppose we should thank you for the information."

"Puhuhu- yes, you should!" Monokuma responded. "Just be careful now- I'd feel just awful if either of you died in a manner other than murder, then we wouldn't even be able to have a trial! Such a waste of life, if you ask me."

On that note, the mechanical bear vanished into the darkness, leaving Hana and Hiroshi in dead silence once again.

"Well, that was surprisingly informative," Hiroshi observed, raising an eyebrow. "I was expecting him to be more dodgy with some of our questions, considering his past history."

Hana frowned. "That's true- but, if he was so open with explaining the catacombs...do you think that means there's nothing down here? Or at least nothing that he's trying to hide?"

Hiroshi shrugged. "I don't know- there could still be something to this place, Monokuma was still a little vague in some areas."

"So in other words- we're going ahead with the exploring?" Hana asked.

Hiroshi nodded in confirmation. "He said the catacombs extend into the courtyard a little, so..."

He appeared to do some visualizing in his head before remarking, "The courtyard should, technically, be back in direction of where we came from...so let's find a hallway that heads down that way and keep going ahead until we reach that point."

Though Hana still had several concerns about heading through the catacombs, it was clear Hiroshi was determined, and so she chose to be the supportive one and follow him.

The duo went down the left hallway, and were silent as they strode down it. They did come across a hallway that split in the direction of the initial entrance, and so they followed Hiroshi's plan and followed it, and the corridors that led in that same direction after, as far as they could.

As they crossed through more twisting corridors, Hana could almost hear the acceleration of her own heartbeat from fear; sure, Monokuma had said the maze of hallways wasn't too complicated, but that didn't change the size of the North Wing or the north section of the courtyard. It also didn't change how completely identical one hallway looked from another- how did Hiroshi plan to find their way back to the entrance?

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Hiroshi furrowed his brow and spoke up, "Hold on, Hana- look at this wall we're in front of."

He shone his light on the stone surface, then turned it up and down the hallway they were currently standing in before observing, "Doesn't it seem a little more...curved than the others?"

Hana shone her own handbook light on the wall, scanning it the same way Hiroshi did. "I guess so? Do you think it means anything?"

Hiroshi furrowed his brow, then looked back and forth. "I'd say...let's follow this wall here, and see if it keeps up this- you know, curvature. I might have an idea of what this could be, but..."

With that, the duo stayed close to the curved wall- at least this was a slightly better plan than simply heading down hallways that looked the same as each other. And sure enough, the wall continued its curved path, as if it was surrounding something circular. Not that it was completely circular- because after some walking, Hana and Hiroshi came to a complete dead end.

Hiroshi softly grunted. "Well, that's unfortunate- looks like this is the end of the line, at least on this side."

Hana shone her own light on the brick wall in front of them, wondering aloud, "Do you think there's some secret to this wall too? Like...another secret door or something?"

"Doubt it- dead ends aren't that uncommon in catacombs and mazes," Hiroshi stated. "Doesn't mean I wasn't hoping for something a little more, though."

As the two turned around and began to make their way back the way they came, Hana asked the coroner, "So- what was that idea of yours about why the wall was kinda curved?"

"Well- you know how Monokuma said the catacombs go under the North Wing and into the northern section of the courtyard?" Hiroshi explained. "I figured where we are right now is under the courtyard, and that curvature to the wall is from it surrounding the elevator shaft- you know, the one leading down to the trial grounds?"

"Really?" Hana asked in interest, putting a hand against the slightly curved wall and glancing up. "So, right now, we're...almost underneath the fountain, basically?"

"Uh-huh- and if we had gone the other way, I'm sure we'd see the same thing," Hiroshi claimed. "Not that I'm willing to check- I'm sure we'd also have another dead end on our hands, and all this darkness _can't_ be good for our eyes-"

Hana looked back at him and asked, with a twinge of hopefulness in her tone, "Sooo, we're going back?"

"Yes, I think we've seen most of what this place has to offer," Hiroshi confirmed- although his own voice held a hint of disappointment.

"Oh thank god- I think I would have gone crazy if I had to keep staring at these walls any longer," Hana told him, relieved...before a thought hit her and she worriedly asked, "Ah- you _do_ know the way out of here, right?"

"Sure- we didn't go down that many hallways, and the catacombs are only so big..." Hiroshi reassured her. "Besides, you know my memory's pretty good most of the time- what could happen?"

Hana nodded in acceptance and allowed Hiroshi to continue leading the way. Although she still had no idea what the Ultimate Coroner was thinking by deciding to head into the catacombs, at least their excursion hadn't ended in misfortune...

* * *

As it would turn out, Hiroshi did not know the way out of there.

It had started out confidently enough, with Hiroshi leading Hana down hallways that _seemed_ to head where they needed to go. Several dead ends and extra minutes later, however, and it became increasingly clear to Hana that her friend wasn't as good at navigation as he fancied himself to be.

At one point, Hiroshi stopped in front of a wall corner and observed, "Wait- I've seen this chipped brick before. That means either we're going the right way, or we're going in another circle."

"...Hiroshi," Hana began, her voice low and serious. "Be straight with me here- we're lost, aren't we?"

Hiroshi turned back to her with an awkward chuckle. "Well, um...I can't lie to you at this point, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Hana narrowed her eyes as she learned her worries and fears regarding this exploration of the catacombs had come to pass. However, she found she was not overtaken by fear as she had expected- instead, she found her gaze filling with silent anger.

"Yes, I'll admit- coming down here with no plan of navigation...was not one of my better ideas," Hiroshi admitted. "But, well, maybe-"

 _"I told you this was a terrible idea!"_ Hana yelled at Hiroshi, her anger becoming far less silent. "Now we're stuck down here with no way to know which way we're going, and you only NOW realize this was a bad idea!?"

As Hana yelled, her voice echoed farther through the empty hallways- although, as far as she knew, nobody was around to hear.

"It was shortsighted, I admit," Hiroshi conceded, his voice remaining calm (if not somewhat sheepish). "I probably shouldn't have put so much confidence in Monokuma's information either..."

"REALLY?" Hana asked, sarcasm entering her tone. "Ah god, now I'm starting to sound like Shiori- do you see what the dust is doing!? Can you hear it in my voice!?"

"Ah- Hana? I know we're in a bit of a crisis, but I think you need to calm down," Hiroshi told his companion, putting his hands up slightly to try and put her at ease.

"Do NOT tell a girl to calm down!" Hana retorted, practically boiling with rage. "Believe me, it is the WORST thing you can tell us when we're all riled up like this, and believe me I am VERY riled right now!"

Growling in frustration, the surfer further exclaimed, "You're supposed to be guy that comes up with the _good_ ideas, _not_ the guy that comes up with the ideas that get us _lost in underground catacombs for all eternity!"_

Before Hana could further vent her frustrations, the two of them froze as they heard...something, faintly echoing through the halls.

"...Was that my voice again, or...?" Hana began, immediately calming down as she glanced around.

"I'm not sure..." Hiroshi answered, also visibly confused. "Hold on, let's see if it happens again."

Thus, the two Ultimates went completely quiet as they listened into the catacombs once more. Then, a few seconds later, they heard something unmistakable: a voice, echoing through the walls back at them and loud enough to make out the words spoken.

"HEEEEY! HANA, HIROSHI, DID THE WALL EAT YOU GUYS!?"

Hana's eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit, that's Ryoto! But- why are we hearing him?"

"Probably because we agreed to meet up and discuss our findings about the North Wing later, as we always do," Hiroshi surmised. "We've been down here a little while, so Ryoto at least must have begun to wonder why we were late- and since we never actually closed the entrance to the catacombs back there..."

As Hiroshi theorized, another worrying thought entered Hana's mind. " Uh oh- don't tell me he came down here too! Is that why we can hear him?"

Hiroshi looked around again. "Actually...these hard walls around us must be carrying the sound of Ryoto's voice- and because of the sheer volume of his voice, the wave of sound must be capable of being carried farther along."

Thoughtfully, he went on, "And if we can hear Ryoto's voice so clearly, either he is down here alongside us and he's nearby, or he's at the entrance and we're closer to it than we thought."

Hiroshi added more seriously, "I wonder- maybe we can answer him? Of course, we'd probably have to be just as loud for the sound to carry long enough, and I don't know if either of us-"

"RYOTO! WE CAN HEAR YOU, STAY _RIGHT BY_ THE ENTRANCE IF THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE!" Hana shouted into the hallway in front of them- although she had no idea if that was the correct direction to shout in.

It took a few seconds, but finally they heard Ryoto answer back, "HOLY FUCK, YOU'RE ARE ALIVE! IS HIROSHI WITH YA? OR ARE YOU BOTH GHOSTS?"

"...This works just as well," Hiroshi spoke up, rubbing his ear as if the sound of the shouting was giving him physical pain.

"N-NO! WE'RE ALIVE! WE JUST GOT LOST DOWN HERE, IS ALL!" Hana loudly responded, her voice echoing down the corridors.

"THAT SUCKS! DON'T WORRY, I'LL COME DOWN THERE AND FIND YOU GUYS!" Ryoto told them.

"NO NO NO! I TOLD YOU, DON'T COME DOWN HERE, IT'S HARD TO NAVIGATE!" Hana desperately shouted back. "WE'VE BEEN STUCK DOWN HERE FOR- I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LONG!"

Hiroshi snapped his fingers and spoke up, "Hana, listen- maybe, if we follow the sound of Ryoto's voice, we can find our way back to the entrance."

"Ooh, great idea!" Hana responded to him before facing the open corridor and yelling, "RYOTO! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T STOP YELLING!"

"WELL IT JUST SO HAPPENS RYOTO MIURA IS _GREAT_ AT THAT!" Ryoto shouted back, allowing Hana and Hiroshi to start making their way through the hallways with the Ultimate Racecar Driver's echoing voice as a guide.

Behind her, Hiroshi sucked in a breath and cringed slightly at the volume of his two classmates- perhaps being forced to endure the shouting would be his penance for leading Hana and himself into this situation to begin with.

"HEEEEY. BY THE WAY- WHY'D YOU GUYS GO DOWN THERE AGAIN?" Ryoto audibly inquired, as part of following Hana's command.

"ASK HIROSHI, IT WAS HIS IDEA!" Hana told him as the two quickly followed the sound of shouting. "I WAS BEING ANXIOUSLY SUPPORTIVE!"

"WHAT? I WOULDA THOUGHT IT WAS _YOUR_ IDEA, NOT _HIS!"_ Ryoto incredulously replied. "HE'S THE SMART GUY!"

"Wha-? WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE AN INSULT TO ME OR HIROSHI?" Hana asked in annoyance at Ryoto's comment.

Ryoto went silent for a few seconds before he yelled, "RYOTO MIURA...pleads the fifth?"

Hiroshi awkwardly chuckled at that. "Assuming that was an insult at me, I kind of had it coming."

By this point, Hana and Hiroshi had been following the echoes for a little while now, and now the shouting seemed to be closer than ever. In fact, it was so close, Hana could faintly make out a second voice conversing with Ryoto: Asuna.

"Hey, Ryoto- I-I'm _really_ not sure this plan is going to work," Hana heard Asuna inform him. "I'm no expert on sound, b-but I don't know if following echoes is a valid-"

"YOU'RE NOT BELIEVING HARD ENOUGH!" Ryoto shouted in response (leading to a sharp yelp from Asuna), both echoed down the corridors towards his two lost classmates.

"That sounded even closer..." Hiroshi observed, running ahead of Hana and turning a corner, then calling back, "Hana! I see the light from the hallway, and the stairs, and-"

"R-Really!? You see the entrance!?" Hana yelped, running to where Hiroshi stood.

Sure enough, the surfer could see the hallway's light pouring through the opening in the wall, illuminating the stone stairs that led into the catacombs to begin with. Additionally, she could make out Ryoto's figure silhouetted against the light.

"Ryoto! Ryoto, it's us! It actually worked!" Hana happily called out as she and Hiroshi ran down the hallway towards the stairs.

Upon seeing the two of them out of the darkness, Ryoto's own face lit up with relief and joy as he shouted, "IT DID! YOU GUYS ARE ALIVE AND NOT EATEN BY THE DARKNESS!"

"Aha, uh- you can stop now, Ryoto," Hiroshi awkwardly informed the caped Ultimate, once again picking at his ear as if something was now physically blocking his eardrums.

Moments later, a quick series of footsteps preceded Asuna's arrival, who exclaimed in surprise upon descending the stairs, "Whoa! I-It _did_ work, I can't believe it!"

"See? Never doubt the amazing mind of Ryoto Miura!" Ryoto cheerfully boasted.

"Uh, wasn't the echo plan Hiroshi's idea?" Hana pointed out, gesturing to the coroner in question.

To that, Ryoto had no answer.

"W-Well, regardless of who came up with what, we're just glad the two of you are okay," Asuna told Hana and Hiroshi, relief in her voice. "N-Not that we thought something had happened _already,_ but with you two just...not showing up to the meeting and all..."

"We know, and we're- well, I'm sorry, it was my idea, if anything Hana tried to talk me out of it," Hiroshi apologized. "Hopefully, this'll teach us one thing: never go down into the catacombs without some way to find your way out."

"And bring a better light," Hana added with a frown. "Can, uh- we get going now? I _really_ don't think all this darkness is good for us..."

"Then let's go!" Ryoto exclaimed, leading the way back up the stairs with his classmates following.

"By the way Hana, Hiroshi," Asuna spoke up as they started to ascend. "It was a good thing you left the door- uh, wall- open like that. Not just because it made it easy to figure out where you guys might have gone, b-but also because if it was closed, that beam might have fallen down and barred me and Ryoto out."

Hana furrowed her brow upon hearing this. "What beam?"

"You two didn't see it?" Asuna asked, tilting her head. "On the side of the opening there, th-there's a piece of wood that you can swing down to bar the door. See for yourself."

While she and Ryoto exited the catacombs, Hana shone the light where Asuna indicated. Sure enough, she saw a long and sturdy wooden beam standing upright against the wall adjacent to the opening, with an attachment at the bottom allowing for it to be spun downward in front of the door (if it was closed); Hana could only assume there was something on the other side that would hold it in place, barring the entrance entirely. This would, effectively, completely prevent anyone from accessing the catacombs from the outside should the wooden beam be set in place- unless they used _significant_ force.

Hana and Hiroshi glanced at each other as they saw the beam, silently agreeing with Asuna's sentiment about their good fortune.

* * *

Once all four of them exited the catacombs, Ryoto was able to reach over and close the wall/door; the section of the wall shut closed with a mechanical-sounding _thunk,_ and in an instant the section was seamlessly camouflaged into the rest of the hallway's wall once again.

"At least we'll all remember where the entrance to the catacombs is in case anyone, for some reason, decides to go back down there again," Hiroshi remarked. "Even if it's hard to see."

"Speak for yourself- if I never go back down there, it'll be too soon," Hana dryly stated, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, really doesn't seem like the best place to be- and besides, we'd just get worried if someone went missing again!" Ryoto told her with a worried little frown. "It was so _weird,_ just me and Asuna waiting for you guys..."

Asuna nodded in agreement. "Again, I'm glad you two are safe, b-but seriously, at least _say_ something if you're gonna go into some dark and creepy secret passage, okay?"

Hearing the two of them, Hana couldn't help but crack a smile- it was sweet, knowing they had been concerned enough about her and Hiroshi to scour the North Wing for them. Although she didn't realize it, knowing about how much they cared caused some of the mental fog she had been experiencing since she woke up to fade away slightly- however, whether or not it would last was another question entirely.

But then, something Ryoto had said caught Hana's attention, and she turned to him and asked, "Wait a second- Ryoto, you said it was just you two waiting for me and Asuna, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Ryoto replied.

 _"Just_ the two of you?" Hana asked again, raising her eyebrows. "As in...Akira wasn't there?"

"That's right! We couldn't find Akira anywhere!" Ryoto confirmed. "And I doubt she went into the catacombs too!"

Hiroshi frowned in confusion. "Really...? Akira wasn't there? That's...not like her in the slightest..."

"Y-Yeah...that made things even more strange," Asuna added in. "I-It was one thing with Hinata not being around, he's not in the best place right now, but Akira..."

Hiroshi glanced away for a moment before responding, "Well...even Akira's been a little out of sorts since this morning, so her not attending a meeting seems to fit in with how out of it she's been."

He then went on, "Actually, speaking of a meeting- I assume we're heading back to the dining room?"

"Actually- what if we just had the meeting in the main hall in here?" Asuna suggested. "W-We know Hinata's probably not going to show up, and we don't know where Akira is...wouldn't it be more convenient?"

"Heeey, you're right! The North Wing's main hall isn't such a bad place to be anyways!" Ryoto agreed with an eager nod.

Hana shrugged. "Sounds good to me, since we'll be talking about what we found either way."

"Alright, let's do it then," Hiroshi stated with a nod towards Asuna.

As they all agreed to Asuna's idea, the four walked into the central chamber of the North Wing. They decided to have their meeting over by the stairwell; thus, Hana and Ryoto sat on the floor in front of the stairs while Asuna and Hiroshi sat on the first step of two, facing the two of them.

As they did, the four of them...fell into an awkward silence yet again. Hana glanced around at the others, who seemed as unable to begin as she was. She then glanced down at her knees, pondering the blanket of quiet that had befallen them; indeed, it felt as though something was...missing from this meeting, aside from the other differences.

Fortunately, Ryoto was the one to realize what this missing piece was in his usual vocal way: "GUYS! WE NEED A LEADER!"

Hana's eyes widened as she remarked, "Oh yeah...before, it was usually Akira who kinda kept us on track during these meetings, but now that she's kinda...I dunno, avoiding us or something, we don't really have that."

Evidently, Asuna was not going to be the one to provide that foundation- she nervously hid her face behind her fedora, still not one for breaking the ice on big discussions.

"Uuuuuuh- HIROSHI! _You_ should be our new leader!" Ryoto quickly suggested, his and everyone else's eyes going towards him.

"Uh- me?" Hiroshi asked, taken aback despite his calm tone. "Why?"

"I mean...you're kinda the most level-headed and reasonable one out of all of us, not to mention one of the smartest," Hana rationalized. "...Plus you're _way_ way nicer to everyone than Akira ever was."

"...She's not wrong," Asuna spoke up, peeking out from her headwear.

"Well...if you're all in agreement, I guess I have to follow the majority," Hiroshi conceded. "...Chalk one up for peer pressure."

Shifting somewhat in his spot, as if trying to make himself seem more authoritative, the Ulimate began, "Well- I guess we'd might as well talk about the catacombs, since that's the place Hana and I just came from."

"If that's the case- just know, I found it by complete luck, if I hadn't been leaning against the wall we probably wouldn't have noticed it," Hana spoke up.

"And when we did go down there, Monokuma himself told us a couple things about it," Hiroshi continued. "Mainly that they expand underneath the North Wing and the northern section of the courtyard- which is a bigger area than he implied, as the two of us found out- and is pretty maze-like.

"Also- no security cameras or monitors down there," Hana added in, shaking her head. "...Even though Monokuma can get into the catacombs like any other part of the castle."

Asuna cocked her head somewhat before asking, "Come to think of it...Hiroshi, why did you want to go into the catacombs anyways? H-Hana said she went with you because you two are friends, but why did _you_ want to go down there?"

"Me? Well, I..." Hiroshi began with a small frown. "I just...figured there might be something hidden there down. After all, the catacombs themselves were hidden behind a secret door in the wall- if that's not suspicious, I don't know what is."

"Weeeell, isn't there a saying out there about curiosity killing some guy's cat?" Ryoto pointed out. "Ya gotta think these things through, Hiroshi!"

"...Says the guy who jumped off the top floor of the South Wing a few days ago," Hana then reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

"WRONG! I _did_ think that through, so it DOESN'T COUNT!" Ryoto refuted the surfer.

 _"Anyways,_ c-clearly Hiroshi and Hana didn't find anything in the catacombs, s-so I don't think we need to worry about it," Asuna interjected between her two classmates. "Right, Hiroshi?"

"Uh-huh- wasn't quite the treasure trove of mysteries that I hoped it would be," Hiroshi admitted with a sigh.

Hana tilted her head a little at Hiroshi's answer, wondering to herself, _Still though- just what_ was _it that he was hoping to find? Hiroshi's usually so much better at thinking things through, so clearly he thought the catacombs would have_ some _secret...but what?_

"But there was somewhere else Hana and I investigated," Hiroshi then continued. "Namely, the dungeon."

Upon the mention of the dungeon, the memory of seeing Mikio's corpse once again flashed back into Hana's mind, and she nearly shivered where she was sitting.

"A dungeon? Where's that?" Ryoto asked, furrowing his brow. "And can we throw Monokuma in there?"

"That'd probably be breaking a rule," Asuna pointed out. "...Besides, h-he'd probably be able to escape pretty easily anyways."

"Oooh trust us, the dungeon...isn't what you'd think it'd be," Hana told them with a grimace.

"So it's not a dungeon?" Ryoto then inquired.

"N-No, it is, it's just...not being used for normal dungeon stuff, to put it lightly," Hana vaguely explained, glancing at Hiroshi as a plea for assistance.

Hiroshi cleared his throat before elaborating, "It seems that Monokuma, or whoever is in charge of him, has converted the dungeon into a morgue of sorts."

"A _morgue!?"_ Ryoto exclaimed...before asking, "...Wait, what's a morgue?"

"I-It's a place where they keep dead bo-" Asuna began to explain...before realization seemingly dawned on her and she concluded, her face paling, "Dead...bodies."

Hana hesitated for a moment to try and find her words before going on, "Yeah...you guys know how all the victims' corpses just- disappear after each trial? Well, uh...I guess the dungeon's where Monokuma's been putting them."

"And it's not just the victims, either- the culprits' bodies were laid in the dungeon, too," Hiroshi added. "Really, it's everyone we've lost so far- Mikio, Shiro, Rumi, everyone."

Hana glanced away and suppressed a shiver; it had been one thing investigating the crime scenes and witnessing executions, but the knowledge that her classmates' dead bodies were so close by and accessible sent another dreadful chill down her spine.

Evudently, she wasn't the only one perturbed by the information- Asuna and Ryoto turned away to gaze at the hallway leading to the dungeon, their faces pale with disturbance.

"Ah man, that- that's not right! That's not right at all!" Ryoto exclaimed, vigorously shaking his head. "And you guys _saw_ the bodies!?"

"Well, Hana only saw Mikio's body- I looked at everyone else's to confirm if Monokuma really did stash everyone's corpses in the dungeon," Hiroshi casually explained. "That's how I know it's everyone who's died so far- though some of the bodies were in better shape than others, as you can imagine."

"I ask again- you saw the bodies?" Ryoto repeated in shock. "Dude, Hiroshi, does _anything_ phase you!?"

"Come to think of it...Hiroshi, you're the Ultimate Coroner..." Asuna began. "S-So, being in a makeshift morgue like that- out of all of us, y-you'd probably be the least disturbed by everything, right?"

"That's not- yes, I'm a coroner, but this is very different from the labs I'm usually in," Hiroshi responded with a frown. "The people I help examine, I don't know them- the majority of the time, they're total strangers to me. But in here, in this killing game- I _very_ much knew the victims, so I don't have that same level of disconnect. So, while I'm used to being around corpses, that doesn't mean I'm any less disturbed than everyone else."

 _Huh...Hiroshi's always one of the most calm and collected during investigations and everything, but- I guess even he's got his limits._ Hana observed. _...Even if he does a better job of hiding it most of the time._

"R-Right- sorry for the assumption," Asuna apologized. "Uh- if you two are done with that, th-then I guess I'll go next."

Asuna also sat up a little straighter- probably to also make herself seem more confident (or just taller)- before stating, "I looked around the throne room- th-there's really not much to see in there, it is literally just a throne room."

"But the throne seemed comfy," Hana remarked with a shrug.

"Oh it was- n-not that it helped with finding a way out," Asuna responded with a sigh. "Of all the rooms, I thought the throne room would have something, b-but I looked around as best as I could, and...nothing."

"Well, don't beat yourself up, Asuna- there's always time to look around again, if you want," Hiroshi reassured her before turning his attention to Ryoto. "What about you, Ryoto? You looked at the power room, right?"

"YESSIR!" Ryoto confirmed. "It's just like Hiroshi said- that room over there's full of machines and generators and electrician supplies, it's gotta be what's giving electricity to the whole castle! Kinda an old-fashioned, clunky setup, but it gets the job done!"

"All those generators in the same room...don't you think that might cause a problem?" Hana asked in concern. "Like, it would be really easy for a blackout to happen if something went wrong?"

"Probably!" Ryoto responded in an oddly cheerful tone. "But hey- the room's been fine since this killing game started, what are the odds something'll happen now?"

"I guess you're right- still, we probably shouldn't go in there too much if we don't have to," Hana suggested. "Besides, weren't there those cable things coming out of the ceiling? Doesn't really seem like the thing you'd wanna get too close too."

"I agree- death by electrocution isn't the most pleasant way to go," Hiroshi remarked. "I should know, I read about it once."

"Ah, you guys worry too much! If you're not too tall, it shouldn't be a problem!" Ryoto told them, dismissing their worries with a wave of his hand. "So, Asuna, you should _really_ be fine to go in there!"

This time, Asuna didn't even bother to respond to the mention of her height.

At that moment, Ryoto suddenly exclaimed, "OH! There's one more thing about the power room that I found, and I'll bet it's SUPER important!"

He leaned in suspensefully and explained, "Hana and Hiroshi saw it with me, but Asuna- I don't think you were there, so allow Ryoto Miura to explain! On the table in the back where all the tools and stuff were, there was a message carved on top of it!"

"A-A message?" Asuna asked, her eyes widening somewhat in surprise. "What did it say?"

"Ohohoho, get this..." Ryoto answered with a grin. "It said 'Doom comes to all'."

"'Doom comes to-'?" Asuna began before she gasped in realization. "N-No way! Kiragi Ashikawa!?"

Hana did a double take in her spot. "W-What? Asuna, you-? Who's-?"

"THAT'S RIGHT! KIRAGI ASHIKAWA!" Ryoto confirmed with a laugh.

Hana turned to Ryoto with equal bafflement. "Huh!? Ryoto, you too? Who's-?"

"Oh, of course! Why didn't I recognize it sooner?" Hiroshi spoke up. "I knew I recognized that phrase from somewhere!"

"W-What do you mean!?" Hana yelped as she looked around at her classmates. "What are-"

"See why it's such a great discovery!?" Ryoto said to the others. "No doubt about it! Kiragi Ashikawa is the key to all of this!"

"I-If you're telling the truth, then- y-you might be right!" Asuna agreed with a nod. "A message like that, saying 'Doom comes to all'- that's Kiragi Ashikawa, alright-"

"HEY!" Hana snapped, cutting off the conversation. "Who's Kiragi Ashikawa!?"

"HUUUH!? You've _never_ heard of him!?" Ryoto exclaimed in shock. "Have you been living under a rock, Hana!?"

"I grew up on an island, Ryoto!" Hana angrily reminded him. "So excuse me if I'm not up to date with every single celebrity!"

"Ah...allow us to explain," Hiroshi said to the surfer. "Kiragi Ashikawa was an alumni of Hope's Peak Academy before our class was set to attend, and a pretty well-known one at that. They called him the Ultimate Doomsday Prepper."

"Ultimate...Doomsday Prepper?" Hana asked. "Like...those conspiracy guys that are always like 'the end is near' and all that?"

"W-Well, Kiragi Ashikawa was a bit different from those types of people," Asuna went on. "He came up with really elaborate methods of surviving different catastrophes, created these advanced ways to find and store essentials, e-even building inventions and shelters that could help a person survive even the deadliest kinds of apocalypses."

"He started out with a blog online, but eventually they gave him his own TV show!" Ryoto elaborated. "He'd always end episodes or blog posts with 'doom comes to all', or he'd sign or carve it on something that he made. It was kinda like a signature or a catchphrase of his."

"Alright- how do _you guys_ know so much about this guy?" Hana then inquired.

"My dad used to watch his show a lot, and I'd watch it with him!" Ryoto explained. "I didn't get a lot of what he was talking about, but I still thought it was weirdly cool!"

"I-I remember kids from my old school talking about him years ago," Asuna added. "Th-They thought he was kind of a weirdo."

"I watched his old show too whenever they'd show reruns of it- it was weirdly fascinating," Hiroshi stated. "That's how I know about him, at least."

"O...kay..." Hana responded, visibly baffled. "You guys said he was an Ultimate, right? Is that why he's so famous?"

"Well, it's more for what he did to earn the title- and it wasn't just through his blog and show," Hiroshi explained. "With the help of an anonymous financial backer, Ashikawa was supposedly able to construct this massive underground bunker on behalf of Japan's government. They say that it has more than enough space, supplies, and facilities to sustain dozens of people and their possible offspring for a _long_ time in the event of a massive catastrophe."

Hearing this, Hana couldn't help but remember the news article describing, supposedly, 'the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history'. She wondered, if the article was true, whether the government officials had made good on Ashikawa's supposed bunker and stuffed as many citizens as they could into it to avoid the war and carnage above.

Then, another question popped into Hana's mind. "Hey- why do you say he 'supposedly' built a bunker? Did he build one or didn't he?"

"H-He did- it's just nobody knows _where_ it was built," Asuna told her. "Because it was a government thing, i-it's location is, I guess, some big secret. The only people outside the government who knew where it was were Ashikawa himself, his anonymous backer, the architects and other workers who helped construct it, a-and the Hope's Peak official who scouted Ashikawa out."

"Aah, forget about the bunker! There's bigger fish to fry!" Ryoto impatiently interjected. "If his catchphrase is in this castle, that can only mean one thing..."

He jumped up to his feet and declared, "KIRAGI ASHIKAWA IS THE MASTERMIND! WE'VE SOLVED THE CASE, GUYS!"

Ryoto's words were met with deafening silence- although Hana had a feeling Hiroshi and Asuna's reasons for staying silent were different from her own.

"Well- that's one way to look at it, Ryoto, buuut there's a glaring hole in your theory," Hiroshi apologetically told the racecar driver.

"HOOOLE!?" Ryoto furiously responded. "What kinda 'hole'!?"

"Uh...correct me if I'm wrong, but- didn't Ashikawa die in a plane crash four years ago?" Asuna asked, looking around at the others.

"Wait, the guy's dead?" Hana asked in surprise.

"Asuna's right- Kiragi Ashikawa's dead, there's no way he could be involved in this killing game," Hiroshi confirmed, glancing down contemplatively.

"Well- what he if faked his death all along!?" Ryoto demanded and slammed his hand down on the floor for emphasis. "Now we're getting into the REAL conspiracy shit!"

"No no, Kiragi Ashikawa is most certainly dead, they found his body and everything," Hiroshi insisted. "I think it was on the news for a while too..."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me," Hana remarked. "An Ultimate dying like that, even if they're a former student? That'd be a big deal, I'll bet."

"...Oh yeah..." Ryoto admitted, deflating; then, he regained some of his gusto and asked, "W-Well then why is Ashikawa's signature thing carved somewhere in the castle!? Not even that, but it looks almost exactly like how he would usually write it!"

"...Maybe someone was just that big of a fan of his?" Hana sheepishly suggested. "Uh- enough that they could replicate his handwriting?"

"I'll admit, it _is_ strange, even if the chances of Kiragi Ashikawa himself being involved are slim to none," Hiroshi admitted with a nod. "It's kind of the closest thing to a real clue we have so far, so we shouldn't dismiss it right off the bat."

"You never know, guys- we all know how twisty this place can be!" Ryoto spoke up.

"I-I just wish we had more, you know?" Asuna stated in disappointment. "We've got all four wings open now, th-there's not really any other places to look for clues..."

"Hey, don't worry- there's still plenty of time to look around more, there's bound to be _something_ hidden around here," Hana reassured her. "We'll figure something out, you'll see."

Hana's smile faltered somewhat as she processed what she told Asuna. _Huh- isn't this the part where I suddenly find myself feeling really bitter and dismissive of anything hopeful? Have I...gotten over that or something...?_

The Ultimate Surfer subtly shook her head and told herself, _Well, whatever. I'm feeling like my usual self again- more or less- so I probably shouldn't question it._

"...So, uh...what now, Hiroshi?" Ryoto asked, turning to the coroner in question. "You're our designated leader! SO, LEAD!"

"Well...doesn't Akira usually just tell us to go off and do our own things...?" Asuna asked.

"More or less, I suppose," Hiroshi agreed. "I...guess we should also keep an eye out for Akira and Hinata."

Hana scoffed. "Akira- Akira's just...avoiding us, she's fine. It's Hinata we need to worry about- he's the one that's actually in bad shape."

"I-I guess you've got a point..." Asuna responded. "A-Although I can't even begin to figure out how we'd go about helping him, after everything that happened."

Ryoto went oddly quiet for a few moments, as if he was actually thinking about his response, before he said to Asuna, "Well- don't worry about that, either! We'll get Hinata back to his senses one way or another- I mean, Hana got you back to your old self after Kaneki died, didn't she?"

Hana and Asuna glanced at each other before Hana pointed out, "W-Well- _that_ was pretty different from what happened with Hinata, you know..."

"Yeah, helping Hinata out of his rut will be more of a challenge, given how far he was willing to go to save Rumi's life- and he still wasn't successful in the end," Hiroshi conceded, before continuing more optimistically, "But, like Ryoto said- we won't give up on him so easily, despite what he did before."

With that, Hiroshi stood up and concluded, "So, I think _that's_ a good place to end this meeting on."

"Great!" Ryoto began, jumping up as well...only to ask, "...Sooo, uh- you still never told us what we should so now."

"Let's, er, just go and do our own things for now," Hana suggested, also standing. "I mean, we do have the entire castle to ourselves now, and there's still-"

Suddenly, the discussion was broken by the sound of doors practically being thrown open- and the noise sounded as if it came from close by. Instinctively, Hana's eyes were drawn upstairs to the entrance of the throne room- based on the doors now being open, it did appear that was the source of the sound. What was more surprising, however, was just who had opened the doors: the Ultimate Prosecutor, Akira.

 _Akira...? Was she- was she in the throne room this whole time?_ Hana asked herself, shocked by Akira'a sudden appearance. _I...guess she must have come back to the North Wing while Hiroshi and I were in the catacombs, and while Ryoto and Asuna were in the dining room. Guess that's why no one saw her go in there._

Akira was silent as she exited the throne room, with her ruby-red gaze swiftly turning towards the four other Ultimates at the base of the stairs.

Then, the prosecutor stepped up and asked, "You four- what are you all doing here like this?"

"HEEEY, AKIRA!" Ryoto loudly but cheerfully greeted her. "We were talkin' about you! Nothing bad, no worries!"

"We all finished investigating the North Wing, so we figured we'd have a little meeting here instead of going all the way back to the dining room in the South Wing," Hiroshi elaborated.

"Mmph- well, no matter," Akira responded, descending the stairs; as she did, Hana noticed her eyes held a perpetual glare to them, sharp as knives and as cold as ever. Apparently, she had overcome the depressed demeanor she had exhibited during breakfast.

Looking down at the others- yet not even glancing at Hana, interestingly enough- Akira inquired, "Did any of you investigate Monokuma's throne room?"

To this, the others glanced at Asuna- and the poor gardener looked as if she would faint due to the intensity of the prosecutor's glare. Nevertheless, she shakily raised her hand in confirmation while also inching towards Hana, perhaps intending to use the surfer as a shield of some kind.

"Well- evidently, you didn't do a very good job, considering what I just found," Akira remarked with a slight shake of her head. "That's precisely what I've come here for- to show you all just what I've found."

"Whaaat? You actually found something!?" Ryoto asked, eager. "Like, something BIG!?"

"If I didn't think it was important, I wouldn't have shown up, would I?" Akira replied with a glare. "Follow me, and make it quick- you'll see what I mean soon enough."

 _Welp, it's official- Akira's back, I guess._ Hana confirmed to herself with a soft sigh as she and the others accompanied the prosecutor back up the stairwell.

As they walked, however, Hana noticed something still seemed...different about the red-haired Ultimate. Sure, her trudging and downtrodden demeanor from before was gone, but now her movements seemed more aggressive and quick- as if she was barely even waiting for the others to follow her.

As they reached the top floor, Hiroshi spoke up, "Well- regardless of what you found, Akira, I'm just glad to see you're back. It was a little worrying, seeing you so...disconnected before."

Akira said nothing as she opened the doors to the throne room, though Hana had a feeling she wouldn't have accepted Hiroshi's concerns for her anyways.

"YEAH! With you back in town, we'll have some ACTUAL leadership again!" Ryoto happily declared, before quickly saying to Hiroshi, "No offense."

"None taken," Hiroshi replied with a nod.

Akira stopped as they entered the room. After a few moments of silence, the prosecutor told them, without turning around, "You're sorely mistaken Ashi, Miura."

"M-Mistaken?" Asuna asked. "How are they...?"

"Because I have no intention of working with everyone anymore," Akira stated flatly. "I decided I'll be doing my investigations and such by myself from now on."

That caused Hana to stop dead in her tracks and blurt out a dumbfounded, "Wait, what?"

"Y-You're cutting yourself off!?" Asuna cried out. "Like Tadao did? And Shiori, sort of?"

"More or less. Though I'll still inform everyone if I find any substantial clues on the nature of this killing, since we still share that common goal of escaping and ending this damn killing game," Akira explained, still not looking at her classmates. "But besides that- my role as de facto leader has ended. You're all on your own, as far as I'm concerned."

"I agree with Hana Amari- WHAT!?" Ryoto yelped.

"A-Akira, you can't be serious...!" Hiroshi began, taking a small step back. "Look, if this is about what happened after Shiori's trial, I said before that-"

"My decision has nothing to do with that, Ashi- well, not entirely, anyways," Akira claimed, holding up a hand as a gesture to silence Hiroshi. "Make no mistake- I am cutting myself off because some of you- living and dead- have made it _very_ clear how you feel about my ability as leader, and don't try to say the majority of you don't agree."

Adjusting her glasses, the prosecutor went on, "Besides- it seems at this point, our...philosophies are completely incompatible. So, to avoid holding myself back any further and to prevent conflict, isolating myself is a necessity. Count yourselves lucky that I still understand you all want to escape alive as much as I do- and that I still consider murder one of the lowest of lows."

The tone of Akira's voice was a clear indication that her mind was made up- no amount of argument from anyone would be enough to change her mind at this point. Even so, Hana felt a boiling rage within her once again- though this time, she was able to hold herself back from physical retaliation.

"Seriously...? After everything that's happened, you're just gonna- _desert_ everyone like this? After you were going on before about how we needed 'unity' or something?" Hana demanded. "You really don't trust anyone that much!?"

"Akira- we all know you're not one for forming emotional connections with everyone..." Hiroshi conceded with a sigh. "But really, don't you think cutting yourself off is the best idea? When you could continue to- you know, work with us?"

"Continue to work with you all? The ones who, even after everything, still haven't grasped the nature of this game?" Akira growled- and completely ignoring Hana's remark as she did. "Look at the facts- nine people have died, _four_ of which taking at least one other life everyone, and you four still think a 'bond' will be enough to subvert everything?"

Turning to Hiroshi directly, she said, "I remember what you told me after Sauchi's trial, Ashi- and while not being connected with anyone may have prevented me from solving the case, I also realize acting all 'buddy-buddy' will not end the killing game- and if you all will continue that, then I want no part of it anymore."

While the other four were in stunned silence (or, in Hana's case, seething silence), Akira sighed and concluded, "Anyways- I didn't bring you up here for a lecture, I'm showing you all what I found. Let's...get back to that."

Akira walked off towards the opposite end of the throne room to the wall behind the throne itself- the normal, non-suspicious wall. Hana wasn't focusing on that, however- at that time, she was trying to force Akira's words out of her mind. Listening to her harsh attitude regarding the friendship between the students was causing that fogginess in Hana's mind to resurface, and the surfer was using all her willpower to banish it again. Eventually, she realized the others were going on ahead- awkwardly silent as they were- and so Hana followed as quick as she could.

Soon enough, everyone stood behind the prosecutor, staring at the wall- which still looked like a normal wall, to the others.

"Soooo, Akira! You found a wall!" Ryoto observed with a nod. "BUT! Joke's on you- Asuna found that wall first!"

"I, uh...think there's something special about that wall," Asuna surmised, then added skeptically, "But...I _did_ look around this place before, and I really didn't find anything too off..."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Then watch and learn, Izumi- unless you think I'm making things up."

The Ultimate stepped forward and rubbed a hand against the wall, as if she was feeling around for something. Seconds later, she pressed her hand against the hard surface...and a square section was pressed in, like a hidden button of some kind. At that moment, the sound of stone grinding against stone filled their proximity as a rectangular section of the wall slid upwards, revealing another room beyond the opening.

Asuna's jaw dropped in shock as she stared at the hidden entrance. "H-How...did I...miss that...?"

"HOW'D YOU MISS _THAT?"_ Ryoto yelped, his audible shock a stark contrast to Asuna's soft bewilderment. "C'mon, Asuna! You're wearing a hat that belonged to the Ultimate Explorer, shouldn't you- y'know, harness its power or something?"

"I...don't know if I should consider that disrespectful to me or her," Asuna dryly responded as she and Ryoto followed the still silent Akira through the threshold.

Hana's anger from subsided as she stared at the hidden passage with surprise and curiosity. Glancing at Hiroshi, she remarked, "Well- I guess you were right to be so interested in the North Wing. First the catacombs, now this- seems like this place is hiding a lot of secrets after all, huh?"

But Hiroshi didn't respond; in fact, the expression on his face was near unreadable. Nevertheless, he rushed ahead to follow the other three students into the secret room, leaving Hana no choice but to do the same.

* * *

She walked down a very short corridor into a simple, cube-shaped room. The room was dim, only lit by four circular lights on the ceiling, and certainly not the largest room in the castle. Unlike most of the other rooms in the castle, this strange room was metallic and more modern-looking- white tiles making up the floor and ceiling, with only slightly dulled metal making up the walls. Stranger still, however, was the room was completely empty save for three things: a dark metal door on the opposite side of the room, what appeared to be a scanner of some kind to the right of the door, and a small but deadly-looking gun weapon suspended from the upper left corner of the ceiling.

Interestingly enough, much like the catacombs, there were no cameras or TV monitors hooked into this room- although Hana remained certain Monokuma would still be able to randomly pop in if he wanted.

"Uh- are you telling us that there's a secret room _inside_ another secret room?" Ryoto inquired, closely examining the door (and preventing Hana herself from getting a better look at it).

"Apparently- whatever's behind that door, somebody wanted to ensure it would remain a secret," Akira speculated. "I'm sure that's what the scanner's for."

"I was wondering about that..." Hiroshi spoke up, approaching the device. "It looks like the scanner for the treasure room, but...not exactly. The screen itself looks a bit smaller- in fact, it all looks a bit more compact and small, so maybe it's not for e-Handbooks..."

"Maybe it's...a hand scanner?" Hana suggested, tilting her head a bit. "The screen looks about big enough for someone's hand, so..."

"Uh- guys?" Asuna said, her gaze on neither the door nor the scanner. "A-Are we not going to talk about the gun on the ceiling?"

"Actually, I was about to explain that," Akira stated. "It's my belief that scanner- whether it's for e-Handbooks or handprints- acts as a security measure for that door. If someone without the proper authorization were to try and scan their way in, I believe that gun up there will activate and fire at them."

Upon hearing that, Hiroshi glanced at the scanner, and then the gun, before backing away from the scanner.

"Is that right? Trying to keep us out that badly, huh?" Ryoto boasted, cracking his knuckles. "What I just PUNCH my way in, huh? Or maybe I'll SMASH THAT SCANNER! OR THE GUN! SEE HOW THE DAMN MASTERMIND LIKES _THAT!"_

"N-No! Do _not_ punch anything!" Hana yelped. "Punching stuff would probably _also_ get you shot!"

"WELL- I mean, we gotta do _something,_ we can't just leave a secret like this alone!" Ryoto insisted. "Could we- you know- do something to the gun!?"

The racecar driver moved away from the door towards the corner of the room where the gun was hanging, allowing Hana to finally see the metallic door in full- but when she did, she let out a short gasp and stepped away slightly.

There, spraypainted in red on the door, was that same accursed symbol- the hand and the modified Monokuma eye. The paint was faded and scratched away in many parts, as if someone had tried and failed to wash it off, but the insignia was still easily recognizable.

Hiroshi also took notice of the symbol as Ryoto moved away, furrowing his brow and stating, "That...symbol on the door..."

"Hm-? Oh, yes, that," Akira remarked rather dismissively. "Truth be told, I have no idea what that is- I've certainly never seen a symbol like that before, and I don't know if it's significant to our plight or not."

"Oh yeah- when I was looking at the door just now, I started feeling really...I dunno, weird?" Ryoto admitted, turning back to the others. "I don't know how to describe it, but I know SOMETHING'S off with that symbol! It's gotta be!"

"I...also had a strange sensation upon seeing it, but it's just a sensation- inconsequential in the end," Akira claimed, crossing her arms.

Hana glanced at Hiroshi and Asuna; though they also seemed somewhat concerned, they didn't appear too surprised by the hand mark- most likely because the two of them had each already seen the symbol once before. As for Hana herself, she was still trembling slightly- and yet, she didn't know why. She felt no fear or disturbance at seeing the insignia- the 'Dark Hand' insignia- but right then, in that room...something was wrong.

That fact made itself clear within moments of Hana looking towards the symbol again- for when she did, a piercing headache cut through her skull, resulting in the Ultimate crying out in pain and grasping her head in her hands.

"H-Hana!?" Asuna yelped upon seeing surfer's condition. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"I-I-I...I don't know, I saw the symbol, and my head just-" Hana stammered, not looking up as she did. The pain was not subsiding, and in fact seemed to be getting worse.

Hiroshi's eyes widened in worry as he made his way over to Hana's side, semi-calmly instructing her, "Whoa, uh- hey, Hana, stay calm alright? Do you need to sit down, do you-"

"I don't know! I don't know what's happening, why I'm-" Hana attempted to explain, only for the pain in her skull to cut her off.

She was able to force her eyes open again, but she was still looking to the floor and the pain was blurring her vision. And her mind- her mind was filling with fog again, and in between that fog were thoughts of 'Dark Hand'.

 _It's...It's Dark Hand, nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of, I- I know that symbol, it's a good thing, I know this,_ Hana's racing mind thought to the point where, even though the others (save for probably Akira) were clearly trying to talk to her, everything was blocked and muffled out. _It's just_ _Dark Hand. It's Dark Hand. Dark Hand._

 _Dark Hand, Dark Hand, Dark Hand Dark Hand Dark Hand Dark Hand DarkHandDarkHandDarkHandDarkHand-!_

Finally, Hana let out another pained cry, and she bolted out of the room and away from the insignia, not thinking or caring about how confused or worried she left her classmates.

* * *

Hana didn't know where she was running, simply allowing her feet to carry her wherever they wanted. Her destination turned out to be the first hallway she turned down upon running out of the throne room- the hall connecting the North Wing to the West Wing.

It wasn't until she turned another corner into the hallway containing the entrances to the western watchtower and the wine room that she slowed down and, finally, stopped. Away from the symbol- physically, anyways- Hana's headache was beginning to subside. The cloudiness in her mind remained, however, and she leaned against the wall as she attempted to clear it out again.

 _Okay, okay I get it- that symbol is related to something called 'Dark Hand', I get the idea, okay...? Please just...just let me go back to thinking clearly..._ Hana pleaded with herself as she slowly began to make her way down the hallway. _That room, that symbol...why do I still feel like I...I know something...? Is that why my head started hurting, because I was surrounded by...something familiar...?_

She shook her head as she approached the main area of the West Wing. _No, no, what am I saying? The symbol, the door, the room- I've never seen them before, it's...it's something else. I've never seen them before, I've never seen them before, I've...never..._

Hana slowly came to a stop as she came to another realization- she no longer believed her own reassurances.

Suddenly, a mechanical whirring sound brought Hana back to reality; this noise was quickly followed by another whirring sound, followed by a metallic _clunk._

 _Hey, wait- wasn't that the...?_ Hana asked herself, stepping into the main area and peering over the banister towards the door leading into the treasure room.

 _That can't be right- everyone else is back in the North Wing, so the only person around here who'd go into the treasure room is-_ the Ultimate told herself, before immediately answering her own questions. _Oh, wait a second._

Hana made her way around the second floor and down the stairs leading to the ground floor of the West Wing, then approached the treasure room scanner. It was then that she found herself hesitating, oddly enough- she was desperate for some company to help clear her mind, yet the ever-growing dark part of her mind told her to avoid seeing anyone. In the end, however, the former of Hana's feelings prevailed; she took out her e-Handbook and held it to the scanner. Once it was accepted, the metal door slid opened without much trouble.

Hana poked her head into the treasure-filled room to confirm her suspicions- and it only took a second to spot a dark shape against the shining piles of gold coins. There he was, laying facedown in one of the piles as if he was trying to drown himself in coins- Hinata Yonade, who didn't even look up at the sound of the door opening.

Hana was silent for a moment, then stepped in fully as the door closed behind her. "...Uh...Hinata? What, uh...what are you doing in here?"

"..." Hinata remained silent for a moment before rolling over onto his back, his gold eyes staring emptily at the ceiling. "...I don't know. Got tired of being in my room...didn't wanna go anywhere else...so I came here."

He absentmindedly fiddled with a few coins near his hand; nodding, Hana sat down on a pile of coins of her own, looking around the gleaming room. She suddenly remembered that the pearl bracelet Hinata gifted to Rumi some time ago had come from this very room...but of course, the Ultimate knew better than to verbalize her observation.

"...You know, uh- we looked around the North Wing," Hana said to him. "Pretty...interesting place, I'll say. I think you'd like it- there's a throne room, and the throne itself is pretty fancy. I mean- you can't remove it, but it's nice to sit in at least!"

Hinata didn't respond- he continued to stare at the ceiling, leaving it ambiguous as to whether he was actually listening or not.

"...And, uh...you know, now that the entire castle's open, there's more opportunities for us to find clues about the killing game," Hana then told him, trying to sound encouraging. "I'm sure the others would appreciate your help, and-"

"The others...? Ah, Hana- what makes you think they'd want _me_ around?" Hinata asked, shaking his head.

"Wha-? Hey, if you're talking about the trial, it- I'm sure the others don't hate you for what happened," Hana reassured him. "They're worried about you, believe me, they-"

"Sure they are, sure," Hinata bitterly responded. "You really think Akira's forgiven me by now? What about Ryoto, after what I did to him? Hiroshi, Asuna- the way I was towards them, they..."

He sighed sorrowfully. "There's no way they want me around, not a chance. And I don't blame 'em- I tried to get everyone killed so Rumi could escape, and I couldn't even...it wasn't even...it didn't..."

The thief trailed off, squeezing his eyes closed like he was holding back tears.

"Well...what about me? I'm here, I'm talking to you, I don't hate you-" Hana pointed out, standing up. "I understand how you feel about...about losing them, about losing _her._ Doesn't that count for something...?"

"..." Hinata worked a muscle in his jaw in thought before responding, "Hana...you're just one person. _One_ person forgiving me isn't gonna make things better so easily..."

"Well- you can't just keep isolating yourself forever, you know? Whether you believe me or not, I wasn't lying about most of the others being worried about you," Hana responded with a sigh. "I know you're having a hard time, I get it, but...do you really think-"

The surfer hesitated as she tried to find the right way to word her response, then sighed and finished, "Do you...really think Rumi would have wanted you to cut yourself off like this...?"

Once again, Hinata was silent, but he at least appeared to be contemplating what Hana said. But then he closed his eyes and rolled away, facing away from Hana as he muttered in response, "Why does that matter...? She's gone."

It was a simple response, yet that simple truth still managed to cut into Hana- likely because the events of the trial were still so recent. She wanted to continue trying to get through to Hinata somehow, but...she found could form no more words, as her mind started to drift into dark, familiar territory.

 _He's got the right idea, staying away from everyone- either way, he'll just end up getting hurt, and that's the last thing he needs..._ Hana told herself, almost unconsciously. _Why am_ I _even bothering? What's the point of still trying to make nice with everyone, it'll just be more painful if another murder-_

Instantly, Hana bit back a frustrated growl and gripped her head again, forcing the negative thoughts out of her head once again. _Stop it, stop it, now is_ definitely _not the time for_ those _thought to waltz in_ _, I- I need to-_

"Uh...Hinata, just- just keep what I said in mind, alright...?" Hana somewhat hastily told her classmate while she tried to hide the strain on her face. "We'll...be around- me, Hiroshi, Asuna..."

Hinata said nothing, nor did he turn back around to face her. With that, Hana herself turned around, held her handbook to the exit scanner, then walked through the door once it opened.

After the door closed behind her, Hana softly groaned and put a hand to her forehead. Her guilt was immense; she truly wanted to continue trying to help the heartbroken Ultimate Thief rather than simply leave him there in the treasure room. However, her less-than-ideal mental state indicated now was not the best time for her to try- for her own sake and, possibly, Hinata's (for saying the wrong thing could lead to disaster, as Hana had learned previously).

"Hana?"

Hearing a sudden new voice caused Hana to yelp in fright, frantically looking around for the source. Looking upwards, she saw Asuna looking over the railing almost directly above her.

"Oh, Asuna! It's you, I thought-" Hana began, awkward. "I, uh...hey there."

"S-Sorry, uh- stay right there for a second," Asuna told her, quickly running around the corner and down the stairs to meet Hana.

Once she was in front of the surfer, Asuna began, "Uh- what were you doing in the treasure room?"

"Ah...Hinata's in there," Hana explained, gesturing to the metallic door in question. "I uh...heard someone go inside, went in myself, saw Hinata, tried to talk to him...didn't really pan out..."

Hearing this, Asuna glanced back and forth between Hana and the door, likely trying to decide which one of her distraught classmates she should talk to first.

Ultimately, the gardener chose to speak to the classmate who was already in front of her, quickly turning back to Hana and asking, "H-Hold on, ah- are you okay?"

"Am I okay-? Of course I'm okay, I'm perfectly fine now!" Hana assured the girl with a crooked smile.

"Really? B-Because your reaction to the symbol was so...so visceral, I..." Asuna began. "Th-The others got pretty worried too- even Akira seemed pretty surprised by what happened to you, a-and we couldn't really find you anywhere-"

"Asuna, Asuna, there's nothing to worry about!" Hana insisted as she began to back away towards the stairs- although she didn't know why. "What happened today, it was just, uh- stress! Perfectly natural, I'm fine now."

In saying that, she nearly tripped over the bottom step of the stairs as she backed away over it.

"I-I mean, you and I were both there when we found those banners from the East Wing, a-and back then you didn't react to that symbol the way you did today..." Asuna worriedly explained. "So- what _happened_ today...?"

"I...I don't know, okay? I wish I did, but I don't," Hana finally admitted as she stopped backing away. Truly, it wasn't a lie- more than anything, she _wanted_ some way to explain these strange occurrences, such that she could find a way to stave off her sudden negative feelings for good.

"I...understand, I-I can't imagine what it must have been like," Asuna sympathetically replied. "Still, th-that's why it was so worrying to see you like that, you know?"

Hana's expression softened, and she went silent as Asuna spoke.

"Um- hey, Hana? I-I'm gonna try to talk to Hinata, but afterwards..." the Ultimate Gardener went on, attempting to stifle her awkwardness. "D-Do you, uh- want to hang out? I think having company w-will be good for you after...w-whatever happened in the hidden room."

Hana's eyes widened slightly in surprise- after all, Asuna usually wasn't the type of person to instigate social interaction- but nonetheless, she was happy to hear the request. For a moment, the darkness clouding her mind cleared once more, and she wanted to accept the offer...

But then, as quickly as it departed, that dark weight fell upon her shoulders again, and Hana found herself responding instead, "I...I can't. I-I wouldn't mind that, but right now I...I..."

Asuna was visibly taken aback by this. "Wait- huh?"

Unable to word another response, Hana took off up the stairs and down the hall leading into the South Wing, leaving Asuna behind in a state of confusion and growing concern.

* * *

This time, Hana knew exactly where she was going: her own bedroom, the most isolated spot she could think of off the top of her head. She wasted no time entering the room, making sure the door was locked, then flopping down on her bed. Her head was still swirling with bitter and angry thoughts regarding her classmates and their companionship, the killing game itself, whether escape without murder was possible or not (with her thoughts going towards the latter)...all this nihilism, and Hana was fighting to force it all away.

Eventually, she sat up and reached under her pillow once more, grasping the two items kept beneath it. She stared at the photo of her and her parents like she had done so many times before, the smiles on their faces and the hope in their eyes; then she gazed at the pearl that had once been a part of Rumi's bracelet, a reminder of the friendship she had with her and their other classmates. Just as Hana hoped, looking at these two keepsakes was enough to ward off the fog in her mind...for the most part.

Letting out a long sigh, Hana contemplated what to do next. _Should I...go back and find the others? Let them know that I'm- well, that I didn't die at least?_

As she had that thought, Hana found that her desire to see the others was drastically diminished- was it a result of the negative feelings taking hold of her as of late? Was it something else completely? Whatever the case, Hana couldn't deny her lack of wanting to see her classmates, and she chose not to fight it.

In deciding that, she shoved the family photo back under her pillow, then moved to do the same with the pearl...but Hana hesitated, staring down at it one more time as Rumi's last request to her (and Asuna) resurfaced in her mind...

* * *

 _The scuba diver then walked over to Hana and directly told her, "Just...keep being that compassionate person I became friends with, okay? Having someone like you around makes this whole killing game thing a lot more bearable- everyone's gonna need that, I'm sure."_

 _She glanced at Asuna, who was standing solemnly silent nearby and added, "Asuna, Hana- both of you, remember to stick together, okay? You're all that's gonna be left of our little 'library group', after all. As long as you two are still kicking it together...it makes me feel a little better about...you know."_

* * *

It was then that Hana felt herself becoming choked up again- not just because of her lingering grief regarding Shiori and Rumi's deaths, but because of her failure to live up to the latter's final words thus far.

 _I...I don't understand...that 'compassion' Rumi said I had, where'd it go...? Where's it going? Why am I rejecting anything having to do with hope and- anything good, really?_ Hana desperately asked herself, closing her trembling hand over the pearl. _I want to save everyone, I want to prove Tadao was wrong about there being no escape beyond the Graduation Clause, I want...I_ want _to keep being positive and compassionate..._

The pearl fell of her hand and onto the bed as Hana opened her hands to stare down at her palms. _So what...what are these feelings that keep popping up...? It's not the killing game, it can't be the killing game, these thoughts...they feel too...too_ familiar. _Why, WHY do they feel so familiar? What's...Why..._

"What is _happening_ to me...?" Hana quietly asked herself aloud, her voice cracking from emotion. She moved the pearl back into its proper spot under her pillow, then buried her face in her hands as she continued to try and block out any further bitter thoughts.

 _We need to get out of here. We need to get out, if that message from before is right then- then there is a way, we just-_ I _just- need to find it._ Hana resolved. _Tonight, during nighttime, I'll...I'll go out on my own, I'll go into the North Wing, and I'll...I'll look around, just like I did in the East Wing._

Hana laid down on her back, pondering this course of action- for now, she a slightly more selfish reason to seek out this mysterious escape. While her main motivation was ensuring the safety of the rest of her classmates (even Akira), it was now also a matter of her own health...because Hana feared that, if they didn't find a way out soon, her mental state would only get worse.

So, she attempted to simply sleep the rest of the day away- and it truly was an attempt, because every time Hana closed her eyes long enough, all she could see was the insignia of 'Dark Hand'.

* * *

Even when the nighttime announcement played at 10 PM, Hana didn't immediately leave her room, for there may have been a few stragglers heading into their rooms at the time of the announcement. The surfer waited about an hour, then exited the bedroom; she first poked her head out of her doorway and scanned the hallway to ensure no one was awake and about. Once that was confirmed, Hana wasted little time exiting the room fully and making her way down the hallway to the central hall of the South Wing.

 _Okay, just a simple investigation into the North Wing- it won't take all night, I just need to make sure not to go into the room with the Dark Hand symbol..._ Hana told herself as she made her way to the courtyard. _Or the catacombs. Or the dungeon-morgue. Everywhere else is fair game, though!_

With that plan set, Hana walked across the courtyard and through the massive doors leading into the main hall of the North Wing.

Taking a deep breath, Hana cracked her knuckles in anticipation and told herself, "Alright, North Wing...let's see if you're hiding anything else."

Thus, Hana searched as much of the northmost section as she could- though she exempt herself from investigating three of the locations, that still left the main hall, the power room, and the throne room itself to be examined. Of course, she started in the expansive main hall- she looked at each pillar, under the carpet (as much as she could, it was a rather sizable carpet), the dark walls of the hall, even looking at the stairs themselves for any clues.

When that search turned up fruitless, Hana turned her attention to the power room. She made sure to examine the numerous machines lining the walls, though she had no understanding of how they worked; of course, she was too worried about causing a blackout or overpowering one of the generators to mess around with any of the switches or buttons on some of them. Nevertheless, she did her best to investigate what she could, even looking at (and under) the table with the tools and Kiragi Ashikawa's catchphrase carved on it for clues. However, no matter where in the room she looked, there was nothing.

Her last stop was the throne room itself- even though she had a feeling its only secret was the hidden room with the painted door, Hana knew she still had to try and find something more. And so, she searched the carpet, under the carpet, the torches on the wall, the walls themselves, the elevated stage, even the throne itself to try and find something besides the hidden room. But alas, her search of the throne room also yielded no clues- and she still had no desire to go back inside said hidden room for fear of having another physical reaction to the 'Dark Hand' symbol.

Defeated by lack of clues, Hana made one last attempt to find something by searching the hallways leading to the East and West Wings, respectively; unsurprisingly, there were no clues to be found in those either.

After everything, Hana found herself in the West Wing once again; she was making her way out to the courtyard, but decided to stop in the ballroom and sit down in front of the piano to rest.

 _Welp- that's an hour and a half I'm never getting back._ Hana told herself with a sigh. _Why'd I think I'd be able to find anything? Of course there's no other way out, the catacombs and that hidden room are probably just-_

Sensing her thoughts turning to the defeatism once again, Hana gave herself a sharp pinch on the arm to snap herself out of it. Even still, her disappointment over not finding anything was genuine and still very much present.

 _What now? Sure, there are the other places I didn't check, so it's not totally helpless, but- but what are the odds_ they'll _turn up something?_ Hana asked herself, her frustration growing. _This is stupid, this won't work, this- would it have_ killed _the person who tampered with my handbook to be less cryptic!? Anything would have been better, but_ noooo _they had to go and be all mysterious like we're in some kind of novel, and now- NOW, I don't even know what to do anymore!_

With a frustrated groan, Hana collapsed onto the piano bench onto her back, her arms and feet hanging over the edges while she wordlessly vented at the ceiling. When she was done, she turned her head so she was staring at the polished floor underneath the piano...

...And that was when she noticed something odd.

A portion of the floor beneath the piano, and a somewhat large one at that, appeared slightly misaligned with the rest of the marble tiles making up the floor. Hana furrowed her brow in confusion, rolling over so she was instead laying on her stomach so she wasn't looking at it upside-down.

 _How long has that been like that...? The whole time this wing's been open?_ Hana wondered. _...Maybe these trials really are making me more perceptive than I was before._

She slid off the bench and crouched down so she could fit under the piano, running her finger along the edges of the misaligned section. The portion was, in fact, pretty sizable, but still contained right underneath the piano; additionally, the section was rectangular, made of an even amount of tiles so it looked barely different from the rest of the floor.

 _Did...the builders of this place make a mistake in putting in the tiles...?_ Hana speculated. _I mean it wouldn't be the first example of this place's weird design flaws, but I wonder-_

As she put a hand against the section and pressed down on it, wanting to see if there was anything special about this oddity in the floor, she heard a stony _clunk-_ a familiar sound. At that moment, the floor section appeared to sink down slightly before sliding underneath the rest of the floor with a stony grinding sound- just like the entrance to the catacombs in the North Wing.

Hana's jaw dropped as she witnessed this, but what shocked her even more was what the opening revealed: another set of stone stairs descending into a jet black darkness, made even darker by the nighttime.

Through all of Hana's confused and bewildered thoughts, one made itself clear to her very quickly- she had to tell a certain someone about this discovery.

* * *

"HIROSHIIIIII!" Hana screamed as she bolted from the ballroom and back to the South Wing. The surfer was running so fast, she nearly tripped over her own feet in her haste; on the positive side, Hana made it to Hiroshi's bedroom door in less than a minute.

"HIROSHI! HIROSHI OPEN UP, OPEN UP RIGHT NOW!" Hana cried out, swiftly pounding on Hiroshi's door as hard as she could. She was glad the other rooms were more or less soundproof, otherwise she would be at risk to wake up everyone.

The Ultimate Coroner, clad in his pajamas and his wavy hair somewhat messy, opened the door a few seconds later- and Hana nearly hit him in the face when he did from how rapidly she was knocking.

"Wha-? Hana? What are you- what are you doing up like this?" Hiroshi asked, his tired eyes losing their grogginess the moment he saw her. "And why do you look so panicked?"

"Okay, okay- I wanted to do some solo investigation of the North Wing after everyone was asleep- I didn't find anything by the way-" Hana rapidly explained, barely taking the time to breath. "So I went to the West Wing and I was lying down next to the piano because I was frustrated and _then-_ then I saw there was a part of the floor that looked off-"

"Uh- er- Hana, don't you remember what happened the last time you went out at night by yourself-?" Hiroshi began, clearly trying to make sense of what the surfer was telling him.

"Yeah yeah, that's not the point though! The point- the point is..." Hana went on, finally catching her breath. "I found something, and I think it's important, and you need to come with me and see for yourself!"

"Alright, alright, settle down- I'm coming," Hiroshi assured her, stepping out of his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

With that, Hana quickly led Hiroshi back towards the West Wing and the ballroom, hoping her discovery hadn't disappeared for one reason or another; meanwhile, the coroner was barely able to keep up with her stride.

"...So, uh- Hana," Hiroshi spoke up at one point. "I don't suppose now would be a good time to ask about what happened with the hidden room and the...hand symbol?"

"Nope!" Hana answered, not looking away from her path.

"Or about where you've been hiding all day? Even when dinner came around?" Hiroshi then inquired.

"Nope!" Hana repeated in the exact same manner as before.

"...Noted," Hiroshi conceded with a frown.

Finally, the two entered the ballroom from the courtyard, and it didn't take long for Hiroshi to see what Hana was talking about.

"Oh my goodness," Hiroshi remarked in surprise.

"Yeah! And wait until you actually look into it," Hana told him, leading him over.

She crouched down in the manner she had before, gesturing for Hiroshi to do the same. The other Ultimate obliged, and he too was able to see the familiar-looking stairs leading into blackness.

"What the...?" Hiroshi began, perplexed. Then, his gaze grew firm and he told Hana, "Hey, Hana- help me push this piano to the side a bit."

Now it was Hana's turn to be confused, but she obeyed regardless. The weight of the piano made the task difficult, but soon enough the duo were successful in sliding the grand piano away enough so the opening was completely uncovered.

"Okay- shine your e-Handbook down the hole, if you have it, because I didn't bring mine with," Hiroshi instructed her. "I'm going down those stairs."

"Wait, _what?"_ Hana asked, swiftly turning to him in disbelief. "After what happened earlier-?"

"I'm not going in completely, I'm just going to the bottom of the stairs to confirm something," Hiroshi reassured her. "I swear on my life, and any gods who are listening."

With a little 'mmph' of concern, Hana took out her handbook and shone the blue light down the dank stairwell. Hiroshi carefully descended, vanishing into the inky depths quickly. Less than a minute later, Hiroshi returned to the surface, likely guided by the light from Hana's e-Handbook.

"Well- that confirms that," Hiroshi remarked. "Down these steps...are another set of catacombs."

"Y-You're serious!?" Hana yelped, baffled. "B-But Monokuma said only the North Wing had catacombs!"

"Well, Monokuma lied," Hiroshi responded matter-of-factly. "Although for what reason, I can't fathom."

"But what does it mean? What, are there more? Are there hidden stairs in the South Wing and the East Wing too?" Hana rambled. "Do the catacombs actually have some big secret?"

"One question at a time, Hana," Hiroshi told her as he kept his composure much better. "For now, let's close this up and move the piano back."

Together, they slid the 'door' to the catacombs back into its original position and pushed the piano back to its normal spot. Thus, the only evidence of the pair's discovery was the original misaligned tiles and some scratches on the floor where the piano legs had been pushed.

"...Hey, Hana?" Hiroshi spoke up, his arms crossed. "For now, can we...keep this discovery between us?"

"Huh...? Why?" Hana asked.

"Well, nobody really knows the purpose or layout of the north catacombs, so what good will knowing about an entirely separate section of catacombs do the others?" Hiroshi rationalized. "And I'm not saying we should keep this a secret forever, just...for the time being."

"I...guess that makes sense," Hana answered. "Still, keeping secrets like this isn't really a good thing- learned _that_ the way, thanks to Saku's note during his and Shiro's trial..."

Shaking his head, she added, "But- no one's dead, and we don't know anything about the catacombs anyways, and I trust you as my friend, so...alright, it'll stay between us."

"Thanks, Hana," Hiroshi replied with a calm smile. "Now- you might want to get some sleep, if you've been investigating all night. And I hope you're there for breakfast tomorrow- it was pretty worrying, you not being there for a dinner meeting."

"Ah...sorry about that," Hana responded, rubbing the back of her neck with an apologetic frown. "I'll see what I can do tomorrow, I swear."

"I look forward to it," Hiroshi told her with a nod. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah- goodnight, Hiroshi," Hana responded, starting to make her way back to her bedroom...only to realize Hiroshi wasn't leaving as well. "Uh...Hiroshi? Aren't you going back to bed too?"

"Huh-? Oh- I will, there's just...something I wanted to look at real fast," Hiroshi cryptically responded. "Don't worry, it's nothing that'll cost me my life, no need to worry."

Although Hana's eyes darkened with- well, worry, she decided to take Hiroshi's word for it and trust in his sense of self-preservation. With that, she nodded in farewell, and _truly_ made her way back to her bedroom this time.

* * *

 **A/N: And so we end on...MORE mystery! Hooraaaaay! ...Hey, it's Chapter 5, of course things are gonna get a little more cryptic and tense.**

 **Now in case you didn't pick up on it- the reason there were no Free Time Events in this part is because Hana is pretty much going through, like, four crises. Basically- you know how in DR, if a character is depressed or upset you'll be unable to initiate an FTE with them? Something that happened in this story as well? Well I thought to myself 'Hey, what if I did that...but with the main character?' And it's still plot relevant, so- even better!**

 **But alas, the time has returned! The Free Time will return in the next part (for reasons you'll see in said part)! And- well, there aren't that many options because Hiroshi was maxed out and Akira will not be available because she is just Done(TM) with everyone- but that does include Hinata (again, for reasons you'll see next time), so yay!**

 **Now then- take this code, and go forth and vote (for two characters): w5bdc9cs**

 **And with this, I will see you guys in the next part! Until then, speculate- what's behind the door in the hidden room in the throne room? Is there something more significant about the catacombs than meets the eye? Why's Hiroshi being more cryptic than usual? What's the deal with Kiragi Ashikawa, the Former Ultimate Doomsday Prepper? And most of all- what in the world is happening to Hana?**

 **Stay tuned!**


	44. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 3)

**A/N: And so, arisen from my fingers and this keyboard...welcome to Part 3. (I don't know why I was so dramatic, I was just in the mood- maybe because I'm pretty excited for this part)**

 **So, as I said- hello, and welcome back to Chapter 5! Things got a little crazy in the last part, eh? Hana's still slowly breaking down, Akira's all 'loner' now, Hinata's still depressed, and the North Wing is chock full of _SECRETS_ _._ What could possibly happen now? Will things go even more downhill? Let's just see, let's just see...**

 **P.S. Since no one voted in the last FTE poll, I had to choose two characters for myself. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 _ **PokeDrifter:**_ **Sounds to me like there are a few things distressing you regarding the mysteries of the killing game, eh? Hahaha- _good. Be afraid, be very afraid._**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Daily Life (Part 3)**

Hana quickly learned the consequences of spending half the day half-asleep in her room, then heading out and searching a castle wing until later in the night: a screwed-up sleep schedule. By this point in the class' castle life, Hana's body had more or less adjusted to heading to sleep around 10 PM and waking up around 7 AM with the morning announcement. Now, that had been the case this morning as well- but not without _massive_ difficulty.

The announcement played as usual, but Hana found herself almost physically unable to exit her bed, as if someone had trapped her under a pile of rocks. Perhaps it was a combination of her late-night investigation and her tiring mental state, but whatever the cause Hana woke up more groggily than usual. She did manage to drag herself out of bed in the end, but it took her far longer to get ready than usual; maybe this was both due to her tiredness and because she knew Akira wouldn't be around to criticize her tardiness for once.

In the bathroom, Hana finished getting ready and stared at herself in the mirror for a few moments.

"Okay...you are not going to have any episodes of nihilism or whatever today," Hana told her reflection. "Just keep being yourself, do not start being all negative again, no matter what. They're just thoughts, it was just a symbol, there is nothing to worry about- nothing at all! Everything will be fine!"

Muttering 'nothing will go wrong' several times, Hana exited her bedroom and strolled towards the dining room. As she did, she could already feel the weight of the darkness in her mind beginning to slow her down- and because of this, Hana tried even harder to keep the optimism at the surface and to push the nihilism down.

In fact, she was so focused on keeping her mind in a better place that she nearly passed the dining room altogether. Fortunately, someone else caught notice of her, and as such called out to her...

"HEEY! IS SEE YA, HANA AMARI!" Ryoto yelled from inside the dining room. "WHERE YA GOING!?"

"Ah-!? Oh! S-Sorry, I uh...zoned out a bit," Hana called back, immediately turning to the dining room's entrance. "I'm coming in, don't worry."

True to her word, Hana quickly turned around and walked into the room- and was immediately, and once again, taken aback by how utterly _empty_ the room was. Not including herself, there were Ryoto, Asuna, and Hiroshi seated- as expected, Akira was nowhere to be seen, but somehow her missing presence made the emptiness in the dining room all the more prominent.

"Oh! It really is you!" Asuna remarked in surprise.

"Of course it's her! RYOTO MIURA WOULDN'T LIE!" Ryoto shouted in response, running up to the surfer.

"Yeah, it's me," Hana confirmed somewhat awkwardly. "Uh- sorry if I worried you gu-UYS-!"

Before she could react, Ryoto grabbed her by her shoulders and began to...examine her head area?"

"R-Ryoto! What are you doing?" Hana demanded, shoving him away seconds later.

"Oh, I thought maybe you got hit on the head again, and that's why you ran off the other day," Ryoto explained. "But since you don't look like you're hurt or anything, I got nothing! Haha!"

"Ah- Ryoto, maybe it's best to give her a bit of space," Hiroshi advised the Ultimate Racecar Driver before saying to Hana, "Hey, Hana- here for breakfast? You're a little late, but the kitchen is still as full as ever."

"Good to know, but I don't think I'll be having anything too big," Hana remarked, walking towards the kitchen without another word. On her way in, she caught sight of the memorial dedicated to the deceased students towards the end of the room out of the corner of her eye.

 _...Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong-_ Hana told herself more forcefully as she made her way into and around the kitchen.

However, the reminder of everyone they've lost plus the stark silence in the dining room wasn't doing her mental state any favors, and it became more difficult to force the darker thoughts away. It was almost comedic- throughout this killing game, of all the things Hana feared/expected she would be doing, fighting with...herself, seemingly, over control of her own mind and thoughts was not one of them.

In the end, Hana just opted for toast and orange juice- the less time she had to be by herself with her rogue train of thought, the better.

She exited the kitchen and sat down next to Hiroshi- perhaps a little too quickly, even nearly spilling her juice onto the table's surface as she did.

"So, uh- I'm guessing you're only...slightly better than you were yesterday...?" Hiroshi inquired, raising an eyebrow as he watched Hana.

"Oh yeah we're wondering- what happened to ya yesterday?" Ryoto asked, crossing his arms. "If you weren't hit on the head or something then like- why'd you look like you were in so much agony?"

"I-I told you guys last night, she told me _she_ didn't even know," Asuna told them, glancing at Hana as she did.

"I mean...she's right, I really don't know why it happened," Hana admitted with a sigh.

"Is that so...?" Hiroshi asked, leaning forward somewhat out of interest; Hana couldn't blame him, considering how curious he had been last night.

Hana nodded. "I saw that symbol on the door, and my head just...and I just felt like I had to..."

"Buuut when we saw that symbol, we didn't have a reaction like that," Ryoto pointed out, confused. "How come _you_ had a different reaction?"

"...I wish I knew, Ryoto..." Hana responded, glancing down. "I really, really wish I did."

That was probably the most honest thing she had said thus far regarding her...condition.

Luckily, Hiroshi was there to bring up the mood of the 'meeting' (was it really a meeting if only four people showed up?) by telling Hana, "Don't worry about it too much- whatever it is, I'm sure we'll figure it out, okay?"

"Yeah...Yeah, I should stop worrying..." Hana replied with a small nod, very much having to force the words out. "I-I can't explain it anyways, no one else can, so...what's the use, right...?"

 _I...should stop listening now. I don't need that false hope right now, I need-_ Hana bitterly thought to herself, before realizing what she was doing and correcting herself, _NO! No, I_ do _need that false hope-_ NOT _false! Not false at all! Real hope, actual valid_ _positivity, THAT is what I DEFINITELY need! ...Riiiight...?_

As she had this one-woman argument, Hana lowered her head and closed her eyes in distress, completely forgetting about her breakfast.

"H-Hana...? You're not having another headache, are you?" Asuna asked, frowning in worry.

"No, I think it's just..." Hana began, shaking her head. "I think I'm...still just a little tired, that's all, it was a...long night, my sleep schedule's all out of it, maybe eating'll fix that..."

Thus, she began to dig into her small breakfast, trying to keep her train on thought on topics less saddening or bitter.

"Weeell- better than nothing, I guess! I just wish we could get Hinata here- then it'd REALLY be a great meeting!" Ryoto remarked, frowning at his food. "Maaaaybe we'll get him to come to us somehow! Like, uh- KIDNAPPING HIM! That won't lead to a trial, will it?"

"N-No no, I don't think kidnapping will help!" Asuna quickly responded. "Uh...from when I talked to him yesterday, he just seemed so...sad about what happened, a-and he was blaming himself a lot, so maybe..."

Hana looked up upon hearing this. "Oh, so you did talk to him after I- uh...left?"

"Well- tried to. He was pretty inconsolable, though he wasn't crying or anything..." the gardener explained with a frown. "He only talked to me a little bit, no matter what I said to try and get through to him..."

She then sighed, gaining a sympathetic look in her eyes before admitting, "I...I'm still kind of disappointed that I couldn't get through to him, honestly. I really thought...that I could, at least, make him feel better somehow. After all, I could...relate to how he was feeling, in a few ways."

"Because you were close to Rumi too?" Hana guessed.

"That was part of it, yeah," Asuna replied. "The other was...well, you know- I didn't just lose Rumi to the killing game, I lost someone else I cared about too, so I figured maybe I could..."

Hiroshi leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "But he was still steadfast in staying away from us, huh? Hinata...his grief really does run deep, doesn't it...?"

"All the more reason to DO SOMETHING!" Ryoto insisted. "Maybe we just gotta- you know, track him down, look him square in the eyes, and tell 'im like it is!"

Before she registered it, Hana's thoughts grew cynical once more, and she muttered, "Right, that'll magically change all the death and misery he felt during the trial..."

"Huh? Did you say something, Hana?" Hiroshi inquired, glancing at the surfer.

"N-Nope! Nothing at all! Just- Just- talking to myself!" Hana told him with a sheepish chuckle. "Again, long night, lemme just keep eating-"

However, as she began to eat again, Hana once again thought about the topic of yesterday...then remembered something that had baffled her then, and still baffled her presently.

"Hey...Hiroshi," Hana softly said to the Ultimate next to her. "Where did you go last night? After I showed you...you-know-what?"

"...Oh? Where did I go?" Hiroshi remarked, sounding somewhat distracted. "Ah- nowhere important, just wanted to check out something minor. That's all."

"Hiroshi..." Hana began, raising an eyebrow and frowning in disapproval.

Hiroshi sighed, glanced at Ryoto and Asuna (who were conversing between each other), then whispered in response, "Okay, okay, the truth is...I went to the hidden room in the North Wing."

"The one that I ran away from...?" Hana replied, surprised. "Actually- what _did_ happen after I left?"

"Nothing, really- we couldn't find any alternate ways of opening the door, and it was too much of a risk to test out the scanner in any way..." Hiroshi explained. "I guess that's why I wanted to take another look at it myself, to see if we missed...well, anything."

"And...I'm guessing you didn't find anything?" Hana inquired.

"Not...exactly, no," Hiroshi answered with only slight hesitation. "More than a little disappointing, in my opinion..."

With that, the conversation seemingly ended, but Hana's mind was racing- luckily, in a better way than prior.

 _That room- that door...I think I get what Hiroshi's saying- there's clearly something going on there..._ Hana told herself. _And the fact that the door has that...symbol on it, could it..._

A part of her- the part she was trying to fight against- tried to steer away from this train of thought that it believed would lead her to disappointment, but Hana disregarded it. _I wonder...could that room, whatever's behind that door- could it be that answer to why I've been feeling so weird? The answer to what the hell 'Dark Hand' is?_

All these thoughts and more led Hana to one conclusion, and one decision: she _had_ to see that room again.

Abruptly, Hana shoved her food away and declared, "I...I need to get going! Uh- if anyone wants my food they're welcome to it!"

"W-What...?" Hiroshi began, furrowing his brow. "But you barely touched anything-"

Hana disregarded the coroner and stood up, ready to practically bolt for the exit.

"W-Wait, Hana! Are you sure you're okay-!?" Asuna also began, surprised but concerned at Hana's sudden desire to depart.

"I am fine! _Everything_ is _fine!"_ Hana quickly responded without even a glance in Asuna's direction.

"OOOH NO YOU DON'T!" Ryoto shouted right back at her, stepping into Hana's path. "You're not getting away from us THAT easily, Hana! You _literally_ just got here, and we are NOT about to lose you to killing game madness like-"

Before he could finish, however, Hana shoved past him with a surprising amount of force. Her mind was dead set on finding answers- even if that train of thought suppressed all other thoughts, both her usual positivity and the more recent darkness.

* * *

Throughout her entire trek to the opposite end of the castle, Hana did her best to keep her mind on her objective- and only on her objective. The last thing she wanted was distractions of any kind, whether guilt towards her continued distance from her friends or the belief that her search would end up being for nothing in the end.

It only took a few minutes to walk from the dining room to the throne room, less so considering Hana was more or less speed walking the entire way. When she did arrive at the throne room, she wasted even less time seeking out the hidden button on the far wall; though considering how camouflaged it was, the surfer spent more time feeling around for the panel as Akira demonstrated yesterday.

Eventually, Hana was successful in tracking down the button and pressing down on it as Akira had done, and just like before the rectangular section of the wall lifted upwards with a stony grinding sound. Beyond the opening was the dimly lit hidden room, and hidden inside there...

Staring at the opening for a few moments, Hana took a deep breath and told herself, _Okay...it's just a symbol, it's just a symbol, it's just a symbol-_

She kept repeating this phrase to herself over and over again as she stepped through the threshold and down the short corridor preceding the hidden room. Unsurprisingly, the door with the red symbol was the first thing her eyes fell upon, and she immediately began to feel that same overwhelming sensation from before.

 _It's just a symbol, it's just a symbol-_ Hana repeated to herself more vigorously as she approached the dark metal door. As she moved closer to the door- to the symbol- her thoughts grew more clouded, and her newfound mantra was the only thing keeping her grounded.

 _It's just a symbol, it's just a symbol- dear god this better be worth it- i_ _t's just a symbol, it's just a symbol-_

Finally, she was mere inches away from the cold iron surface of the door; the Ultimate had to take one last deep breath to try and steady herself before muttering to herself, one last time, "It's...just...a...symbol..."

The first step of her impromptu investigation was to knock on the door- not to see if anyone would answer, but to see how hollow it sounded, as she hoped this would certify if something was truly on the other side or not. Though when Hana did knock, it was difficult to gauge just how hollow the metallic knocking sounded- it certainly didn't sound as solid as knocking on a pure steel wall, that much she could ascertain.

She then leaned in and pressed her ear against the cold metal of the door in an attempt to hear any sound from behind it; unsurprisingly, this too was a dead end. Sighing, Hana stepped away for a moment and- while trying to tear her gaze away from the symbol- turned her attention to the scanner. Hana walked up to it curiously- it appeared similar to the ones for the West Wing's treasure room, yet more...sophisticated, in a way.

Hana grimaced and stared down at the crystal-blue screen, then glanced at the gun precariously hanging from the ceiling and pointed almost directly at her.

 _...Should I really...?_ Hana asked herself before pulling out her e-Handbook.

She looked back and forth between the gadget and her own hand- it was impossible to know whether the scanner was one for handbooks or handprints/fingerprints. It was even more impossible to know what would happen if she tried out the device...

 _No, no no, this is crazy and stupid, I don't need any intrusive thoughts to tell me that..._ Hana affirmed to herself with a worried frown. _But...this place, whatever's behind that door, it might...it might give me some answers, and I_ really _need answers right now...!_

As she somewhat argued with herself, she was unaware of something opening and quickly closing behind her, followed by small metallic footsteps clicking against the floor- but she _would_ notice when a certain someone began speaking.

"Do you reeeeally think this is wise, Cowlick?" Monokuma coolly asked her, his paws behind his back innocently. "I know you're all about 'finding the truth' or whatever, but this seems a little dumb, even for you!"

This time, Hana didn't even have the capacity to be spooked by Monokuma's sudden appearance. "Oh for- would you go away already? I'm kinda busy here-"

"Don't you order me around, I'm just trying to look out for my students!" the robotic bear insisted. "I mean, it'd be just _awful_ if you or anyone else got killed in such a meaningless way!"

Hana rolled her eyes. "I thought the whole point of this killing was to get us all killed."

"Ah-ah-ah, the point is to get you all to kill _each other,_ the only exception being if someone breaks a rule," Monokuma corrected her rather matter-of-factly. "And that's why I wouldn't recommend messing around with the stuff in here- you wouldn't wanna disappoint little ol' me, would you?"

"All I want to do is get some answers, okay?" Hana told him with a frustrated sigh. "And this room, this _door,_ is-"

"Is what? You don't know anything about this place! It might all just be one big red herring!" Monokuma growled as his red eye brightened slightly in intensity.

Hana furrowed her brow. "...Is it?"

"Wh-!? Well I'm not gonna _tell_ you, dumbass!" Monokuma shouted, sounding almost insulted that Hana would ask that. "Believe what you want about that door and what may or may not be behind it..."

His voice grew calm again as he continued, "...but regardless, I will give you some advice- not unlike some advice I had to give to _another_ wannabe detective who waltzed in here last night..."

"You mean Hiroshi...?" Hana asked. "So he really was in here last night..."

She glanced at the scanner again and inquired, "Did he...try to get past the door too? Is that why you talked to him like you're talking to me right now?"

"Weeeell, the stuff I told him and the advice I gave were slightly different from what I'm about to tell you, but besides that-" Monokuma dismissively replied.

Now, Hana grew even more confused. "'Slightly different'? What did you two-"

"The way I see it, Ms. Amari, you want answers- probably to our lovely killing game, if I'm not mistaken," Monokuma began, ignoring the Ultimate's questions. "And you'd be right to think a dark, hidden room with a creepy door inside would be suspicious, right or wrong..."

"But consider...what if you're wrong? What if you attempt to use that scanner or get in some other way, and you end up with a face full of bullets?" the bear inquired, tilting his head a bit. "What a miserable way to go out, no rhyme or reason to it at all!"

Hana grimaced at the image and glanced away. "You...You don't know that, there's probably some...some _trick_ to it-"

"Oh, you could very well be right about that! And I'm not actually, physically going to stop you from trying anything..." Monokuma eagerly told her. "The scanner's right there- and once I'm done talking it'll just be you in here. So why not try to get inside, in spite of all the risks?"

With a child-like giggle, Monokuma turned away and remarked, almost mockingly, "After all- people always have a choice, don't they? Puhuhuhu..."

He left again- but this time, Hana saw where he went. A rectangular section of the left wall, right against the floor and just large enough for Monokuma to fit through at his full height, slid open for the bear to walk through before it closed right behind him. Could that passage, and inevitably others like it, be how Monokuma made his way around the castle so easily? How were they so well-hidden?

Hana shook her head- she could wonder about that another time. She turned her attention back to her priority- the mysterious scanner. The surfer took another deep breath as she gazed at the device...yet despite her resolve to see this mystery through, Monokuma's words kept repeating in her mind again and again. Despite her desire to wholly blame Monokuma for her hesitation, the truth was she had known the risks even before pressing the hidden panel- it was her own desperate desire for answers that clouded her judgement.

Hana let out a long sigh; though it pained her to agree with the bear, she now had to admit to herself how foolish her planned truly seemed. Hana also had to admit, between the risk of death and the (possible) reward of answers, the risk was far too great. Finally realizing this, the Ultimate put her e-Handbook away and dejectedly walked out of the room.

* * *

When she was back in the throne room, it took her a moment to figure out how to close the door that led to the hidden room; eventually, she found she had to press the camouflaged panel again, causing it to pop back into its original position and allowing the wall section to slide back into place like normal. Once all was how it originally looked, Hana sat against the solid wall, silent for only a few moments.

Finally, she buried her face in her hands with a groan and said to herself, "I'm such an _idiot!"_

 _Of course it wouldn't be that easy, of course it was a stupid idea- why did I not think it was a stupid idea!?_ Hana furiously asked herself. _I know I was desperate, but was I...was I_ that _desperate to find something...?_

Hana cringed, for she already knew the answer to that question. What she didn't know, however, was if she could even blame the unconscious and pessimistic side of her thoughts for her lapse in judgement this time. She also had no idea how she would even explain the encounter to her classmates- if she chose to bring it up, regardless of how curious they would inevitably be

 _...What'd I tell Hiroshi about keeping secrets last night...? And look at me, being the world's biggest hypocrite..._ Hana ruefully told herself. _And not just about this stupid room thing..._

She rubbed her head like she was having a headache, contemplating what to do next. _But even if I do tell them, what'll they be able to do about it? None of them are therapists or psychologists or anything like that, they're all usele-_

Immediately, Hana let out a more frustrated groan as she wrested control of her thoughts out of that familiar fogginess yet again. "Aaaah, _stop it already!"_

 _You know what? I don't care about the room, that door- I just want this to end! I've been having these stupid thoughts for- I don't even remember how long now, now they're getting worse and I- I even said some of them out loud a few times!_ Hana thought to herself in dismay. _If nothing else, I just want to stop thinking this way! I_ hate _thinking this way! Why can't I get it to stop!?_

As she thought this, she could feel distraught tears starting to form in her eyes, and she quietly asked herself, "I...I got them to stop before, why doesn't it stay that way...? What am I missing...?"

Of course, the empty room didn't answer her- Hana was alone with her own rebellious thoughts and the throne several feet in front of her. Realizing there was nothing else she could do at this moment, she wiped her eyes and stood up, finally leaving the throne room behind.

 _Maybe I should just...stay in my room again, I really don't want the others to ask me a million questions..._ Hana told herself as she walked through the North Wing towards the courtyard. _N-No, no, that'll...that'll only make things worse...besides, why would I even be secretive about going to the hidden room? Hiroshi secretly investigated it first!_

At that moment, Hana nearly stopped in her tracks shortly before she entered the courtyard. _Wait a second. Why_ was _he so secretive about it...?_

Hana stepped outside- another clear and bright day, a contrast to her despairing train of thought- so she could think a little more clearly.

 _Hiroshi admitted he went to the hidden room last night, Monokuma more or less confirmed it...but why was Hiroshi trying to keep it a secret? We all know about it- except maybe Hinata- and he wasn't even the first one to find it, Akira was._ Hana contemplated. _Not only that, but...that second set of catacombs I showed him, he wanted to keep that a secret too, but...why? What's with him and secrets all of a sudden...?_

She glanced up towards the South Wing's door. _I always thought he was a little enigmatic, but recently it's like...like there's something more going on with him..._

Hana immediately shook her head and insisted to herself, _No- there are a lot of depressing thoughts going through my head, but doubt towards one of my best friends will_ not _be one of them! ...And besides, I'm not one to talk anymore anyways._

Taking a little breath in another attempt to further steady her mind, the Ultimate Surfer went on her way across the courtyard and through the doors, entering the South Wing with little fanfare. However, as soon as she turned around upon entering, she would come practically face-to-face with someone unexpected.

It was Hinata, and his eyes widened in surprise upon seeing his blonde-haired classmate. "Hana?"

"Hinata?" Hana began, just as surprised. "What are you doing?"

"Ah- I was just about to head into the courtyard," Hinata explained, looking away. "Sorry to, uh- bother you."

"No, you weren't bothering me, I was just passing through," Hana assured him.

The thief- who still appeared as disheveled as yesterday- glanced at the windows and asked, "Is there...anyone out there?"

"No...but since it's the courtyard, that probably won't last," Hana told him, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't care, I just...wanna be outside for a bit," Hinata responded, beginning to walk past her.

Remembering Asuna's words from breakfast regarding her own attempted talk with Hinata, Hana gained an idea for what she could say to Hinata at this moment- or, attempt to say, anyways.

"Wait a second, Hinata," the Ultimate spoke up, putting up a hand as a 'stop' gesture. "I...know you don't want to see anyone right now-"

"Like I said, it's not that _I_ don't want to be around anyone, it's that the others don't want to be around me," Hinata reminded her with a sigh.

"Well- whatever, just- hear me out again, okay?" Hana responded. "Hinata- about what happened with...Rumi and the trial, I might not have-"

It was right when she was getting into the feeling of her speech that it was cut off by the sound of someone running into the main hall, followed by a _very_ familiar voice shouting, "AHA! FOUND YOU! STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!"

Hana and Hinata both turned to the source of the shout, only to see Ryoto Miura sprinting towards them with a battle cry and his eyes blazing. Hana froze like a deer in headlights, unable to discern if he was referring to her or Hinata. As for Hinata himself, he was quickly backing away towards the courtyard doors with his hands held up to defend against a possible attack.

It was then made clear Ryoto was gunning for Hinata when he practically shoved past Hana to get to him, his face still contorted in what appeared to be intense rage.

"HINATA! Do NOT go anywhere- Ryoto Miura's got something to say to you, and YOU ARE GOING TO _LISTEN,_ GOT IT!?" Ryoto commanded the Ultimate Thief with a gaze that could melt steel.

Hinata seemingly obliged and went deathly silent- but it was clear from the look of dread on his face that he had much trepidation about this encounter...

"H-Hey, Ryoto!" Hana attempted to speak up in protest. "Listen, whatever you're trying to do here, I _really_ don't think this is the best-"

The racecar driver thrust out his arm and pointer finger towards Hinata, the tip of his finger mere millimeters away from the startled thief's nose, and shouted, "Hinata Yonade- I FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

Hinata's apprehension turned to utter surprise and bafflement. "...What?"

Hana's own concern dissipated when she heard Ryoto's declaration. "Oh- uh, nevermind."

"Again- what?" Hinata asked again, his voice inundated with disbelief. "Did you say you forgive me?"

"THAT'S RIGHT! I, RYOTO MIURA, FORGIVE YOU FOR MAKING ME THINK I KILLED SHIORI!" Ryoto repeated himself dramatically. "Actually, I forgave you not too long after the trial ended, it's just I haven't gotten a chance to SAY IT until NOW."

"W-What do you-?" Hinata stammered, still dumbfounded. "What do you mean you forgive me? I tried to frame you! I smeared blood all over you! You _did_ actually start to believe you were the killer!"

"Well technically, it was Shiori who tried to frame me first," Ryoto reminded him. "And if I could forgive _her,_ I can forgive YOU!"

"I- I-! Hinata began, then turned his attention to Hana. "What, did you know he was gonna do this?"

"I didn't know Ryoto was planning on doing this, honest," Hana responded, putting her hands up innocently. "He uh- didn't mention yelling at you during breakfast this morning-"

"I came up with it after breakfast! And I only mentioned it to Asuna!" Ryoto told the surfer. "But then she got really worried about that idea- but THEN I got so excited that I just ran off before she was done talking!"

He laughed, then stopped furrowed his brow. "Come to think of it- I'm pretty sure she ran after me. I wonder where she went..."

Ryoto then quickly shook his head to get himself back on track. "ANYWAYS! Don't be so confused, Hinata- I'M TELLING YOU I FORGIVE YOU! I DON'T HATE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID, IN FACT I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DID IT, AND SINCE YOU _CLEARLY_ FEEL GUILTY, THERE'S NO REASON FOR ME TO HOLD A GRUDGE!"

"You are saying nice things _really_ angrily and it is NOT making me less confused!" Hinata shouted in response.

"But- do you believe him?" Hana asked. "Because I think he's being pretty genuine right now."

"I..." Hinata began, glancing down in uncertainty before snapping, "I don't get it! Even if you or Hana or both of you forgive me- _how!?_ I could have gotten everyone killed, how could-"

"I TOLD YOU, I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DID IT!" Ryoto audibly reminded him. "Yeah, you did something REALLY bad, but you weren't doing it to be evil or anything! And besides, I think LIFE and the TRIAL punished you enough for it! Who would I be to get EVEN MORE mad at you?"

Sensing Hinata's lingering doubt, Hana spoke up, "You know, Hinata- before Ryoto showed up...I was going to tell you that, while I wasn't close to Rumi in the same way as you and her were, she was still one of my closest friends and...I was heartbroken by what happened to her, too."

Before Hinata could try and refute her, she went on, "And I understand how you feel in other ways, too- I was kinda close with Shiori, too, and dealing with her death and the truth behind what she tried to do hasn't been too easy, either. And- And even when the first trial happened, when we lost Mikio and Azami, that was horrible for me! Two of my friends, just- _gone_ like that, I didn't know what to do afterwards..."

"Aaaaand didn't Asuna talk to you yesterday about how she felt?" Ryoto then pointed out. "How she felt about losing Rumi too? And that even _before_ Shiori's trial, she lost her best friend? As a matter of fact, remember how fucked up she was after Kaneki's trial because she was just so SAD and GUILTY?"

Once again, it seemed Hinata was going to try and argue the point, but Ryoto went on, "AND SHIRO! Shiro was the same way, his best friend murdered someone! He was so broken up he ASKED us to kill him! HE DIED, he didn't even get to have proper closure! YOU'RE THE LUCKY ONE, HINATA! DON'T GO THINKING YOU'RE NOT!"

"The point is, Hinata- you're not the only one who got hurt by this killing game," Hana told him. "The majority of us- well, who are still alive anyways- lost something or someone, too. I guess...that's why we forgave you pretty quickly- because after everything that's happened, we know what you're going through too much to completely blame you. And yes, I know Asuna and Hiroshi feel the same way, even if they're not here."

She then added, "And like Ryoto said- I think the trial, the execution, and everything else after that kinda gave you enough punishment for what you did, we'd be pretty awful if we added on to that at this point."

 _"SO_ AWFUL!" Ryoto agreed with a nod.

This time, Hinata did not appear to want to argue his classmate's words- but he clenched his teeth and glanced away, as if he still couldn't bring himself to accept their forgiveness.

"Mmmm- AHA! I know what you still need- you probably need something to get all that stress out, right?" Ryoto surmised. "I know how you could do that- EXERCISE! IT WORKS!"

"E-Exercise!? Hooold on bucko, I am _not_ going to-" Hinata began in protest, but was cut short when Ryoto reached over and grabbed him by his scarf.

After that, Ryoto ran off, practically dragging a bewildered Hinata behind him...before he abruptly turned around and said to Hana, "I wasn't expecting your help, Hana, but I'm glad you were around to give it anyways! So THANK YOU!"

And then he ran away with Hinata again, heading in the direction of the fitness room. For a moment, Hana stood in stunned silence- before chuckling to herself, feeling like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.

 _Well, it's not perfect, but...I think Hinata's going to be fine, thanks to Ryoto._ Hana thought to herself. _I guess we were overthinking things a little bit- the issue was Hinata didn't realize we already forgave him for what he did in the last trial, so really we just had to go up and just...well, tell him outright._

Hana's optimistic thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching from the side. The surfer turned towards the stairs leading to the east half of the upper floor, where she saw Asuna Izumi sprinting as fast as she could down the steps; at that moment, Hana remembered Ryoto's comment about him speaking to her before running off to find Hinata, with Asuna pursuing him.

Seeing Hana, Asuna ran up to her, heavily panting due to exhaustion. "H-Hey Hana...have you...have you seen Ryoto anywhere...? I've been running around for...almost five minutes now, he said...he was going to-"

"Asuna, you don't need to worry about him or Hinata," Hana reassured her. "I was here, and I can tell you- what Ryoto did, I think it worked pretty well. Hinata's still got a bit to go before he's fully forgiven himself, I think, but...I think he'll be improving for the better from here on out."

"Really...?" Asuna asked, then let out a relived breath and collapsed to the floor from fatigue. "Oh thank god, I-I didn't know what to think when Ryoto told me about his idea, and...and really, I-I think I need some water..."

Hana chuckled, reaching down to help Asuna back to her feet. "Ah, you'll be alright- I think it's just because you've got shorter legs, you really shouldn't try to run down someone like Ryoto."

"For once, I won't take offense to-" Asuna replied as she stood back up- before she paused. "...Hey, Hana?"

"Yeah?" Hana replied.

"You seem...different from this morning," Asuna observed. "A lot less...I-I don't know, stressed?"

"I..." Hana began- only to stop and actually think about what the gardener said. _Actually...now that she mentions it, I do feel a lot better since this morning. Not even this morning, since I was back in the North Wing- and that was just a few minutes ago!_

"I-If I had to put in my own words, I-I guess...you just seem more like your usual self right now, is all," Asuna clarified. "N-Not that it's a bad thing, far from it! I'm pretty glad, i-if not a little surprised."

"Well, I- I _feel_ less stressed, so you're right about that," Hana replied. "In fact, I...I'd say I feel better than I have since Shiori's trial ended."

Asuna went silent for a moment, then guessed, "I wonder...m-maybe seeing the conversation between Ryoto and Hinata made you feel better?"

"Maybe...?" Hana replied, looking down in contemplation. _Great- even when I'm feeling good again, I can't figure out why. I'm not complaining at all, but still- what changed? And how do I get it to stay that way?_

"Uh- where did Ryoto and Hinata go, anyways?" Asuna asked, glancing around. "If you're here, then I'm guessing they were here too."

"They were- Ryoto took Hinata to the fitness room because he figured exercise would help Hinata with his stress," Hana explained to the other girl. "Like I said, this was after me and Ryoto talked to him, so I don't think we have to worry about things getting worse with Hinata."

"Again, that is _so_ relieving to hear- then again, m-maybe I was underestimating Ryoto," Asuna said with a frown. "H-He might not be the smartest, but he's definitely one of the nicest."

She then continued, "You, uh- said you talked to Hinata too, right?"

"Well, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, Ryoto did a lot of the talking," Hana sheepishly admitted. "He's the one that just flat-out told Hinata how we all- well, except Akira- feel about forgiving him, and I told him about how me and just about everyone else can relate to losing someone to this killing game."

"Kinda like...y-you know, what you said to me before?" Asuna reminded her. "The day before Saku and Shiro's trial?"

"Again, that was different- this time, it was mostly Ryoto, I was just providing support if anything. And even then, you know, with the...stress that I've been in since the other day, I probably wouldn't have done a good job by myself anyways," Hana insisted. "I'm just glad Hinata's doing better, is all."

"Me too- but, uh..." Asuna began, appearing hesitant. "Y-You really shouldn't...sell yourself short like that, just because of what's been going on with you lately."

Asuna continued, sounding slightly more confident, "W-Whatever's been going on with you, whether you really don't know or are keeping it a secret from us, doesn't change the fact that you're...that I _know_ you're a good person- you always have been, a-and I don't think that's changed at all."

Hana immediately turned to the Ultimate Gardener in surprise. "Huh? You don't-? You still-?"

"Are you that surprised...? So you've been acting kind of off lately- y-you and I are still friends, you're the main reason I wasn't wrongfully convicted of murder, y-you helped me deal with my grief..." Asuna responded. "It'd...It'd take a lot for me to stop thinking of you that way, and if Hiroshi were around I-I'm sure he'd say something similar."

"You're right, Hiroshi would say something like that," Hana agreed. "And, uh...I am sorry about how I've been acting, I...still don't really know what it's all about, really..."

As she thought about her strange behavior over the past two days- and even prior to these past two days- Hana realized she didn't feel that oppressive fog in her mind. Once again, she was glad for this, but it still made her wonder just what had changed between the time she left the throne room's hidden room and her encounter with Ryoto and Hinata.

 _Wait a second...could it be the others...?_ Hana pondered. _Whenever I started to feel like my usual self again, it was when I was around and interacting with the others, like with the meeting by the stairs the other day. A-And just now, too, when I was helping Ryoto talk to Hinata- even right now, when I'm just talking to Asuna, I still feel-_

"Hana? You're, uh...zoning out a bit, are you okay?" Asuna inquired with a hint of concern in her tone.

"I...you know what? I'm just fine now, no need to worry," Hana responded with a smile, then put an arm around the gardener in a sort of half-embrace. _...What have I been so worried about? I've got what I need right here,_ _and I feel kinda stupid that I didn't figure it out sooner..._

Asuna, visibly surprised by the sudden hug, replied, "O-Oh, uh- that's good to hear."

Hana stood there for a moment, simply committing the conclusion she had made to thought. She didn't know if it was because of her grief towards Shiori and Rumi or her frustration over not finding any answers to the killing game, but it seemed that the Ultimate Surfer had forgotten a simple truth: that despite all the tragedy and hardships within this castle, the members of the 80th Class had always continued on together. They may not have gotten a chance to be actual classmates, but Hana did see the majority of them as her friends- and it was that companionship that had allowed Hana herself to go on, despite everything.

Having recalled this, Hana released Asuna and told her, "Anyways, I need to shower, but after that- I think I'll head back around and see what the others are up to, hang out with them and everything."

"Really-? Heh, you really are back to your usual self!" Asuna happily remarked.

With a nod of farewell, Hana made her way back to her bedroom. All the while, her mind remained clear- well, about as clear as it usually was. Whether it would stay that way, Hana didn't know at this point- but she was certainly determined to ensure it would, at least for as long as possible. Not just for her own sake, either- for the sake of the friends she had grown to love, alive and dead, who gave her a reason to keep moving forward.

* * *

After showering and getting redressed, Hana stepped out of her room and back into the hallway- it seemed her epiphany from before was holding up nicely, as she felt little hesitation to go see her classmates.

 _Alright then- time to go make some peace with everyone. Hope they're not too surprised to see me back to normal._ Hana thought to herself as she strolled down the hall.

The surfer, seeing no one was in the main hall, decided to try and head up to the second floor. The study, storage room, and south lounge were devoid of students, but the greenhouse was different. Unsurprisingly, it was Asuna Izumi who was walking around the spacious room, apparently checking up on the various flora housed inside.

"Hey Asuna!" Hana eagerly called out, unaware that she might startle the shorter girl with her loud greeting.

Inevitably, the gardener jumped at the sudden yell, but she calmed down upon seeing it was Hana. "O-Oh, Hana! That, uh- was quick. I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, honestly."

"What, I told you I was gonna hang out with some of the others," Hana reminded her. "And you happen to fall into that category! So- wanna hang out?"

"Ah- yeah, of course! I-I'm just looking over the plants right now, you can help if you want," Asuna responded with a cheerful nod.

With that, Hana spent some time with Asuna looking over the plants in the greenhouse. Though Asuna told her about some of the specimens, Hana didn't understand much of it, but she felt like the two of them had grown closer regardless.

"Hey...Asuna," Hana began with a concerned frown. "About what happened last time- I didn't, uh- say anything wrong that made you leave like that, did I? If I did, I'm really-"

"Hana, i-it wasn't you, don't worry," Asuna assured her with a sigh. "Like I said, I just, uh...didn't want to answer your questions right then. I-It's...hard to talk about, you know?"

"I mean, I figured, I just..." Hana began, rubbing the back of her neck with a frown. "I couldn't help but- I can't help but wonder, you know? If your mom's business is like you described, then where could all that money be going...?"

"...N-Normally, I'd say that it's none of your concern, but...Hana, I-I feel like I can trust you," Asuna told her honestly. "So, I'll explain, but...I-I'd rather do it somewhere private. So, uh- just follow me."

With that, Asuna led Hana back towards the bottom floor of the South Wing, more specifically to where her bedroom was.

As the two entered, Hana noticed its design was similar to her own, right down to the pink sheets on the bed. The differences were the actual contents of the room; the top of the desk was covered in several potted plants and flowers with a few sun lamps to ensure they all received proper light, a spray bottle and a small can for watering were laying in the floor next to the desk, and a few other plants in bowls were suspended from the ceiling via metallic hooks screwed into the ceiling. Additionally, a step-stool was placed to the side of her bed, likely to assist the short girl in the care of the hanging plants.

"O-Okay, so...like I said before, my mom's botany business makes decent enough money, b-but the thing is the majority of that money goes towards...other expenses," Asuna began. "And those debts, they...well, they relate to my mom herself."

"Huh?" Hana responded in confusion. "So, those 'debts' you mentioned- they're your mom's? What kind of...?"

"Well, o-on the surface it's nothing too complex," Asuna explained. "See, they're- they're medical expenses. You know...hospital, medications, that sort of thing..."

"Wait, medical bills?" Hana asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, I know hospitals are expensive and all, but I don't think they're _that_ expensive for your family to be borderline poor all the time..."

"Uh...not if you're my mother," Asuna responded with a deep frown. "Th-The thing is, she...basically her whole life, even before I was born, my mother w-was always sick in some way. Sometimes it wasn't so bad, other times she needed to be hospitalized- a-and like I said, it didn't go away after I was born, either..."

The gardener went on, "A-Anyways, with so many years of medical bills- a-and it's still going on- that...doesn't leave much money for much of anything else..."

"W-Wow..." Hana responded in shock. "Asuna, I- I had no idea, I...can't imagine what that'd be like, having a parent always sick or in the hospital like that..."

"I-I mean, I should be grateful she's still alive after so many years of being ill- what I can't imagine is how she's handled it," Asuna replied, looking away from Hana as she spoke. "In fact, th-there was a time when she thought, because of how her body was, sh-she wouldn't be able to have kids. But, uh- here I am, hehe."

Despite Asuna's awkwardness in discussing her mother's condition, Hana remained steadfast in her compassion. "Sounds to me like your mom's pretty cool- it can't be easy, being a single mom and trying to run her own business."

"Y-Yeah, and I...I used to worry that I was a, uh...burden on my mom, you know?" Asuna admitted. "B-But she's never seen me as that, e-even if she didn't plan on having children- she loves me, a-and I love her, and..."

Hana furrowed her brow. "Asuna...? Something still on your mind?"

"Well...honestly, w-when I was first invited to join Hope's Peak as an Ultimate, I-I was scared to leave her by herself for such a long time, considering her condition..." Asuna confessed, looking down. "B-But, as you can see, I _did_ take the invite- b-but it wasn't for my own sake as it was for my mother's."

"What do you mean?" Hana inquired.

"You see...m-my mom had this dream, ever since she was younger, of opening and owning her own flower shop," Asuna answered. "That's why she started her little botany business- so she could try and save up and make that dream come true. B-But..."

"Oooh, I see..." Hana remarked with a sad nod. "Because of all those debts and stuff, that...dream won't really be reality, will it?"

"B-But that's why I decided to attend Hope's Peak- they say the students who graduate go on to find great success in anything they do, s-so I thought maybe...with that notoriety, I-I could help my mom finally make her dream come true!" Asuna responded, looking up at Hana once again. "A-After all, she's done so much for me despite everything, I figure...it's the least I could do, right...?"

"I think that's a great goal, Asuna," Hana responded with an earnest smile. "I mean- yeah, this whole killing game business kinda screwed that plan up, but ignoring that..."

The surfer put a hand on Asuna's shoulder and went on, "You know, even if all your old classmates couldn't see it, I think you're a pretty strong girl, Asuna."

"M-Me...? Strong?" Asuna asked in surprise. "H-Hana, I don't think-"

"You've had to grow up with all these issues, with all your peers giving you a hard time for stuff that wasn't even your fault, and- look at you now, you're an Ultimate!" Hana told her proudly. "...A-Again, ignoring the whole 'killing game' thing."

"Heh...uh, th-thanks, Hana," Asuna replied with a small smile of her own. "No one's, uh- no one, other than my mom, ever really believed I had any kind of strength, s-so I'm...I'm really glad I got to meet someone who does."

"No problem, Asuna- I'm just glad you trust me enough to talk to me about what's troubling you," Hana responded with a small laugh. "And don't forget- if something else comes up, I'll always be willing to listen."

"Thanks, Hana- y-you really are a good listener," Asuna responded earnestly. "Wish I had met someone like you earlier..."

Hana was aware she couldn't undo the years of torment Asuna had suffered at the hands of her old classmates, and she certainly couldn't do anything for the girl's ailing mother. However, Hana was glad she could help the gardener come out of her shell at least somewhat despite the life-threatening situation they were in and be a good confidant for her- something very few people had been for her, it would seem.

It had been a little rough at first, but now- now, Hana was certain she and Asuna had become friends in the truest sense of the word.

* * *

Hana didn't remain in her own bedroom for very long after visiting Asuna- she only went in to sit down for a few moments before exiting again. She did, however, take a moment to simply think to herself- again, she found her thoughts were mostly normal, with barely a hint of that cloudiness penetrating them. Even when she thought about the red hand symbol, nothing changed too much.

 _Heh- not so scary now, are you? Stupid symbol thing._ Hana thought to herself with confidence as she reentered the South Wing's central hall. _Why was I so freaked out about it? It really is just some creepy symbol, right?_

In her confidence, the Ultimate Surfer returned to the North Wing- and to her surprise, she saw Hinata wandering about on the upper floor near the hall leading to the West Wing.

"Hinata...? Hey, Hinata!" Hana called out to the thief, running over to and up the stairs to meet him.

"Hm-? Oh, hey Hana," Hinata, who was beginning to look less disheveled than previously, greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Wandering- until I saw you, anyways," Hana explained. "What about you? Didn't Ryoto take you to the fitness room?"

"Yes, and now I'm taking a break," Hinata told her, putting his hands in his pockets.

"...From the exercise or from Ryoto?" Hana then inquired.

To this, Hinata simply stated, "Yes."

"Weeeell- wanna hang out with me for a bit? I could show or tell you some things about the North Wing," Hana offered with a small smile.

"You know, that doesn't sound half bad," Hinata replied with a nod and a little grin of his own.

And so, Hana spent some time informing Hinata about the basic aspects of the most recently opened wing. Though he still seemed to be getting used to being back in the group of surviving students, Hana felt like she and him grew a little closer.

"Hey, Hinata..." Hana began, her gaze serious. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you-"

"Hold off on that, Hana- I'm getting the itch to practice my stealing again," Hinata said, the look in his eyes thoughtful. "Hey, since you made such a great target last time, would you mind helping me out again?"

Hana narrowed her eyes. "Are you gonna steal my necklace again?"

"No, you made it pretty clear you don't like anything happening to it, so I'll go for something else," Hinata told her. "Maybe, ah- your handbook, or whatever you use to tie your hair back."

"...Okay, Hinata- I'll help you out a bit," Hana agreed. "But only if you answer my question first!"

"W-What!? Who are you to make bargains with a thief!?" Hinata demanded with a glare.

"Come on, it's just one question- you can't dodge it forever!" Hana insisted stubbornly.

"Aaaah- what's the damn question, anyways?" Hinata asked in slight frustration.

"What did you mean when you told me thieving is 'in your blood'?" the surfer asked once more.

Hearing that, Hinata's anger faded somewhat, though he still didn't appear too happy. With a sigh, he asked, "Ever heard of Kage Ken?"

"Uh- Kage Ken?" Hana asked, dumbfounded by Hinata's response. "I...vaguely remember hearing about him...? Wasn't he some famous thief of some kind...?"

"Uh-huh- they called him a lot of other things too," Hinata replied. "The Gentleman Thief, The Shifter- cause he liked disguises- The Ghost of Japan...for his M.O. and the things he stole, they considered him a true 'phantom thief'."

 _A 'phantom thief', eh...? If that's the case, this 'Kage Ken' guy must have mostly stolen..._ Hana pondered to herself. "He stole, like- priceless artifacts and stuff? Paintings, gems, historical artifacts...?"

"Yeah- he mainly targeted museums, for that reason," Hinata confirmed with a nod. "Now, see, 'Kage Ken' wasn't his real name either- that was just a pseudonym he went by to hide his real identity."

With another sigh, Hinata continued, "His real name was Yoshikage. Yoshikage Yonade. He was...you know, my dad."

"Your dad was a master thief like _that?"_ Hana asked in surprise. "W-Wow, I see what you mean by 'thieving is in my blood' and all that..."

"Uh-huh- the guy wasn't around too often because of what he did, but he did teach me just about everything I know about how to be a great thief," Hinata explained, his gaze drifting to the floor. "Yeah, I may not imitate him in every aspect- I steal from just about everywhere, I'm not really a 'gentleman' about it, I don't do disguises- but I mean...I'm an _Ultimate_ Thief now, so..."

"I just didn't expect you to be related to someone so famous- but I guess I shouldn't be that surprised," Hana conceded...then remembered something else about Yoshikage Yonade. "Hey, hold on...wasn't he, you know...arrested a few years back...?"

"Yeah- when I was thirteen," Hinata elaborated, with no joy or much of any emotion in his voice. "See, he didn't steal for any kind of money or something- he just wanted to pull off bigger and more challenging heists. In saying that, I'm really not that surprised his luck finally ran out one day."

Then, the thief turned away from Hana and said, "Great talk, Hana, I'll...see you around."

"Wha-? Hey, wait! Didn't you want me to help you practice?" Hana called out to him as he walked away- however, she got no response.

 _Aaaand he's gone- great job, I should have known I was barking up the wrong tree..._ Hana told herself, cringing. _Next time I see him, I need to make things right-_ without _pressing him for deeply personal details about his past!_

Wondering about how she accomplish this, Hana returned to her bedroom.

* * *

After her encounter with Hinata, Hana was on her way back to her bedroom when she ran into Hiroshi- almost in the literal sense too. Hana was about to turn the corner into the bedroom hallway when the Ultimate Coroner practically materialized in front of her, resulting in her being barely able to move out his way in time.

"Gh-! Sorry Hiroshi, I didn't see you there," Hana apologized once the crisis had been averted.

"No worries, I wasn't paying attention," Hiroshi replied with a nod. "Although your timing's pretty good, I was just thinking about you."

Hana raised an eyebrow. "Were you?"

"Not like that- I saw Asuna a little while ago, and she told me about the talk you two had earlier," Hiroshi explained. "And just now, I got to thinking about how you seem to be improving after- well, everything."

"And I am- still wish I knew what made me act so weird to begin with, but I'm glad I'm feeling better," Hana responded with a smile. "I could probably even go back into that hidden room in the North Wing and I wouldn't even feel a thing!"

"Let's...not test it right now," Hiroshi replied. "Still, I'm glad things are already starting to look up. You're feeling better, Hinata's been improving too..."

He then let out a small chuckle. "Now if only Akira would stop isolating herself, things would be- well, not perfect, but about as close to perfect as this killing game will get."

"Even if she was back in the group, I don't think she'd stop acting like a bitch to everyone," Hana told him, frowning and crossing her arms. "So, you know, maybe it's a little better this way- at least this way she won't be a buzzkill to whatever good things we have going."

Hiroshi frowned and remarked, "...Still mad at her, huh?"

"Very," Hana stated in response.

Hiroshi sighed. "Hana-"

"Hey, after she's hated me this entire killing game, I think I've earned the right to be mad at _her_ for a change, don't you think?" Hana told him, narrowing her gaze slightly.

"Technically she hasn't hated you the _entire_ game, she only really started hating you during Kaneki's trial," Hiroshi pointed out.

"Still! Long time to be mad at someone!" Hana angrily replied. "She told me during the third investigation _why_ she hates me- but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"And I don't agree with the way she's acted towards everyone- especially you- but eventually, you two may have to work together to put an end to this killing game," Hiroshi informed her with candor. "Besides, it's not like you two have _nothing_ in common- you both try your hardest to uncover the truth during trials and to ensure the blackened doesn't get away, right?"

Hana sighed. "I really feel like you should be explaining this to Akira, she's the one with the bonding issues."

Hiroshi shrugged. "Maybe so- but on the other hand, forgiveness and companionship is a two-way street, isn't it?"

Hana grumbled to herself and muttered, "I hate when you talk like a fortune cookie..."

"You're just saying that because I'm right," Hiroshi semi-teasingly responded with a soft chuckle.

Hana silently and begrudgingly agreed with him, but couldn't help but smile a little for a moment. She then inquired, "Actually- where has Akira been all day? I haven't seen her around...at all, actually."

"Oh, she's been around- mostly investigating places on her own, stopping into her room to do...I don't know what," Hiroshi explained. "And yet, for all her investigating, it doesn't seem like she's found...the thing."

Hana furrowed her brow. "'The thing'?"

Hiroshi frowned. "The...The thing, Hana. That you showed me? _That_ thing?"

Remembrance struck her like a rock to the head, and the surfer not-subtly exclaimed, "OH! Oh, the thing! That thing! The thing I showed- yeah, that thing!"

"Be more subtle," Hiroshi whispered to her.

"Sorry," Hana whispered back. In her normal tone, she then inquired, "Have, uh- _you_ gotten a chance to look at it...?"

"Unfortunately no- if I were to, I'd like to have some kind of...navigation," Hiroshi explained. "Still, I'm sure I'll come up with something soon, it'a only a matter of-"

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The familiar jingle rang throughout the central hall, catching both Hana and Hiroshi off guard.

"Wha-? An announcement...?" Hana spoke, turning her eyes to one of the nearby monitors. "But it's- barely even evening, what's...?"

The monitor clicked on, showing the familiar scenery of Monokuma sitting on his throne in the North Wing, facing the camera with his eternal grin. "Hello there everybody! Sorry for my announcement being rather...sudden, but I just couldn't wait any longer! So- head down to the dining room in the castle's South Wing as soon as possible! I've got something _very_ special surprise for you all...but if your memory's good, you should know _exactly_ what it is!"

With that odd clue, the screen went dark again, leaving Hana and Hiroshi in stunned.

"It...It has to be that 'reward' or whatever he mentioned the other day," Hana realized, shaking her head. "But- he only mentioned it yesterday, why is he...?"

"Not sure- but what he calls a 'reward', a sane person would call a 'motive'," Hiroshi grimly stated.

"Is it that simple, though...? Don't the motive announcements happen in the main hall right here?" Hana pointed out, skeptical. "Well, except the third one, I guess-"

She shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is- yes, there's probably some evil ulterior motive to what Monokuma's doing, but something tells me it's...not as simple as him giving out another motive."

"Maybe...but either way, we need to stay careful," Hiroshi concluded, beginning to walk towards the dining room as their 'headmaster' ordered.

Hana gulped down her fear and followed suit without another word. _Just when things were starting to get better...why? Why now? Why do things have to take_ this _kind of turn? Why do they have to change like this?_

Somehow, through her confusion, Hana managed to come to one conclusion: Monokuma was choosing to act so soon _because_ things were starting to get better.

* * *

Thanks to their proximity, Hana and Hiroshi were the first ones to enter the dining room. Not long after them came Ryoto and Hinata, the latter looking better than when Hana last saw him.

"Oh- hey, Hinata!" Hana greeted the Ultimate Thief, hoping for some positivity to offset the foreboding she felt. "You're looking a lot better- did that exercise help?"

"Did it help- physically, I'm probably not gonna be able to walk tomorrow..." Hinata muttered, cracking his back as he spoke. "Mentally...yes, actually."

"AHA! RYOTO MIURA SAVES THE DAY AGAIN!" Ryoto happily shouted with a laugh.

"Dude, I wasn't exercising the _whole_ day," Hinata pointed out, putting a hand on his hip. "Not that my bod isn't sore any less..."

"I'm still counting it!" Ryoto responded with a grin and a hearty hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"So are you two, like- friends now?" Hana inquired, raising an eyebrow.

To this, Hinata replied in a not-so-sincere tone, "I don't know if I'd go _that_ far, all we did was some fitness stuff-"

"EXCUSE ME!? You're DOUBTING the strength of our new bond!? Everyone knows two guys who exercise and/or sweat together form the STRONGEST bonds!" Ryoto immediately rambled on, turning his blazing gaze towards Hinata.

The thief, meanwhile, was barely able to contain his laughter. He turned to Hana and quietly told her, "You have no idea Hana, this guy's reactions are even more crazy than yours, it's great!"

Normally, Hana would have taken slight offense to that (and she still did), but at that moment she was just glad to see Hinata was back to his usual self as well. In fact, though he was acting as mischievous as ever, his grin seemed slightly more genuine and happy than before, like he was beginning to see the others in something more akin to friendship.

With that done, Ryoto turned back to Hana and Hiroshi and declared, "Okay- this is gonna be super weird, but whatever we do, we SHOULD NOT listen to Monokuma! NEVER AGAIN!"

"I was barely paying attention when the guy talked about the 'reward' the other day- but knowing him, it's just another motive," Hinata matter-of-factly claimed, taking a seat and propping his feet up on the table.

"You seem...calm about this, Hinata," Hiroshi observed, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that that's a problem," Hana remarked optimistically. "...But seriously, why _are_ you so calm?"

"First of all, it's in my nature- well, so is stealing, but I'm trying to steer away from _that_ from now on," Hinata explained, frowning. "Second of all, after four trials- I like to think we're a pretty close-knit group, aside from Akira. I mean, you guys were willing to keep _me_ around and help _me_ out despite what I did in the last trial-"

"Both of which are true," Hiroshi agreed with an approving nod.

"-so I'm thinking there'd be no _actual_ reason for any of us to kill each other at this point, we've got too much to lose to risk getting found out and punished, so no one in their right mind would try it," Hinata went on, then put one hand into the pocket of his hoodie thoughtfully. "...This time, anyways..."

Hana glanced at the memorial on the far side of the room as he spoke- she knew which trial he was referring to specifically, but Hana herself was thinking of all of them as a whole.

During this moment of silence, Asuna entered the room, warily glancing around for a moment before walking in fully. "Hey guys- uh, any sign of...y-you know, anything bad?"

"Not yet, and I doubt Monokuma will show up until we're _all_ here," Hiroshi speculated. "Speaking of- you didn't see Akira on your way here, did you?"

"No, but I'm sure she's coming," Asuna responded before anxiously taking a seat.

Hana furrowed her brow and said, "Hey, Asuna- calm down a little, okay? Whatever Monokuma's got planned, it's-"

"I-It's obviously going to be another motive, isn't it? It always is!" Asuna yelped.

"Or! Or, like I've been thinking, it could be something...you know, different from a motive!" Hana attempted to explain. "Clearly it'll be something shady with an ulterior motive behind it, Monokuma's like that, buuut it could just be, you know- slightly different from a motive!"

"...H-How is that going to be better!?" Asuna asked in fear, resting her head on the table and pulling her fedora down over her face by the brim as if hoping it would shield her from whatever Monokuma would throw at them.

It wasn't long after this exchange that Akira walked into the room; she said nothing to anybody as she did, and Hana noticed her hair seemed somewhat more disheveled than before, indicating she seemed to be throwing herself into her solo investigation full force.

"Wow- Akira, being the _last_ one to arrive? Times really are changing, eh?" Hinata observed, raising an eyebrow at the prosecutor.

Akira narrowed her eyes at him and remarked, "Yonade- I see _you're_ back."

Hinata's joking demeanor faded, and he frowned. "Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that?"

"...No- what you all get up to is none of my concern, so long as there's no risk of murder," Akira answered, turning away from him and sitting towards the end of the table.

"...Sheesh, Ryoto wasn't kidding when he told me about her, she really is more of a stick in the mud than usual..." Hinata whispered to the others, glancing at her with a deep frown.

"Oh yeah- I keep forgetting you weren't there for a lot of what we found and talked about," Hana remarked to the thief. "Have you even gotten a good look at the North Wing?"

"A little bit- Ryoto told me about some of the room, but I've only _actually_ seen the main room and the throne room," Hinata explained with a shrug. "Maybe I'll look around more on my own later."

Hiroshi, meanwhile, turned his attention to Akira and inquired, "So, Akira- why _were_ you so late to come here, anyways?"

"I was in the West Wing's tower when I heard the announcement, so I was farther away than the rest of you," Akira explained. "Simple as that."

The conversation died down after that as everyone awaited the inevitable arrival of Monokuma- some with stony silence, others with visible apprehension.

The moment arrived after what felt like an eternity. Hana and her classmates weren't sure what to expect- would he appear in a special fanfare, or would he simply pop in in his usual fashion? Turns out it was a little of both- Monokuma entered the dining room from the kitchen, by practically _bashing_ his way through the door with a loud shout.

"GOOOD EVENING, STUDENTS!" Monokuma shouted into the room, his excitement almost tangible. "It's the moment you all- mostly me- have been waiting for!"

"Just get on with it Monokuma, and quit with the dramatics," Akira growled at the robotic ursine.

"Now now, don't be a bunch of sour grapes! I'm just excited to give you all your incredible reward for your incredible performances in the class trials!" Monokuma responded as he jumped onto the table. "After all, who could have predicted you'd make it this far, with _four_ victories under your belts no less?"

Hana clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists, clearly not appreciating the reminder.

"In all seriousness, Monokuma- you really should just get on with it," Hiroshi told him in agreement with Akira. "I mean, it's clear this 'reward' of yours is just going to be another motive, right?"

"Puhuhu- you poor, sweet child..." Monokuma began, then finished with a sinister edge to his tone, "My reward will only be a motive if you _make_ it one."

To that, Hana did a minor double-take in confusion- what did _that_ mean?

"W-Well, regardless...don't, uh, keep us in suspense- what's the reward?" Asuna finally asked with a frown.

"Ah, excellent question from Blondie the Second!" Monokuma remarked. "You see, for your excellency at trial-going and general self-preservation, I've decided to bestow upon you all something you've craved from the moment you awoke in these halls..."

"You're setting us free?" Ryoto asked, immediately more interested.

"No, I'm not feeling _that_ generous!" Monokuma snapped at him. "No, I'm here to provide for you all the next best thing-"

His red eye gleamed momentarily before he went on, "Information!"

"Information...?" Akira began, taken aback. "You mean about the _killing game?"_

"N-No way...you're actually gonna tell us stuff?" Hinata stammered in his own surprise. "No, no, there _has_ to be a catch to this-"

"The only 'catch' is that I'm only giving you all mere morsels of information- certainly not enough to help you subvert the killing game so you six can go free as butterflies, that's for sure," Monokuma explained. "But no, there's no strings attached, this isn't like ransomware- the stuff I _am_ giving you is completely free of charge!"

Hana was practically leaning over the table as she insisted, "W-Well then tell us! Whatever you've got, we'll take it, seriously!"

Hiroshi grimaced and said to the Ultimate Surfer, "Hana, maybe we shouldn't-"

"TELL US YOU STUPID BEAR!" Ryoto shouted at the bear, also leaning in intently.

Despite Hiroshi still appearing concerned, the others seemed to be united in a desire for answers; even Akira, who was as stoic as ever, had a glimmer of curiosity in her red eyes.

"Well then- sit down, and lemme tell you all..." Monokuma responded ominously.

The robotic bear began, "First, I pose a question to all of you: before you woke up in this castle, you were all on the cusp of walking into the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy, right?"

"Uuh...yeah?" Ryoto answered like Monokuma's question was the simplest one in the world. "What's that gotta-"

"And when you were all entering, did you perhaps...black out?" Monokuma then asked, ignoring Ryoto's remark. "No nausea, no dizziness- just your vision going completely dark, and then waking up in your designated bedroom moments later?"

Akira furrowed her brow. "Yes, actually...we established early on that all fifteen of us experienced the same thing, as a matter of fact."

"Monokuma, are you...going to say you know why that happened?" Asuna asked, a hopefulness audible in her tone.

"Well, I _am_ the one orchestrating this killing game of ours, it'd be weird if I _didn't_ know!" Monokuma answered with a laugh.

He continued, "You see, that darkness you all experienced just before officially entering the Academy? That was what we call a 'cutoff point'."

"Cutoff point...? For what?" Hiroshi asked.

"Oh, nothing important," Monokuma responded, his grin as cruel as ever. "Just...your memories."

A collective chill ran through the room as Monokuma spoke. After what seemed like hours of stunned silence, Hana quietly asked, "What...did you say...!?"

"Thaaat's right! Rest assured, you all walked through those doors and become official students of Hope's Peak Academy before being thrust into this killing game," Monokuma told them. "But that time? The time between that moment of blacking out and when you each woke up?"

He clapped his metallic paws together. "BAM! Gone! Erased! Deleted! You guys had your memories wiped!"

Hana could hear many of the others reacting to this revelation, but she was too focused on her own reaction to process theirs; she could almost feel the color draining from her face, her heart rate increasing from fear, and she couldn't say or do anything but let out a short gasp of shock.

"W-What!? What are you saying!?" Hinata yelped, his eyes going wide with horror.

"Uh- you had your memories wiped," Monokuma slowly repeated himself. "I think that's pretty self-explanatory, Scarfy."

"You...You're lying," Hiroshi quickly claimed, sounding almost breathless.

"Y-Yeah!" Asuna added in. "This...has to be a trick- why should we believe anything you have to say?"

"What's this now?" Monokuma asked, looking around at the others. "You all have been begging for answers since day one, but now that I give them to you all you _reject_ them! Talk about a bunch of ingrates..."

"But you- you can't _prove_ that's what happened, can you?" Akira pointed out, her eyes narrowed into a glare. "You have no evidence that we were students at Hope's Peak and then had our memories erased, can you?"

Hana went deathly silent, and she hoped no one would notice. Monokuma's words ran over and over again in her mind- 'you all walked through those doors and become official students of Hope's Peak Academy before being thrust into this killing game'- and with that revelation came the memory of something else...

"You're not wrong, I don't have any _actual_ proof that you were all given amnesia..." Monokuma conceded. "But you've gotta admit- it's strange, isn't it?"

He thoughtfully tapped a claw on his chin. "You were all feeling perfectly fine and dandy on your first day at the Academy, you were surrounded by fellow Ultimates in broad daylight...next thing you know, each and every one of you blacked out and woke up _away_ from Hope's Peak and in the world's deadliest castle! I doubt even the most skilled kidnappers would be able to drug all fifteen of you and take everyone away under those circumstances!"

"W-Well, maybe, but-" Hiroshi stammered. "Why...are you telling us this...?"

"Because it's my reward to all of you! And besides- saving the 'almost everyone has amnesia' reveal for the very end is _such_ a cliche..." Monokuma answered, then went on, "But then again, revealing it at the very _beginning_ to try and be 'subversive' is also kinda tired by now. And then saving it for the _middle_ instead of beginning or end to be even more 'subversive' is-"

"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!" Ryoto shouted in growing panic. "If...If you're actually telling the truth, then...WHAT YEAR IS IT!?"

"Oh no, I'm not giving away that much! First of all, knowing how much time has actually passed wouldn't help any of you escape at all," Monokuma replied. "Secondly, I just love seeing you all in suspense! It could have been three days, or two weeks, or two months, or maybe it's been a _year!"_

"Knock it _off_ already!" Hana snapped at him. "You're causing enough problems as is, don't make it worse!"

"...Wait," Akira spoke up, her expression shifting from skepticism to...disturbance? "Monokuma...what did you mean by _'almost_ everyone has amnesia'?"

"Oops! Did I forget to mention that part?" Monokuma innocently asked before explaining, "When I said your class had their memories erased, I was slightly wrong."

With his signature laugh, the bear elaborated, "The participants of this killing game _did_ have their memories erased...except for one person."

If the amnesia revelation was a slap to the face, then Monokuma's second reveal was a punch to the gut.

"What the hell...!? You mean to tell us someone- someone knows if- someone didn't-!?" Hinata spluttered, evidently unable to wrap his head around what the 'headmaster' was saying.

"Uh-huh! Out of the fifteen of you, one person was allowed to keep all of their memories- from the cutoff point to the start of the killing game, they know it all!" Monokuma declared. "They know that I'm being truthful, they know how much time you're all missing...and they even know the truths behind the killing game! Who's responsible, why they're doing it, why they chose the fifteen of you-"

"WHAT!?" Hana blurted, overwhelmed by a myriad of emotions.

"Someone in the class knew the truth behind the killing game all along!?" Akira demanded, outraged. "And they've done _nothing_ with the information!?"

"My, that's an excellent point, Ms. Rimutsu!" Monokuma claimed with a gleam in his eyes. "Indeed, this person has all the information one could need to subvert a killing game- and yet, they've allowed it to continue. All the death and sadness that you've all been through- it could have been lessened if this person had acted sooner!"

"You...don't know that," Hiroshi refuted. "This person...whoever they are, I'm sure they had their reasons for-"

"What reason could that person _possibly_ have to not use the information they possess to try and derail my beloved killing game? Better for me, sure- but not the rest of you!" Monokuma snarled, before adding in a much cooler tone, "In saying that...I think it's only fair to brand that person as a 'traitor', wouldn't you all agree?"

Before anyone could react further, Monkuma added as if it was an afterthought, "Oh, and- that 'traitor'? _They're still alive."_

With a boisterous laugh, Monokuma jumped off the table and disappeared down the hallway outside the dining room, leaving the class in stunned, horrified.

"The traitor is...still alive...?" Hinata whispered. "That means...one of us six is-"

"No no no, don't say it!" Hana shouted at him as soon as she forced herself out of her stupor.

"We- We don't even know if he was telling the truth...!" Hiroshi spoke up, his voice soft as if he was trying to suppress any emotion in it. "This whole 'amnesia' and 'traitor' thing, it- it could just be one big ruse!"

"HOW COULD IT BE!? There's no physical proof but- he was so SPECIFIC! And- And the way we arrived here, we all knew it was weird from the beginning!" Ryoto cried, his hands on his head and his face pale.

"I...I...!" Asuna choked out with horror in her eyes. She then bolted from her chair and shouted, _"I-I can't be here right nooow!"_

With that, the Ultimate Gardener sprinted out of the dining room.

"RYOTO MIURA NEEDS TO FIND A CALENDAAAAR!" Ryoto practically screamed as he, too, fled into the hallway.

"Asuna! Ryoto! Wait!" Hiroshi called. "W-We can sort this out, there's no-!"

He was interrupted when Hana abruptly stood up as well. The surfer then gasped out, "I, I- I need to go back to my room!"

"Hana, not you too-!" Hiroshi began, but he was unable to finish that exclamation as well before Hana sprinted away, leaving the coroner with Akira and Hinata.

There were many things on her mind as she ran out of the dining hall- whether Monokuma was being truthful about erasing everyone's memories, the existence of a 'traitor'...but she knew, deep down, there was something she _had_ to look at again. ...Provided she could find it, anyways.

* * *

Hana threw herself into her bedroom, practically slammed the door behind her, then hid under the covers of her bed to avoid the all-seeing eye of Monokuma's security cameras. She then took out her e-Handbook and began to poke around and click through its numerous applications.

 _C'mon c'mon, where are they? The photos, where are the photos!?_ Hana desperately asked herself as she navigated the device. _They couldn't have just- just deleted themselves, could they? That kind of thing happens in spy movies, but it better not have happened here too!_

Even still, Hana had doubts about whether her search would be successful or not. After all, the messages she had been receiving were meant to be kept in secret- so where would her e-Handbook even send such secret items if it didn't delete them outright?

At last, while Hana was sifting through the handbook's files folders (meant for things like downloaded pictures, videos, documents- like a cell phone)- something she hadn't done before, though there weren't many files to navigate anyways- she encountered a folder simply named 'dnlh'. Unsure of just what kind of contents would be in a folder with that name, she tapped to open it. Inside were a series of documents- four, to be exact. Aside from those documents were several picture files without real names- just numbers strewn together.

Hopeful, Hana clicked on the first of the document files; sure enough, the text on the document was the same as the text from the message she had received after Mikio's trial. The file below that was a document containing the text from the second message, the one following Kaneki's trial- the difference in this one, however, was that it no longer had the file containing the photos of the students at Hope's Peak.

Hana wasn't worried about this, however- she had a feeling those picture files in the folder were the photos she had seen. Clicking on several of them after exiting the second document confirmed this; thus, while she was relieved she still had the information from the messages hidden on her e-Handbook, that same information was what gave her so much concern.

At present, she was staring down at the photo she had received with the third message- the one depicting all fifteen members of Class 80 (and the mysterious Nanako Tokumei, who made sixteen) taking a group photo. With few modifications, everyone wore the brown uniforms that were customary for Hope's Peak Academy, and the classroom itself felt vaguely familiar to Hana- but it was sensation that was just out of her reach.

 _Akira said Monokuma couldn't prove he was telling the truth about erasing our memories of being at Hope's Peak..._ Hana thought to herself anxiously. _But...if these photos are real, then...then_ I'm _the one with the proof of what he was saying...!_

Suddenly, Hana realized it wasn't a matter of 'if'. Deep down, in her head and in her heart, she knew these photos were completely real...and that meant Monokuma's claims about the amnesia were true.

Hana turned off the screen, came out from under the covers, and buried her face in her hands as she tried to fight back tears. Perhaps she had known the photos were real and that Monokuma was telling the truth all along- she needed both to truly come to terms with it. And now that she had, Hana found herself even more grief-stricken than before; it had been one thing to go about the killing game believing she had only known the others since the time everyone woke up in the castle, but the knowledge that the students had an even _longer_ history that could never be regained made the deaths she had seen even more tragic.

Then there was the question of the article- the "biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history". If Monokuma was being truthful about the memory wipe, did that mean everything described in that article was true as well? Was the world outside the castle truly ravaged beyond recognition? Did something happen at Hope's Peak that caused its permanent closure? Hana feared what it meant for her home, her friends, her _family..._

And what of Nanako? If she was a member of the 80th Class, as the photos seemed to suggest, where was she and why wasn't she trapped in the killing game as well? Did something happen to her between the 'cutoff point' and the beginning of the killing game? Was she even still alive, or did she die either due to the 'destruction' at Hope's Peak or during this 'tragic event' that ruined the world?

By now, Hana's grief was replaced by frustration and confusion- here she was, possibly with more answers than anyone else (aside from this 'traitor', apparently), and all it did was make her more baffled than ever.

 _...Wait a second...I'm the one that's been getting all these messages, right...? The photos, the article, everything that proves what Monokuma said..._ Hana realized with growing horror. _Could..._ I _be the-?_

Hana immediately tried to expel the thought from her mind; after all, Monokuma had specified the traitor still had their memories intact, and Hana knew she didn't fit into that category. But then her train of thought swerved right back, and she wondered if Monokuma meant the traitor had their memories in the _literal_ sense- as in, physically had the memories, like Hana did with the photos of Hope's Peak.

 _No no, stop stop stop- the way Monokuma talked about the traitor, he made it seem like the traitor was aware of what they knew and what Monokuma was talking about..._ Hana refuted her concerns once more. _Me? I'm not aware of anything! Yeah I've got these photos and messages and everything, and I've been getting these...these feelings that are kinda familiar, but I don't know what any of them mean!_

Hana took a deep breath in a last-ditch effort to calm herself; with that, she was able to somewhat content herself with the knowledge that, while she may be keeping secrets, she was not the 'traitor' Monokuma was talking about.

Of course, that begged another, darker question: if Monokuma was telling the truth about the traitor still being alive and Hana knew she herself was not the traitor...then who was?

* * *

The usual time for the dinner meeting came rather quickly, and Hana wasted no time returning to the dining room as soon as she could. As she walked, she tried to choke down any worries she had regarding the states of her classmates.

 _Okay, maybe this won't be...that bad, right...?_ Hana told herself. _What Monokuma told us- it really wasn't a motive, there were no strings attached or anything like that, he was just...he was just scaring us, is all. We'll be fine! We'll be...we'll be fine..._

She took a deep breath as she entered the dining room, noticing there were already two people inside: Akira and Hiroshi. Hana wasn't surprised to see Hiroshi, as he was always better with being on time that her; however, she was a little surprised to see Akira, who had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with the meetings anymore. The prosecutor in question wasn't even sitting at the table- she was leaning against the wall, gazing at the people coming in.

As curious as she was to what Akira was up to, Hana decided it would be better to simply ignore her for now. Hiroshi was making his way into the kitchen when Hana arrived, so she followed suit without even glancing at Akira.

Inside, Hana spoke up, "Hey, Hiroshi."

The Ultimate Coroner was going through the fridge, picking out leftovers to eat when Hana entered. "Hi, Hana- how are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm...better, I guess," Hana responded with a shrug. "I'm really just trying not to think about it, honestly- the implications are just...way too much."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried too. This is isn't one of Monokuma's usual tricks, but that just makes it all the more dangerous..."

"You said it..." Hana agreed, walking over to the fridge herself. "By the way, do you...know what Akira's up to? She's just standing there, glaring..."

"I don't know- I tried asking her, but she didn't really give me a real answer," Hiroshi responded with a frown. "She just said she was there to...observe? I think we should just leave her be for now."

"I can do that," Hana responded with a nod. "Now, ah- what's in the fridge?"

The duo obtained their food and exited the kitchen, with Akira still at her vigil nearby. The other three students- Ryoto, Hinata, and Asuna- arrived around this time as well, although none of them looked too much better than Hana had. Asuna's face was flushed with worry, Hinata had a stormy look in his eyes, and Ryoto looked like he was trying a little too hard to look confident and in control. Not that any of them made conversation- they simply grabbed their leftovers and sat down, filling the room with an awkward silence. Hana was tempted to try and make conversation, but her mind drew a blank at what to say.

Luckily, Hiroshi came to the rescue by speaking up, "Hey, guys- we shouldn't worry too much about what Monokuma said, okay? We can't prove if he's telling the truth or not, and even if he is- we're still trapped in this castle, so there's not much we can do on our end besides trying to escape."

Hana nearly choked on her food at his 'we can't prove it' comment, but then she remembered the secretive nature of the secret messages and decided against bringing them up here and now.

"I-I guess..." Asuna replied, picking at her food. "B-But thinking about the _possibility_ that...that we've been in here longer than we think, and our friends and families might not know where we are, it's-"

"Hey, Asuna- I agree with Hiroshi, there's not much we can do while we're stuck in here," Hana assured her friend. "Besides- no matter how long it's been, I'm sure our families and the police and everyone haven't given up on trying to find us. So, there's still some hope on both ends."

Right when she said that, however, she remembered the article describing that 'tragic event', and she began to wonder if there were even any police left to look for them. Once again, that information would probably only lead to more strife anyways, so Hana kept it to herself.

"Ah, but Ryoto Miura DID find proof!" Ryoto declared. "FIRST! Have you guys noticed there are no calendars? No calendars _anywhere_ in the castle?"

"Well, Ryoto, I don't know if that's necessarily-" Hiroshi began.

"SECOND! Did you guys notice our e-Handbooks don't show the date?" Ryoto then asked. "No day, month, year- nothing!"

"That...is a little weird, now that you mention it..." Asuna spoke up. "Our e-Handbooks tell the time, b-but not the date..."

Hana furrowed her brow. "Really? That sounds like something these things would have..."

"I...think e-Handbooks are supposed to tell the date as well, based on what little research I did before attending Hope's Peak," Hiroshi claimed. "Why ours don't, that's...suspicious indeed, Ryoto."

"YEAH!" Ryoto yelled. "Why would the date be hidden like that if someone wasn't trying to make us think less time had passed than...had _actually_ passed!"

This sent an uncomfortable chill through the spines of those listening- except for Akira, who stood by in watch. And...Hinata, who seemed more focused on the Ultimate Prosecutor than anyone else.

"...Hey, Akira- you gonna say something? Or are you just gonna keep standing there like a creep?" Hinata finally asked, crossing his arms.

"What you call 'standing there like a creep', I call observation," Akira responded.

"Observation...? For what?" Asuna asked.

"Simple- to see which one of you is most likely to be the traitor," Akira answered matter-of-factly.

Hana's eyes widened and it felt as if her heart stopped for a moment. _Oh, this...this is gonna suck...!_

"Wait, Akira- you _believe_ Monokuma? You think there's a traitor?" Hiroshi asked, dumbfounded.

"You don't? Your level of naivety astounds me, Ashi," Akira replied with a disapproving frown. "Even if Monokuma was lying, the possibility of there being an actual traitor of some kind is one that I'm not willing to overlook without proper investigation."

She glanced at the others and remarked, "And since Monokuma also said it was one of us six, I'd be a fool if I didn't keep an eye on anyone to generate a list of suspects."

"Well, if you're trying to find the traitor, I can help you right now!" Ryoto boasted before standing up. "Okay, whoever's the traitor- STAND UP AND FESS UP!"

Of course, no one responded, innocent or guilty.

Hiroshi grimaced and told Akira, "Akira, listen. The chances of Monokuma being truthful are low, he was probably just-"

"Ya think so, Hiroshi? Why are you sure there's not a traitor, huh?" Hinata demanded with a furious glare. "Unless there's something _you're_ not telling us."

"W-Wha-?" Hiroshi stammered as he was caught off guard by Hinata's accusation.

"Whoa, Hinata! What are you doing?" Ryoto asked the thief. "You don't actually think Hiroshi's the traitor, do you?"

"I don't fucking know, but I do know I wanna find that 'traitor' Monokuma talked about..." Hinata began in a low growl. "And when I do, I'm gonna fucking _clobber_ them for not doing anything about the killing game, if they knew so much!"

"H-Hey, Hinata, calm down!" Hana immediately told him. "Maybe there's more to the situation than we think! I mean, if there really is a traitor, they've gotta have a reason why they haven't done anything, like- like blackmail or something!"

"Besides- as odd as Ashi is, he's not my _top_ suspect," Akira remarked, adjusting my glasses. "Since you want answers, I'd might as well throw in my current two-cents..."

Her red gaze turned to Hana as she said, "Right now, my main suspect is Amari."

"M-Me!?" Hana yelped, immediately turning to Akira. "Why!?"

"Oh don't play dumb- you've been acting strange since yesterday, and even prior to that you've had moments of acting odd," Akira snarled. "And don't think I haven't noticed how dodgy and secretive you've been- even during this conversation, you had moments that indicated you knew more than you let on, like when you almost choked on your food when Ashi began speaking."

 _Oh, damn me and wearing my feelings on my sleeve!_ Hana told herself in panic. While Akira was right about the surfer keeping secrets, she was wrong to assume she was the traitor.

Hana wasted no time communicating this by crying out, "Th-This is crazy, I'm not the traitor! I don't have any more memories than anyone else!"

"Y-Yeah, if Hana knew everything about the killing game, I-I'm sure she'd have done something by now instead of letting more of her friends die!" Asuna refuted Akira. "I-If anything, Akira, _you're_ pretty suspicious too! Y-You've never tried to connect or interact with anyone, a-and now you've just cut yourself off completely-!"

Akira's gaze turned to her signature, fiery glare as she growled at Asuna, "Say that again, Izumi...!"

This, unsurprisingly, caused Asuna to whimper and shrink back in fear of the red-haired Ultimate.

"Well ya know what!?" Ryoto shouted in anger. "Asuna Izumi, I think YOU'RE suspicious!"

"W-What!? Why me!?" Asuna yelped.

"BECAUSE I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO ACCUSE ANYONE YET!" Ryoto bellowed.

Hana couldn't tell how it happened, but suddenly the dining room was filled with arguing, defending, and accusing from just about all sides. All the confusion and tension that had been building up since Monokuma's announcement seemingly exploded in these moments into a series of bickering. Hana herself found herself attempting to defend herself against Akira and try to make a defense for this hypothetical 'traitor'- which only made her look more suspicious to Akira.

The only student who wasn't arguing was Hiroshi; he was deathly silent throughout everything- for a time. However, after a few seconds of listening to his classmates tearing each other apart with words, he finally stood.

"You guys... _you guys...!"_ Hiroshi began through clenched teeth before shouting, _"You guys!"_

Hearing Hiroshi raising his voice- an occurrence rarer than seeing Bigfoot- was more than enough for the students to quiet down and turn their attention to him.

"Why are you all fighting like this? Don't you understand this is what Monokuma and the mastermind want!?" Hiroshi furiously demanded. "When Monokuma said the information he gave us would be a motive if we made it one- _this_ is what he meant! The arguing, the distrust, the frustration-!"

He put a hand to his face and continued, still angered, "I can't believe after everything that's happened, after everything we've all gone through, you all just- so _easily_ fall into this trap! Why!? Why is it still so hard to have faith in each other!?"

Hana was frozen in place at hearing Hiroshi's outburst- hearing him talk like this, with so much emotion in his voice...she didn't know what to make of it besides feeling _incredibly_ guilty for getting caught up in the arguing.

However, before anyone could respond, Hiroshi turned away from everyone and stormed out of the dining room.

"W-Wait-! Hiroshi!" Hana called out to her friend.

The others were still silent; Ryoto, Hinata, and Asuna glanced at each with equally guilt-ridden countenances while Akira simply sighed and shook her head. Hana didn't say anything to any of them, however- she got out of her own chair and ran out of the dining room in pursuit of Hiroshi.

* * *

"Hiroshi!" Hana called again as she sprinted out of the room and looked around the hallway. "Hirosh-"

It turned out she wouldn't have to go far to find him- the Ultimate Coroner was standing at the very end of the hallway, as if trying to regain his composure after his outburst at his classmates.

Hana barely even hesitated to run up to him, though she was certain he was still angry. "Hiroshi, I- about what happened in the dining room, I'm- I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have acted like that, and the others- I know they're sorry too, and if you're still mad at us-"

"...I'm not mad at anyone, Hana," Hiroshi responded, shaking his head. "I'm mad...I'm mad at all of this. This killing game, the manipulation, the distrust..."

He sighed sadly. "It hurts, Hana. It hurts seeing that. You'd think after everything, we'd be a little more immune to Monokuma's tricks, but..."

"Well, hey- the things Monokuma said, it just- it just turns everything we thought we knew completely on its head, you know?" Hana responded, shaking her head. "That kind of thing, it...gets to a person real easily..."

"I know, don't think I don't understand where everyone's coming from," Hiroshi reassured her. "That's why I'm not truly mad at you or the others- if anything, I'm more...more..."

With a steely look in his eyes, Hiroshi began to walk away yet again.

"Wait, Hiroshi- come back to the dining room with me? Even if you're not that mad at the others, they'd want to apologize anyways..." Hana asked the coroner- she would have ran forward and grasped Hiroshi's hand if it wasn't for his aversion to physical contact.

"There's no need for that- besides, there's something I need to do," Hiroshi told Hana, stopping in his tracks but not looking back at her. "Something I should have done sooner..."

"What...? Where are you going, what are you-?" Hana began, attempting to follow Hiroshi again.

Hiroshi turned back to Hana, his expression hard to read. After several moments of deep silence, he walked up to Hana- the surfer, meanwhile, was unsure of what Hiroshi was doing...

However, the coroner leaned in and softly said to Hana, "Listen, Hana- there's something important I need to do, and something important I need to tell you. I won't be telling you right now, but soon- very soon, I will. Trust me, you'll know when. Until then- just wait for me, alright?"

He stepped away, smiled that calm smile of his, and added, "And don't worry, okay? One way or another, things are going to work out- just keep having faith, Hana."

Though Hana was still visibly baffled, Hiroshi proceeded to walk away to where the bedrooms were; this time, Hana figured it would be best to leave him be. Sighing, Hana turned around to head back to the dining room...and was surprised to see Ryoto, Hinata, and Asuna walking down the hallway to the main chamber.

Furrowing her brow, Hana walked up to them and asked, "Uh- what are you guys doing?"

The three of them froze upon being spotted, and moments later Ryoto blurted, "WE WEREN'T GONNA EAVESDROP ON YOU AND HIROSHI!"

This resulted in Hinata giving Ryoto a light smack to the back of his head while Asuna cringed and turned away.

Hana grumbled to herself for a moment before telling them, "Well, you're too late anyways- Hiroshi left, went back to his room."

"Oh, he did...?" Asuna responded with disappointment. "I-I was hoping we could talk to him..."

"Don't worry- he's not really mad at us as much as he is at the killing game in general," Hana informed them, attempting to sound reassuring. 'Let's just...go back to the dining room."

"Yeah, uh...let's," Hinata agreed. "Hey- on the bright side, Akira's in the kitchen right now, so you might not have to deal with her much more tonight, eh?"

Hinata's attempt at comforting Hana fell flat, and the surfer walked back to the dining hall with her shoulders slumped. Although Hiroshi had made it clear his anger wasn;t directed at her or the other Ultimates, she still worried for him immensely. Not to mention his last, cryptic words to her. Just what in the world did Hiroshi? Could whatever he was doing or whatever he needed to tell her be tied to Monokuma's 'reward' somehow? And most of all- was Hiroshi putting himself at risk in some way?

Try as she might to block them out, those words kept repeating in her mind for the rest of the night. They persisted even when the nighttime announcement played and Hana got ready for bed- and with those thoughts came concerns for Hiroshi's well-being.

However, in the end Hana decided she couldn't do much for him with so little information; the only thing she could do was make good on his simple request: wait.

* * *

 **A/N: Quite the rollercoaster this part was, eh? First things are still kinda tense, then they get more hopeful, then they get tense again, then everyone gets _mad-_ yeah, this part was fun to write. And not just because of all the bombshells that Monokuma dropped on everyone.**

 **But I mean- memory loss? In Danganronpa? What are the odds? (I mean to be fair there are some Fanganronpas out there that really don't do the amnesia thing, but this is not one of 'em!)**

 **Question is now, however- how exactly will Monokuma's 'reward' play into the next murder, if at all? Hana wasn't wrong when she said there were no strings attached to what Monokuma told them, nothing like 'if you kill the traitor you win the killing game right away' or something like an actual motive, so this really does throw a curveball into the killing game in more ways than one. I'm interested to see what you guys come up with in terms of predictions.**

 **But beyond that, I present- yet another FTE poll! And it's not just any FTE poll, oh no- first of all you can only vote for one person since it'll be one FTE, second of all it's going to be the _last_ Free Time Event of Fractured Fates! So, take this code, and vote well...and vote wisely: gr9b8e8g**

 **(For the record- Akira's still unavailable, Asuna's no longer available because she has now been maxed out, and Hiroshi would be unavailable for reasons but he was maxed out back in Chapter 3 so it's kinda a moot point.)**

 **So- next time we continue with the crazy train that is Chapter 5's Daily Life, and see how everyone will be holding up after the revelations of this chapter (and see how many more existential crises Hana may have before the next murder). And like I said- I'm interested to see what you guys think of- well, anything. Who's the traitor, what's with the memory loss, how will this play into a murder (once again, if at all, Monokuma's 'reward' technically wasn't a true motive in the DR sense)...yeah, send in those reviews! And for now- goodbye!**


	45. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 4)

**A/N: Hehe...haha...AHAHAHAHA- oh man I really need to control my evil laughter. But hey, I'm just really- REALLY eager for you guys to see this part, it is gonna be something. What kind of "something", you ask? Weeeeell- I'll let you guys see for yourself.**

 **Anyways, happy New Year, new decade- the year is 2020, but my eyesight sure ain't! Hahaha- (no but seriously I have had severe myopia for a while now)**

 **So- things happened last time, huh? Some good, some** ** _very_** **bad, aaaaaall suspense. Monokuma revealed everyone has amnesia except for one person dubbed a 'traitor', and the dramatic irony intensifies as you guys reading (and Hana) know that he is, in fact, being truthful about the former.**

 **Now, Hiroshi's gone and left, and things are still a little tense- how will things play out after that big mass-argument the group had towards the end of the last part? And what in the world was the meaning behind Hiroshi's cryptic words to Hana before he went back to his room? Will either of these questions actually be answered? Let's find out- get ready for one last Daily Life!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Hey- Hiroshi is his own person, free to raise as many death flags as he pleases. But hey, good to see traitor predictions- now it's just a matter of seeing if you're right!**

 ** _MaskedGamer:_ Well to be fair, many other Fangans don't do the memory loss thing from what I've seen...buuut your analogy still works. And yeah, Monokuma's reward does put a little hindrance on things, doesn't it...? But I won't go into detail here- juuust you read and see.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Daily Life (Part 4)**

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

As the clock struck 7 AM, the monitor turned itself on as it had done countless times over the days and nights. And also just like all the other times, Monokuma appeared on the TV to give his usual announcement: "Good morning everyone! It is now 7 A.M., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another luxurious day!"

Of course, halfway through the announcement Hana groaned and attempted to throw one her pillows at the monitor in a futile attempt to get it to be quiet. Not only would this have not worked, but the pillow missed its mark anyways.

Sighing, Hana groggily got out of er bed and began to ready herself for the day. As she did so, however, her mind drifted back to her previous conversation with Hiroshi- more specifically, how he claimed there was 'something important' he was going to tell her at some point in the near future, and to simply wait for him to do so.

 _Well, it's been a whole night...or maybe I just misunderstood what Hiroshi meant by 'soon'._ Hana thought to herself. _I just hope he won't be too cryptic whenever the right time comes- this whole situation is cryptic enough as is._

Having finished her morning routine, Hana exited her bedroom and entered the hallway. On a hunch, she checked her door for some kind of sign or note from Hiroshi- however, there was nothing to be seen. Simply grunting in disappointment, the surfer walked away towards the dining room, deciding she could attempt to (very stealthily) ask Hiroshi directly about what he said at breakfast. Sure, he said to wait, but Hana wasn't always the most patient person and she was sure Hiroshi would understand that.

As usual, Hana wasn't the first one into the dining room; Ryoto and Hinata were seated at the table, making small talk with each other.

"Hey, Ryoto. Hey, Hinata," Hana greeted the duo with a wave. "Not grabbing breakfast?"

"Oh, Asuna said she wanted to make something for everyone!" Ryoto explaining, nodding towards the door to the kitchen. "So, that's where she's been. I'm not sure how good it's going, though."

At that moment, what sounded like a small _boom_ came from the kitchen, followed by the slightly muffled sound of Asuna crying out, "OH GEEZ-"

"...One of us should probably go help her," Hinata stated, glancing at the other two Ultimates.

"I'll do it! I'm tall!" Ryoto declared, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

Hana took a seat and glanced around, waiting for Hiroshi's arrival- it wasn't every day that she was earlier than him to arrive at the breakfast meeting.

"...Hana? You seem a little distracted," Hinata remarked, tilting his head a little at the surfer.

"Ah- I guess I am, I'm just...waiting for Hiroshi to show up, is all," Hana told him- no reason to lie about that much.

She heard footsteps approaching from the hallway and grew hopeful that it was the coroner- but instead it was Akira, her countenance as cold as ever.

"'Ey, Akira- here to 'observe' again?" Hinata inquired, crossing his arms.

"...Not exactly," Akira responded after a moment of contemplation. "I'm simply here to grab some food of my own so I can be back on my investigation."

"I, er- wouldn't go in there if I were you," Hinata advised the prosecutor. "Asuna's cooking, Ryoto just went in there to help her..."

"Well, then I'll be sure not to get in their way," Akira curtly responded.

The moment she opened the door somewhat, however, another _boom_ could be heard from the kitchen; this was followed by the almost comically loud cries of Asuna and Ryoto. Akira, completely straight-faced, slowly closed the door and turned away.

"On second thought- I'll wait," Akira stated, walking off to lean against the wall.

Hana looked to the doorway again, hoping to see any sign of Hiroshi- but even still, there was nothing.

With a groan of frustration, Hana turned her attention to Akira and, swallowing her pride, asked, "Akira, did you- did you see Hiroshi on your way here? Anywhere, anytime?"

Akira sent a glare the Ultimate Surfer's way, then answered, "No."

"Hana, calm down a bit- nothing to worry about if he's a little late, alright?" Hinata assured his classmate with a shrug.

"Y-Yeah...yeah, he's just...running a bit late, it happens, no reason to...to worry just yet..." Hana nervously replied, shifting in her seat uncomfortably.

Several minutes passed before, miraculously, Asuna and Ryoto exited the kitchen in one piece with some food for their classmates that was, somehow, actually decent. Akira didn't take a full plate, only grabbing something small enough that she could carry with her.

"Heeey, Akira! Don't you want something more to eat?" Ryoto asked her. "You can't run from breakfast, you know!"

Akira rolled her eyes. "Don't patronize me, Miura, and let me get back to my work."

While Ryoto continuously tried to convince Akira to stay and eat properly, Hana was looking around for Hiroshi once more- but again, he was nowhere to be found.

"Hinata- still think I have nothing to worry about?" Hana asked the thief with a deep frown.

Hinata grimaced and glanced around himself. "Yeah, I'll...admit, this is starting to get a little weird..."

"Huh? What's getting weird?" Ryoto asked, turning away from Akira and towards Hinata and Hana.

"Hiroshi! He's still...he's still not here, and I'm- I'm starting to get worried!" Hana explained, anxious.

Akira's expression changed from irritated to dumbfounded as she, too, looked around the room to confirm Hana's claims.

"W-Well, hold on- remember last night? How he snapped at all of us for our...our arguing?" Asuna pointed out. "Even if he wasn't completely mad at us, I-I'd still think he'd want a bit of time to himself."

"No...no, that's how Ashi operates," Akira responded, her brow furrowed. "I may not have been his friend, but I noticed his patterns when he came to the meetings all those times- and he was always, more or less, on time and punctual. For him to just...not appear like this, and especially after Monokuma's announcement the other day..."

Hana's face grew pallor. "Ooooh no...!"

"I...I still don't think we should jump to conclusions so soon," Asuna admitted. "There's no way to know if...you-know-what is the reason he's not here, there could be another explanation."

Akira grumbled to herself and replied, "That's a risk I don't believe we should take- especially if it could lead to yet _another_ trial."

"A-ANOTHER trial!?" Ryoto blurted. 'You've gotta be KIDDING me! I thought we were done with those!"

"H-Hey! We don't need to jump _that_ far yet!" Hana added in, her eyes widening. "Yeah, I'm worried that he's missing, and I think we should do something about that, but- but we don't know if he's actually been _murdered,_ y-you know?"

"Gaaah- can't we go ONE DAY without DEATH?" Ryoto shouted to the ceiling. "I, Ryoto Miura, hate it! We can't even go _one_ morning without something AWFUL happening!"

That's when the entire dining room became covered in pitch blackness, the faint sound of the lights shutting themselves down the only thing to precede the event.

"W-Wha-!?" Hana blurted in absolute shock, barely registering what had just occurred for a moment.

After that, a high-pitched scream cut through the air, and it sounded eerily close by...

"Izumi, pull yourself together!" Akira shouted through the darkness. "Now's not the time for panic!"

"Th-That wasn't me!" Asuna indignantly responded.

"Y-Yeah, no way to know who that was, totally..." Hinata spoke up sheepishly. "Honestly, I think- I think it was Ryoto, really."

"I can't even SEE you, and even I KNOW THAT WAS A LIE!" Ryoto roared into Hinata's direction.

"Okay, I hate blackouts, sue me!" Hinata finally admitted, the sound of his hoodie rustling indicating he had thrown his arms into the air.

"B-But _why_ is there a blackout!?" Hana asked aloud, looking around; it would appear all the lights, even the ones in the hallway, were completely down, basking the room in inky black. It was as if she had spontaneously gone blind, and she couldn't even see her own hand directly in front of her face.

"Uh- uh- maybe we should turn on our e-Handbooks?" Asuna suggested. "As, you know- a light source?"

"I like that plan!" Hana quickly responded as she whipped out the device and turned its screen on. She was greeted by the usual blue light and the colorful icons, as well as the time (being 7:50 AM) displayed clear as day. The others followed suit, turning on their own handbooks and illuminating their faces in blue.

Akira looked around the darkened room and muttered to herself, "This blackout...something must have happened in the power room."

"P-Power room?" Hinata spoke up, his eyes going wide somewhat.

"Yeah, I told you there was one in the North Wing!" Ryoto reminded him.

"Yeah, but I never actually saw the-" Hinata began- only to be cut off when the dining room lit up again almost instantaneously, causing several of the students to flinch away from the sudden light in their eyes.

"W-Well...it's fixed now, I guess," Asuna observed, looking around at the once-again functional lights.

"I ask again- why did that happen?" Hana repeated herself as she put away her handbook, as the light source was no longer needed. "We've never had blackouts before..."

"Like Akira said, something must have happened in the power room!" Ryoto claimed with a nod. "That place is where ALL the electricity is!"

"You think we should go take a look...?" Hinata suggested with a frown. "Don't know if we can _fix_ it, but..."

Akira was staring down at the floor with a hard, thoughtful look on her face. "First Ashi's disappearance, now this blackout...what's going _on...?"_

At that moment, a hollow ringing sound could be faintly heard from somewhere nearby. The students were able to pinpoint the source as, who else, Monokuma; he was running into the room rather frantically, ringing what appeared to be a simple cowbell.

"Alright, nobody move! Emergency meeting, I repeat, EMERGENCY MEETING!" Monokuma shouted, still ringing his cowbell like his life depended on it.

"Emergency meeting? What?" Akira asked, baffled.

"And where did you get a cowbell?" Asuna asked, baffled for a different reason.

Monokuma jumped onto the table and answered, "Oh, nowhere."

He then haphazardly tossed it away, resulting in the instrument hitting Hinata in the head before falling to the ground (and causing the thief to yelp in pain).

"Anyways! Sorry for this being such short-notice, but I've got an important announcement for you all!" Monokuma declared. "I'm not sure if you're all aware, but there was a bit of an issue with the castle's lighting a minute ago..."

"Yeah- we noticed," Hana stated.

"W-What happened with that, exactly...?" Asuna inquired with a concerned frown.

"Oh, nothing too terrible! Just a, um- damaged cable in the North Wing's power room, pretty _major_ one might I add," Monokuma explained. "Anyways, it'll take some time for me to repair it, during which there may still be some more intermittent blackouts throughout the castle- but nothing as big as the one that just occurred!"

The bear continued on, "And one more thing- while these repairs are going on, the North Wing will be completely closed off! I'll even be re-blocking the entrances again to make sure of that! And if someone still manages to worm their way in, they're gonna be punished into next Tuesday!"

"What? Why close off the _entire_ wing?" Hinata asked, incredulous. "Wouldn't you just need to, you know, close off the power room alone or something?"

"Because, Hoodie, it makes my job _muuuch_ easier if I don't have to worry about you brats walking in on me or getting in my way!" Monokuma growled at him in annoyance.

Then, Asuna furrowed her brow and then asked, "Wait, why are _you_ the one fixing the power room? Aren't you a robot?"

"Well I don't suppose any of you people are Ultimate Electricians, are you?" Monokuma sarcastically responded to the gardener.

"Are _you...?"_ Hana then inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm more qualified, that's for sure!" Monokuma barked in response. "Now, enough with the interrogation! Heed my words, or get the axe!"

With that, Monokuma ran out of the room again- but not before retrieving his cowbell.

"Well- that's one less thing we gotta worry about!" Ryoto optimistically remarked. "Now we can just focus on finding Hiroshi!"

"But- where do we even start with that...?" Hana wondered aloud, her concern only growing.

Akira had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, before she sighed and spoke up, "As much as it loathes me to take charge of you all again, it's clear there will be a sense of disorganization if I don't, and nothing will be _truly_ done with searching for Ashi."

"W-Well, I wouldn't go _that_ far..." Asuna muttered, before speaking up, "But...I think having some leadership in this wouldn't hurt, especially considering the stakes."

"Keep in mind- I'm doing as a case of 'greater good'- once this mystery is solved, I'll be back to doing my own investigations," Akira remarked.

She went on, "Now- there's five of us, and three wings; Amari and Miura can investigate the South Wing, Yonade and Izumi can investigate the West Wing, and I will look at the East Wing."

Hana wasn't surprised to hear Akira choosing to investigate on her own, nor was she too bothered by it.

"And when we've searched everywhere?" Hinata inquired.

"Then we'll meet back here, in the dining room," Akira informed him. "Now, let's get to work- I don't think any of us want another trial to happen...unless some fool is thinking otherwise."

With that, the group split up to head off their assigned wings; Ryoto and Hana, who were told to look around the South Wing, remained where they were.

"ALRIGHT! Hana Amari, LET'S GO FIND OUR CLASSMATE!" Ryoto declared, jumping up and beginning to make his way out of the dining room once the others had gone.

"Yeah, but- where do we even start? The South Wing's decently big, you know," Hana told him as she followed him out.

Ryoto chuckled and grinned. "Don't underestimate the great Ryoto Miura- I know a surefire place Hiroshi's just _bound_ to be!"

* * *

 _BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG_

"HIROSHI ASHI! OPEN THE DOOR!" Ryoto shouted as he pounded his fist against the door to Hiroshi's bedroom.

Hana stood behind him, her arms crossed and a skeptical frown on her face. "Ryoto- you've been pounding on the door for a few minutes now, I _really_ don't think he's in his room."

"W-Well where else would he be? Not like we can go in there ourselves, it's locked!" Ryoto responded, strongly knocking on the door again. "HIROSHI!"

Hana sighed and pushed past him, stating, "Let me try- assuming he _is_ in there, anyways."

The surfer knocked on the door- much more gently than Ryoto- and spoke, "Hey- Hiroshi? If you are in there, could you just- I don't know, do _something_ to let us know you're okay? Please?"

As had been the case since they first arrived at Hiroshi's door, the duo was only met with silence. That silence only added more fuel to the fire that was Hana's fears regarding Hiroshi's whereabouts and condition.

Ryoto sighed. "You know what? You're right, this isn't working- we gotta look ELSEWHERE!"

After a moment of contemplation, the Ultimate Racecar Driver decided, "Okay, we'll...SPLIT UP! Hana, you take the top floor, I'll take the bottom floor!"

"Okay- okay, splitting the search area in half, great idea," Hana remarked with a nod. "Oh! And remember- be thorough! Don't leave anything, any place, unchecked, got it?"

"HAH! Ryoto Miura is the MASTER of thorough-ness!" Ryoto boasted with a laugh. "There won't be a SINGLE place Hiroshi will be able to hide from me!"

"Ah- great to hear!" Hana responded with a nod.

Hana and Ryoto ran off in opposite directions, with Hana quickly ascending the stairs to the second floor of the South Wing. Once up there, she made a break for the left hallway and the study, calling out Hiroshi's name all the while. Although a part of her- the part she thought she had finally banished the day before- believed searching for Hiroshi was futile, Hana's sheer determination to find her friend safe and sound overpowered her doubts.

Thus, Hana entered the study (her entrance made more quickly due to the door not having a doorknob anymore) and scoured it from top to bottom, but found nothing that suggested anyone had spent a significant amount of time inside the room recently. The same applied to the storage room- though it seemed like it would hold a secret or two, there was no more evidence of Hiroshi than in the study.

Her fear and frustration growing, Hana exited the study and ran towards the other hallway, hoping the lounge and greenhouse might yield more clues. However, both of those searches were fruitless as well, despite Hana being as thorough as she could be. There was no proof Hiroshi had been in either of those rooms recently, nothing to suggest anything had been buried in the greenhouse, no other hidden passages of any kind, just...nothing.

Her confidence cracked and her worries only growing, Hana made her way back down to the bottom floor. She didn't have to wait long for Ryoto to come running into the main hall from the direction of the kitchen- he appeared to be holding something, but it was at an angle that prevented her from seeing what it was.

"Hana! There you are! Find anything?" Ryoto called as he ran up to her.

Hana sighed and responded, "No, no, nothing- that's why I was hoping you'd found something."

"Well you see- nope!" Ryoto answered. "I looked over every place I could, every NOOK and CRANNY, every secret area the bottom floor had- and there was NOTHING! If Hiroshi went anywhere, it certainly wasn't to any of _those_ places!"

"What-!? So there's no trace of him _anywhere_ in the South Wing?" Hana asked, fearful.

"Don't worry- I picked up something else while I was searching!" Ryoto remarked, possibly in an effort to cheer her up.

Hana was about to dismiss his claim, then saw what he was holding: it was a somewhat large kitchen knife. Sure, a normal and everyday one, but a kitchen knife all the same.

"What the-!?" Hana yelped, jumping back. "Ryoto! Why do you have a knife!?"

"PROTECTION!" Ryoto exclaimed in response. "During the night, anyways. I'll explain more to the others when we meet up at the dining hall, but don't worry! I'm not gonna use it! Maybe!"

While Hana continued to stand frozen and baffled, the racecar driver remarked, "Hey- if you're done up there, mind if I take a look? Maybe I'll find something you missed!"

"Knock yourself out- but, personally, I...kinda want to head outside for a bit," Hana admitted, glancing towards the door to the courtyard. "Just to, you know...clear my head."

"Say no more, I'll take care of it!" Ryoto assured the surfer with a hearty salute. "Nothing will stop Ryoto Miura from finding the secret behind Hiroshi's disappearance!"

In saying that, the lights in the main hall suddenly flickered off, leaving the room completely dark save for the light filtering in through the windows. This only lasted a few moments, however, before the room lit itself back up again.

"...Once again- NOTHING!" Ryoto shouted before running up the stairs to the upper floor.

Hana stared at her departing classmate, then looked up at the lights- apparently, Monokuma hadn't been kidding about 'intermittent blackouts'- and then turned back to head out into the courtyard.

* * *

Once outside, Hana's mind wasn't clear-on the contrary, it became more filled with fear and doubts than ever before. She didn't know if her mangled focus was the result of her worry or of those previous, nihilistic feelings resurfacing again- perhaps it was both. The surfer paced the length of the stony area lining the southern side of the courtyard, her thoughts jumping from one thought to the other.

 _This...This can't just happen, can it? For Hiroshi to just- just disappear like this, there's...there's gotta be a reason, there has to be! He's fine, Hiroshi's fine, he wouldn't- he wouldn't let himself get hurt or anything, would he?_ Would _he?_

No matter how Hana tried to calm herself, she continued to feel more and more afraid for Hiroshi's sake. _What if- something did happen...? What_ could _have happened, it's like he just- vanished into thin air! He could be hurt, or dead, or- what was the last thing I said to him? Actually said to him?_

* * *

 _"There's no need for that- besides, there's something I need to do," Hiroshi told Hana, stopping in his tracks but not looking back at her. "Something I should have done sooner..."_

 _"What...? Where are you going, what are you-?" Hana began, attempting to follow Hiroshi again._

* * *

Remembering this, Hana buried her face in her hands and let out a soft, muffled groan of frustration. _Seriously!? THOSE might be my last words to him!? Those stupid, meaningless-!_

Suddenly, the doors leading into the West Wing opened- and for a split moment of false hope, Hana believed it might be her missing friend. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't him- rather, it was Asuna, who was making her way towards the doors to the South Wing and didn't notice Hana right away.

Of course, the gardener did see a haggard Hana standing/pacing by the doors, and as such wasted no time walking up to her and asking, "H-Hey, Hana- are you okay? What are you doing out here?"

"Uuuh, I- Ryoto and I split up the South Wing so we could search more efficiently. I finished my half, Ryoto finished his and offered to double-check mine, and I let him because I wanted to be out here to- to get some air, you know?" Hana explained, fully aware of and not caring about how distressed she sounded.

Asuna's concerned expression softened somewhat and she inquired, "Because...you're worried about Hiroshi?"

Subconscious anger took hold of Hana and she found herself snapping back, "Of _course_ I'm worried about him! Why wouldn't I be worried about the guy who's been there for me the most throughout this entire damn killing game!?"

Asuna yelped in fright at Hana's sudden anger, but quickly composed herself and responded, "I-I get it- you were- _are_ probably the closest one to Hiroshi out of all of us, s-so...it's hard to imagine what you're going through right now..."

She went on, more resolute, "But- you can't lose your head right now. There's...There's still a chance that Hiroshi's fine, and is _going_ to be fine, so...d-don't give up yet, okay? We're all doing our best to help find him, a-and I'm sure Hiroshi would want you to do your best, too."

The gardener's words were enough to extinguish the anger and bitterness that had grasped Hana, allowing her to think clearly again- though, with that clarity came the urge to break down into tears due to stress and fear, but Hana was able to suppress any tears or sobs.

"You're...You're right, I'm sorry, it's...been a really tough day so far," Hana replied with a long sigh. "And it's only barely past noon by now..."

She turned her attention back to Asuna, this time with a small smile. "But- thanks, Asuna. I...think I needed to hear something like that. When did you get so good at pep talks, anyways?"

"Uh...I don't know," Asuna responded with slight embarrassment. "I guess I just...took inspiration from the one who helped _me_ with a nice talk, way back when?"

Hearing this, Hana gained the urge to cry again- but this time, it was out of joy at being an 'inspiration' to somebody. Additionally, it was far more difficult to hide her emotions this time, not that she was ever good at such a task.

However, before Asuna could comment, another set of doors opened- these ones being the doors leading into the East Wing. Out of these doors came Akira, a stark contrast to Asuna's friendliness. The prosecutor looked around the courtyard for a moment, then caught sight of the two Ultimates standing by the South Wing's entrance.

"Amari, Izumi- what are you two doing?" Akira inquired as she approached them. "I don't suppose you're done searching."

"Uh- I am. Hinata and I split up to cover more ground," Asuna explained. "I finished my area, s-so I figured I'd head to the dining room and wait for everyone else."

"Hm- well, it just so happens I finished my search of the East Wing as well, so I was on my way there as well," Akira remarked. "...I'm not so sure about Amari, though- Izumi, leave us be."

Asuna worried glanced back and forth between Hana and Akira for a few moments of awkward silence. Clearly, she understood the possible ramifications of leaving the two of them, of all students, alone together. However, one forceful glare from Akira was all it took for Asuna to obey the order, with the gardener quickly backing away through the ivory doors and into the South Wing.

"...If I recall, Amari, I told you to look around the South Wing with Miura," Akira said once Asuna was gone. "If you had finished, you could have gone straight to the designated meeting area- with no reason to be out _here._ And yet, here you are."

Hana sighed in exasperation and gave Akira the same explanation she had given Asuna, including her concern for Hiroshi that had caused her to want to be outside in the first place.

However, while Akira didn't seem to question the explanation, she certainly didn't appear pleased by it. "So you didn't think that, while Miura is double-checking your area, you should double-check _his_ instead of doing nothing out here?"

Hana gritted her teeth for a moment, trying to bite back her anger before responding, "No, I didn't think to do that, because if you can't tell, I'm a _little_ more flustered about what's happened with Hiroshi than most of the others, okay?"

"That's no excuse to shirk off what you're supposed to do," Akira told her, the disdain- more than usual- dripping off her words. "Honestly- the more things change, the more they stay the same..."

The prosecutor began to make her way towards the doors so she could head to the dining room herself. Hana went silent as well, but her frustration at Akira was evident on her face; suddenly, the surfer preferred it when Akira had stopped talking to her altogether. Then, Hana remembered something else she and Hiroshi had talked about- how he had hoped she and Akira would stop being angry at each other, or that at least Hana would be the bigger person.

Though even Hana believed Hiroshi was pipe dreaming with his hopes of her and Akira cooperating better, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at her dismissive attitude towards him. Besides- even back then, Hana had known he wasn't wrong, and now she had to admit it again to herself. So, though it pained her to do so, the surfer figured this would be the best she could do for the time being to honor her missing friend's wishes and make him proud, wherever he was.

Hana took a deep, deep breath, then practically blurted, "I'm tired of fighting."

This stopped Akira, who was reaching out to push the door open; the prosecutor turned around and asked, "What?"

"I'm tired of you always being at my throat, and me barely being able to tolerate you..." Hana spoke up, taking a few steps towards Akira. "Akira, I know how much you hate me, but I- I never wanted things to turn out like that!"

"..." Akira was silent, but now turned away from the door to face Hana fully.

"Even if we didn't see eye-to-eye on most things, we're still classmates- and I wanted to have _something_ of a good relationship with my classmates, including you," Hana went on, sorrowful. "But that didn't happen with us, and I- I never wanted that."

She shook her head and continued, "Akira, you once told me why you didn't like me. It's because I- the one with the 'useless' talent- managed to prove you wrong on so many occasions, I managed to find the truth where you couldn't and win the trials, I...'upstage' you, as you said..."

"...And I stand by what I said. I suppose you've proven you have a good memory, at least," Akira remarked, crossing her arms.

"But I never _meant_ to upstage you! I never meant to hurt your pride, or challenge your skill as a prosecutor- I just wanted to help everyone! To solve my friends' murders and make sure the killer didn't send _all_ of to our deaths! I wanted to do...to do the right thing!" Hana insisted. "You understand that, don't you...? Even if you don't care about the others as friends, you can understand wanting to make sure the blackened didn't get away with their crime, right? To make sure we all didn't die so...so senselessly?"

Something about what Hana said appeared to strike a chord in Akira, judging by her narrowed gaze and her grip on her arms momentarily tightening- but what it was, Hana couldn't tell.

"Are you honestly trying to insinuate we have something in common...? We have nothing in common! Your desire to 'do the right thing' could have led us all to our deaths if you'd been wrong!" Akira sharply responded. "Maybe you found proof in the end, and maybe your reasoning worked out in the end- but your reliance on instincts and feelings and...!"

The prosecutor growled in frustration. "The fact that I, the Ultimate Prosecutor, would fail to someone like _you_ so many times...! Despite all my reason and evidence-! Do you have any idea what that's _like?_ To watch you go about the way you do, putting your emotions ahead of actual reasoning? If you were half as lucky, you'd have been wrong in your accusations, and the blackened would have won...!"

Hana furrowed her brow as she listened to Akira's rant. "...Akira, is there...something you didn't tell me before?"

Now, Akira looked somewhat baffled. "Huh?"

"I mean, what you're talking about right now...it seems like there's a bit more to why you hate me besides what you told me during the third investigation," Hana surmised. "Something that, you know...you didn't mention then."

"You...forget it! It's irrelevant- my main reason for despising you lies in what I told you before, make no mistake," Akira responded in a growl. "Anything else- doesn't matter."

She walked up to Hana and pointedly went on, "But as for you...I keep believing your luck will run out, and I still believe that- assuming another trial happens, anyways. Your allowance for these relationships of yours to hinder you, for your feelings to hold you back from true reasoning- that will be your downfall, whether you see it or not."

Hana narrowed her eyes and responded, "Or maybe it's like Hiroshi said- maybe me actually understanding my classmates and how they feel is what's helped me figure out these trials."

Now, it was Hana's turn to walk up to Akira and sharply tell her, "Because even if I never meant to damage your pride, I'm not going to stand by and let terrible things happen to my friends just because you can't look past what the evidence tells you. Because they- they are my reason to keep going, the reason I'm still fighting to end this killing game! Because after everything, they're still staying with me, and I'd stand with them any day!"

She pointed at Akra, nearly poking the prosecutor in the chest. "Akira- who out of everyone here is still standing by you? Honestly?"

It appeared Akira was about to bark back a remark...only to stop and go quiet, as if to genuinely contemplate it. When it became clear she didn't have an answer, the prosecutor only seemed to grow more agitated.

"I don't need your lecture, Amari- it doesn't change what I've said here today! If another trial does take place...I _will_ find the truth, and I _will_ surpass you!" Akira vowed, sending one last glare Hana's way before storming into the South Wing as she had been planning to do before.

With Akira gone, Hana sighed- despite the young woman's harsh words, Hana couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for her. The surfer couldn't imagine what it was like to go day by day, refusing to bond with any of her classmates, not even having an _acquaintance_ to stand by her- to be completely alone, despite being in a class once full of Ultimates like her.

 _Well- sorry, Hiroshi. That probably wasn't what you meant before, but I'm not taking anything back._ Hana mentally spoke to her vanished friend. _I think I'm right, though. Not that she'll listen to me- what's that saying, 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'?_

Shaking her head, Hana walked back towards the doors and stepped through them herself; at the very least, she had more or less accomplished her original goal of clearing her mind in the afternoon outdoors.

* * *

Back in the dining room, Hana noticed she was far from the first to arrive- Ryoto, Asuna, and Akira were already seated and awaiting the stragglers. Hana chose not to acknowledge Akira, and the prosecutor appeared to feel mutually, and so she sat closer to Ryoto and Asuna.

Hinata arrived shortly after Hana took her seat and said nothing as he sat down himself. However, when the thief sat down, his gaze kept falling on Asuna- it was an odd gaze, with a hint of suspicion in it.

Hana, taking notice, asked Hinata, "Uh- Hinata? Why do you keep staring at Asuna like that?"

"Huh? Oh, ah- it's nothing, don't worry about it," Hinata responded, shaking his head and turning away as if nothing had happened.

By now, Hana knew better than to take this clearly suspicious statement at face value- however, since Hinata was clearly not interested in elaborating and Asuna didn't notice his stare anyways, Hana decided to drop the subject for the time being.

"Alright! Now that's everyone's here- LET THE DISCUSSION BEGIN!" Ryoto shouted, hyping himself up far more than necessary.

"I'm...not sure there's much to talk about," Hinata said, raising an eyebrow. "We either found Hiroshi or we didn't- simple as that."

"Not quite, Yonade- even if Ashi wasn't found, it'd be important to know if anyone saw something suspicious that could be related to his disappearance," Akira told him. "In saying that, as the only one to investigate by myself, I'll go first."

The Ultimate informed the others, "Unfortunately, though my search of the East Wing was as thorough as could be, I did not find Ashi nor anything odd that could be relevant to this incident. The closest thing to 'strange' that I saw was Monokuma still neglecting to do something about the broken stairs in the eastern watchtower, despite repairing the railing in the main hall that was broken during Sauchi's murder."

Hinata clenched his jaw as Akira spoke, evidently discomforted by the reminder of the previous incident.

"Well- me and Hinata looked around the West Wing," Asuna spoke up once Akira had finished. "I searched the bottom floor, Hinata took the top."

"We agreed that once we were done with our areas, then we'd just go to the dining room instead of waiting for the other person to finish," Hinata added. "Looks like Asuna finished way before me, so..."

"A-Actually...why _did_ you take so long to finish?" Asuna then asked. "The West Wing's top floor isn't that much bigger than the ground floor, yet you were the last to arrive out of all of us..."

"Well I kinda ran into some...complications," Hinata explained. "More specifically, with the wine room."

"The wine room? What happened with that?" Ryoto asked with a frown.

"Well aside from the blackouts while we were looking around in general- the wine room door ended up being...blocked somehow," Hinata elaborated, sounding baffled himself. "I don't know if it was locked or what, but I just...couldn't get into the room for a little while. So, I ended up having to wait a little bit."

The thief went on, "But you know what else? After that, and I could actually get into the wine room...I found out the dumbwaiter's not working anymore."

"The dumbwaiter?" Akira inquired. "In what way was it not working?"

"I dunno, it's like it was- stuck or something, or jammed," Hinata went on. "I tried to see what the problem was, but...that dumbwaiter may be bigger than average, but that shaft? With those gears and motors and all that? Forget it, I can't fit in there to find anything."

"Well- it's not like we use the dumbwaiter that much anyways," Hana remarked with a shrug. "I think the most use it ever got was when Tadao used it for his murder plan."

"S-Still pretty weird, though..." Asuna claimed, thoughtful. "Because when we first starting investigating, the banquet room and dumbwaiter w-were one of the first things I checked, and it worked just fine then."

Shaking her head, the gardener went on, "B-But, uh- _I_ didn't actually find anything weird on my end, so..."

Hinata once again glanced at Asuna with that somewhat baffled, somewhat suspicious look in his eyes- clearly, something was bothering him, and it seemed to be related to Asuna somehow- once again, however, Hana decided now was not the time to press for details.

"Then it's OUR TURN!" Ryoto shouted above the others. "Hana and Ryoto, searching the South Wing!"

"We ended up splitting up the floors like you two did," Hana said to Hinata and Asuna. "I looked around the top floor, Ryoto searched the bottom- then ended up double-checking mine after I was done. I didn't find anything up there anyways, so I figured it wouldn't hurt."

"And I can confirm- I FOUND NOTHING! ON _EITHER_ FLOOR!" Ryoto told the others in frustration. "I looked EVERYWHERE! No nook or cranny escaped me! I even went through the hidden passage between the furnace room and the fitness room! And I peeked into that hidden room in the library!"

"Hidden room in the...? _Oooh,_ you mean the one Azami used to go into?" Hinata asked, raising his eyebrows as he remembered.

"What do you mean you 'peeked into' it?" Akira asked, crossing her arms. "Do you mean to say you didn't actually go inside?"

Ryoto chuckled nervously. "Weeell...not completely, I just- went to the bottom of the steps, looked around, then went back up! Simple as that!"

He added more indignantly, "Not like there was much in there anyways! It's a small room, nowhere for anyone to hide! Nothing but a light and a table with some stuff on it! And some other stuff around, all of which was probably Azami's!"

"So why didn't you go in all the way?" Hinata asked, then grinned. "What, scared of a spooky, underground, hidden room?"

"NO! It just...didn't feel right, invading that place..." Ryoto explained, looking away with a frown. "It'd be like disrespecting the dead, you know?"

"...Uh, Ryoto? You spend most of your time in the fitness room- you know, the room where someone _actually_ died?" Hana pointed out. "You don't think that's slightly disrespectful?"

"The fitness room is different! It's a public, open place where people come and go freely!" Ryoto explained, gesturing wildly. "The room in the library is all- secret and dark and creepy! You know, where most people _don't_ usually go!"

Unable to follow Ryoto's logic, Hana simply shook her head and went silent.

"But still- you guys didn't find anything?" Hinata asked. "Not even in his bedroom?"

"His bedroom was locked- and since we're not in a murder investigation I guess, Monokuma didn't unlock it," Hana explained. "Ryoto tried knocking, just in case he was holed up inside, but...nothing."

Akira crossed her arms. "So in other words...we have no leads as to what happened to Ashi."

"Well when you say it like that, it sounds depressing," Hinata stated. "We could still just kinda...look around casually, you know? Keep an eye out for anything else weird?"

"Y-Yeah! Nothing wrong with that!" Asuna immediately agreed. "Maybe we just...overlooked something. If we keep looking around while we do...whatever other business we have, w-we might come across something!"

"Of course! In fact, I'm gonna do some extra investigating myself!" Ryoto told the others with a grin and a nod. "The West and East Wings better WATCH OUT!"

Akira grunted, then stood up. "If that's the case, then this 'official' investigation is over- and so does my partnership here."

Just as Akira was turning to leave, however, Ryoto blurted, "WAIT A SECOND! There's something I gotta tel you guys!"

Without even waiting for a reaction, Ryoto whipped out the thing he had shown Hana earlier and slammed it onto the table: the kitchen knife.

Hinata, Asuna, and Akira stared at the weapon for a good few seconds; Hana, meanwhile, softly sighed and put a hand over her face in exasperation.

"...That there's a knife," Hinata remarked, nodding at the weapon in question.

"Yeah it is!" Ryoto agreed with a pleased grin.

"Miura- would you kindly explain _why_ you have a knife?" Akira inquired with a glare.

"A-And where did you even get it from...?" Asuna also asked with a concerned grimace.

"Protection, he took it for protection..." Hana explained, not taking her hand away from her face.

"And I got it from the kitchen!" Ryoto elaborated. "And for the record, it's not _just_ for protection- well, it is, but there's more to it than that!"

He went on, "See, while I was amazingly searching, I got to thinking- if Hiroshi was suddenly kidnapped outta the blue in the dead of night, who's to say the one responsible won't strike again, huh? Well, they're not gonna get the drop on Ryoto Miura, that's for sure! Ergo- THE KNIFE!"

"W-Whoa, hey! We don't know if he was kidnapped, or if _any_ foul play was involved yet!" Hana quickly pointed out, though more to reassure herself than to refute Ryoto. "For all we know, he- he ran off on his own free will!"

"Still, I am NOT taking chances! So if the one responsible for all this does try and break into my room- I'll be ready for them!" Ryoto boasted, picking up the knife again.

"W-We're not worried about that, it's more like..." Asuna began, tapping her fingers together nervously. "Well...every time someone's had access to deadly, sharp weapons, it's never, uh...ended well..."

"Hey, I'm not gonna _kill_ the person with it! I have restraint!" Ryoto defensively responded. "Besides, I'm not gonna keep it on me all day- I'm gonna stash it in my room, simple as that!"

"But doesn't telling all of us- i.e. the group that might include this 'kidnapper'- that you have it kinda, you know, defeat the purpose?" Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's stopping them now from coming up with a way to defend themselves?"

"It's a WARNING! I'm letting them know, whoever they are, that Ryoto Miura's not going down without a fight! And this knife is proof of that!" Ryoto declared, picking up the blade again and glancing at the others. "YA HEAR THAT!? NO ONE'S GONNA GET THE DROP ON RYOTO! NO OOOONE!"

Shouting that last statement like it was a war cry, Ryoto ran out of the dining room, leaving the others to simply stare in stunned silence. Akira was the first to break out of it and exit on her own- meanwhile Hana, Hinata, and Asuna remained put.

"...So, Ryoto's running around with a knife now," Hinata remarked. "Better make sure he didn't cut himself with it by accident or something..."

The thief sauntered off. With nothing left to say or do in the dining room, Hana and Asuna followed suit; the former of the two deciding to head back to her room for the time being, simply desiring the quiet that came with it.

* * *

Back in her bedroom, Hana contemplated the group's findings...or rather, lack thereof. She hadn't expected to find many clues regarding Hiroshi's whereabouts, but to find nothing at all...it didn't instill much confidence in her.

"..." Finally, Hana shook her head and told herself, _Moping around in here isn't gonna magically fix everything- I should go do stuff, even if it's not quite 'investigation'- it'll still be something!_

Resolved to find some way to make the most of the rest of her day, Hana exited her room and moved about the castle. She found no one in the South Wing, and so decided to try her luck with the West Wing. Although she figured Ryoto may be in there, she didn't encounter him, instead spotting Hinata at the end of the hallway that would lead into the North Wing...if not for that familiar gate blocking it once more.

Hinata appeared to be scrutinizing over this gate when Hana walked up to him. "Hey, Hana. Don't mind me, just seeing if there's anything to these gates here- you know, if Monokuma _really_ locked up the North Wing completely."

"Uh...didn't he say getting inside the wing would lead to punishment or something?" Hana asked, frowning in concern.

"I'm not trying to break in! Just...looking around, is all!" Hinata assured her with a chuckle.

 _Somehow, that doesn't give me much confidence..._ Hana thought as she saw the familiar sly edge to Hinata's grin. _Maybe I should stick around with him, just to make sure he doesn't do anything dumb._

"Okay- mind if I help out?" Hana asked.

"Go ahead- two heads are better than one," Hinata agreed with a nod.

Thus, the duo spent the day investigating all the known entrances to the North Wing to see if Monokuma had, in fact, blocked off everything completely (and it became apparent that he did). At the very least, Hana felt as though she and Hinata grew a little closer through their investigation.

"Hey, Hana," Hinata began, his expression serious. "I've been thinking, and...there's something I kinda wanna talk to you about."

"Great, because I wanted to talk to you about something too!" Hana responded. "Well, uh- more like apologize. You know, for bringing up your dad and-"

"No, Hana, I'm not upset about that," Hinata assured her with a shake of his head. "Something...well, related, but different's been on my mind. And I kinda wanted to talk to you about it."

"Me? Why?" Hana asked in surprise.

"I dunno, there's just...something about you. Like, all this time we've been talking, and you're just...easy to talk to, I guess," Hinata responded with a shrug. "Not too judgmental towards my talent or anything, so..."

He shook his head. "I kinda want to talk about this in private, so- wanna head to my room?"

He then grinned and teasingly added, "Unless you're too prim to go into a guy's room."

"Uh, no I'm not, I've seen boys' rooms before," Hana told him matter-of-factly. "As long as you don't try anything."

"What? You know me by now, I'm not that kinda guy," Hinata assured her, then walked off. "Well, let's go then."

Hinata led her back to the South Wing and to his bedroom, which was at the very end of the bedroom hallway. Entering, Hana noticed the general design of the room was more or less the same as hers- the only true difference being the bedsheets were blue instead of pink.

Additionally, the room was incredibly messy; the bed wasn't made at all, the pillows were askew, his closet door was left half-open, and his pajamas were strewn haphazardly on the chair in front of the desk. Beyond this, a chest that was actually designed to look like a pirate's treasure chest was placed against the wall next to the bed- probably containing items Hinata had snatched in the past. Several newspaper pages were placed on the desk as well, discussing various heists Hinata had pulled off over his career as a thief.

Although she wanted to comment on the messiness of the room, Hana remained silent.

"So, make yourself at home, because I...have got some stuff to tell you," Hinata told her, taking a seat on the bed. "You see, talking about my father made me...think about some stuff. And I figure...it's time I come clean about a few things."

"'Come clean'...?" Hana asked.

"Yeah, see I...lied. I lied about a few things- things about my past," Hinata admitted with a sigh. "Just to, you know- play up my image as this great thief in the night, but now that you know me a lot better...I can't keep doing that."

Hana furrowed her brow in confusion. "What...did you lie about?"

"Well- you know how I said I come from a poor neighborhood? And that's why I first took to stealing?" Hinata explained. "Yeah...that wasn't true. My family's actually super well-off because of me and my dads' heists. I mean we're not, you know, _super_ rich...but we're definitely not poor like I said."

"Really...?" Hana responded with gasp. "So you don't donate some of what you steal to the poor either?"

"What? No, _that_ part was true- almost everything else I said about my past, though, totally fake," Hinata clarified. "Including...that first steal of mine."

"The one where you said you stole a few pounds of apples and bread from a market?" Hana inquired.

"Oh, so you _were_ paying attention," Hinata remarked. "But, ah...I might have exaggerated that a bit. It wasn't a few pounds of food, it was more like...exactly one apple."

"One apple? Seriously?" Hana incredulously responded.

"Yup- I don't even know why I did it, I just...wanted an apple, I guess..." Hinata solemnly said. "And me, being an innocent little nine-year-old...I was sure my parents would be upset with me. I felt so bad, I came clean to them...but to my surprise, my dad wasn't mad. No, the guy was _ecstatic,_ actually."

He went on, "See, what you gotta realize is- my parents kept my dad's real career as Kage Ken a secret from me until that point. But when I stole that apple? Suddenly, my dad decided I had great potential to be a master thief, and that I would be the one to carry on his legacy and all that bullshit. So, he started training me."

Hana was silent as she listened, but finally she hesitantly spoke up, "So you...didn't choose to become a thief?"

"No! I didn't wanna be a master thief! I wanted to be a normal kid with _normal_ career goals! But my dad wasn't having any of that, oh no- it wasn't up to me," Hinata bitterly went on. "So, I...had to go along with it. And I mean- look at me now. I've got an Ultimate title, something even my dad couldn't get, so...I guess the student's surpassed the master, huh?"

"But, wait- your dad was arrested when you were thirteen, right? So why'd you keep being a thief? He wasn't around to tell you what to do anymore," Hana pointed out.

Hinata, however, shook his head. "First of all, our thieving was what our family lived on. Second, my mom wouldn't have given that up and work herself- so I had to support both myself and her. Besides...at that point, thieving had become such a big part of my life, I didn't think I _could_ stop. I didn't think it was an option."

"But- it is! Hinata, you don't have to keep living like that if it makes you so unhappy," Hana told him, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, you...always seem so proud of your talent, I never...realized it made you feel so bad..."

Hinata shrugged. "A long time ago, I figured if I own it, I'd feel less bad about what I was doing. And it works...more or less."

"But still, I...I feel bad, you know? Something that's such a big part of your life causing you that much pain...I don't know what I'd do if I felt that way about my own talent," Hana responded with a sigh. "But if- _when-_ we find a way out of this killing game, nothing's stopping you from doing something new, you know? Doing something you want to do, something _you_ want to be good at- and knowing you, you'll find something."

"I dunno if it'll be _that_ easy- I'm still a wanted outlaw, you know," Hinata pointed out. "But, uh...I think just having someone like you around, someone out there who thinks I have that kinda potential...that'll go a long way. I'm glad I talked to you."

Hana nodded with a smile. "And I'm glad you trusted me to talk about this, Hinata."

Even if Hinata still had a ways to go before he had enough confidence to break away from his thieving background, Hana believed him when he said someone having faith in him would be a step in the right direction. And if Hana could be that person, then she didn't mind- and it served as a testament to the fact that she and Hinata had become friends in the truest sense of the word.

* * *

Time passed after , and soon enough the time came for the dinner meeting. Hana walked down to the dining hall, trying to stave off any lingering anxiety in relation to Hiroshi's disappearance. She could only hope any of the others had found something over the course of the day, otherwise...

Stepping into the dining room, she caught sight of the only other two students inside: Asuna and Hinata, who appeared to have already grabbed leftovers to eat for dinner.

"Oh- heya, Hana," Hinata greeted the surfer. "You're looking a little frazzled there."

"Wha-? Really?" Hana asked, then sighed. "Well- sorry, but I'm still kinda worried about this whole thing with Hiroshi..."

"Yeah, we can see it all over your face," Hinata added, pointing his fork at her. "Maybe eating something'll make you feel a little better."

"I'd rather have something, you know- that explains what happened?" Hana responded, stepping towards the kitchen. "You two- you didn't happen to see anything else after the first investigation, did you?"

"Nah, I was just looking at all the entrances to the North Wing- which really were blocked again, by the way," Hinata noted.

"I-I didn't find anything either, sorry..." Asuna apologized.

Hana simply nodded in acknowledgement and went into the kitchen to find food. When she came back out and sat down, only then did a fourth student join them: Ryoto, who jogged into the room without a word.

"Hi, Ryoto- uh...you're a little late," Asuna remarked. "What took you?"

"Eh- I was doing some looking around in the East Wing, kinda took a bit longer than expected, thought I found something- here I am!" Ryoto explained.

"W-Wait, _thought_ you found something?" Hana asked, surprised. "What does that mean?"

"It means I thought I found something related to Hiroshi, there wasn't- so I'm here now!" Ryoto responded in his usual chipper way. "And after that, I'm hungry, so- TO THE FRIDGE!"

"W-Wait! So- you didn't find anything either?" Hana inquired as Ryoto walked towards the kitchen.

"Nope! Despite the cunning detective skills that I possess-" Ryoto began to answer.

"Since when?" Hinata asked.

"I found NOTHING! It's like poor Hiroshi really was just taken into thin air!" Ryoto finished in dismay, then entered the kitchen.

"I'm...guessing by the way you're asking everyone that you didn't find anything either?" Asuna inquired of Hana.

"Yeah...and it still sucks not knowing anything...!" Hana answered, staring down at the table rather than face anyone else. "And I doubt Akira's gonna be here, so I can't exactly ask _her..."_

"It is weird though, not having Hiroshi around," Hinata remarked, looking around. "With Akira going AWOL on us, he was more or less the most reasonable one. Well, I mean, he was _always_ like that, but especially-"

 _"I-Is_ like that, n-no need for past tense! There's a good chance he's still alive!" Asuna quickly reminded the thief.

When Ryoto exited, food in hand, and sat down, he spoke up, "You know what I've been thinking? If Hiroshi's not in any of the places we've looked so far- maybe he's in the one place we haven't looked! THE NORTH WING!"

"I doubt it- Monokuma made a pretty big deal about not wanting any of us in there while he fixes the power room," Hana pointed out. "I don't think he'd exempt Hiroshi from that- if he found him in there, I think Monokuma would _at least_ throw him out."

"I dunno...maybe he's been hiding out this whole time?" Hinata suggested with a shrug. "Either way, I don't think we'll know until the North Wing's open again, and who knows how long that'll take."

"I-I just hope these blackouts are fixed soon, I don't like being worried about sudden darkness all day..." Asuna spoke up, glancing upwards.

As fate was tempted, the lights in the dining hall were shut off once more, plunging everyone into total darkness and resulting in several annoyed groans from the others (and another high-pitched scream from Hinata, which was initially blamed on Asuna once again).

Beyond that, dinner ended with little fanfare, and the other students went off to get ready for bed, as it was close to 10 PM. The exception was Asuna- apparently, due to the confusion surrounding the blackouts and Hiroshi, she had forgotten to lock the storage room up before dinner, and so ran off to remedy that as soon as she could.

Back in her room, Hana had gotten dressed for bed, heard the nighttime announcement, and was about to head to sleep- although she didn't feel any peace in doing so.

 _Hiroshi...wherever you are, you'd better be okay- and when we see you again, I am going to yell at you so hard for making me and everyone else worry!_ Hana vowed, as she laid down. She was unsure if it was because of stress or something else, but Hana felt no urge to sleep- she expected it to be a long night...

That is until, not long after the nighttime announcement, she heard rapid and almost panicked knocking on her door.

 _bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang-_

"Okay okay, I'm coming, calm down!" Hana shouted as she rushed to the door and opened it.

On the other side was none other than a panic-striken Asuna, who wasn't even in her own pajamas- had she just gotten back from upstairs?

"Asuna? What's wrong?" Hana asked upon seeing the gardener.

"N-No time! I gotta-" Asuna panted, then sprinted away from Hana and towards Hinata's door at the end of the hall.

"Hey, Hana!" a familiar voice greeted her- it was Ryoto, also in his pajamas, with his own door open not far from hers. "What a way to start the night, yeah?"

"Ryoto?" Hana responded, dumbfounded. "Did Asuna get you out of your room too?"

"Sure did! Good thing I wasn't really asleep yet!" Ryoto remarked with a nod and a chuckle.

Hana glanced down the hallway to see Asuna had done the same to a much more annoyed Hinata, and was now rapidly knocking on Akira's door.

It wasn't long before the Ultimate Prosecutor answered, growling at Asuna, "What are you _doing,_ Izumi? It's nighttime, why are you out of your room like this?"

"Uh- I forgot to lock the storage room before dinner so I went upstairs to do that..." Asuna breathlessly explained to Akira. Directing her attention more towards everyone, she continued, "But- But when I got done, something- something happened!"

"Something...happened?" Hinata asked, skeptical. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I saw-" Asuna went on. "I saw Hiroshi!"

A ripple of shock spread through the group, but none more than Hana who exclaimed, "YOU _WHAT!?"_

"SAW!? YOU!? HIM!?" Ryoto yelped as well.

"Izumi- explain everything, right now!" Akira ordered the girl. "Did you truly see Ashi?"

"Y-Yes, I did! I- I had just finished locking up the storage like usual, a-and it was probably about...I don't know, a minute or two after the nighttime announcement?" Asuna recalled. "That was when I left the study, and when I looked down the hallway...I saw him! I saw Hiroshi just as he was going into the East Wing!"

"It was actually him? Seriously?" Hinata asked, incredulous. "Not some other shady figure or anything?"

"No! Look, I-I only got a glimpse of his back _right_ as he was going into the East Wing, b-but I recognized him! His pants, his sweater, his hair- it was Hiroshi, I'm sure of it!" the gardener insisted.

"W-Well did you, you know, try to _talk_ to him or something!?" Hana asked, unsure of what to make of this new information.

"I-I tried! I called out to him and ran down the hallway as fast as I could to catch him, b-but as soon as I got to the doorway leading into the East Wing..." Asuna went on, her gaze falling. "He was...he was gone, just like that!"

"Ashi was- gone? Nowhere to be found, nowhere to be seen?" Akira asked, her skepticism growing. "That can't be- from the South Wing entrance, the stairs and other hallways are too far for Ashi to make it anywhere in the East Wing without Izumi seeing him..."

"I-I know it sounds weird, and I'mas confused as you guys, but you've got to believe me! I saw him, I know it!" Asuna repeated, looking around at the others for support.

"Well, if she _is_ right...it means Hiroshi Ashi LIVES! Great work everyone!" Ryoto spoke up with a joyful laugh.

Hinata sighed and remarked, "This whole story is weird as fuck...but then again, so is this whole damn killing game, so maybe I should just be grateful we have something."

"Indeed- now let's actually get back to bed," Akira stated, turning around and heading back to her bedroom. Ryoto and Hinata did the same, and Asuna was about to follow suit...until Hana reached over and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Asuna- are you absolutely sure you saw Hiroshi?" Hana asked again, desperately looking her classmate straight in the eye. "Positive? One-hundred percent?"

Asuna reached up and put a hand on Hana's, the one that was on her shoulder, and told her with absolute honesty, "Hana, I know what I saw. It was Hiroshi."

Hearing this, Hana took a moment to process it before stepping away from the gardener. With that, Asuna went to her own bedroom to sleep, and Hana walked off to do the same.

She wasn't sure what to make of Asuna's account, but the way she spoke...it was clear she wasn't lying. Despite the questions she had about what Hiroshi could possibly be up to, Asuna's story confirmed one thing: Hiroshi was alive, and for now that was enough for Hana to sleep with more peace.

* * *

The following morning began with little difference from the day before; Hana was awoken by the morning announcement, she was annoyed by said announcement, and she proceeded to get dressed and cleaned up. Though she didn't expect anything new in regards to Hiroshi, Asuna's story from the night before gave her a renewed sense of hope. With that renewal, she was a little more ready to face whatever the day threw at her.

Hana casually walked to the dining room in the same fashion as always, expecting this to be a normal entrance. Of course, she was in a class of fellow Ultimates, so that didn't happen.

"AHA! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Hana froze in place as she was shouted at, not even taking a second to look back over her shoulder to see who was yelling at her. Not that she needed to- Hana recognized Ryoto's loud tones by now.

Sure enough, the racecar driver practically stormed up to Hana from the end of the hallway, yelling as he did, "DON'T YOU MOVE!"

Hana glanced around in confusion as Ryoto approached her, asking, "Uh...whatcha doing, Ryoto?"

"Not important- put your arms out!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver commanded as he walked in front of his classmate.

Hana did a double-take. "What?"

"Actually- nevermind!" Ryoto remarked with a quick shake of his head.

Before Hana could respond, Ryoto was scrutinizing over his classmate, attempting to perform a makeshift pat-down her.

"What the-!? Dude, _back off!"_ Hana shouted in response to this, going so far as to quickly slap Ryoto in the face to get him to stop.

"GYOW!" Ryoto yelped, stumbling back as he was smacked. "What was that?"

"What was _that!?_ What are you doing?" Hana angrily demanded.

"IRRELEVANT! What I'm doing is none of your business!" Ryoto responded. "I'll explain when I get it sorted out- but for now, I think you're in the clear anyways, so-"

"Hey, what's goin' on between you two?" a new voice chimed in, belonging to Hinata. "Things looked kinda heated for a second there, everything okay?"

Ryoto was silent for a few moments, then shouted with renewed energy, "YOOOOUU!"

He charged and tackled into Hinata, who let out a cry of terror and bewilderment as it happened. Not wanting to be involved any longer, Hana silently backed away into the dining room. Upon entering, she noticed Asuna and Akira were already inside, the former eating some mediocre-looking toast, which she probably made herself.

Hana was about to address both girls, then remembered the less-than-ideal state of her relation with Akira and turned to Asuna specifically. "Hey, uh- do you know what's going on with Ryoto?"

"No- I got here before him, s-so I didn't even know anything _was_ going on with him," Asuna answered. "Well, until I overheard you and him outside just now."

An audible _thwap_ was heard, then another exclamation of pain from Ryoto; after that, Hinata and Ryoto walked in, the latter having a new red spot on his face in addition to the one Hana gave him.

"Well- now you know what what was going on between us when you showed up," Hana remarked to Hinata, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't need to live it myself, thanks," Hinata dryly remarked.

Ryoto looked around, saw Asuna and Akira, and that same flame ignited in his eyes...

"Don't even think about it," Akira told Ryoto with her withering glare, which was more than enough to extinguish that flame- and Ryoto didn't even need to be smacked this time.

"W-Why were trying to, uh- pat everyone down?" Asuna asked, glancing at Hana and Hinata. "Did something get lost, or stolen...?"

Ryoto opened his mouth and appeared to ready to respond emphatically...but then, to the surprise of many, he thought better of it and responded, "It's...a long story. Nothing to worry about, though! Ryoto Miura has it all under control!"

"Riiight, is that why you were frantically patting down the two of us?" Hinata inquired, crossing his arms.

"I SAID IT'S UNDER CONTROL!" Ryoto insisted again.

 _Yeah, something's bothering him...but what?_ Hana wondered as she watched the racecar driver.

Ryoto then turned to Akira. "Actually- Akira, what are you doing back here? Came for food or...?"

"Not exactly- I came to see if Monokuma would have another 'emergency announcement' of some kind," Akira answered. "I'm not banking on the fact that he'll preface all his announcements on the monitors- after all, he didn't do that yesterday, he just ran in after the blackout- and I'm not one to miss information."

 _Well, I doubt Monokuma would do that again unless it was something_ really _urgent like yesterday..._ Hana thought. _Oh well, best not to argue._

"Fair enough- but _I,_ meanwhile, need food!" Ryoto remarked, heading into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah- I'm kinda hungry too," Hinata noted and also went to the kitchen.

 _...Well, no use_ not _eating, so-_ Hana told herself, and soon enough she followed as well.

Soon, all three Ultimates had their breakfast items and were eating in relative peace- and fortunately, no blackouts occurred this time. Though Hana herself was still plagued by concern- which was only worsened by Hiroshi's visible absence- she tried to focus more on her food than her worries.

However, the quiet peace in the dining room wouldn't last for long. In mere moments, the silence was replaced by the unmistakable sound of...a trumpet?

"What the-!?" Ryoto began, looking around in utter confusion at the noise.

"Is that coming from the monitors?" Hana asked, looking up at the TV screen in the dining room- however, it was still black and lifeless, debunking her right away.

The source would reveal itself soon; it was, once again, Monokuma. He strode into the dining room from the hallway, blowing into a tiny trumpet as if to announce his presence.

Hinata stared at the bear, dumbfounded. "What, does he have access to Hammerspace or something?"

Finally, jumped onto the table and finished off his trumpet song with a flourish. "Gooood morning students! Did you like the music? I played some mean brass back in my college days!"

Akira raised her eyebrows and observed, "So I was right- you are making another impromptu announcement, much like the day before."

"Not exactly- I would have made the announcement on the screens, but since you're all here in one place, I figured I'd tell you all the news in person!" Monokuma explained cheerfully. "After all, a good headmaster needs to be adaptable!"

"W-What? What news?" Hana immediately asked, her eyes widening a little.

"About the North Wing, dummy!" Monokuma replied. "You'll all be happy to know that I've finished up all repairs in the power room, so I've reopened the North Wing for all of you!"

"Really? That, uh- was fast," Asuna remarked in surprise. "It's only been, you know- a day."

"A good headmaster _also_ needs to be efficient!" Monokuma responded, still quite pleased with himself. "At any rate- why question it? I'm sure you've all been a little antsy to get back in there- you know, seeing as how there's something you've all been...searching for, it seems."

With a less than subtle wink, Monokuma took his little trumpet and disappeared through the into the kitchen.

Hana sat in her seat for a moment, still as a stone as she processed Monokuma's news. _The...North Wing's open again...? Then...Then that means-!_

"Hmph- well, I think it's obvious what we need to-" Akira began, looking over at the others.

She never got a chance to finish her statement; Hana almost instantly sprang out of her chair and sprinted out of the room, not even bothering to clean up her food or wait for the others in the process.

* * *

Hana didn't stop running until she was across the courtyard and opening the large, imposing doors leading into the North Wing. True to his word, Monokuma had apparently unlocked everything, as the door opened as normally as ever.

"HIROSHI!" Hana called out as soon as she entered the North Wing's main hall- not surprisingly, there was no answer.

She frantically looked around, wondering where she would even start to look for him...

"H-Hey! Hana!" Hinata called out as he, too, stepped into the chamber from the courtyard. Breathless, he remarked, "Please...give a warning next time you decide to run off like that..."

The other three Ultimates weren't far behind him; Akira looked less than pleased by Hana running off, but Ryoto and Asuna looked just as worried as the surfer.

"Sorry, but- can you blame me for being a little impatient?" Hana asked.

"No, no we can't," Asuna answered. "But, uh- how are we going to do this?"

Akira pondered this for a moment, looking around at all the other areas in the North Wing. She then said, without missing a beat, "Miura can look around the power room, Yonade and Izumi can take the main hall, I'll search the throne room, and Amari can search the dungeon."

Hana stiffened and her face grew practically white at Akira's order. She hadn't been down into the dungeon since the first day the North Wing was open, and with the memory of seeing Mikio's corpse once again still vividly in her mind, she had hoped she wouldn't need to go back down there.

 _Suck it up, Hana- you're doing this for Hiroshi's sake. And for his sake, I'd search this whole castle by myself if it meant finding him!_ Hana told herself, trying to bring back her courage.

"And in the event no one finds anything, we'll search the catacombs Amari and Ashi found," Akira concluded with a decisive nod.

"The what?" Hinata asked, immediately turning to Akira in confusion.

Ignoring his confusion, Akira barked, "Now, let's go!"

"SEARCH PARTY AWAAAY!" Ryoto roared.

With Akira having taken the helm of leadership again, the other students ran off to their respective locations (although Asuna stayed behind with Hinata to explain more things about the North Wing that Ryoto neglected to). Hana turned to the hall leading down into the dungeon- despite her earlier resolution, she would be lying if she tried to deny the apprehension she still felt.

 _Stop it- I've been down there once before, there's nothing down there but corpses! Lifeless, non-threatening corpses!_ Hana told herself. _...Corpses of...my friends and classmates...people I used to know and be friends with..._

Furiously shaking her head, Hana decided to simply stop thinking too much and simply act. With that, she quickly moved forward like a robot; she strode across the main hall, crossed the threshold into the hallway, then descended the stone stairs to stand in front of the iron door leading to the dungeon.

Her beating with such force it was like it was trying to burst out of her body, Hana clenched and unclenched her fists in anticipation. _Just do it, Hana- dead bodies can't hurt you! Just go in on one...two...THREE!_

She roughly shoved the metal door open, a creaking sound accompanying it, and then the surfer practically stumbled into the chilly dungeon. She looked up, steeling her nerves for being surrounded by the bodies of her classmates...

But Hana would quickly realize something...the apprehension of seeing her classmates' corpses again should have been be the _least_ of her fears.

She didn't notice it for a moment- her eyes looked towards the cells housing the bodies first. But then, her eyes would be drawn to one of the cell doors in particular- a rope had been tied to the iron bars making up the door. Hana's eyes drifted upward; the rope moved upward diagonally, until it was draped over one of the wooden beams towards the ceiling of the dungeon. Following the rope's path downward again, she saw the end was tied into a noose- and there was something...no, some _one_ hanging from that noose.

Hana could process what she was seeing at first, both out of pure denial and because she hadn't expected to make a discovery so soon. But that shock was quickly overtaken by something else: pure, raw horror.

There was a body suspended by that noose- the body of Hiroshi Ashi. His corpse was devoid of much blood, but it clear great harm had been done to the young man. His hands and wrists were badly mutilated, especially the former, and Hana could see traces of blood on the backs of his shoes, as if injury had been done to his ankles. His hair was matted slightly in one area on the right side of his head, as if he had received an injury in that spot. His outfit appeared normal, but the young man's trademark black vest was gone, leaving only his gray sweater; and most noticeable of all was the large kitchen knife sticking out of his chest.

Hana knew there was no denying it, but she didn't want to believe it in the slightest. There he was, the friend and classmate she and the others had spent almost a day searching for...hanging from the ceiling of the dungeon, lifeless. Hana wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn to the sight like a magnet; more specifically, she was staring at Hiroshi's face, at his eyes. His eyes were wide open- those gray, knowing eyes, once so full of confidence and secrecy, were now as dull as dirt.

It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. Hiroshi was not merely wounded- he was dead.

Hana backed away a few steps as reality struck her once more. Already, her breathing began to speed up, and her heart rate intensified tenfold from terror...and in that moment, the Ultimate Surfer was overcome with horror and grief, and so let out a piercing, horrified scream.

 _"HIROSHIIIIII!"_

Hana turned around and tried to bolt out of the dungeon- however, when she got to the stairs, she tripped and nearly faceplanted onto the stone surface in her haste. Luckily, she managed to catch herself and stumble to her feet, and at that time she heard someone calling to her.

"H-Hana! What was that!?" Asuna yelled down from the top of the stairs, Hinata standing behind her and looking just as bewildered.

Hinata, however, seemed to come to the horrifying realization. "Hey...Hey, I...recognize that look...! N-No way, don't tell me-!"

He ran down the stairs without Asuna and looked over Hana into the open dungeon. Upon seeing the gruesome sight inside, he exclaimed, "W-What the-!?"

Hinata turned around to see Asuna again, then told her, "Asuna, go get Akira and Ryoto, _now."_

Asuna's eyes widened. "W-What...? No, don't tell me it's-"

 _"Go!"_ Hinata shouted again- this time, Asuna didn't hesitate to oblige, and ran off.

Hana was barely registering the exchange- her mind was far away. She remained silent and practically catatonic as she slowly ascended the stairs again, not even acknowledging Hinata's attempts to speak to her.

In what felt like no time at all, Hana and Hinata were back in the main hall, and Asuna had returned with their remaining two classmates.

"Never fear! We're all here!" Ryoto declared as he looked between Hana and Hinata. "What...happened...?"

Akira scrutinized over Hana and Hinata's expressions before her own face hardened. "There's...no doubt about it..."

Most likely compelled to confirm for herself, Akira ran past the duo and down the stairs to the dungeon.

"What!? Hey! Y-You shouldn't just go alone!" Ryoto exclaimed, running down the stairs in pursuit.

Asuna, still stunned by the situation, remained rooted in place. However, the silence in the main hall wouldn't last long, as mere seconds afterwards...

 _Ding dong, ding dong_

Just as before, the nearby monitors switched on automatically, depicting Monokuma's grinning face atop his gilded throne. "A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!"

The Body Discovery Announcement snapped Hana back to reality- although it was a reality she would have preferred not to be in.

Akira was the first to finish ascending, her face grim. "Well...I believe we can safely say our search for Ashi is over."

Ryoto walked past her, his fists clenched with frustration. "Goddammit...! Why!? Why did this happen again!? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO US!?"

Asuna's face went pale, and a hand flew up to her mouth in shock. "So...Hiroshi really is-!"

Hana was still silent for a few moments, before finally she softly stated, "...There...has to be a mistake..."

"Huh...?" Hinata began, baffled. "Hana, you-you saw the body too, there's no way-"

"No! Shut up, _shut up!"_ Hana snapped at him, her eyes quickly filling with tears. "This- This has to be a trick! This is a mistake! There's no way- no way he's gone! None!"

"Hana, now's not the time for denial!" Ryoto told her, shaking his head. "This is no trick, Hiroshi's-"

"HIROSHI IS NOT DEAD!" Hana practically roared. She knew she was being unreasonable, she knew what the truth was, but her heart would simply not allow her to accept it. "He's not! He can't be! He has to- he told me- he- he-!"

"Amari! Snap out of it, right now!" Akira yelled, striding right up the surfer and gripping her shoulders with the force of a bear trap. "You saw the body! You heard the announcement! Don't be a fool- Ashi is dead! Do I need to say more than once!? Ashi! Is! Dead!"

'Ashi is dead'. _Hiroshi_ is dead. A simple, logical statement of truth...yet it was all that was needed to break down the wall of denial Hana had attempted to build up. Now that is was shattered, all that was left was the harsh reality of her dear friend's demise and all the feelings that came with it.

At first, she simply stood there in stunned, sorrowful silence- even when Akira removed her shoulders and stepped away. Then, Hana felt the tears run down her face and a few choking sobs escape her throat; her legs grew weak, and she collapsed onto her hands and knees with a soft _thump._ Her head was lowered, her eyes were squeezed shut, and she couldn't stop thinking about all the memories she shared with Hiroshi while he still lived.

As a result of this overwhelming sorrow, Hana let out a cry of mourning; it wasn't merely a sob or a wail, but rather a deafening howl of grief- the surfer barely even sounded human in that moment. The others, meanwhile, had nothing to say- perhaps they were still in shock over yet _another_ murder occurring, or they simply didn't know the right words to say to their distressed classmate.

That, however, didn't last long either- for after a few seconds of silence (save for Hana's sobs), a certain robotic strode into the room proudly.

"Well, well, well- what have we here? Another murder today? My, someone must have been feeling really bloodthirsty!" Monokuma remarked as he walked up to the group- oddly enough, he dragged behind him a metallic stool seat, which he proceeded to stand on top of. "But of course, I'm proud as can be to see the killing's continued! I was starting to get a little worried, you know!"

Hearing Monokuma's voice, noticing his presence...it replaced all the sadness Hana felt with burning, blistering fury. She quickly stood up and stormed over to where Monokuma stood- which, thanks to the stool, put him about the height of Hana's chest.

"You-! What the hell have you done!?" Hana demanded, slamming her hand down on the side of the seat and glowering down at Monokuma with her red-tinged eyes.

"Oh come on! Must you people blame me for _all_ of your problems? I'm just a casual observer/overseer!" Monokuma groaned. "Hell, this time especially, you _really_ can't blame me!"

"What does that mean?" Akira asked, narrowing her eyes at the bear.

"Think about it, Cherryhead- did I ever actually give you guys a motive?" Monokuma asked, then laughed. "Not really! And don't try and say my reward was the motive, because that wasn't it! Like I said- my reward to you all wasn't meant to be a motive...unless one of you made it into one! And, ah- there's a good chance one of you did just that!"

Hana slowly shook her head. "No- no, there's no way. None of us...none of us would have killed him! Hiroshi didn't do anything to anyone!"

"Wow, still in denial, Cowlick? Did you forget how this killing game works?" Monokuma demanded, standing on his stubby toes to look Hana in the eye. "A class trial will be held when one student kills another! That's how it's been, that's how it's always been, and that's how it'll be forever! So deal with it already!"

Hana glanced behind her; while Akira was as stoic as ever, the other three Ultimates had varying degrees of discomfort on their faces. The reason was obvious- after everything that had happened throughout this killing game, none of them wanted to believe Hiroshi's killer was among them.

"No...No, this isn't right...!" Hana growled, slowly turning back to Monokuma. "You're full of shit...! The killer...i-it can't be-!"

"It can be!" Monokuma smoothly responded. "It could have been the law-abiding Akira...it could have been the short and scrawny Asuna..."

"Stop it...!" Hana snarled, more fury building up in her.

"H-Hana, hey- cool down a bit-" Hinata began cautiously.

"It could have been the sly thief Hinata, or the loud-mouthed Ryoto..." Monokuma went on thoughtfully.

"I said _stop it...!"_ Hana growled, her fists starting to tremble.

"Hell, for all anyone else knows-" Monokuma concluded with a sickeningly sweet tone. "It might have just been _you,_ Miss Amari."

Finally, that was the straw that broke the camels back. All of Hana's grief and rage burst through in one movement- she drew her arm and fist back, took aim for Monokuma's face, and shouted, "I SAID STOP IIIIT!"

As Hana moved to strike the robot, Asuna shouted in horror, "NO, HANA!"

"REMEMBER THE RULE!" Ryoto cried out at the same time.

However, the surfer wasn't thinking about the rules and regulations, nor would any of the others be quick enough to stop her attack. All she wanted to do was strike back against the mastermind by doing _some_ damage to Monokuma, the tool of the person responsible for their situation- for Hiroshi's death. She swung her fist forward, a direct path to Monokuma's face, and seconds later she felt her fist connect with...air?

Just before Hana's fist struck him, Monokuma's grin grew slightly, and he launched himself off the stool and into the air, sending the seat flying backwards and dodging Hana's punch completely. The momentum of her assault alone would have been enough to send Hana sprawling to the floor, but Monokuma had other plans...

"I think someone..." Monokuma began as he jumped into the air. "Needs to take a _break!"_

He did a quick spin in mid-air before suddenly flying downwards, one of his legs extended for a kick. Less than a second later, Hana felt a powerful strike to the back of her neck, and in the next instant her vision went pitch black.

* * *

 **A/N: And thus Hiroshi Ashi, after having been missing since the end of Part 3, has returned! ...Aaaas the Chapter 5 victim. Life can be mean like that, eh?**

 **Anyways, bit of trivia with this one; I actually meant for this latest body discovery, the final one of the story, to parallel the discovery of Mikio's body, the _first_ one of the story. Like- Hana being the first (and initially only) one to find the body, her resulting panicked breathing and heart rate, her screaming and running away, and last of all- the part ending with her losing consciousness (though the circumstances are different). I dunno, I just thought it'd be a neat touch.**

 **But anyways- next time, the investigation begins, and lemme tell you it's gonna be an...interesting part. Until then- speculate! Because there are a lot of things to wonder about in addition to the murder- some of which may or may not be related to said murder! I'll give ya a little hint- things may not be entirely as they seem...**

 **At any rate, winter break ends for me on Monday, so it'll be back to school, meaning it may take longer for parts to come out. But no worries, I'll still be writing! So just you all wait, and until then leave me some reviews! See you all next time!~**


	46. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 5)

**A/N: And so, the mystery arrives yet again. Welcome back, everyone, to Fractured Fates! We are reaching the end here, everyone- but before that, the students have another murder to solve! And the victim is none other than one of the best boys around and one of the more helpful people in general- Hiroshi Ashi, the Ultimate Coroner.**

 **Now, as I hinted at before, this Deadly Life will be a little bit...different from the other ones, in more than one aspect (for the most part). How, you may ask? Hehehe- just read, just read.**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Yes- 'eff' indeed.**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Oh, welcome back! Yes, as you can see, things have gone even more off the rails than ever before, and the rest of Chapter 5 probably won't help with that (just a fair warning)! At any rate- don't feel pressured to review; yes, I do like getting them, but I also understand that life happens and so reading random murder mystery fics based on a random murder mystery visual novel ain't exactly gonna be top-priority. Still, glad to see the speculation- and I'm sorry for your losses (that I caused).**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

It all happened so fast. One moment, Hana was letting out a war cry and swinging at Monokuma with full intent to punch him; then, the bear deftly jumped into a air and delivered a powerful kick to the back of the Ultimate Surfer's neck. Instantaneously, Hana was sent crashing to the floor, even sliding a few inches due to the force and momentum; there, she laid completely motionless, her eyes closed and her arms splayed in front of her while Monokuma flawlessly landed in front of the others.

Even Akira had to admit to herself- she was surprised by what had happened. Yes, she never considered Hana to be truly intelligent, but at least even she knew better than to break Monokuma's 'no violence' rule- apparently, Hiroshi's murder caused her to throw out logic more than she usually did.

 _Dammit, Amari- you're lucky your punch missed, otherwise I'm sure Monokuma would have you reduced to a fine paste._ Akira thought to herself, subtly shaking her head at the unmoving girl.

The other Ultimates, however, had far stronger reactions to what they just witnessed...

"H-HANA!" Asuna screamed, gazing mortified at Hana's motionless form.

"W-What the hell was that!?" Hinata blurted.

"I agree! God, what was I thinking? 'You need to take a break'- I have _got_ to work on my one-liners!" Monokuma growled aloud, shaking his head in disappointment.

"NO! Not _that!"_ Ryoto cried. "L-Look! YOU KILLED HER!"

"What!? No! Look again, nimrod!" Monokuma snapped at the racecar driver, pointing to Hana.

Akira looked at the unconscious girl again; sure enough, she could see the gentle rise and fall of Hana's upper back, indicating she was breathing.

"Okay- she's alive, but...what did you do?" Hinata asked, tilting his head in confusion. "You just...knocked her out...?"

"Read a book once in a while, would you? If you did that, you'd probably know about these neat little things called pressure points!" Monokuma explained.

Akira's eyes widened somewhat upon hearing that. "Interesting- I always considered attacking pressure points more of a martial arts thing."

"Puhuhuhu! Yes, but it could also be used to subdue insubordinate students!" Monokuma confirmed. "One hit on one of those body points and BAM! The person's out like a light! Like a human OFF switch!"

"H-How did you even jump that high?" Ryoto asked. "Don't tell me- you moonlight as an acrobat!?"

"M-More importantly...!" Asuna began, cutting off Ryoto and running over to Hana's side, kneeling beside her. "Is...Hana going to be okay?"

"Of course! The worst she'll get from my attack is a bruise or something," Monokuma assured the gardener. "Honestly, you guys should be thanking me! Soul Surfer obviously wasn't gonna calm down easily- when she wakes up, she should be as chill as an ice cube! ...Or, well, about as chill as she usually is, which admittedly isn't a lot."

Akira frowned and asked, "But what about the trial? Will she be awake in time to attend?" _Personally, I wouldn't mind if she wasn't around, but it'd be a waste if she was executed for unwittingly breaking such a simple rule._

"Uh...probably! I'm, like, 90% sure," Monokuma answered sheepishly. "A-Anyways! Don't dwell on her now, dwell on the guy who just got whacked!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know how this goes by now..." Hinata responded with a sigh. "You're here to give us that file of yours, right? Can you just do it already and go away?"

"Indeed- you've already wasted enough of our time with your provocations, so kindly give us what we need and be gone," Akira asserted, glaring down at the robot.

"Man- so cold, so callous..." Monokuma sadly replied, looking down at the floor...before regaining his cheerful disposition and continuing, "But you're right! The true reason I showed up was to give you guys the one-and-only Monokuma File! Being uploaded to your e-Handbooks...now!"

A set of little blips emanated from the students' handbooks- the notification signalling the upload of the Monokuma File.

"Okay! Wouldn't want to keep you guys held up with my 'provocations', as it were..." Monokuma said, a mocking tone entering his voice for a moment. "So, I'll be off making some last-minute preparations! Don't keep me waiting- especially now, because I'm _really_ looking forward to this trial!"

With that cryptic statement, Monokuma took his stool seat and walked away to parts unknown.

"So- looks like we'll have to survive another trial after all," Akira remarked with a grim frown. _As much as I would have liked to avoid it, I can't say I'm surprised by this point. But honestly...you'd think people would after four-_ four _times..._

Asuna's attention was still on Hana. "What about Hana, though? We can't just leave her here..."

"I mean- there's no rule against getting knocked out outside your room, we figured that out a little while ago..." Hinata stated. "But, yeah. Someone should- you know, move her..."

"I can do it- I'm the strongest one here, anyways," Ryoto remarked, walking over as well.

"Alright then- Miura, take Amari to the medical room in the East Wing- you don't need to stand guard at all, but at least check back on her periodically to ensure nothing _else_ happens," Akira instructed him. She hadn't expected to retake the mantle of leadership so soon, but considering how dire their circumstances were, it was clear _someone_ had to.

"A-And we'll just...investigate? Like normal?" Asuna asked. "What about the crime scene? Do we, uh...need guards?"

Akira frowned and responded, "There are only five of us left, one of whom is unconscious- we can't spare anyone to guard the scene. So, unfortunately, we'll just have to...trust that no one, killer or otherwise, will try to tamper with anything."

"WELP! If that's all, I'm just gonna..." Ryoto began, bending down and scooping up a still motionless Hana, then carrying her away to the East Wing.

"As for you two- just stay alert and useful, understand?" Akira told Hinata and Asuna in a firm tone- though it had been a day or two since cutting herself off from the others, taking on authority still came just as naturally as ever.

The two seemed to understand...but Akira could tell there was still some hesitation in their eyes, something holding them back.

 _...They're like Amari was. They don't want to believe Ashi's killer is one of the two people they're looking at right now._ Akira realized as she observed Hinata and Asuna. _And I'm sure if Miura was here, he'd have the same look in his eyes._

Akira shook her head and remarked, "Well, what are you two waiting for?"

After one last moment of apprehension, the duo split up; Asuna shuffled to parts unknown, while Hinata wandered off to another part of the room.

 _I almost feel bad for them- they may not have it as bad as Amari, but they're still far too sentimental for their own good._ Akira told herself. _Of course, that's just all the more reason for me to find the truth by any means necessary- if I don't, then..._

Akira shook her head and absolutely refused to further that train of thought. _As usual with these incidents, there's only one truth I can rely on right now..._

 _And it's that_ I _am not the killer._

* * *

Akira wasted little time pulling out her e-Handbook and turning it on to check the Monokuma File- one of the few things she used it for, save for checking the time. She found the icon almost immediately, and tapped on it with her finger almost due to muscle memory. The white "Monokuma File" screen appeared, the number beside the text now depicting a red '#5'; Akira scrolled down to find Hiroshi's physical profile (not that the information here would be much use, probably), then scrolled further to find the autopsy report.

 **The victim was Hiroshi Ashi. Time of death is unknown. The victim's body was found inside the North Wing dungeon. Cause of death is unknown; however, the victim's hands and wrists were severely mutilated, and both of his Achilles' tendons were sliced. The victim also received a single wound from blunt force trauma to his right temple and a single stab wound directly to the chest.**

Akira stared at the text in shock. _What...?_ This _is all the Monokuma File has to offer? There's barely any actual information at all- this is useless!_

The Ultimate Prosecutor felt the powerful urge to call Monokuma and demand answers from him, but was able to calm herself after rationalizing the contents of the File. The last time the File had omitted information about the victim, that missing information ended up being crucial to discovering the killer's identity; therefore, the same was likely true for Hiroshi's case, and it was simply a matter of finding out how.

Pocketing her handbook, Akira glanced at the entrance to the dungeon- the crime scene- then turned around to find Hinata. "Yonade- you'd better not be busy, because I need your help with something."

Hinata looked up to see the prosecutor, then remarked, "Really? You want my help? What, gonna make me dig up a murder weapon again?"

"Stop joking, Yonade- I need you to lower Ashi's body for me," Akira told him. "Miura's not here, and I doubt Izumi would be strong enough- ergo, I'm asking you."

"Well- why can't you do it? You're...well, stronger than Asuna I'm sure!" Hinata responded. "Digging through dirt was one thing, but I'm not messing with-"

Akira narrowed her eyes at Hinata and told him, "No one will be able to properly investigate Ashi's body while it's still suspended from the ceiling- that is why I have this request."

She then crossed her arms and reminded him, "Besides- I doubt you're one to be concerned about 'messing with' dead bodies after what you did with Sauchi's."

Hinata visibly winced upon hearing that, as if Akira had physically slapped him. "Okay okay, twist my arm why not..."

The thief becoming much less verbal, Akira led him back down the stairs to the dungeon. The scene remained the same as when Akira had initially seen the room minutes ago- of course, that was about to change.

"Now, Yonade- be careful. Best not to alter the corpse in any way, otherwise the investigation may be hindered," Akira informed him. "I'll help finish lowering Ashi's body once he's closer to the ground- though I'd prefer not to risk contaminating anything, there's not much else we can do to get his body down."

"You don't need to lecture me, Akira, I assumed we shouldn't be touching the body too much," Hinata responded as he walked over to untie the end of the rope from the cell door. "Not that I'd want to, anyways..."

The thief quickly untied the rope and gripped it with both hands in preparation to lower Hiroshi's body...but then, he froze, staring down at the rope in shock.

"Yonade? What is it?" Akira asked, crossing her arms as she watched.

"N-Nothing, I just...got the weirdest sense of deja vu..." Hinata answered vaguely. "Like I've..."

He neglected to finish his thought; he shook his head and finally obliged Akira's request, carefully lowering Hiroshi from the ceiling. Once he was low enough, Akira walked over and gripped his legs so she could ease the corpse onto the floor without disturbing anything (mainly that kitchen knife sticking out of his chest). When she did, she immediately noticed two things: Hiroshi's clothes felt oddly damp, and she felt what she could only assume to be wounds on the back of his ankles; she decided she would have to examine these two details in a moment.

With Hiroshi successfully lowered, Akira also took a moment to remove the other end of the rope- the noose- from around the deceased coroner's neck. Now, Hiroshi lay completely still on the floor of the dungeon, his gray eyes staring unblinking at the ceiling- his flame of life, forever extinguished.

Hinata dusted his hands off and said, "Well, if that's all you needed me for- I'd rather not spend too much time in a room full of...bodies...so, I'll just head out-"

"Don't go too far, Yonade," Akira told him as she knelt down to examine the corpse.

"Uuugh, why? You gonna have me run more errands or something?" Hinata asked with an eye-roll.

"No, but I do have a question or two for you- so stay close by," Akira answered, her gaze still fixed on Hiroshi.

Hinata rolled his eyes, but nodded and ascended the stairs, leaving her in the dungeon alone. With him gone, Akira glanced down at Hiroshi, then looked around at the scene as a whole. _Alright then- time to let the truth speak._

She chose to focus on what was probably the most important aspect of the crime and crime scene: the victim's corpse. Akira knew she was no Ultimate Coroner, yet it wouldn't do much good to simply ignore the corpse, so she chose to investigate what she could.

 _Let's see now- the Monokuma File mentions neither cause nor time of death...I don't think I'll be able to sort out the time, but maybe I can make sense of the cause..._ Akira thought. _And I'll start by looking at what the File_ does _mention._

She turned her attention to Hiroshi's hands and wrists; just as the Monokume File said, numerous deep gashes cut through the flesh on his extremities, with traces of bloodstains visible around the wounds. No doubt, these wounds would not only have been enough to sufficiently maim the coroner, but would have caused a significant amount of bleeding- especially the wrist wounds.

 _Perhaps...could he have bled to death from these wounds? Slicing one's wrists is a form of suicide, so maybe..._ Akira pondered. However, the fact that the Monokuma File specifically mentioned the slices on Hiroshi's hands/wrists meant that it probably wouldn't be groundbreaking clue. Nonetheless, Akira made a mental note of the lacerations.

However, as she examined Hiroshi's wrists, Akira noticed something else: faint red marks that went completely around both of the coroner's wrists, and appeared rather thick in width and vaguely rectangular. Not only that, but some of the abrasions seemed more severe than others, leaving behind scraped skin and smaller traces of blood.

 _Interesting- was Ashi bound by his wrists, I wonder...?_ Akira asked herself. She immediately decided to make a mental note of this detail as well.

Next, she looked to Hiroshi's legs- more specifically, his ankles. She took notice of three deep lacerations on the backs of his heels; all three were almost perfectly horizontal and parallel, and like the hand wounds Akira could see faint bloodstains around the injuries. Not only that, but even Akira could easily tell each gash, though they may not have all been equal in depth, was deep enough to slice through the Achilles's tendons- just like the Monokuma File said.

 _Well...I can imagine the killer sliced Ashi's tendons to keep him from fleeing._ Akira surmised after a moment of thought. _But...why did the killer make_ three _slashes on each heel? It can't have been that they misaimed once or twice, they're all deep enough- and this precision, the parallelism..._

Akira narrowed her eyes in scrutiny. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say these almost look like claw marks._

The prosecutor shook her head and decided to leave the lacerations on Hiroshi's heels alone for now. Instead, she looked to the coroner's head and examined the wound on his right temple; it appeared rather deep and severe, and would have been enough to at least render the Ultimate unconscious- possibly even kill him, either instantly or through blood loss.

Akira sighed. _I've never been one for examining corpses like this- I always left it to the professionals, and this killing game was no different. Perhaps I should have studied up on some signs and practices, just in case I ever needed to investigate a corpse myself..._

Shaking her head, the prosecutor realized there was nothing that could be done about it now. So, she did her best with the little knowledge she had; with that small amount of knowledge, Akira was able to figure out the bludgeon would was also somewhat rounded, meaning the weapon used had to have been round as well, but not too wide in diameter- like a baseball bat.

Having concluded that, Akira lastly turned her scrutiny towards the most glaring piece of evidence of all: the large, visible kitchen knife stabbed into Hiroshi's chest.

 _Now there's something suspicious- and based on its location, it could have easily and quickly killed Ashi._ Akira pondered. _But...is it really that simple?_

She pulled up the sleeves of her suit so they were covering her hands, then proceeded to carefully remove the knife from Hiroshi's chest. Unsurprisingly, the blade was smeared in semi-dried blood, almost up to the handle.

 _This...just looks like a knife from the kitchen. Anyone could have obtained this, especially since we were all more or less split up since yesterday._ Akira thought in disappointment. _Hardly something that points to killer- but still, I'll have to remember it._

She set the knife on the floor next to Hiroshi, then pushed her sleeves back down as she looked over the wound left behind. _Even still...one would think, with a wound like that, there would be more blood. Perhaps...looking under his shirt will yield some more clues._

The prosecutor gripped the bottom of Hiroshi's gray shirt and lifted it...but the moment she did, she saw something else that would shock her.

They appeared to be...burns. Numerous, blackish-red burns crossed Hiroshi's torso, with the worst burns seemingly concentrated around his chest. The burns seemed to extend to his limbs and neck somewhat, but they weren't as severe as the ones on his torso.

 _These burns...! I couldn't have imagined- what...what could have caused these? There aren't too many things in this castle that could leave someone with burns like these..._ Akira said to herself, scrutinizing over the burns in disbelief. _And why would the killer even go so far, anyways...? But most of all- could these...could these burns be tied to Ashi's death somehow...? The Monokuma File omitted them, so there must be_ some _importance..._

Akira attempted to lift his shirt up more so she could see the stab wound left by the knife, although that didn't yield any more clues- not to mention it was obscured by the burns anyways. Having finished her examination of the body, the prosecutor rolled Hiroshi's shirt back down, then looked towards the last piece of evidence in regards to the corpse- the rope.

Akira walked over and carefully picked up the rope; there didn't seem to be anything particularly special about it, aside from one end being tied into the noose that suspended Hiroshi above the floor.

 _I wonder...could a rope have caused those abrasions on Ashi's wrists? That would mean the rope was used to bind him as well as to hang him..._ Akira surmised. _Then there's what happened with Yonade- that sense of 'deja vu' he received when he grabbed the rope, like he recognized it from somewhere..._

Then, a realization dawned on her. _Come to think of it...I feel some familiarity with this rope as well..._

After a moment of thought, Akira realized there _was_ a place where the killer could have obtained a rope- and she made a mental reminder to herself to confirm her hypothesis after investigating the rest of the North Wing.

Akira put down the rope and stood up again, looking down at Hiroshi's corpse yet again. _Well- looking at the body alone hasn't cleared up any mysteries about how Ashi actually died or when he was killed- but I suppose that's to be expected. The more evidence I find, the more clear those mysteries should become..._

She frowned and furrowed her brow. _And yet...something still feels...off. Ashi has all these wounds all over him, yet there's barely any blood on his clothes or at the crime scene. Well, I can see traces of blood, but it's as if the killer...rinsed the blood off of him, or at least attempted to..._

She leaned down again and felt the deceased coroner's clothing. _And his clothes- they have a hint of dampness to them, which I suppose adds some validity to the idea of rinsing the blood off..._

Akira crossed her arms with a dissatisfied grunt. _But oddly enough- where did his vest go? Ashi almost always wears it. And his pants- usually, he seems to have an endless supply of latex gloves in his pocket, but now...there's nothing in any of his pockets. It could be that he simply ran out, but..._

Shaking her head, the Ultimate investigated the rest of the dungeon- however, she found that nothing else in the room was out of the ordinary. The beds were in their proper positions, none of the corpses had been displaced or tampered with- truly, the biggest change the killer made to the room had been suspending Hiroshi's corpse with the rope.

 _Well- I suppose this ends the preliminary part of the investigation..._ Akira told herself, beginning to make her way towards the stairs. _The previous cases had many questions surrounding them too, but this one...something tells me Ashi's case is going to be particularly frustrating. After all, as much as I despise Monokuma and the mastermind, that bear made a good point- there was no actual motive this time._

She stopped in front of the stairwell and leaned against the stone wall in thought. _So then...to what end did the blackened commit_ this _murder...? Was it truly related to the- the revelations that Monokuma made the day Ashi first went missing...? Revelations that we can't even know are true or not?_

That was something else Akira had to keep in mind- Hiroshi's disappearance. He had strangely vanished two nights ago, and now he turns up dead like this- though the mystery of his disappearance was still just that, Akira knew the two events had to be connected somehow.

 _Amari was- technically- the last one to_ actually _see and interact with him on the night he disappeared. If I get the chance, I should ask her about what happened between her and Ashi that night._ Akira told herself as she began to ascend the stairs. _Not only that, but Izumi's claim from_ last _night requires further investigation as well- assuming she wasn't mistaken or lying...she may very well have been the last one to see Ashi alive._

* * *

When she was back in the main hall of the North Wing, Akira was immediately struck with annoyance. It appeared that Hinata had not heeded her words from before, as he was nowhere to be seen in the main hall. The prosecutor stepped out into the center of the room and looked around; moments later, she heard the doors to the throne room opening, and out stepped the Ultimate Thief in question.

Upon reentering the main hall, Hinata saw Akira and called out, "Oh- hey, Akira. Finally done?"

"Excuse you, I thought I told you to stay close while I investigated," Akira told him with a glare.

"Well, you were taking forever and I got bored- so I thought I'd do some investigation on my own," Hinata explained as he descended the stairs. "By the way, ah- the throne room, plus that hidden room you found? Nothing evidence-looking in there, as far as I could see. You're welcome to look yourself if you don't believe me, but it'd be a waste of time."

"Noted," Akira stated, crossing her arms. "Now, Yonade- tell me again about what happened when you were investigating the West Wing yesterday."

"Huh? Why do you want to know about that?" Hinata asked, surprised.

"Because what you experienced during that search was odd- and since it occurred after Ashi disappeared, I believe there may be something more to it," Akira explained. "So, give me your account again."

"Uh...okay?" Hinata responded, furrowing his brow. He then frowned and remarked, "Actually, since you bring that up...there's something I gotta tell you. The thing is, I...kinda left something out when I told you guys about the wine room the other day."

"What? What did you leave out?" Akira asked, her interest immediately piqued.

"Okay, okay- like I said before, I was looking around the top floor of the West Wing when another blackout happened," Hinata explained. "I tried to go into the wine room around that time, but the door...well, it was blocked or something. I tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge."

"Yes, that's what you said yesterday," Akira replied, frowning.

"But what I didn't tell you guys was what happened when I tried to get in," the thief confessed. "See, when I was trying to force the door open...well, someone was inside the wine room."

"Really? Who?" Akira then asked.

"Asuna," Hinata answered.

* * *

 _"EIYAAAAAAAH!"_

 _As another blackout engulfed the top floor of the West Wing, Hinata let out yet another shriek and bolted for the closest door he could find. He felt his hand close over a doorknob- the door to the wine room, he could only presume. However, when he tried to push the door open, the thief would realize the door wouldn't budge._

 _"Wha-!? What the fuck!?" Hinata yelped to himself as he tried to force the door open- to no avail. "What's goin' on here!?"_

 _As if things couldn't get any stranger, the Ultimate would then hear a voice, evidently coming from the other side of the door: "H-Hey! Please calm down, d-don't break that door please!"_

 _Hinata's eyes widened- though the door slightly muffled it, he recognized that high-pitched, slightly anxious, feminine tone anywhere. "A...Asuna? Is that you?"_

 _"Uh- y-yeah! Who else would it be, it's me!" Asuna sheepishly confirmed with a chuckle._

 _"W-Well- what are you doing in there? I thought we agreed- I search the top floor, you search the bottom, and whoever got done would just go to the South Wing!" Hinata responded, dumbfounded._

 _"Y-Yeah-? Yeah, but...I-I thought a bit of help wouldn't hurt, right?" Asuna explained. "So, uh- here I am! Investigating the wine room, by myself, no need to come in!"_

 _"No need to-?" Hinata began, trying the door again. "Why'd you block the door?"_

 _At that moment, the lights came back on, allowing Hinata to confirm that he was, in fact, in front of the wine room._

 _"B-Because I want to investigate alone! I-I won't be too long, don't worry! Hehe-" Asuna responded, just as sheepish as before. At that point, she went silent, and Hinata- realizing he couldn't force the door open- did the same._

* * *

"...I didn't bring it up during the meeting because I wasn't sure what to make of it," Hinata went on. "When I went in there a minute or two after, Asuna was gone completely."

"That's...strange indeed," Akira agreed. "And it was after that encounter that the dumbwaiter stopped working, right?"

"Yeah- when I was able to get in and investigate myself, the dumbwaiter was one of the last things I checked, and it...well, I already talked about how it didn't work," Hinata stated with a shrug. "Probably shoulda mentioned it earlier, yeah, but- come on, how was I supposed to know Hiroshi would end up _dead_ the next today?"

"And you're certain it was Izumi you heard, yes?" Akira asked again.

"Uh, unless someone around here can do a really good Asuna impression- yes, I'm sure," Hinata insisted with a nod. "Yeah, the door kinda muffled the voice a bit, but I'd recognize Asuna if I heard her."

Akira went silent for a moment in contemplation- while Hinata's status as a thief made him less than trustworthy, the prosecutor could sense some measure of truthfulness in his words based on his tone, not to mention nothing appeared out of the ordinary with his body language.

Thus, she nodded simply remarked, "Interesting indeed...I'll have to remember that."

"Yeah, you do that- anyways, did you need to ask me anything else?" Hinata inquired. "Or can I go back to looking around myself?"

Akira rolled her eyes and replied, "You're free to go, Yonade- but if something comes up later..."

"Yeah, I know, I'll probably hear all about it," the thief replied, already beginning to walk away. "Hey, if you want any more info, you're probably better off asking Asuna herself- though I'm not sure what she'll say about it."

Akira said nothing, but thought to herself, _Hmph- something else to talk to Izumi about, it would seem. Looks like I'd better find her sooner rather than later..._

Turning her attention away from the departing Ultimate and towards the throne room, Akira then told herself, _Yonade said he looked around up there and found absolutely nothing...but since there's a chance he's killer, I'd be a fool to take his words at face value._

With that, the prosecutor chose her next target of investigation, and ascended the grand staircase accordingly.

* * *

As it turned out, Hinata was being a little more truthful than Akira gave him credit for. After a thorough search of both the main throne room and the other room hidden in the back, the prosecutor found absolutely nothing that tied to Hiroshi's murder, meaning it truly had been a waste of time.

Exiting the throne room bitterly, Akira descended back down the stairwell and told herself, _Well- that was useless after all. All that time I could have spent investigating somewhere with_ actual _evidence- I'd better be quick in my investigation of the power room, otherwise I'll lose even more time..._

The prosecutor strode down the hallway leading to the power room, but then stopped momentarily as she passed the area where the hidden entrance to the catacombs was.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she thought, _Actually...those catacombs would be an excellent place to hide evidence, and it's not like there's any of us who were completely in the dark about it..._

However, the girl immediately shook her head. _No, no, I can't get distracted- those catacombs are far too large and maze-like for me to search alone, let alone in the time Monokuma provided for us. And if the killer_ did _hide evidence down there, there's no way to tell where exactly..._

With a small sigh of resignation, Akira continued on her way and pushed open the metal door leading into the power room. The Ultimate didn't expect to see much- perhaps some evidence of Monokuma's repairs from the other day. But what she did see, however, defied her low expectations.

What struck her first was an unmistakable crackling sound. Looking up, Akira was surprised to see a pair of cables dangling low from the ceiling, with electricity sparking at the damaged ends.

 _What in the-? This is what Monokuma calls finished repairs?_ Akira asked herself as she cautiously approached. _God, no wonder this castle's such a death trap on its own..._

As she drew closer to the live cables, she noticed there did appear to be traces that _something_ had been worked on inside the room. The machines closest to the cables seemed like they had been cleaned of dark soot, some of the other cables attached to the ceiling had some signs of repair and appeared to have been shoved up there somewhat haphazardly, and a few of the tools on the far table had been displaced and indicated signs of use.

Acutely aware of the fact that prosecutors were not immune to electricity, Akira gingerly stepped around the sparking ends to the other half of the room. She then walked up to the table, the same one with Kiragi Ashikawa's catchphrase mysteriously carved into it, and examined the various tools on top of it. None of them appeared particularly suspicious- although she did take notice of a pair of insulated, rubber gloves that appeared slightly singed.

 _I doubt Monokuma could have worn these while working- these were clearly meant to be worn by a human._ Akira observed. _...Come to think of it...could whoever's truly in charge of this killing game have actually used Monokuma, a_ robot, _to do_ electrical _repairs? I must say, they're certainly dedicated to keeping their identities a secret, if that's the case..._

Seeing as there was nothing left to see in the power room, Akira carefully navigated around the live wires so she could get back to the door.

 _This place...it explains the blackouts, sure, but is it tied to the murder itself...?_ the Ultimate wondered as she glanced around the room one last time. _...I can't say, but perhaps I should remember what I saw anyways._

Thus, Akira turned back around and exited the power room- so far, she was less than satisfied with the results of her investigation, and since this was the last of the North Wing's areas...well, the prosecutor preferred not to think too pessimistically about the situation.

* * *

After returning to the main hall, Akira took a moment to think about what she had discovered so far...which was not too much, admittedly.

 _So really, the only two places in this wing that have any semblance of evidence are the dungeon and the power room..._ the prosecutor pondered, shaking her head. _And yet, there are still so many missing pieces. Clearly, the North Wing is the epicenter of the crime, and yet.._

She frowned. _No. no, there's still time- and I have some leads I can follow up on. Surely, those should provide some answers._

Akira decided the best course of action at this point would be to head for the East Wing- there, she believed she would find the source of at least one of the pieces of evidence she had found before. So, she climbed the central staircase and made her way to the right, where she saw the doorway leading into the East Wing.

However, before she could fully enter, Akira saw someone already stepping through into the North Wing- it was Ryoto.

The Ultimate Racecar Driver was strolling through the doorway before he noticed Akira; when he did, he greeted her with a resounding, "AKIRA! Great to see ya, how's the investigation going?"

"This is no time for small talk, Miura," Akira told him. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, I was looking around too! And I was keeping an eye on Hana, just like you asked!" Ryoto told her, crossing his arms. "Oh! But that does remind me- Hana woke up!"

"Did she now?" Akira inquired, furrowing her brow.

"Yup! Just a minute ago, actually- I think she was heading to the North Wing, as a matter of fact," the racer explained, nodding to the hallway behind Akira. "That's where I'm heading too!"

"And _I'm_ heading to the East Wing, so if you would kindly move out of my-" Akira began...only to stop and turn back to Ryoto. "Wait a second. Miura, you investigated the East Wing yesterday, didn't you? A few hours after you and Amari searched the South Wing for signs of Ashi?"

"That is correct! Didn't find anything, though," Ryoto responded with a nod.

"Well, obviously, but that's not what I was going to ask you about," Akira told him. "I was wondering if you encountered anything...odd during your search. Or, for that matter, anything odd in the South Wing you neglected to mention yesterday."

"Well- first, nothing weird happened in the South Wing, so you'd be wrong about that!" Ryoto answered. "But...when I was looking around the East Wing, though...that's a different story."

"So something _did_ happen," Akira surmised. "What was it?"

"Okay- honestly, I don't know if it's _that_ big of a deal, but it was DEFINITELY weird!" Ryoto began. "See- I was looking around the whole wing, right? Everything's normal and quiet, except for a few blackouts in a few of the rooms- but then I get to the watchtower. And when I was there, I heard...I heard this rustling sound up at the top. Like someone was going through the crates and sacks and stuff, I dunno."

"A...rustling? At the top of the tower?" Akira repeated, furrowing her brow. "That would mean someone else was in there besides you..."

"Yeah! But when I tried calling up to them, they didn't say anything! They just...went silent as soon as I started talking!" Ryoto went on. "So I couldn't tell you who exactly it was up there. I left to go grab something from the armory to make a platform with- those big axes you used before- but by the time I got back and made it up to the top, whoever was up there was gone! POOF! Like a ghost!"

 _Or maybe it was because they managed to slip away while you were in the armory- that would provide an ample opportunity to escape, even if Miura was as quick as he could be._ Akira rationalized. "But still- the stairs in the eastern watchtower are still broken, right? Did you see any evidence of what this person used to cross the gap?"

"NOPE! Nothing! There was nothing missing from the armory, and I don't know where else someone could have gotten something to make a bridge..." Ryoto replied, shaking his head. "It was so weird, and I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO SEE WHO THE SNEAK WAS!"

Akira glanced away as she became enveloped in thought. _Strange...if Miura's testimony is accurate, then- how did the person he hear, whoever they were, make it past that gap in the stairs?_

Shaking her head, the prosecutor inquired, "Well, I suppose this information is helpful- did you happen to see anything else?"

"Aside from the fact that someone kind of took apart the pulley thing? Not really," Ryoto mentioned. "ANYWAYS! If that's all you needed, then I'd better get going."

"Yes, that's all- for now," Akira replied, already walking past him towards the East Wing's upper entrance. "But if I find something that implicates you, then you'll be seeing me again."

"That's ominous! But I'll already be seeing you again before the trial, so I don't see why that matters!" Ryoto cheerfully responded as he walked away. "Anyways- see you around, Akira!"

"..." Akira scoffed and shook her head. _Miura- it's like every time I talk to him, I feel more of my brain cells dying out._

She crossed the threshold into the East Wing, then proceeded onward down the hallway towards the watchtower's entrance. Without waiting, Akira opened the door somewhat and poked her head inside; her gaze immediately turned towards the wooden stairs. Just like Ryoto said, a few of the steps were still splintered and broken from Shiori's doomed murder plan, meaning she would need to remake her 'axe bridge' after all.

 _I wish I didn't have to waste time with this damn gap in the stairs...would it kill whoever's in charge of this place to put in_ some _implementation for our convenience?_ Akira thought to herself with a scowl. _Monokuma can repair a broken railing, but not a few steps? Unbelievable..._

The prosecutor didn't spend too much time in the armory once inside; she simply went to retrieve the two axes she had used during the last investigation. However, she did take a moment to scan the room and see if anything else had gone missing- Akira saw nothing out of the ordinary, thus confirming that claim of Ryoto's as well.

Hefting the two battleaxes under her arms- while being sure not to cut herself by mistake- Akira shouldered the armory door open again and exited back into the East Wing's main hall. She then returned to the watchtower and reentered with only slight difficulty, taking a moment to gaze up at the damaged stairs again.

 _Now,_ _let's also see if my hunch about that rope is accurate..._ Akira thought to herself as she approached the gap.

Laying the two large axes down in the same position as she had back during the fourth investigation, Akira carefully walked across the axe-bridge, then proceeded up the rest of the stairs to the tower's top room.

Upon stepping into the upper area, something immediately caught the prosecutor's attention: the platform, which had been held up by the pulley system, was no longer suspended above the opening in the floor. Instead, it was lying on the floor towards the opposite side of the room; most importantly, however, the rope that had been holding up the platform and enabled it to be lowered or raised up was gone.

Akira walked over somewhat, but she didn't need to get too close to see the rope's absence. _Just as I thought- the rope used on Ashi was the same rope used for this pulley system. That also explains why Yonade felt such familiarity with it- he used the pulley system during the last case, so it's no surprise he felt recognition when he lowered Ashi's corpse in a similar manner to how he moved the platform before..._

In that moment, having thought about Shiori's case again, Akira became aware of the fact that she was standing in the same room where the Ultimate Surgeon's corpse had been found. She stopped and looked around; yes, the crime scene in there had turned out to have been falsified, but it had still been a messy scene overall. And yet, there was not a speck of blood to be seen anywhere- not on the walls no on the floor, where the majority of the smears had been. Absolutely no trace of the crime whatsoever.

 _...I still don't understand what the point of erasing almost all trace of the murders is- does it have anything to do with Monokuma's whole 'despair' shtick?_ Akira pondered, shaking her head. _If anything, it's just more convenient for all of us if we don't have to worry about cleaning up blood and bodies- and if the dungeon is any indication, it's not like they're doing anything to the bodies themselves- outside of the executions._

Akira, done with her contemplating, turned away from the one-time crime scene and made her way back down the stairs. She was somewhat satisfied she had solved one mystery regarding this case, but...there were still many more to be had.

 _At this rate, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit concerned about this case..._ Akira admitted to herself. _There are only so many other places connected to this case that I could possibly_ _investigate still, what if-_

That's when Akira had an idea- an idea for another location that could be tied to Hiroshi's murder, either directly or indirectly. The prosecutor was a bit surprised with herself for not thinking about it sooner, but now that she had- she was certain it would probably be her second best bet, aside from the scene of the murder itself.

* * *

Akira quickly and quietly made her way into the South Wing- not that the 'quiet' part was too difficult, as the other students were nowhere to be found. That wouldn't have mattered anyways- the Ultimate Prosecutor had her mind set on her goal, and nothing would stray her from it.

Within moments, Akira was heading down the hallway containing the students' bedrooms, where she ultimately stopped in front of one student's door in particular: Hiroshi's. It was the most logical location to search, the victim's own bedroom; aside from that, the other victims' bedrooms- save for Mikio's- had contained evidence relating to their murder in some way, and coupled with the fact that Hiroshi had been heading to his bedroom when Hana last saw him...

 _If this place doesn't have evidence in it, then this case really will be tougher than all the others..._ Akira grimly thought to herself. Narrowing her eyes, she gripped the doorknob and turned it so she could enter- but found it wouldn't move.

"What the-?" Akira spoke up in surprise. She tried the doorknob again, but it remained locked tight. The Ultimate's shock turned to frustration, and she immediately turned away and looked to one of the nearby security cameras.

 _"Monokuma!_ Show yourself and explain this _now!"_ Akira called to the camera, her eyes blazing.

It didn't take long for the 'headmaster' to respond, as he appeared right behind Akira seconds later and spoke, "Well well, Ms. Rimutsu, is that any way to speak to your headmaster?"

Akira turned on her heel and growled at the ursine, "Like I give a damn- why is the door to Ashi's bedroom locked? You always unlock the bedrooms belonging to the victims during these investigations."

"Puhuhuhu- well, maybe I decided to shake things up a bit, you ever think of that?" Monokuma replied with mock sweetness. "Besides, you don't need to go in there anyways- there's no evidence that could help ya guys out in the trial."

Akira, however, shook her head. "That's a lie, and you know it. During the investigation for Nakamura's murder, his bedroom had contained nothing connected to his death- and yet, you unlocked it, just like you did with all the proceeding victims' rooms."

"Aha- I did, didn't I?" Monokuma remarked, sounding the tiniest bit...nervous? "Well- forget about Blueberry, he's been dead for ages! That was the past, and I choose to look to the present- and _in_ the present, you're not getting into Autopsy's room, period!"

Akira furiously glared at Monokuma. "But why is that? Without proper evidence, how can you hope to hold a fair trial, as you appear to take some morbid pride in doing?"

Monokuma only giggled again. "Your glaring might scare the living daylights out of everyone else, but not me! I lived in the wilderness long enough to not even be scared of giant clown spiders or giant robots! So, in other words, you're not gonna get me to open this door even if you throw me into it!"

Before Akira could protest further, Monokuma ran back down the hallway and disappeared. Left with more questions than answers, the Ultimate Prosecutor glared at the door as if her gaze would burn it down. Alas, it was just a door, and Akira's look was just a look.

Moments later, Akira became acutely aware of footsteps approaching; turning towards the direction of the main hall, she caught sight of a certain Ultimate Gardener making her way around the corner, confusion and curiosity on her face.

Upon seeing Asuna and remembering the numerous things she wanted to ask her, the prosecutor called out, "Izumi!"

The girl was barely able to stop herself from jumping in fright as her name was suddenly called out. Quickly looking down the hall, she replied, "A-Akira? I didn't think you'd be here..."

"Mmph- well, my plan was to investigate Ashi's room, but..." Akira explained, narrowing her eyes at the door once again. "But more importantly- what are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh- truth be told, I...kinda had the same idea as you," Asuna confessed. "B-But, I...might have overhead some of what Monokuma said, s-so I know why you can't get in..."

Akira was still bitterly silent, but she sighed and turned to Asuna fully. "At any rate- I'm actually somewhat glad you're here."

"W-Why? Did you...want to ask me something...?" the gardener inquired, tilting her head a little.

"Yes- a few things, actually," Akira confirmed. "One of them involves what you witnessed last night, the other regards your investigation with Yonade in the West Wing-"

Upon bringing up the West Wing, Akira remembered what Hinata said about the dumbwaiter...and in that moment, an idea popped into her head. "..."

"Ah- Akira...?" Asuna began, frowning in concern.

"...Actually- the questioning can wait," Akira spoke up again, starting to make her way back down the hallway. "Follow me, Izumi- there's something I need you for."

* * *

"Y-You want me to what?" Asuna yelped. She had followed Akira back to the West Wing- more specifically, to the wine room, and found herself dumbfounded by what the 'something' Akira mentioned turned out to be.

"I told you- go inside the shaft of the dumbwaiter and see if you can find out why it stopped working," Akira repeated, pointing to the area where the dumbwaiter was.

The actual lift itself was lowered down to the banquet room, unable to be elevated again like Hinata said. On the other hand, this left the shaft completely empty on the upper floor, allowing access to the mechanisms above that allowed it to move.

"I-I know, but- doesn't that seem dangerous? What if I fall, or th-the thing starts working again and crushes me, o-or-" Asuna stammered. "W-Why even ask _me_ to do it?"

"Because you're the smallest one out of all of us, both in terms of height and body structure," Akira explained. "If anyone would be able to fit in there and look at the mechanism, it'd be you."

"I...I guess, but..." Asuna replied, gingerly poking her head into the opening a little. She then walked back, taking off her fedora and holding it out to the Ultimate Prosecutor. "C-Can you at least hold on to this while I do it? Please?"

Akira rolled her eyes, but nonetheless obliged and took the hat from her. Asuna then walked back to the dumbwaiter shaft, stepping onto the edge of the opening with one foot and pushing herself upwards.

While Asuna examined whatever was up there, Akira looked down at the fedora she was holding- the very same hat that once belonged to Kaneki, the same one that Akira herself had given to Asuna as a way to apologize for believing she was the killer of that trial. Though the prosecutor was never one for nostalgia, even she found herself wondering how long it had been since that day- it felt like years, yet it couldn't have been more than several days, maybe over a week or two.

 _...That trial..._ Akira thought, her grip on the hat tightening somewhat. _It's been so long, but I can't forget it...how could I? Nakamura's trial had been one thing, but Tenmaru's..._ that _trial..._

"O-Oh! I found something!" Asuna suddenly exclaimed. "There's something stuck in these gears here! A-And it's kinda big, no wonder the dumbwaiter wouldn't work. H-Hold on, maybe I can-"

Akira ignored Asuna as her gaze turned to anger. _If I had to pick a time where I truly started to detest Amari, it would be during_ that _trial. I've had to deal with her in the two trials that followed, but it all started with_ that _damn trial. That idiot had the audacity to go up against me, and the worst part..._ she _had been right all along! And I..._ I _had been...mistaken in my logic, and because of that we all might have-_

Akira quickly stopped herself from finishing that thought. She relaxed her grip and composed herself, mentally resolving, _Not this time. Not again. More than ever, finding the truth of this murder is a necessity- I don't care how long it takes, I will not allow the blackened to win and escape. I, as the Ultimate Prosecutor, can_ not _allow it._

"AHA! Got it!" Asuna happily cried as she extracted herself from the shaft of the lift, holding a peculiar object in her hand. "This must be what- uh...were you brooding just now?"

"I don't brood," Akira told her, tossing Kaneki's fedora back to her. "Regardless- what is that you're holding?"

"Uh...it's a little weird, honestly, but..." Asuna responded, putting the hat back on and holding out the item she had retrieved.

It was a glass bottle, purple in color and skinny in design, with its height being about a foot and a half. It was filled with liquid, and judging by the grape picture on the label Akira guessed it was grape juice. Its surface was scratched somewhat, likely as a result of being stuck in the moving mechanisms of the dumbwaiter. That, however, was nothing compared to what Akira saw on the bottom of the bottle- the unmistakable appearance of dried blood.

"Well, well- now this is evidence," Akira remarked, taking the tall bottle from Asuna's hands and turning it over in her hands. "This blood- it doesn't look too recent. Must be...a day or two old, I'd say."

"I-I'm just surprise it didn't break between those gears," Asuna said. "I...think I vaguely remember seeing that bottle down in the banquet room, not in here. I-It looks non-alcoholic anyways,, and that's where they keep the non-alcoholic drinks."

"Yes, I believe this bottle came from down there rather than from in here as well...but still, I question why the killer chose to hide such a weapon in the shaft of the dumbwaiter, of all places..." Akira pondered aloud. _Still, I can't deny the significance of this. The diameter, the shape, the blood...this must have been what was used to give Ashi that head wound. But the real question is- is it the murder weapon itself?_

She set the bottle down and turned back to Asuna, leaning on her back against the shelf behind her. "Now then- you remember that I planned on asking you some questions, right?"

"O-Oh, yeah," Asuna responded with a quick nod. "I, uh- guess you're going to ask them now?"

"Precisely," Akira confirmed, crossing her arms. "First and foremost- tell me again about what happened when you saw Ashi last night."

"That...? W-Well, nothing major, it was just like I told you guys last night," Asuna explained. "I-I went up to lock up the storage room- a little later, because I kinda forgot about it during dinner- and I walked out of the study about...a minute or two after the nighttime announcement? That's when I looked down the hallway and saw Hiroshi going into the East Wing. I-I tried to call out and catch up to him, but he didn't respond to me and...when I got to the East Wing, he was gone- just like that."

Akira closed her eyes in thought- Asuna's story was the same as it had been last night, and she sounded just as genuine now as she did last night. That didn't mean she was being truthful, however.

"And you're certain it was Ashi, right?" Akira asked again. "You did mention you only caught a glimpse of his back, after all."

"That's true, but- but I recognized him, I know it was him," Asuna insisted, sounding candid. "I-I don't know how he disappeared like that or why he didn't answer me, but...it was Hiroshi, I'm sure of it."

Akira pursed her lips. _It's a strange story, no doubt- and yet it's not like this is the first time she's talked about what she saw. But then again, no one else was around when she 'saw' Ashi, so the chances of her story being a complete fabrication are quite high. But on the chance that she's being truthful...well, I'll just keep Izumi's story in mind for now._

"Okay- another thing..." Akira began. "Did anything odd happen to you while you and Yonade investigated the West Wing the other day? Or, perhaps, did you happen to witness anything else strange?"

"Aside from little blackouts in some of the rooms...? N-Not really," Asuna admitted. "I just...looked around the rooms, a-and when I was done I went back to the South Wing because me and Hinata agreed whoever was done should just go to the dining room i-instead of waiting for the other person."

Akira furrowed her brow. "And you went _straight_ to the South Wing?"

"W-Well, I did talk to Hana for a little bit in the courtyard..." Asuna added. "Uh- Akira, you saw me out there, remember?"

* * *

 _However, before Asuna could comment, another set of doors opened- these ones being the doors leading into the East Wing. Out of these doors came Akira, a stark contrast to Asuna's friendliness. The prosecutor looked around the courtyard for a moment, then caught sight of the two Ultimates standing by the South Wing's entrance._

 _"Amari, Izumi- what are you two doing?" Akira inquired as she approached them. "I don't suppose you're done searching."_

 _"Uh- I am. Hinata and I split up to cover more ground," Asuna explained. "I finished my area, s-so I figured I'd head to the dining room and wait for everyone else."_

 _"Hm- well, it just so happens I finished my search of the East Wing as well, so I was on my way there as well," Akira remarked. "...I'm not so sure about Amari, though- Izumi, leave us be."_

 _Asuna worried glanced back and forth between Hana and Akira for a few moments of awkward silence. Clearly, she understood the possible ramifications of leaving the two of them, of all students, alone together. However, one forceful glare from Akira was all it took for Asuna to obey the order, with the gardener quickly backing away through the ivory doors and into the South Wing._

* * *

Akira grunted. _Well, she's right about that- I did see her talking to Amari...at least I can say there's one part of her testimony that's true, then..._

The prosecutor then shook her head. _Of course, the rest of it clearly contradicts Yonade's story- so either one of them is lying, or there's something else going on here..._

"...Um...did I say something wrong, or...?" Asuna timidly asked Akira in response to the Ultimate's silence.

"...No. That was all I needed," Akira finally responded. "You can go now, Izumi."

"O-Okay, uh- good luck with the searching, I guess?" Asuna awkwardly responded. The Ultimate Gardener then stepped back, as if worried that Akira would suddenly have something else to ask her, before she slipped out of the wine room completely.

Akira, now in silence, worked a muscle in her jaw as she contemplated her latest findings. _With every answer I find...even more questions arise in its place. I shouldn't even be surprised at this point, and yet..._

With an angry sigh, the Ultimate Prosecutor finally departed from the wine room as well- she needed some other place to think things through.

* * *

Eventually, Akira found herself in the West Wing's spacious and peacefully quiet ballroom. With the silence, the Ultimate attempted to sort through the evidence she had found thus far...and yet, she could find no substantial connections beyond what she had deduced prior, and it frustrated her to no end.

 _This doesn't make any sense...at least with the last cases, I could...I could connect some of the dots in more substantial ways, but in this case...!_ Akira thought as she paced around the room. _The evidence, it all feels so...disjointed. Like there are so many pieces still missing- no thanks to that damn bear blocking off Ashi's room..._

Finally, she leaned against the piano, running a hand through her hair in stress- not that she'd let anyone see. _And yet, I...I know I looked at all possible places connected to this case. Was the killer that thorough in disposing of important evidence...? Am I looking at this all wrong...? Or is there something more going on...?_

The Ultimate expelled that last thought from her mind- this was no time to be delving into conspiracy territory. She looked downwards at the tiled floor and the piano, deep in thought...

...and then she saw the drag marks.

Furrowing her brow, the prosecutor leaned down to take a closer look; the scratches were barely visible on the perfectly polished tiles, and they didn't appear too old either. This meant two things: the piano hadn't been moved around too often, perhaps once or twice; additionally, whenever it _had_ been moved, it was fairly recently.

 _That's...odd...I don't recall these drag marks being here when the West Wing first opened..._ Akira thought. _And I know my memory is impeccable when it comes to odd details like that, so the chances of me forgetting are unlikely..._

Akira didn't know what compelled her to do what she did next; call it instinct, call it deduction, call it desperation. However, the Ultimate Prosecutor found herself pushing the piano to the best of her ability, even going so far as to follow the direction of the drag marks to the best of her ability. When she was done, Akira was not only tired, but there was a clear open spot on the floor where the piano had been.

 _Well now- what was the point of that? What in the world did I hope to gain by moving the piano?_ Akira chastised herself. _The drag marks were strange, yes, but..._

She examined the floor once covered by the piano for anything that would make the physical strain worthwhile- but then, she noticed something odd about some of the tiles. Some of the marble tiles appeared somewhat misaligned from the others- in fact, a whole rectangular section of the floor had that distinction. Akira furrowed her brow and knelt down next to the section, tracing her hand across one edge of it; the moment she pressed down on it, however, was when things changed.

It was preceded by a simple, stony clunk. In the next moment, the section of the floor she had been examining sunk down a little, and then slid underneath the floor with a stony grinding sound. Even Akira was unable to hide her shock upon witnessing this, but what struck her even more was what the sliding section of the floor unveiled. There, hidden by both the floor and the piano, was a set of stone stairs leading underground.

 _A...secret passage...? No, no- this is no ordinary passageway...these stairs, they- they must lead down to another set of catacombs, just like in the North Wing!_ Akira realized with growing disbelief. _But- I could have sworn Monokuma said the catacombs only extend underneath the North Wing..._

She then growled to herself. _What am I thinking? This is Monokuma, of course he wouldn't be so forthcoming with this kind of knowledge..._

Akira stood up, staring down at the hidden stairwell for what seemed like an eternity. _If these really are another set of catacombs, under the West Wing rather than the North Wing, then..._

The prosecutor adjusted her glasses as she continued to think. _Then...if there are more than one set of catacombs, then...is it possible these two sections...?_

Akira's gaze hardened. _I wonder- am I the first one to make this discovery? Based on those scratches, somehow I doubt it...and if my new theory holds water..._

She clenched her fist, as if to physically grasp the massive discovery she had just made. _Then...if someone did find out about these other catacombs before the murder..._

 _This secret...the secret of the catacombs...may be just what I need to point me to the killer._

* * *

 **A/N: Hooo boy, how's that for the first part of Deadly Life? POV switch! Because Hana got decked in the last chapter! ...I mean she gets better, like, halfway through this part, buuut she doesn't appear so that's irrelevant! Besides- I figured it'd be interesting to see things from the perspective of someone else for a change. No, not just anyone, but Akira- Hana's polar opposite and local rival character! Cool, right?**

 **But you may be wondering- what could be in store for the next part? Well, the most I'll say is that we'll be returning to Hana's POV, so FEAR NOT! She is alive and well! And uh- yeah. I don't really have too much else to say without giving away stuff- not that there's _too_ much to give away, but still. So, I- guess I won't waste your guys' time anymore. So until the next update- you know what I always say: speculate! Theorize! Do whatever y'all readers do, and I'll see you guys in the next part! Byyyye!**


	47. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 6)

**A/N: AAAAAAND WELCOME EVERYONE! Are you as excited for this as I am? Well if not- I dunno, you're still reading this, so thank you anyways!**

 **Welcome back to Fractured Fates, where the character deaths are brutal and their feelings don't matter! Today at long last, after some life stuff happened that prevented me from making quick progress, is the latter half of the fifth investigation (sort of...but I'll explain that later), which means one step closer to the dreaded class trial! Now, as I hinted at before- we return to Hana's POV in this part. That means, while Akira was getting down and dirty with the investigation, Hana...wasn't! And now it's time to remedy that- but will the loss of time hinder Hana's efforts to find Hiroshi's killer? Let's find out!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ Oh no indeed- and not just for the reasons you may think. Buuut I won't go into that little detail- and if your memory's good, you won't need me to! (wink-wink)**

 **And yes, a good ol' POV switch to shake things up a bit- interesting to see things from Akira's perspective for a change, no? At any rate, the speculation is great to see- now it's a matter of time to see if you're right at all.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Deadly Life (Part 2)**

 _"Wait, Hiroshi- come back to the dining room with me? Even if you're not that mad at the others, they'd want to apologize anyways..." Hana asked the coroner- she would have ran forward and grasped Hiroshi's hand if it wasn't for his aversion to physical contact._

 _"There's no need for that- besides, there's something I need to do," Hiroshi told Hana, stopping in his tracks but not looking back at her. "Something I should have done sooner..."_

 _"What...? Where are you going, what are you-?" Hana began, attempting to follow Hiroshi again._

 _Hiroshi turned back to Hana, his expression hard to read. After several moments of deep silence, he walked up to Hana- the surfer, meanwhile, was unsure of what Hiroshi was doing..._

 _However, the coroner leaned in and softly said to Hana, "Listen, Hana- there's something important I need to do, and something important I need to tell you. I won't be telling you right now, but soon- very soon, I will. Trust me, you'll know when. Until then- just wait for me, alright?"_

 _He stepped away, smiled that calm smile of his, and added, "And don't worry, okay? One way or another, things are going to work out- just keep having faith, Hana."_

* * *

 _There was a body suspended by that noose- the body of Hiroshi Ashi. His corpse was devoid of much blood, but it clear great harm had been done to the young man. His hands and wrists were badly mutilated, especially the former, and Hana could see traces of blood on the backs of his shoes, as if injury had been done to his ankles. His hair was matted slightly in one area on the right side of his head, as if he had received an injury in that spot. His outfit appeared normal, but the young man's trademark black vest was gone, leaving only his gray sweater; and most noticeable of all was the large kitchen knife sticking out of his chest._

 _Hana knew there was no denying it, but she didn't want to believe it in the slightest. There he was, the friend and classmate she and the others had spent almost a day searching for...hanging from the ceiling of the dungeon, lifeless. Hana wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn to the sight like a magnet; more specifically, she was staring at Hiroshi's face, at his eyes. His eyes were wide open- those gray, knowing eyes, once so full of confidence and secrecy, were now as dull as dirt._

 _It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. Hiroshi was not merely wounded- he was dead._

 _Hana backed away a few steps as reality struck her once more. Already, her breathing began to speed up, and her heart rate intensified tenfold from terror...and in that moment, the Ultimate Surfer was overcome with horror and grief, and so let out a piercing, horrified scream._

 _"HIROSHIIIIII!"_

* * *

Hana's eyes flew open in an instant and she drew in a sharp, terrified gasp. By the racing of her heart and the horrible memories, the surfer's thoughts immediately went to chalking up everything that had happened- the search of the North Wing, the discovery of...his body- to a bad dream. A simple (if vivid) nightmare, nothing more. There was no murder, no disappearance, everything was fine- _Hiroshi_ was fine.

Then, Hana realized she wasn't in her bedroom. Instead, she found she was staring up at the light-colored ceiling of the East Wing's medical room; propping herself up on her elbows, a look around the rest of the room and seeing the beds and cabinet of medical supplies confirmed this suspicion. Not to mention the girl could feel a dull pain on the back of her neck- the exact same spot Monokuma had struck her just before she lost consciousness.

 _Did...someone carry me here after I was knocked out...?_ Hana wondered as she fully sat up. _B-But then...me being here, me blacking out, my aching neck...th-that means...!_

Realization came crashing down on the surfer yet again. It...really hadn't been a dream- Hiroshi truly was dead, there was no denying it.

Coming to this conclusion caused the pain and grief Hana had felt before to resurface in full force, nearly overwhelming the Ultimate right away. She grit her teeth and lowered her head, burying her face her hands.

 _Hiroshi...! Oh my god, he...he's actually...!_ Hana thought, fighting back the urge to cry again. _I...I...w_ _hy...?_

 _H-How...could he be dead...? How could someone..._ do _that to him? After everything that's happened, everything we've all gone through...w_ _hy would someone kill again? Again!? And..._ she went on in her mind, wiping at her eyes to be rid of any tears threatening to spill over. _And...why Hiroshi...? What did he do to anyone to deserve dying like that? I...I don't get it at all..._

The surfer sighed and finally stood up, shaking her head. _I...I guess I can't keep putting if off, though. If I want to answer any of those questions, I need to investigate...again..._

Then, the thought of the investigation made Hana realize something else. _Wait...how long was I out?_

Panic instantly took hold of her, causing her to cry out to the empty medical room, "Oh, crap!"

Not giving herself any chance to think, Hana immediately sprinted towards the medical room's exit. There was no way to know how long she had been unconscious, but since Monokuma hadn't appeared at all for any reason clued her in to the fact that the trial likely hadn't started yet. However, that didn't mean she had a lot of time to investigate- for all she knew, the investigation could end in ten seconds. With the fear of not being able to investigate fueling her, Hana threw the door open with the intent of running through- only to find herself running into something (or, rather, someone).

"GAH!" someone shouted as Hana rammed into them- which the surfer quickly registered as Ryoto. Evidently, he had been about to head into the room right as Hana was running out, leading to the two colliding.

"Gh-! What the-!?" Hana yelped as she stumbled back from the impact. "Ryoto?"

"Huh? HANA! You're awake!" Ryoto happily exclaimed, running over and grasping Hana by her shoulders as if to confirm what he was seeing was real. "AND you're alive! That's great!"

"Y-Yeah I'm alive, it just got knocked out- I-I think..." Hana responded. "Right?"

"No, you're right, Monokuma knocked you out cold," Ryoto confirmed with a snap of his fingers. "Just like _that!_ So, Akira told me to take you here to the infirmary and to keep an eye on you while investigating."

"Oh, uh- thanks, Ryoto," Hana replied, shifting in her spot. "Uh- uh- hey, how long have I been out? Is there still time for me to look around and investigate?"

"Mmm- I'm not sure how long _exactly_ you've been out, but I _can_ tell you the investigation is still underway!" Ryoto confidently assured her with a nod. "I don't know how much time is left, but I'm sure there's a good amount of it! Enough for you to get down to the North Wing and do some of that good ol' sleuthing!"

"R-Really? W-Well then- yeah, I gotta get going!" Hana stammered, beginning to run past Ryoto towards the door. "Uh, shit, I- I didn't miss anything big while I was out, did I?"

"Not that I know of! Just normal investigation stuff, from what I've seen!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver told her, crossing his arms. "So, you should be all set. And if you ever need to ask Ryoto Miura about something weird, I'm _aaaaall_ ready for cooperation!"

Because of her rush to leave and start investigating, it didn't occur to Hana to ask Ryoto any questions at that moment. Instead, she quickly responded, "Y-Yeah, I'll- I'll remember that. Thanks Ryoto, uh- bye!"

With that awkward farewell, Hana ran past her classmate and was out the door in practically less than a second. She then continued on, running down the main hall of the East Wing towards the doors to the courtyard, not even wanting to think about how much time might have passed since she was knocked out. While she ran, Hana also fumbled to take out her e-Handbook and look at it- no doubt, the Monokuma File was on there.

When she saw the icon, around the time she was entering the courtyard, Hana wasted little time clicking on it. It was the same screen as all the other times, save for the number beside the text now depicting a red '#5'; she scrolled down to find Hiroshi's physical profile, just like usual. Hana then scrolled further down to see the actual autopsy report, scanning through it as she entered the courtyard.

 **The victim was Hiroshi Ashi. Time of death is unknown. The victim's body was found inside the North Wing dungeon. Cause of death is unknown; however, the victim's hands and wrists were severely mutilated, and both of his Achilles' tendons were sliced. The victim also received a single wound from blunt force trauma to his right temple and a single stab wound directly to the chest.**

Hana stopped dead in her tracks a few steps away from the doors to the North Wing. "What...the hell...?"

 _What kind of Monokuma File is this...? There's- There's no time of death, no cause of death- there's nothing here!_ Hana thought in dismay as she stared at the words on the screen. Then, she calmed down by telling herself, _Wait- I haven't actually looked at the body that closely. Maybe one of the things the File mentioned will end up being relevant? Or not so obvious?_

'The body'- how did thinking about the murder of a dear friend become something to nonchalant?

Shaking her head, Hana put away the e-Handbook and pushed open the doors leading into the North Wing. Looking around, the main hall did not appear any different from that morning; of course, Hana knew better than to judge a book by its cover. To that end, the surfer turned her gaze towards the hall leading to the dungeon- the crime scene.

"..." Just thinking about the dungeon was enough to cause the image of Hiroshi's corpse to resurface as vividly as ever in her mind, and she could already feel her hands starting to tremble.

 _Stop, stop- you_ have _to go to the crime scene, you've got to! How are you gonna be able to find Hiroshi's killer if you can't even investigate the crime scene?_ Hana scolded herself. _It'll...It'll be no different, you just...need to do it._

Taking a deep breath, the Ultimate Surfer made her way across the main hall and down the stone steps leading to the dungeon. She then stood in front of the iron door that served as the dungeon's entrance, momentarily frozen in place by apprehension. Taking another moment to steel her nerves as best as she could, Hana pushed the door open to finally begin her investigation.

* * *

Upon entering the crime scene- which was completely devoid of people, indicating the group had chosen to forgo crime scene guards this time- Hana noticed a few things had changed since she first found Hiroshi's body. The most glaring difference was the corpse itself; it was no longer hanging from the ceiling, instead having been lowered to the floor. Hiroshi was now lying on his back, his face towards the ceiling; in addition, the rope and the knife in his chest had been removed as well and were placed next to the corpse. This meant the area had been investigated by others already, so it was understandable that the victim's body was lowered- it would be difficult to investigate otherwise.

She took a few steps towards Hiroshi's body, her steps growing slower and slower until she finally stopped. At this point, all she could do was stare down at the Ultimate Coroner's body; by now, the sentiment that investigating yet another body would be 'no different' from all the previous was just plain wrong. It still felt like a dream, seeing Hiroshi of all people end up another murder victim- even now, a part of Hana was _still_ hoping this was all just some elaborate dream.

 _...Hiroshi, I..._ Hana began, taking a few more steps towards the body. _...What do I even say here...? Say to him?_

She then noticed Hiroshi's eyes were still wide open, now staring emptily at the stone ceiling, just like they had been when she first discovered him. Hana winced upon seeing this and glanced away for a moment- the last time she had seen one of the murder victims in such a state was during Kaneki's case, and she still had some aversion to the memories of that gruesome scene.

However, upon reminiscing upon that murder...she remembered something else. An exchange she and Hiroshi had during the initial stages of that investigation...

* * *

 _Hana figured the best place to start would be the body itself. Steeling her nerves, the girl approached Hiroshi and said, "Hey, Hiroshi. Have you...started looking over the body yet?"_

 _"Well...I was just about to," Hiroshi responded, his expression unreadable. "But...I got a little distracted, sorry."_

 _Hana looked down at Kaneki's body, and in an instant she understood. The explorer's face was still frozen in that look of pure terror, and Hana recoiled somewhat upon seeing her friend in such a state again. For a few moments, she and Hiroshi stared down at the body of their classmate, stuck in their own grief...then, Hiroshi's facial expression shifted somewhat as he knelt down. Hana thought that this would be when the Ultimate Coroner would begin his makeshift autopsy- however, Hiroshi proceeded to manually close Kaneki's eyes and mouth, making the Ultimate seem more...peaceful, in death._

 _"Just...you know, even in death, a person deserves some dignity," Hiroshi explained, glancing at Hana._

* * *

"..." Before she knew it, Hana found herself looking back at Hiroshi's corpse, walking over fully, and kneeling beside him. Taking a moment to herself, she reached over and manually closed his eyes and mouth as well- it was surprisingly easy, too. Once that quick gesture was done, Hana continued to kneel next to the body, her eyes starting to fill with tears again.

"...Hiroshi, I...I'm going to find out who did this to you. I'll make sure the blackened doesn't get away with this- I promise," Hana quietly vowed aloud, though she knew she wouldn't receive a response. Even still, her voice still hitched from the unshed tears, though she did her best to avoid breaking down again.

That's when she heard the door opening again with a loud creak, and someone walking in while muttering to himself.

It was Hinata, and he initially didn't notice anyone else in the room. But when he did, it came as a shock, and he instinctively yelped, "GYAH!"

"AH!" Hana cried at the same time, not expecting anyone else to suddenly walk into the dungeon. She practically jumped to her feet and quickly wiped at her eyes to remove any traces of tears in them.

"Hana? The hell, when did you wake up?" Hinata asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Um- a few minutes ago," Hana answered, walking over. "Ryoto told me the investigation's been going on for a little while now, so I'm just trying to get caught up with the evidence and all that."

After a moment of thought, the surfer asked, "Hey- did you find anything weird at all while you were investigating? Well- you have been investigating, right?"

Hinata scoffed. "Of course I've been investigating, I'm not _that_ lazy- that's actually the reason I came back down here."

"'Back' down? Oh, wait- were you the one that lowered Hiroshi's body from the ceiling?" Hana asked, glancing up at the beams where the rope was initially swung around.

"Yeah- Akira's orders," Hinata confirmed with a nod. "In fact, that's...kinda related to why I'm down here again. So, if you'll excuse me..."

He walked past Hana and bent to pick up one of the items next to Hiroshi's corpse- the rope, to be more specific. Hana raised an eyebrow as she watched Hinata look over the rope with such scrutiny, she had to wonder if it held all the answers to the killing game itself.

"Ah- Hinata? What's got you interested in that rope?" the surfer asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Hinata frowned, as if trying to figure out how to work his response, then explained, "It's weird, I- when I was lowering Hiroshi's body, when I was holding the rope, I got this weird sense of deja vu or something. Like, I know I've seen it- I've held this rope before. It's been bothering me since- so, I came back down here to look again."

Hana frowned in thought. "Well, I'm not sure about the 'familiarity' part, but...do you mind if I look at it too in a bit? I was gonna look at Hiroshi's body first, but that rope's clearly evidence too, so..."

"Hm- guess you're trying to be the new Ultimate Coroner, eh?" Hinata remarked with a teasing raise of his eyebrow. "But- knock yourself out. Hell, it probably wouldn't hurt for me to glance at that corpse a little more too, so I don't get messed up in the trial or whatever."

Hana nodded, then turned her attention back to Hiroshi. _What's that Hiroshi said...? 'Time to let the dead speak'? I'm not sure if he ever expected to end up on the receiving end of that- I sure as hell didn't- but either way...here's hoping the killer didn't silence him completely..._

She took a breath and knelt down, wishing she had a pair of those gloves Hiroshi always used in his examinations. To that, she found herself reflexively glancing down at the pocket of his jeans where he usually kept them- and that's when she noticed something odd. The pocket in question was completely empty- even feeling around inside herself (which was such an odd feeling, and Hana envied Hiroshi's ability to feel around a dead body without hesitation) further proved that. Additionally, feeling the pants pockets allowed Hana to realize the clothes Hiroshi was wearing- at least the shirt and pants- were somewhat damp. And there was one other thing about his outfit that bothered Hana...

"Hey- Hinata?" Hana asked. "Do you know what happened to Hiroshi's vest?"

"His vest? Nah- it was gone when the body was discovered, and I personally haven't seen it," Hinata answered with a shrug. "It's either in his room or the killer incinerated it, I'd think."

Hana internally cringed at the idea of Hiroshi's iconic vest being destroyed in some way. Still, it was an odd detail- the missing gloves and the lack of his vest, not to mention the dampness.

 _Those things alone would be weird enough, but..._ Hana pondered to herself. _If the Monokuma File's mentioning all these wounds- why aren't there more bloodstains? Hell, that stab wound in his chest alone should create a lot of bleeding, but there's...barely anything..._

She shook her head- there were too many oddities about the condition of Hiroshi's body to ignore. Thus, she took out her e-Handbook and made of note of them.

Hana then decided to look at the actual wounds on Hiroshi's body- and she decided to start with the stab wound, the most blatant and visible of all the injuries mentioned.

 _Hm- wasn't the knife stabbed_ into _Hiroshi when we found his body? Actually- someone else probably took it out earlier in the investigation..._ Hana surmised. _Can't really investigate with a huge knife in the body, can you?_

With the stab wound not yielding many other clues, Hana turned her attention to the actual weapon- the knife, which was lying near Hiroshi's body.

Looking down at the weapon- but not picking it up- Hana thought, _This- This just looks like a normal kitchen knife. Anyone could have grabbed this at some point, so that alone won't narrow down any suspects..._

Taking notice of Hana investigating the knife, Hinata spoke up, "You know- a big ol' knife stabbed into your heart...that'll kill someone pretty quickly, right?"

"Well- yeah, but it could just be a trick by the killer," Hana pointed out with a little frown, eyeing the thin hole in the gray fabric left behind by the knife. "I mean- the Monokuma File specifically called it out, and there's no blood on his sweater where the knife went in..."

"Well- maybe the killer cleaned the blood off? Or changed his clothes?" Hinata suggested with a shrug.

Hana pursed her lips. _I don't know...the fact that the killer left the knife behind like that...could that really be the murder weapon?_

Nevertheless, Hana made a note of the kitchen knife in her e-Handbook, wondering if it would still play a role in the trial whether it was the weapon or not.

Taking a deep breath, the Ultimate Surfer reached out to adjust one of Hiroshi's lifeless legs so she could take a look at his ankles. _Oh my god, oh my god I'm touching a dead body- I'm touching a dead body extensively, I'm doing it by choice, oh god oh-_

Once his leg was lifted enough, Hana was able to see the thin but deep lacerations cutting through the back of his ankles, just like the Monokuma File indicated. However, it wasn't just one cut- there were three, each one almost perfectly horizontal and parallel. Hana couldn't tell if all three of them were deep enough to slice through his Achilles' tendons, but based on the information provided by the File, at least one them had to be. Examining Hiroshi's other leg yielded the same findings: three cuts, almost identical.

 _Okay- I can guess getting your heels cut like that must hurt like hell, but...I'm pretty sure cutting the back of your heels specifically screws up your walking, right?_ Hana wondered, knowing she no longer had Hiroshi around to confirm or deny her anatomy questions. _I don't think it'd kill a person, though._

She then asked herself, _And- why'd they make_ three _cuts? What, did they screw up the first two? And how'd they make them so- identical...?_

With a little, frustrated sigh, she examined the wounds a little closer to see if there was some other detail that may provide an explanation; the only thing that caught her attention, aside from the lack of any damage or blood on the legs of his pants, was the fact that there was also very little blood around the ankle lacerations themselves. Well, see could see faint _traces_ of blood, but it looked like the majority had been washed or rinsed away.

The oddities too major and numerous to ignore, Hana also wrote down a note about them in her handbook.

"Hey Hinata- how's that rope looking?" Hana then spoke up, turning her attention to the thief in question.

"It's...a rope, that much is obvious..." Hinata responded, his face still screwed with skepticism. "Shit, what am I...?"

He glanced back at Hana. "And how's, ah...Hiroshi? Find anything really damning?"

The surfer sighed. "Not yet, but...there's still stuff I have to look at, so I'm definitely not done yet. God, how did Hiroshi do it...?"

"He's- he _was-_ a coroner, that's kinda their job," the Ultimate Thief pointed out. "He wouldn't really be the Ultimate one if he had an issue looking corpses, right?"

Hinata then went on, "You know- have you looked at Hiroshi's hands yet? They looked pretty bad- not that I've taken a hard look at his body myself, but just walking in the first time- well, they were probably the first thing I noticed. After the rope he was hanging from. And the knife in his chest."

"Oh! You're right!" Hana remarked, lightly smacking her forehead. _Fuck, that should have been one of the first things I looked at- I'm really not at the top of my game right now, am I?_

Seeing this, Hinata remarked, "Hey, don't beat yourself over it, Hana. I get it, you've been out cold for a couple hours, your best friend's fucking dead, you're still probably not feeling 100%- but don't go losing your cool just yet, okay? There's still plenty of time for you to catch up with investigating."

He then added under his breath, with much less confidence, "I think..."

Hana frowned for a moment at that last comment, but she nonetheless sighed and responded, "Well- thanks anyways, Hinata."

With that, she turned her attention back to Hiroshi's corpse, and moved her gaze upwards towards his hands. Once again, the information in the Monokuma File appeared accurate; there were several deep, nasty gashes cut into the flesh on his hands and wrists, nothing like the clean and precise lacerations on Hiroshi's ankles. Hana grimaced as she looked over them; no doubt, even if Hiroshi had survived whatever the killer had thrown at him, it would unlikely for him to be able to perform any autopsies in the future.

There was something else about the gashes that caught Hana's eye, however- much like the cuts on his ankles, these wounds had only faint traces of bloodstains around them, like someone had tried to clean away the blood in this area as well. But to what end? The gashes were still clearly visible, and Hana was unsure if slicing one's hands and wrists would be enough to kill them- so what was the point of trying to clean the blood away?

Hana hesitated for a moment, then adjusted Hiroshi's hands and arms to more closely examine them, hoping to find something else. And indeed, she did notice one more thing, quite obscured by the torn skin and rinsed traces of blood: faint red abrasions, quite extensive to that end and more severe in some areas, that extended completely around Hiroshi's wrists.

 _Well that's...suspicious..._ Hana thought to herself as she examined the scraped skin. _These aren't like the gashes at all- it's like something was...torn off his skin, almost...? Like...when you tear off a Band-Aid after a little while, but- worse. But...what the hell could have caused it?_

Unable to find any more strange details, Hana made some notes about the lacerations to Hiroshi's hands and wrists, as well regarding the abrasions around his wrists.

 _Okay...there's one more thing the Monokuma File mentioned..._ the surfer thought as she moved her examination even further upwards- to Hiroshi's head. _It said he got hit in the head...on his right side...?_

Examining Hiroshi's right temple, she saw what the File was referring to: a deep, round-ish impression, which also appeared to have been cleaned of any substantial bloodstains. Hana couldn't help but flinch upon seeing it, putting a hand up to her own head- the area where Tadao had bludgeoned her some time ago. Sure, the wound had mostly healed by now, but just looking at Hiroshi's own injury caused Hana's own head to feel like it was throbbing once again.

In remembering that, Hana realized the head injury could be just as valid of a cause of death as all the other injuries, perhaps from blood loss. Of course, there was the bigger question of what could have been used to inflict such an injury- although the castle was certainly well-stocked in all manner of blunt weapons.

 _I wonder- did the killer use a bottle, like what Tadao used on me?_ Hana asked herself. _But...shit, do I have time to go to the West Wing and look...? Maybe I could, uh..._

"Hinata- you and Asuna investigated the West Wing yesterday, right?" Hana questioned the thief. "Did you notice anything...weird? Or missing? Out-of-place, possibly?"

Hinata dryly chuckled. "Oh, I noticed something alright- but I don't think it's what you're looking for."

 _...What in the world is_ that _supposed to mean?_ Hana wondered, baffled. _Ah- I'll have to ask him in a second..._

She quickly made a note about the head injury in her e-Handbook, then looked down at Hiroshi's body one last time. _Man...so the Monokuma File really was useless after all- all it told me was stuff I could have easily seen by myself! And without a time or even a cause of death...hell, just about any of those injuries could have killed him! How am I supposed to narrow down anything in such a short time!?_

"...You know, I can't help but notice you still seem a little bewildered by everything," Hinata spoke up; it seemed he had given upon the rope and was now standing over the corpse and Hana.

"Well, have you _seen_ the Monokuma File? It doesn't tell us anything, there's barely any evidence on Hiroshi's body, I'm not an Ultimate Coroner so I can't do any autopsy stuff, the trial's gonna happen soon and I have ZERO idea what the hell I should even be prioritizing-!" Hana rambled on with growing frustration. "I've only looked at one area and already my head's hurting trying to piece everything together!"

"Whoa, whoa- what'd I tell you about losing your cool?" Hinata responded, putting his hands up as a 'calm down' gesture. "Look, did you...I dunno, did you look _under_ his clothes?"

Hana swiftly turned to Hinata and asked, bewildered, "Excuse me?"

"J-Just, like, under his shirt or something!" Hinata quickly added. "I mean- look at that stab wound in his chest. Don't you think you'd be able to see it better if you looked under his shirt? Maybe there's something you missed."

"You've...got a point..." Hana responded with a little frown. "But...aaagh, having to look at his body normally is hard enough, but to mess around with his clothes and everything else-!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Well, do you want me to do it?"

Hana stared at him. "Would you?"

"Sure, I mean- you're just looking at his chest and stuff, right?" Hinata responded with a casual shrug. "And I...kinda did some screwing around with bodies in the last case, so I guess you could say I'm a little more desensitized at this point."

He knelt down and remarked, "Besides, I like being around you more than I like being around Akira, so I don't mind doing this little favor for ya- you owe me for it, though."

"Oh- thanks," Hana responded with a little smile, her mood lifted somewhat.

Taking a little breath, the Ultimate Thief delicately grasped the bottom of Hiroshi's shirt in his fingers and lifted it, the slightly dampened fabric sticking to the coroner's skin somewhat. Hana wasn't sure what she expected- possibly some more faintly rinsed bloodstains originating from the stab wound, previously hidden by the shirt? Any preexisting expectations were thrown out the window, however, the moment Hiroshi's front torso was fully exposed.

Burns. Harsh, reddish-black burns that spread all over Hiroshi's chest and extended all over his body. They seemed to lessen in severity the further they were from Hiroshi's chest, to the point where they were practically nonexistent halfway down his forearms and shins- perhaps that was why Hana hadn't noticed them until now. Of course, the worst of the burns were concentrated around his chest area, making the stab wound in his chest difficult to spot at first glance.

"W-What the-!?" Hana yelped upon seeing the burns. "Burns!? Where'd these burns come from!?"

"W-Whoa! Man, this killer really went all out, didn't they?" Hinata remarked, just as startled. "God, that's rough..."

"Understatement of the year..." Hana responded with a grimace. "But what- what could have even caused these? Did they light him on fire at some point, or...or what?"

Though she would have preferred not to, the surfer had to look over the burns more closely. Just like all his other injuries, the most severe Hiroshi's burns showed signs of having been cleaned or rinsed of excess blood; whether the same had been done to the stab wound was impossible to tell.

"Well- I'm no detective, but I think these burns of his are your best piece of evidence so far," Hinata told Hana.

"What makes you say that?" Hana asked.

He gestured to her e-Handbook. "The File- I looked over it too, y'know. And I can tell ya one thing it _didn't_ mention at all."

Hana's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Indeed, among all the things mentioned and omitted from the Monokuma File, the strange burns on Hiroshi's body were in the latter group. And based on past experience regarding the Monokuma File having missing information...

 _I think Hinata's right- so far, these burns are the only real leads I've got..._ Hana thought with a little nod. With this in mind, she made a note about the burns in her handbook, then stood up to signify the end of her examination.

"I hope you're right about those burns being important, because that's the last thing I could get off of Hiroshi's body," Hana said to Hinata with a little frown. "Uh- you can fix his shirt now."

Hinata shrugged and pulled the deceased coroner's shirt back down, then stood up himself.

"By the way, Hinata- did you figure out anything about that rope?" Hana then asked, walking over to examine the item in question herself.

"Nah- I'm telling you, I've seen that rope before, just...can't put my finger on it," Hinata replied with a little sigh. "Honestly, feels like that whole thing with the Despair Drink all over again..."

Hana herself had to admit there was nothing particularly eye-catching about the long rope, save for one end being tied into a noose. Even so, it was the same rope used to suspend Hiroshi's corpse, so it had to have _some_ significance to the case. Thus, the Ultimate typed out a note about the rope as well.

"Okay...while you're here and done looking over that rope, I guess now would be a good time to ask- before, when I asked if you or Asuna saw anything while you were looking around the West Wing yesterday, you kinda implied you...did," Hana began. "Do you mind giving me a little more detail?"

"Well, I can try, but it's...kind of a weird story," Hinata admitted. "Do you remember the other day, when I told you guys about how I couldn't get into the wine room to investigate for a little bit because the door was blocked or something?"

"Yeah- you said it happened during another little blackout," Hana responded with a nod.

"Weeeell, I...might have forgotten to mention something," Hinata went on, glancing away for a moment. "And that's where the weirdness comes in. I didn't say anything about it the other day because _I_ wasn't even sure what to make of it, but since we're in another murder investigation..."

He shrugged. "Pay close attention, Hana- here's what actually happened when I tried to go to the wine room."

* * *

 _"EIYAAAAAAAH!"_

 _As another blackout engulfed the top floor of the West Wing, Hinata let out yet another shriek and bolted for the closest door he could find. He felt his hand close over a doorknob- the door to the wine room, he could only presume. However, when he tried to push the door open, the thief would realize the door wouldn't budge._

 _"Wha-!? What the fuck!?" Hinata yelped to himself as he tried to force the door open- to no avail. "What's goin' on here!?"_

 _As if things couldn't get any stranger, the Ultimate would then hear a voice, evidently coming from the other side of the door: "H-Hey! Please calm down, d-don't break that door please!"_

 _Hinata's eyes widened- though the door slightly muffled it, he recognized that high-pitched, slightly anxious, feminine tone anywhere. "A...Asuna? Is that you?"_

 _"Uh- y-yeah! Who else would it be, it's me!" Asuna sheepishly confirmed with a chuckle._

 _"W-Well- what are you doing in there? I thought we agreed- I search the top floor, you search the bottom, and whoever got done would just go to the South Wing!" Hinata responded, dumbfounded._

 _"Y-Yeah-? Yeah, but...I-I thought a bit of help wouldn't hurt, right?" Asuna explained. "So, uh- here I am! Investigating the wine room, by myself, no need to come in!"_

 _"No need to-?" Hinata began, trying the door again. "Why'd you block the door?"_

 _At that moment, the lights came back on, allowing Hinata to confirm that he was, in fact, in front of the wine room._

 _"B-Because I want to investigate alone! I-I won't be too long, don't worry! Hehe-" Asuna responded, just as sheepish as before. At that point, she went silent, and Hinata- realizing he couldn't force the door open- did the same._

* * *

"And that's all she wrote," Hinata concluded. "About a minute or two after the lights came back on, I was able to head in, but...Asuna wasn't in there. The place was completely empty."

"Okay...yeah, that's definitely weird," Hana agreed. "But...you're sure it was Asuna in there...? I mean, it's not like you could go in and see, so maybe-"

"No way- look, it may have been pitch-black, and the door may have muffled the voice a smidgen, but I'd recognize Asuna's voice anywhere," Hinata insisted. "It was her in there, I'm sure of it. Why, I don't have a clue."

"You and me both..." Hana muttered in response. _That can't be right...can it? I saw Asuna after she finished her own investigating. Or...did this happen before I saw her...? A little after, when me and Akira thought she was heading to the dining room...?_

Then, another detail crossed her mind, and she was compelled to ask, "Hold on...Hinata, you also mentioned something about the dumbwaiter not working anymore. It was...It was after all that with the wine room happened, right?"

"Yeah- I went in, no one was there, and then dumbwaiter was just...stuck. Wouldn't move no matter how many times I pressed that button," the thief answered.

"Did anyone find out why it was stuck?" Hana then inquired.

"Man, I don't know- and as far as I know, no one else's figured it out either," Hinata responded.

 _Well that doesn't help me much..._ Hana thought with a little frown. _And I don't know if I even have time to go to the West Wing and check it out myself..._

Hana grabbed her e-Handbook again to make a note of Hinata's account. "Well, thanks anyways, Hinata."

Hinata nodded, then spoke up, "Actually, Hana- while we're in the vein of questioning one another...did anything seem weird with Hiroshi the last time you saw him?"

 _Huh? Why would he ask...?_ Hana began to herself.

Then, she thought for a moment and answer her own question: Hiroshi was found to be missing yesterday, with the night before being the last time anyone- namely, Hana- saw him. Thus, the surfer came to the realization that she was the last one to actually, truly see and interact with Hiroshi before his disappearance and subsequent murder.

"...I...don't really know, honestly," Hana responded. "We talked, he...said there was something he wanted to tell me later, and then he just...went back to his room. And...that was that."

Hinata furrowed his brow. "Well- what was he gonna tell you?"

Hana sighed. "I don't know- that was the last time I saw him, remember? I _wish_ I knew, but..."

She then glanced at Hiroshi's corpse yet again. _Then again...if it was a choice between finding out what Hiroshi was going to tell me and Hiroshi still being_ alive, _then..._

Hinata shrugged and responded, "Welp- so much for that lead. I dunno- maybe that whole timeline of him being missing will end being a clue, I can't see why it wouldn't."

Hana nodded, remaining silent. _No doubt about that- Hiroshi didn't just disappear, he was gone for a whole day before he found his body. Between when I last saw himand when we found his body today...what could have happened to him during all that time...?_

"Well...guess I've found just about everything I could in here," Hana remarked, looking around again. "Not that I got that many answers to...anything..."

"Eh- maybe the rest of the wing'll give you better luck," Hinata suggested.

"Any ideas where I should look next?" Hana then asked, glancing back at the Ultimate Thief.

"Well I'll tell you where I don't recommend looking- the throne room," the young man replied. "I went in there myself to look around, and I didn't find a lick of evidence. Not even in that weird hidden room, which is ironic considering how suspicious it already is."

"Really? Huh- I'll take your word for it then..." Hana remarked. "And not just because I'm so short on time."

"Appreciate it," Hinata said with a little smirk. "Me- I'm sorry, but if I don't figure out the deal with that damn rope, I think I'm gonna lose it."

"I'm just wondering where the killer could have gotten a rope to begin with..." Hana muttered. "I never saw one in the storage room, not the armory or the furnace room or..."

She crossed her arms. "Actually, the only place I've seen a rope is the East Wing- you know, with the pulley in the tower."

"Mm- yeah, that-" Hinata began...before his eyes widened, he stared at the rope again, and he shouted, "HOLY FUCK!"

Hana jumped at the sudden exclamation. "Huh!? Why did-?"

"Oh my god, why didn't I remember it sooner!?" Hinata cried, completely ignoring his classmate. "I gotta- I gotta-!"

Before Hana could form a response, the thief quickly sprinted out of the dungeon, only yelling, "I gotta get going! I need to see something!"

"Wait, what!? Hinata!?" Hana cried, as she could do nothing but watch him run off to parts unknown. "WHAT DOES THAT _MEAN!?"_

However, Hinata did not hear her, and so the surfer was left alone with _far_ more questions than answers. She looked around again, the silence of the dungeon only unnerving her even more, before making the decision to leave as well.

 _I don't know how much time I've got left to investigate, so wherever I go next- I'd better make it count._ Hana told herself as she began to walk through the dungeon's entrance.

She couldn't help but make one last, solemn glance towards Hiroshi's motionless corpse. She then silently added to herself, _Just wait, Hiroshi- I'll find the truth behind this case, one way or another._

* * *

Ascending the stairs back up to the North Wing's main hall, a part of Hana was tempted to go up and investigate the throne room despite what Hinata said before- after all, assuming he was the killer, he could have been lying. However, in addition to wanting to have faith in the other Ultimate, Hana also realized how little time she most likely had to search every nook and cranny of the wing- thus, she decided to forgo looking at the throne room. Perhaps, if she still had time, she would investigate later.

Eliminating the throne room from her list of places to look, Hana realized there was really only one other place to search: the power room. With this in mind, she quickly jogged across the main hall and down the hallway leading towards the power room. In her rush, she barely even registered the secret entrance to the North Wing's catacombs in that very hallway- not that she would have stopped to investigate anyways. After all, even if the killer had hidden evidence down in those dark halls, Hana had a feeling she didn't have the time (or patience) to explore the maze and find out.

In what felt like no time at all, Hana was in front of the metallic door and pushed it open. Upon entry, Hana did not see anything initially- but rather, she _heard_ something odd. A crackling sound, almost like...static electricity?

Poking her head through the door, the Ultimate Surfer glanced around the room and immediately saw the source of the noise. There were a pair of large cables hanging low from the ceiling, with electricity sparking at the damaged ends. That wasn't the only thing that caught Hana's attention, however; she wasn't the only one in the room. She quickly caught notice of Ryoto again, standing precariously close to the cables, with his bright yellow hair being a stark contrast to all the metallic gray and silver around the room.

Having heard the door squeak open, the racecar driver turned around. "Oh! Hana Amari, good to see you! Been a while, eh?"

"'A while'-? You saw me earlier when I woke up," Hana reminded him, closing the door behind her.

"HAH! Ryoto Miura doesn't care about time when there's MYSTERY AFOOT!" Ryoto shouted with a laugh.

"Ah...alright then," Hana sheepishly responded.

She walked over to where the cables were hanging, opting not to approach too closely to avoid electrocution. _My god- look at the size of those things! And those sparks- I mean, I guess this explains the blackouts, but didn't Monokuma say he was going to fix whatever was broken in here...?_

Glancing upwards, she noticed some of the other cables hanging from the ceiling showed signs of tampering and repair, not to mention they seemed to have been shoved up into the ceiling more haphazardly than before. Thus, it seemed something had been worked on in the power room, and yet...

"Monokuma didn't really do the best job at repairs, did he?" Hana remarked as she stared at the cables. "I mean, just look at those wires hanging down there...!"

"I agree- I can't imagine why he'd try to do electrical work with those stubby little paws of his!" Ryoto responded, his arms crossed.

Hana glanced at the Ultimate again, once more noticing how close he was to the sparking cables. "I-In saying that...Ryoto, maybe you shouldn't be so close to the wires like that? It's kinda, you know- dangerous? Life-threateningly dangerous?"

"HAH! Ryoto Miura doesn't care about danger when there's MYSTERY AFOOT!" the young man shouted again.

 _...Why did I even bother?_ Hana asked herself with a little sigh.

She went on, "But isn't it kinda...weird? Monokuma made such a big deal about wanting to keep us out of the power room while he was 'fixing' stuff- hell, it was even the reason we couldn't go into the North Wing for a whole day! So how come the repairs aren't a little- you know, better?"

"PAY ATTENTION! I already said Monokuma's probably not the best at electrical stuff because of his little robo-paws!" Ryoto answered. "And as for whoever's controlling him...well, clearly they're no master of electricity themselves..."

"Apparently not..." Hana muttered.

She turned her eyes to the table on the other end of the power room, where the various tools used for electrical work were placed. From where she was standing, however, it was hard to tell how much use they had seen- and there was no way Hana was going to risk stepping through the live cables to reach the table.

"Hey- Ryoto- this cable's been like this the whole time, right?" Hana inquired.

"Right you are! And I even looked at that table over there, and someone DEFINITELY did some work in here!" Ryoto responded. "The wire cutters, the pliers, even those big ol' gloves all look like they were used!"

"Huh? How in the world did Monokuma fit those gloves on his-" Hana began, baffled- only to come to an even worse realization and blurt out, "H-Hey! You didn't actually walk through those cables, did you!? You could have gotten electrocuted!"

"All in the name of catching a killer, Hana! Besides, I'm fine- look at me!" Ryoto responded, spreading his arms out in emphasis.

 _Well, maybe I should be thankful- Ryoto looking at that table earlier means I don't have to risk zapping myself to get some info..._ Hana pondered to herself. _Honestly, this whole room- there's something suspicious about it, I can feel it. I don't know how related it is to Hiroshi's murder, but...I can't ignore it._

With that, she took out her e-Handbook and made a note about the power room- how it was closed off, the live wires, the tools and gloves, all things suspicious.

"Actually, Ryoto- I am kinda glad I ran into you here," Hana then remarked after some typing on her gadget. "I kinda wanted to ask you something about your searches yesterday. You know, of the other wings."

"Huh? What do you wanna know?" Ryoto asked, frowning in confusion.

"Just...did you see anything weird?" Hana began. "You and I both searched the South Wing, so I don't think you saw anything weird there, but...what about the East Wing? You looked around there too, right?"

"I did! And I can confirm- something weird DID happen!" Ryoto answered with little hesitation. "You're the second person today to ask me about it, actually!"

"Second? Who was the first?" Hana curiously asked.

"Akira- a little bit after you woke up," Ryoto told her. "And since I'm NOT the killer, and so I've got nothing to hide, I'm gonna tell you EXACTLY what I told her!"

"W-Well- okay!" Hana responded, readying her e-Handbook to type down Ryoto's information.

"So, first of all- I didn't find anything in the East Wing either, and you're right about nothing weird happening in the South Wing either..." Ryoto began. "But the East Wing? No- something DID happen while I was looking around there!"

"Well, don't leave me in suspense! What was it?" Hana immediately inquired.

"Okay- by itself, it didn't seem like that big of a deal, but it was still suspicious!" Ryoto explained. "I was searching the whole wing, everything was normal aside from the occasional blackout. BUT THEN-! I, Ryoto Miura, arrived at the watchtower, and that's when the weirdness began!"

He continued, "The stairs were still broken, so I couldn't go up to the apex, but despite that...I heard someone up there! Someone was rustling around in the stuff up there- like, the sacks and crates and shit. And even when I called up to them, they didn't say ANYTHING! LIKE THE SNEAK THEY WERE!"

Hana furrowed her brow. "So someone went to the top of the tower before you got there? Did you see any bridge or something they could have used?"

"If I did, you can bet your ass I would have SPRINTED up there to see who it was! But there wasn't anything there, so I had to run over to the armory to grab something myself!" Ryoto went on. "And for the record- nothing looked missing from the armory either, so whatever the person used to cross the gap in the stairs did NOT come from there!"

"Okay...but I'm guessing you never got a chance to see who was up there, right?" Hana deduced. "You keep saying 'the person' and 'the sneak', so..."

"Ahaha- smart as ever, Hana Amari! Yeah- the individual must have slipped away while I was at the armory, so I never saw who it was!" Ryoto lamented. "Just- POOF! GONE! VANISHED! ADIOS!"

"Well...yeah, that's suspicious alright..." Hana muttered as she typed. "But what happened when you got to the top of the tower? Even if you didn't see the person who was up there, did they leave behind anything?"

"Nope! The most suspicious thing I saw was the pulley being dismantled, but that was it!" Ryoto answered with nod.

"Okay, the pulley-" Hana said...before gasping. "Wait, what did you say?"

"The most suspicious thing I saw was the pulley being dismantled, but that was it!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver repeated, the same tone as before.

"The- The pulley was dismantled? How?" Hana asked, still dumbfounded.

"Uuuh- I didn't look at it that closely. I remember the platform was on the ground instead of being suspended by the rope, so..." Ryoto responded, crossing his arms in thought.

 _The rope...! The rope from the pulley system...!_ Hana thought as realization dawned on her. _Could the rope used on Hiroshi...come from there? And if that's the case, then...that would explain..._

* * *

 _"I'm just wondering where the killer could have gotten a rope to begin with..." Hana muttered. "I never saw one in the storage room, not the armory or the furnace room or..."_

 _She crossed her arms. "Actually, the only place I've seen a rope is the East Wing- you know, with the pulley in the tower."_

 _"Mm- yeah, that-" Hinata began...before his eyes widened, he stared at the rope again, and he shouted, "HOLY FUCK!"_

 _Hana jumped at the sudden exclamation. "Huh!? Why did-?"_

 _"Oh my god, why didn't I remember it sooner!?" Hinata cried, completely ignoring his classmate. "I gotta- I gotta-!"_

 _Before Hana could form a response, the thief quickly sprinted out of the dungeon, only yelling, "I gotta get going! I need to see something!"_

 _"Wait, what!? Hinata!?" Hana cried, as she could do nothing but watch him run off to parts unknown. "WHAT DOES THAT_ MEAN!?"

* * *

Hana grimaced to herself. _But...I can't confirm it unless I go to the eastern watchtower myself, and I don't know if I have the time...!_

"Heeeey, Hana? You look like you've got a headache," Ryoto remarked with a little frown.

"It's...nothing," Hana responded with a shake of her head. "Thanks, Ryoto- that information helped a lot."

She then inquired, "Actually, come to think of it- is what happened in the watchtower the reason you patted me and Hinata down this morning?"

To that, Ryoto suddenly grew nervous. He glanced away, wrung his hands, and began, "Aaaaah, hehehe...about that- my reasoning for doing that was...a little unrelated to the thing with the tower..."

"'A little unrelated'?" Hana began, then glared at him. "So then what _was_ the reason you did that? Seriously, I'm still curious about that, and even though it may not be related to Hiroshi's murder, I still want some answers!"

"I-I-" Ryoto stammered, looking very cornered. "If...I Ryoto Miura answers you, then- then you have to promise not to freak out, got it!?"

Hana stared at him. "...Ryoto. What does that mean?"

"I...I...!" Ryoto began, visibly hesitant. "RYOTO MIURA FAILED AGAIN!"

Hana continued to stare, only now it was in bewilderment. "F-Failed? Failed at what?"

"Do you remember...remember the kitchen knife I took yesterday? The one I planned to use to defend myself from another kidnapping? The one I kept in my room?" the young man began. "This morning...when I woke up...the knife...WAS GONE!"

Hana's jaw nearly dropped. "You...lost the knife...?"

"I don't know how it happened...true to my word, I kept the knife in my bedroom, more specifically under my pillow..." Ryoto began, still rather panicked.

"You _lost_ the _knife?"_ Hana asked again, this time more firmly and angrily.

"But then, this morning, it was just- just GONE!" Ryoto cried. "I tore my whole room apart to find it, but it was NOWHERE! Nowhere at all! It just vanished! But no- no, I know it was no ordinary disappearance-"

 _"You lost the knife!?"_ Hana shouted, throwing her hands up.

"IT WAS STOLEN!" Ryoto shouted back.

"A-Are you sure!? You're sure it wasn't anywhere else at all!?" Hana demanded. "You searched _everywhere_ in your room!?"

"I promise!" Ryoto responded. "I swear on my life, I swear on your life-"

"Don't go dragging _my_ life into this!" the surfer angrily yelled in response.

"Like I said, it wasn't anywhere in my room!" Ryoto explained. "Sooo, the obvious conclusion is that it was STOLEN! Hence why I patted you and Hinata down, so I could try and find before-! Before...!"

"Before...?" Hana began, only to gasp in horror. "Oh no...! Ryoto, don't tell me-! The knife we found in Hiroshi's chest, was it-!?"

"It was my knife- the knife I took for protection yesterday..." Ryoto admitted. "THE KILLER BAMBOOZLED ME! I'VE BEEN TRICKED BY A KILLER _AGAIN!_ RYOTO MIURA, MORE LIKE ULTIMATE _FAILURE!"_

"But- But that doesn't make any sense! How could anyone have taken the knife if it was locked in your room the whole night!?" Hana yelped, dumbfounded by this turn of events. "And even still, h-how can we be so sure the knife used on Hiroshi was the same one you had? The kitchen...the kitchen has tons of blades in there, really!"

"No...No, I know, deep in my heart, that the knife we saw at the crime scene was the one I had..." Ryoto refuted, shaking his head. "Like I said, I looked all over my room to find it, but it was nowhere to be seen- consider that evidence of my knife and the knife at the scene being one in the same..."

Hana frowned deeply, but made sure to make a note of this new information regarding the knife in her e-Handbook. _Well, that's one mystery solved, even if it does open the way to a bunch of other questions. But still- just because the knife is the same one Ryoto had, that doesn't link him to the murder...does it...?_

She sighed and told him, "Well- I wish you hadn't taken the knife to begin with, but it's not your fault someone took it. Besides- it's not like the knife was the clinch that caused the murder in the first place, so I wouldn't go calling you an 'Ultimate Failure' because of it."

Ryoto hummed to himself for a moment, before shouting, "AHA! You're right! I did everything I could to keep that knife out of someone else's hands- it's not my fault someone was crafty enough to break into my room and take the knife!"

"Haha- there you go!" Hana happily affirmed. _Phew- glad Ryoto's the type to bounce back from being all sad so easily. That optimism- I'm glad to have it around, especially now..._

"HAH! Maybe if we can find out how the knife went missing, we can narrow down who could have killed Hiroshi!" Ryoto declared. "And that's what exactly what I'm gonna do with the little time we have left!"

"Yeah, that's-" Hana began again...only for her apprehension to suddenly spike up. "Wait, what do you mean 'little time'?"

"Well, the investigation's been going on for some time now- even less time for you, since you were knocked out before-" Ryoto explained. "I dunno, I just feel like the investigation's gonna be done pretty soon."

Hana's fear only grew upon reaching this conclusion. _Oh my god- he's right! I've been out for so long, and I've been investigating for even longer...!_

"You...You're right, I-" she stammered in growing panic. "I-I need to get going! Th-Thanks for everything, Ryoto!"

Without giving the Ultimate time to respond, the girl sprinted out of the power room and back into the hallway outside.

* * *

Once outside the power room, Hana ran back down the hallway and reentered the main hall of the North Wing. From there, she...didn't go anywhere else, at least not right away. She furiously paced around the hall, back and forth and back and forth, turning the evidence over and over in her mind in an attempt to draw some kind of conclusion- _any_ conclusion that may help in identifying Hiroshi's killer.

 _I've got a good amount of evidence, and yet...and yet, it barely fits together! There's so many gaps in so many places, I know I'm missing stuff...! I just don't know what, let alone if I have time to find it!_ Hana thought to herself in increasing frustration. _And not even that- what about what happened with Hinata in the West Wing? What Ryoto heard in the East Wing? Hiroshi disappearing in the first place? And then there's what Asuna saw just last night-_

Then, she gasped. _Wait- Asuna! I still need to talk to her! About what she saw last night, and about what Hinata told me about...maybe, just maybe, something she'll tell me will give me some kinda lead! Right now, it's the only thing I can hope for!_

Nodding to herself, Hana took off towards the doors leading into the courtyard- she had no idea where Asuna could be, but she had to search anyways. There was also no telling how much time was left in the investigation, but that was all the more reason to track down the gardener before-

"Huh-? Hana...? H-Hey! Hana! Over here!"

-or, perhaps, the student she was looking for would find her first.

Hearing the call, Hana stumbled to a stop and turned around; the voice sounded somewhat far off, but not too distant. Sure enough, on the other side of the main hall and atop the stairs, the Ultimate Gardener was standing and gazing towards Hana.

Overcome with relief, Hana called back, "Asuna! Oh thank god, you're exactly who I was looking for!"

Hana immediately ran over to the stairs; Asuna, meanwhile, quickly descended from the stairs to meet the surfer.

"Hana, I- I had no idea you were awake," Asuna remarked once the two were face-to-face. "When did you wake up?"

"Ah- a little bit ago," Hana answered. "I've been investigating ever since. As a matter of fact, investigation was the reason I was just going out to look for you-"

She glanced up at the top floor of the North Wing. "Um- did you just come from the West Wing?"

"Yeah- uh...Akira wanted my help with something, and I...didn't have much of a choice," Asuna explained, glancing up at the the hallway leading to the West Wing.

The shorter girl then shook her head and told Hana, "B-Before we keep talking, though, I-I need to know- are you okay?"

"Okay...?" Hana began. "Uh...physically or emotionally?"

"..." Asuna hesitated, then answered, "Ah- both?"

Hana winced. "Physically, I'm fine enough. Emotionally, I'm..."

She glanced away. "I...I'm focusing on the investigation, okay? This is all still so surreal, Hiroshi of all people ending up as a victim, but...but solving this crime is the most I can do for him. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Turning back to Asuna with a more steely gaze, Hana went on, "And that includes asking you some things, Asuna."

"O-Oh- okay! If it helps you, then- whatever you need to know, I'll answer as best as I can," Asuna responded with a resolute nod.

Hana let out a little sigh of relief in response to the gardener's cooperation. "Okay. Okay, well- can you tell me again about what happened when you saw Hiroshi last night?"

"That...? Well- it's like what I told you guys last night," Asuna explained. "I had forgotten to lock the storage room prior to dinner, so after dinner I went upstairs to do just that. I was leaving the study just after 10 that night, and when I did..."

"That's when you saw Hiroshi at the end of the hallway, right?" Hana spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. I saw him just as he was heading into the East Wing," Asuna replied. "I tried calling out to him, but he didn't respond. And when I ran after him, he- he was already gone. I turned the corner into the East Wing, and...just as quickly as I saw him, he was gone."

She frowned. "It's still a weird story, I know...a-and I wish I could make sense of it, even now. B-But, even so- w-what I'm telling you is the truth, Hana, I swear!"

Hana took a moment to think, then responded, "I'm not doubting you- especially since your story hasn't changed since last night, so that adds to the credibility."

She frowned and went on, "But...you're right, it's still super weird to think about. Why would Hiroshi have ignored you...? And how could he have just...disappeared like that...?"

"Those are...good questions, but- I don't know...I just don't know..." Asuna replied, her gaze going to the floor. "All I know is...is, based on everything, I...guess I'm the last person to have seen Hiroshi alive..."

"E-Even still, it- it at least confirms Hiroshi was still alive and walking around last night, right?" Hana reassured her. "That...should help in the trial, right...?"

 _That's right...Asuna was pretty forthcoming and honest with me, so willing to help me out- just like always._ Hana told herself. _She's...not the kind of person who'd kill my best friend. With that honesty, it must mean she's got nothing to hide- that she's not the killer! ...Right...?_

Even so, Hana grabbed her e-Handbook yet again and made a note about Asuna's account in her e-Handbook. Sure, it wasn't exactly new information, but it was important nonetheless.

"Hey- Hana?" Asuna then spoke up. "You said you wanted to ask me some _things,_ right...? As in, you wanted to ask me something else...?"

"..."

Hana thought about her other question, and thought about what had prompted the question in the first place- about Hinata's claim that Asuna had blocked him from entering the wine room for some unknown reason.

 _...If I ask her about that, will she still be as forthcoming...? What Hinata talked about, it was super suspicious, so what if she denies it...?_ Hana wondered. _I've been doubting a lot of things today, and I'll probably be doubting stuff during the trial..._

She glanced away, hesitant. _I...I don't want to give myself even more doubt, doubt towards_ anyone, _least of all towards Asuna, of all people...!_

"...It's...nothing," Hana finally answered. "Nothing- forget it. It's not that important, really- I don't have any other questions for you. Don't worry about it."

Right as Hana insisted on that, as if on cue...

 _Ding dong, bing bong_

The monitor closest to the girls turned on (as did all other monitors throughout the castle, presumably), and Monokuma's grinning face appeared. Seeing him on that throne, Hana had to wonder if Monokuma was on top of those stairs right now, in that throne room, recording and broadcasting this latest announcement to all the surviving students.

"You know what I love best about time? If you play your cards right, you can use it against people in so many ways! If you tell people to come to your birthday party at 3:00, but then decide to change it to 2:00 without telling anyone, you can guilt trip them into giving you even better presents!" Monokuma rambled on the screen. "And on the subject of time and inevitability...your guys' time is up! Please report to the usual spot for the class trial as soon as possible- don't dawdle, or else I might just switch up the deadline on you!"

The monitor went dark again- and with it, Hana's face grew pale.

 _The investigation...! It's over...!?_ Hana asked herself in fear. _N-No way! There's still so much I haven't investigated and- and- I didn't get a chance to look around Hiroshi's bedroom at all! And I always look at the victims' bedrooms!_

Asuna sighed. "W-Well, I...guess we'd better get going...again..."

Noticing Hana's apprehension, she asked, "Hana...? Everything okay...?"

"Y-Yeah, it's just, I...I wish I had more time to do more investigating..." Hana admitted with a little gulp. "I...I wish I hadn't let myself get knocked out...if I hand't tried to attack Monokuma, I might have had more time..."

"Hana, don't- don't worry about that, it's...not like you're going to be the only one trying to solve Hiroshi's murder," Asuna reassured the surfer. "We're all going to try our best to find the blackened, no matter...no matter what, right...? All...of us..."

The more she spoke, the less sure of herself Asuna became- and Hana could immediately guess why. Despite everything the class had gone through, someone had given in to murder once again- and the rest of the students would have to sacrifice that person for their own survival, once again. With that in mind, Hana understood how conflicting it was, especially with so few students left...

For all Asuna knew, Hana herself could be the killer.

"Let's just...let's just go," Hana finally spoke up. "We can't skip out on the trial and live, so..."

With that grim response, the two Ultimates made their way down the North Wing's main hall and towards the courtyard.

* * *

When Hana and Asuna walked out into the courtyard, they immediately noticed someone was already by the fountain: Akira Rimutsu, who appeared rather annoyed and deep in thought.

Despite this, Hana couldn't help but blurt out, "Huh? Akira?"

Hearing the surfer caused Akira to glance up and see Hana and Asuna. "Mmph- Amari. So Miura was right- you really are awake. I hope you didn't waste whatever time you had left to investigate."

"I didn't," Hana told her, walking down the stairs. _I see she's as friendly as ever- and this time, I'm not even gonna have Hiroshi to counter her bitterness..._

Akira gazed at Hana for a good moment, as if she had something else to say...before she shook her head and turned away, her frustration even more palpable.

Not long after Hana and Asuna's arrival, the doors to the North and East Wings opened almost at the same time, and Ryoto and Hinata entered the courtyard respectively. Neither of them said anything, both deep in thought in their own ways as they stepped towards the fountain themselves. Hana looked around at the small group, which was deathly silent; everyone was either gazing off contemplatively or glancing at the others with suspicion and doubt. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

Seeing everyone so on edge, Hana turned to the side in the hopes of receiving some words of advice or encouragement from Hiroshi...only to immediately remember who the victim of this case was.

 _...I need to stop forgetting he's gone...I need to accept it, sooner or later...especially sooner, because..._ the surfer sorrowfully told herself. _Because...with this latest trial...I won't be able to rely on his support to help me..._

 _I'm going to be completely, utterly on my own._

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Akira sighed and spoke up, "Okay- before we go into this trial, I need to confirm one massive elephant in the room..."

She glanced towards the sky, as if expecting to discern the time from the sun and sky. "Did anyone notice this particular investigation felt somewhat...shorter than the others? At least to an extent?"

"N-Now that you mention it- y-yeah, it...did feel a bit short...!" Asuna responded with a little nod.

Hana, however, furrowed her brow. "Uh- did it...?"

"Ah, you wouldn't know, Hana- you were knocked out for almost half of it," Hinata pointed out with a sigh.

 _First- rude, but true..._ Hana thought to herself. _Second- if Akira's observation is true, then...maybe I shouldn't feel too bad about not being able to investigate fully...? Maybe the others ran into a similar problem...?_

 _...But somehow, I doubt that._

Before the discussion could continue, however, the scenery trembled and quaked- the usual predecessor to the fountain's transformation. By now, the sight had gone from awe-striking to mundane and routine- and if anything, it served to strike dread and apprehension into the hearts of the students.

Hana took a deep breath upon seeing the elevator, telling herself, _Remember what Hiroshi told you, Hana- 'trust in the evidence'. That's how I'll find the truth- one way or another..._

Clinging to Hiroshi's mantra, as it was the one thing she could truly believe in at this point, she and her four classmates stepped onto the platform as they had done many times before. Soon enough, the gate popped up and the elevator moved downwards, leaving the five Ultimates to await the end of its descent underground- all the while, the air still being heavy with suspicion and fear.

As for Hana...well, she was still attempting to get used to Hiroshi's absence. No matter how she tried to 'accept' his demise, there was no denying the lack of his presence on that elevator just felt...well, wrong. Sure, death was inevitable, especially in this killing game, but for it to come for the Ultimate Coroner himself...well, it was as shocking as it was ironic.

By now, the elevator ride was so uniform, it felt over in moments- or perhaps Hana was still just numb from the loss of her dear friend. Whatever the reason, the group stepped off the metallic platform the moment the gate lowered and onto the stony floor of the stony hallway. The silence persisted as they each walked down the hall towards the entrance to the trial room- although, for Hana, her own thoughts filled the silence enough.

 _Hiroshi Ashi...the Ultimate Coroner. He was...he...what can I even say about him that I haven't said before? He was...he was one of my closest friends, one of the first people I met when this killing game first started, the one who consistently helped me and supported throughout everything...! Not just me- he believed in everybody, he saw good in all of us, even when it seemed unreasonable...I still don't understand how he could keep up that attitude, but it was one of his best aspects. To think that...someone like him, even he couldn't survive this damn, game, he..._

 _...Why...? That's all I want to know- why Hiroshi? Why did he have to die, and die so...so brutally? Even if I never find out what he was going to tell me, I at least want to know why the blackened decided to take his life...what could he have possibly done to justify it...?_ Hana wondered, her fists tightly clenching. _And not just that...after what we've all been through, could one of those four...really be capable of killing him...? Maybe I'm just being sentimental, but..._

 _Asuna..._

 _Ryoto..._

 _Hinata..._

 _Even Akira..._

 _Can I...really live with accusing one of them of being Hiroshi's killer...? Am I gonna be okay with_ convicting _one of them and sending them off to a horrible execution, just like all the other killers...? I...I really don't know anymore...!_

The group pushed the red doors open and stepped into the trial room. The room's latest design...well, it was probably the most disturbing so far. The walls and floor were made from bluish-black stone bricks, with pillar-shaped molding spread out along the circumference and extending up to the ceiling. Iron torches were attached to the pillars, but their light was dim and only added to the creepy ambiance of the room. Chains dangled from the ceiling, and a few skeletons could be seen cuffed by their wrists to the walls and suspended; this was accompanied by what looked like dried bloodstains of various sizes scattered on the walls. Admittedly, the skeletons and bloodstains were most likely fake, but even so- they added to the feel of this trial room being in a true medieval dungeon.

As usual, Monokuma sat in his own seat- the color of which greatly contrasted with the rest of the room- and this time, he seemed particularly eager. "Welcome, welcome, blah blah blah- hurry up and get to your spots! I'm _dying_ to get this trial started- not as much as this case's victim though! Puhu- now _come on!"_

Monokuma's ushering only slightly improved the pace of the grim students, who did as they were told regardless. Once in her own spot, Hana immediately took notice of the two latest memorial portraits added to the others- both of which were right next to her. To the podium on her immediate left, Hiroshi's portrait, the same grayscale headshot with a standard red 'X' painted over it; to her immediate right, Rumi's portrait, but her photo did not have the typical 'X' shape that all the other culprits had. Instead, her photo was splattered with red paint droplets that appeared somewhat diluted, as if to emulate water or rain drops on a window or glass pane.

The five students were still gazing at one another- some were trying to mask the apprehension and doubt in their eyes, others (mainly Akira) were not being so subtle in their suspicion. One thing was still certain, however- Hiroshi's killer was among them, and for their survival the spotless would have to weed them out, whatever it took. Hana knew that, deep down, and yet...she couldn't deny the strong connection she had to each and every one of them, and the connection they had to each other. The idea that one of them had committed such a gruesome murder...could it really be true?

And thus, whether the class was ready or not...the curtain rose on their fifth murder case. A deadly mystery...a deadly betrayal...who was the blackened? The only way to find out was to survive the class trial- a class trial of life...or death.

* * *

 **A/N: And so, after a long delay, Deadly Life has officially come to an end!**

 **So, to make some time stuff clear- in Part 1, Ryoto told Akira about Hana waking up around the halfway point, if not a little after; so that means this part, or at least the actual investigation stuff, is taking place at the exact same time as the latter half of Part 1. Which you can kinda see in a few places- Ryoto being back in the North Wing after Akira saw he was just entering it in Part 1, Asuna coming from the West Wing after Akira's request, Akira not being in this part at all until after the investigation because, by the time Hana woke up, she had finished in the North Wing and was looking around the other wings...**

 **I thought having that be a thing and explaining it here would help put some time stuff into perspective, especially in regards to Akira's comment about the investigation being a bit shorter than usual- because, if you really think about it, this investigation wasn't exactly two halves like in the other chapters, this investigation really only took place in one part. If...that makes sense. And hey, will the fact that the investigation was a little short end up being important? ...Perhaps- or perhaps not. You'll just have to wait and see!**

 **But for now, it's that time again! Put your speculation to the test, and vote on who you believe the killer is! I'm very interested to see what you guys think, especially this time around. The code for the strawpoll is right here: 38x86pas**

 **And in the meantime, leave a review, speculate, compare and contrast Akira and Hana's stuff, do whatever you gotta do during the wait for the fifth class trial! I hope to see you guys there- bye-bye!~**


	48. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 7)

**A/N: Well- here we are, everyone. The penultimate class trial, the complex and wild one, that one that makes people go "WHAT" before the finale which** ** _also_** **makes people go "WHAT"! It's the fifth class trial, after forever! I won't beat around the bush here, I'm just gonna let you guys get straight into it! The mystery of Hiroshi's death shall begin to be unraveled (possibly)- today!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _gabriswitch:_ Thank you! That's a pretty big thing to say, with so many Fangans out there, but even still- I'm glad my story made it into one of your favorites! And anyways- yeah, there's a pretty interesting bit of trivia in regards to Chapter 5 and how I developed the case- but I can't go into it now, since the trial's only just started. Maybe later on, I'll talk about it.**

 ** _HoneyBeeGirl94:_ Aha- no regrets, making that TV Tropes page! But, ah, I do hope you managed to avoid spoiling yourself on the story's events (unless you're not concerned about that sort of thing).**

 **Anyways- I did my best to ensure the deceased characters would be remembered in some way, even if it's just small call-backs and such- still something, you know? They're all a little important to some extent. And I'm also glad you enjoy Hana so much- I also did my best to make her a fun and enjoyable protagonist, or at least more than just an audience surrogate (nothing against characters like Makoto and Hajime, I like the canon protags).**

 **And finally, thank you for the predictions, speculation gives me** **strength- now, it's just a matter of time to see which is right and which is wrong! And don't worry- with readers like you and everyone else, I don't plan on abandoning this fic on my own free will.**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ No, give me your theories, I need them to fill my stomach**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Class Trial (Part 1)**

 _ **Class Trial: START!**_

 _ **ALL RISE!**_

"Now then, let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma declared, almost as identical as the four trials that came before. "So, your votes will determine the results! If you can figure out 'whodunit', then only the blackened will receive punishment. But, if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one who deceived everyone else will graduate!"

 _Punishment, execution, blackened students...it's just like all the other trials..._ Hana told herself as she looked around at the others. _So why...why can't I stop feeling so...scared? Scared, and- and tense? I've done this four times now, haven't I? Even if I'll never be totally used to it, I still...I know what I have to do, so...why am I still hesitating...?_

"As usual, I'll start with a brief summary of the case," Akira began while Hana pondered to herself. "The victim was Hiroshi Ashi, the Ultimate Coroner. The Monokuma File...well, it doesn't give an estimate of the time of his death at all, but it does make mention of his body being found in the North Wing's dungeon."

From there, the room fell into a vacuum-like silence- and it wasn't hard to figure out why. It was usually at this point that Hiroshi would chime in with his general analysis of the victim's body...but with Hiroshi being the victim himself this time, there was no one to perform that role, leaving a void in the space where he would have spoken.

"...Continuing on..." Akira finally spoke up in an attempt to fill the gap. "The, er- the Monokuma File also didn't mention a specific cause of death, but it did describe the _many_ injuries Ashi received from his killer. A stab wound to the chest, a wound to the side of his head, cuts to his ankles and wrists..."

"Not only that- but the killer even hung up his body, right?" Hana spoke up- no matter what apprehension she still had, the surfer knew she couldn't just ignore the discussion. "That's also-"

"I'm the one talking now, Amari- don't interrupt," Akira forcefully told her, sending a silencing glare the Ultimate's way.

 _W-Wow...not even five minutes in, and she's already shutting me down..._ Hana said to herself. _I should have known Akira wouldn't make this easy for me, either- as if this_ alone _didn't make me worried enough..._

"Oh yeah- what was the deal with that?" Ryoto asked. "The Monokuma File- it didn't have _anything_ in it that we couldn't clearly see for ourselves! Not even a time, not even a time FRAME! It was just about useless!"

"Useless!? I'll have you know I slaved over a hot computer to get all the information on there to you brats!" Monokuma angrily interjected. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to type with _these_ hands?"

"Are we supposed to care? Because we don't," Hinata stated, giving a small yet strong glare at the robotic bear.

"That's a good point, though...we don't know the time of death _or_ the cause, so...we should figure out one of those first..." Hana remarked thoughtfully. "But the question is- which one?"

"Personally, I...think we should sort out the cause of death first," Asuna suggested. "Th-There'd probably be more evidence pointing to that, right...?"

"My thoughts exactly- we'd be better off sorting out how Ashi actually died first, and we can work our way to the killer from there," Akira agreed with a nod. "Any objections to that?"

No one objected. Hana thought to herself, _Well yeah, it sounds nice an organized in writing, but...with the lackluster Monokuma File and with so much evidence to sort through_ and _with none of us being experts in forensics, I've...got a really,_ really _bad feeling about this..._

"Well if we're trying to sort out the cause of death, then there's something really fuckin' obvious we should talk about first..." Hinata spoke up. "You know- the fact that Hiroshi's body was _strung up and hanged?_ Just a little suspicious if you ask me."

Upon remembering the grisly sight described by the thief, Hana couldn't help but visibly wince...

"W-Well, personally, the very first thing that comes to my mind is..." Asuna began. "Could Hiroshi have hanged himself. Like...a suicide...?"

"NO! There's no way Hiroshi killed himself! He never would have done something like that!" Hana suddenly snapped at the girl.

"S-Sorry! But don't we need to consider everything?" Asuna asked, immediately tensing up due to the surfer's anger.

"That's certainly _an_ idea, but it's highly unlikely," Akira responded. "Yes, the rope was tied into a noose, but there was nothing in the dungeon that Ashi could have used to help with hanging himself. Not only that, but most hanging victims exhibit a broken neck of some kind, and Ashi had no such injury."

"Buuut that doesn't mean the rope _wasn't_ involved in his death, right?" Ryoto pointed out. "Maybe the killer just hung him like that so we'd _think_ it was a suicide, when in reality they...uh, strangled him or something!"

"That seems a bit more likely- but we'll need to discuss it further to know for certain," Akira conceded, crossing her arms.

 _Seems a bit early to say for sure, but- was Hiroshi really strangled?_ Hana, who had calmed down, asked herself. _Either way, that rope's a pretty big part of this case- seems only natural that we'd talk about it so soon._

"S-Strangling someone isn't that easy, is it...?" Asuna asked.

"It's not- but it wouldn't be the first time someone committed a murder using that method in this castle," Akira reminded the gardener. "And with a rope tied into a noose, I imagine it would be even easier."

"Gotta have a good amount of strength to do it though, don't you?" Ryoto then inquired with a thoughtful pout.

"Like Akira reminded us- Tadao was able to do it, he was probably like...average strength, I'd say," Hinata responded.

"But...there's something else weird about that rope..." Asuna muttered. "Where in the world did the killer even get it? That's not...something you can easily find in a place like this..."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana quickly interjected in response to the other Ultimate's questioning. "Normally, I'd agree with you, Asuna, but someone heard something the other day, and...I think it can explain where that rope came from-"

"You don't even need to go that far, Amari- I can attest to where that rope came from," Akira interrupted the surfer. "During my investigation, I had a hunch about where the rope came from, and after a trip to the East Wing, I was able to confirm its origin..."

She concluded, "The rope used to hang Ashi was the same rope used with the eastern watchtower's pulley system!"

Hana went silent for a moment, before softly responding, "I...don't disagree with that at all, I just figured that out myself, I was just going to point out-"

"Well, if it helps, I can personally confirm what Akira found," Hinata spoke up. "When I helped her lower Hiroshi's body, I had the weirdest feeling of...like, I recognized that rope, and I mean really recognized it. Turns out, that was because I _had_ used that rope before...when I screwed around with the pulley during Shiori's case."

"So the rope came from the East Wing! That's easy enough to understand!" Ryoto summarized with a boisterous laugh. "Man, Hana, that's probably what you were gonna say, right?"

"Ah- sort of," Hana responded- having her thunder stolen in such a way discombobulated her thoughts completely, at least in that moment. "I was going to tell them about what you told me, Ryoto- about what you heard in the watchtower last night?"

"Huh...? What did he hear?" Asuna asked, surprised.

"Ryoto told me about how, when he looked around the East Wing yesterday, he heard someone rustling around the top of the watchtower," Hana explained. "But he didn't see who it was, because they had already left by the time he found a way up there."

"Right...the stairs in the eastern watchtower are still broken after the incident with Sauchi, so you'd still need a way to bridge the gap," Akira went on. "Or be an expert free-runner like Yonade."

"Right- I've been wondering about it ever since it happened, and I AT LEAST wish I saw whoever it was! Especially if the perp used that rope on Hiroshi, then maybe-" Ryoto began...only to let out a loud, dramatic gasp. "OH MY GOD! Akira Rimutsu, you just gave me an idea!"

Akira furrowed her brow, skeptical. "Did I now?"

"Oh yeah! I think I know who was at the top of the watchtower!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver declared. "The one who took the rope, and the one who killed Hiroshi with it!"

"Huh? Just like that?" Hana blurted in surprise. "Wh-Who, uh...who do you have in mind, exactly...?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about HINATA!" Ryoto shouted. "THAT'S RIGHT! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, I'M ACCUSING HINATA YONADE OF BEING THE KILLER?"

"W-What!? Me!?" Hinata yelped. "Why!? Just because Akira made that free-running comment!?"

"EXACTLY! You're the only one with the skill to jump across that gap without needing a bridge- and what did I NOT see? A BRIDGE!" Ryoto yelled. "AHA! I've figured it out!"

"...Uh- Ryoto, I know you like accusing people with...next to no evidence..." Asuna began. "B-But I _really_ don't think now's the time to-"

"N-No, no! My accusations are legit this time, I swear!" Ryoto insisted, putting his hands out in his haste. "I-If you just listen, I'll explain why Hinata's the culprit!"

"Seriously!? No one's gonna entertain that!" Hinata angrily responded.

"Actually- I'd say we should discuss it a little further, if only to see if Miura's claims _actually_ hold any weight," Akira stated. "Who knows- we may figure something out, one way or another."

"R-Really...? I'm seriously a suspect...?" Hinata lamented. "I didn't do anything- and I'm not even trying to mislead you guys this time!"

 _Poor Hinata- he just became real friends with Ryoto, and he gets thrown under the bus by him right off the bat..._ Hana thought, sympathetic. _Still, I don't think it's anything personal, Ryoto just wants to find the killer like the rest of us. But still_ er, _I know Ryoto's usually quick to accuse people, but the way he just_ immediately _latched onto Hinata being suspicious...is he just that desperate to name a suspect for some reason...?_

She then said to herself, _And not only that- Akira's_ actually _humoring him? Oh god, we really are in deep trouble, aren't we?_

"So if you really think about it, Hinata's literally the only person who could have taken the rope!" Ryoto insisted. "He's crossed the gap in the stairs without a bridge before- WHO'S TO SAY HE DIDN'T DO IT AGAIN!?"

The racecar driver went on, "AND there's the fact that I never saw anything the killer used to make a bridge, both before and after I made it to the top of the tower- SO _THERE!_ MORE PROOF!"

"Here's an idea- maybe the killer _moved_ whatever they used as a bridge? So no one would see it?" Hinata suggested in irritation. "And when you came back from wherever you went, the person left and took their 'bridge' with them?"

"But there are only so many things someone could use as a makeshift bridge, the majority of which coming from the armory," Akira pointed out. "And if Miura's information is accurate, then nothing was missing from the armory when he went down there to obtain something to cross the gap."

"Th-Then again...there's a lot of stuff in the armory- maybe Ryoto just didn't notice...?" Asuna suggested.

"NO WAY! I would have noticed if something was gone from the armory, I swear on MY LIFE!" Ryoto refuted. "Believe me, the only thing taken was the two axes I used to get up the stairs- that was it!"

"That's still not proof that _I_ was the one you heard up there!" Hinata shouted. "They could have used something else to cross the gap!"

"Like what, Yonade?" Akira inquired with a glare.

"NOTHING! Face it, Hinata's the most suspicious one here right now!" Ryoto yelled. "He'd have the means to take the rope, and he's be strong enough to use it to strangle Hiroshi! And that's how he died, right!?"

At last, Hana had something she could use to further discussion, and so she wasted no time stopping Ryoto's train of thought with, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Just a second, Ryoto- can we really say Hiorshi was strangled to death?" the surfer inquired. "Because I don't think it's that simple."

"HUH!? Why not!?" Ryoto yelped.

"Because there was nothing on Hiroshi's body that proved he was strangled!" Hana answered. "Remember what he talked about during the third trial? Saku was strangled to death too, and he had a lot of telltale signs of it."

"...She's not wrong..." Akira begrudgingly remarked. "The hemorrhaging in his nose and mouth and ears was proof of Yamamoto's true cause of death, so it stands to reason Ashi would exhibit similar symptoms if he was murdered in the same manner."

"But...Hiroshi didn't have anything like that," Hinata pointed out. "No blood in his ears, or nose, or mouth...and there's no bruising around his neck either..."

"So that means, whatever the rope was used for, it definitely wasn't the murder weapon," Hana summarized. "And that means, even if Hinata did take it, that doesn't necessarily make him the killer-"

 _"YOUR BRAIN NEEDS A PIT STOP!"_ Ryoto suddenly shouted at Hana before she could continue.

"M-My- what?" Hana stammered. "That doesn't even make any sense..."

"IT'S AN OBJECTION, IT DOESN'T _HAVE_ TO MAKE SENSE!" the Ultimate yelled back. "Anyways...you make some good points, Hana Amari- but that doesn't completely prove the rope wasn't used to kill Hiroshi, let alone that Hinata didn't do it!"

"W-What...?" Hana began, baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well then, PAY ATTENTION! Because I'm gonna explain it to ya RIGHT NOW!" Ryoto declared with a confident grin.

 _This guy...why is he like this...? Why can't things just be a_ little _simpler for once?_ Hana thought to herself with a mental sigh. _Well- if we're gonna move the discussion along for real, I need to disprove whatever Ryoto's talking about..._

"Okay, so maybe Hiorshi didn't have any bleeding out of his face- but not all strangulations are the same, right? A person's not gonna have bleeding every single time, right?" Ryoto pointed out, crossing his arms. "And as for the bruising- Saku didn't have any bruising on his throat when _he_ died, either! So why's it so weird that Hiroshi didn't either!?"

"With Saku, the killer used a softer material to strangle him- _that's_ why he didn't have any bruising," Hana reminded the racecar driver. "But Hiroshi? Assuming he _was_ strangled, the killer used a rope- that's way less soft, and definitely would have left behind some marks!"

"WOULD IT!? You don't know that for certain! Maybe Hiroshi just wasn't strangled hard enough to leave behind any bruising! That's possible, right!?" Ryoto demanded. "And the rope was the only thing the killer- probably Hinata- could have used anyways! So that 'no bruising' thing is just a moot point! MOOT, I SAY! The murder weapon was the rope, no doubt about that, and that means-"

Hana let out a little gasp as an idea formed in her head- an idea that indicated a contradiction in Ryoto's argument. With this, Hana shouted right back at him, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

Before Ryoto could respond, Hana immediately rolled ahead and explained, "No, Ryoto- the rope couldn't have been the murder weapon! It couldn't have been used to _strangle_ Hiroshi, let alone by Hinata!"

"Huh!? It's not because of the corpse, is it?" Ryoto asked, baffled.

"No- it's the rope itself," the surfer told him with a shake of her head. "Now, I'm not an expert on strangulation, or ropes, or...strangulation _with_ ropes, but if I had to guess...if you used a rope that way, pulled it tight enough that you choke someone to death...wouldn't it be damaged a bit? Frayed, maybe?"

"I-I, I don't know, maybe?" Ryoto responded with a grimace.

"...It might, actually- rubbing a part of the rope so strongly, as you would when strangling someone, would cause the part wrapped around the victim's neck to become noticeably frayed," Akira explained- once again, she seemed to hate agreeing with Hana, but even she wouldn't argue with concrete evidence. "I've studied many a case where that occurred, actually."

"But...that rope's not exactly new, right? It was used as part of the pulley system in the tower, s-so wouldn't it have some damage already...?" Asuna inquired with a frown.

"Yeah, _some_ wear and tear- but not to the extent that, as far as I know, it would have if Hiroshi was strangled with it," Hana refuted. "Nope, it just looked like a regular, everyday rope..."

She then yelled, "Which means Hinata couldn't have used it to strangle Hiroshi! Simple as that!"

"But- But I heard _someone_ screwing around at the top of the tower! And the rope CLEARLY came from there!" Ryoto stammered. "If it wasn't Hinata who took it, then- then WHO!?"

"I...can't answer that, Ryoto, but I think we can assume for now that it wasn't Hinata," Hana responded.

"And besides- I confirmed where the rope came from, didn't I?" Hinata pointed out with a glare. "Why would I do something like that if I was trying to get away with murder?"

"But...hold on- if Hiroshi really wasn't strangled, then...what was the point of hanging his body like that...?" Asuna wondered aloud.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was partially to confuse us even more about his cause of death..." Akira pondered. "But the more major reason was probably simple sadism on the part of the killer."

Hana's face paled. "S-Sadism? Hold on, isn't that going a bit- you know, far?"

"And what does religion have to do with it, anyways?" Ryoto also asked.

The prosecutor went on, ignoring both of them, "In all of the previous trials, the bodies were rarely ever tampered with in such a way. Yes, sometimes the corpses were moved from one room to another to hide the true crime scene, and sometimes the culprit did something to obscure the means of death- but those actions were done out of _some_ form of necessity for the killer, and they never escalated to anything too extreme."

Akira shook her head. "But this? Suspending Ashi's body with the rope? Aside from being a sloppy attempt to further obscure his time of death, there was no practical reason for the blackened to do something like that! And yet, they still did- so it must have been an act of particular cruelty, a way to taunt all of us as it were."

"TAUNT US!? No one taunts Ryoto Miura and gets away with it!" Ryoto shouted in anger.

Hana grimaced at Akira's words. _Taunt us? Sadism? No, there's no way...there's no way anyone here would do something so cruel! I've known them since this killing game started, I just...I just can't believe any of them would...do something like that, just to_ taunt _us or something... How crazy do you have to be to do that?_

"Okay, as...fucked up as that is..." Hinata began, shaking his head. "Can we finally agree that I'm not that much of a suspect anymore?"

"For now, Yonade- but yes, it looks like Miura's baseless accusations have wasted our time again," Akira responded, narrowing her eyes at the Ultimate in question.

Ryoto's gaze went down, and he actually looked rather crestfallen by the response. "B-But I...I thought I _actually_ had a point this time..."

"Y-You know, Ryoto...maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people..." Asuna told him, with an odd firmness to her voice. "After all- you're..you're even more suspicious than Hinata was!"

Hana's eyes widened in surprise as she listened. "Asuna...?"

"..." After a moment of silence, Ryoto burst out laughing. "AHA! AHAHA! Ah, good one Asuna- for a second there, I thought you were accusing _me_ of being the killer!"

"I am!" Asuna yelled at him.

"Hahaha! Hah...hah..." Ryoto began, still jovial...until, evidently, he fully processed the gardener's words. "HUUUUUH!?"

"Not so fun bein' in the hot seat now, is it!?" Hinata growled at the racecar driver- but then asked, "...But seriously, why is he suspicious?"

"I'd like to know that too- and I'd hope you're not trying to waste our time like Miura did," Akira replied with a narrowed, scrutinizing gaze.

"N-No, I swear! I've got a good reason for suspecting him!" Asuna quickly insisted. "It's a pretty big reason, too- come on, you guys all saw it, y-you've _got_ to know what I'm talking about!"

 _I don't like how_ she's _just jumping to accusations now, like Ryoto was, but...we've gotta keep discussing the case_ some _how, I guess..._ Hana hesitantly thought to herself. _What's Asuna talking about, though...? Something pretty major, something we all saw, something we should really know about..._

Having thought of the answer, Hana spoke up, "Are you...talking about the knife? The one in Hiroshi's chest?"

"Yeah! A-And you guys remember what Ryoto told us about the other day, right...?" Asuna explained. "Also related to a knife?"

* * *

 _Just as Akira was turning to leave, however, Ryoto blurted, "WAIT A SECOND! There's something I gotta tell you guys!"_

 _Without even waiting for a reaction, Ryoto whipped out the thing he had shown Hana earlier and slammed it onto the table: the kitchen knife._

 _Hinata, Asuna, and Akira stared at the weapon for a good few seconds; Hana, meanwhile, softly sighed and put a hand over her face in exasperation._

 _"...That there's a knife," Hinata remarked, nodding at the weapon in question._

 _"Yeah it is!" Ryoto agreed with a pleased grin._

 _"Miura- would you kindly explain_ why _you have a knife?" Akira inquired with a glare._

 _"A-And where did you even get it from...?" Asuna also asked with a concerned grimace._

 _"Protection, he took it for protection..." Hana explained, not taking her hand away from her face._

 _"And I got it from the kitchen!" Ryoto elaborated. "And for the record, it's not_ just _for protection- well, it is, but there's more to it than that!"_

 _He went on, "See, while I was amazingly searching, I got to thinking- if Hiroshi was suddenly kidnapped outta the blue in the dead of night, who's to say the one responsible won't strike again, huh? Well, they're not gonna get the drop on Ryoto Miura, that's for sure! Ergo- THE KNIFE!"_

* * *

"He made it very clear to us that he had taken a large knife from the kitchen- a-and that knife, if I remember correctly, looked just like the one used to stab Hiroshi!" Asuna went on with a nod.

Akira, however, simply raised an eyebrow. "So your reasoning for suspecting Miura is because of the knife?"

She scoffed. "It's a better line of reasoning that Miura's, but there are many knives of the same type and design in the kitchen- how can you be sure the one Miura took and the one in Ashi's chest were one in the same."

"WELL! Since I, Ryoto Miura, am NOT the killer- I've got nothing to hide! So, I can tell you guys that it WAS my knife!" Ryoto boldly claimed. "Hana knows what I'm talking about, don't ya?"

"I...do," Hana responded with a frown. _Why do I get the feeling this is gonna backfire horribly? Not much I can do about it, now that he's put me on the spot like this... Might as well tell them about_ that...

"Ah...Ryoto told me, that...well, this morning, he..." Hana began, trying to figure out how to explain in a way that wouldn't incriminate Ryoto any more than it already would. "Hinata- do you remember this morning when Ryoto kinda confronted us outside the dining room?"

"Yeah, don't remind me," Hinata responded. "Didn't ask to spend my morning being tackled by someone..."

"Weeeell, the reason he did that was...that morning, according to Ryoto, he..." Hana hesitantly began again. "He noticed...theknifehetooktheotherdaywasmissing."

Despite the very quick delivery, Akira seemed to decipher it well enough, and her eyes widened accordingly. "What did you say? Miura- _lost_ the knife?"

"I might not have lost it! It might have been stolen!" Ryoto quickly added.

"You _lost_ the _knife!?"_ Hinata yelped in shock. "The hell, dude!? Didn't you learn anything from the other trials? Missing knives- hunting, kitchen, whatever- they are ALWAYS bad news!"

"I KNOW THAT! I didn't _ask_ for it to go missing! If it weren't for the murder, I would have scoured the ENTIRE castle looking for it!" Ryoto yelled in response.

"But...wasn't it in your room the whole time...?" Asuna inquired, more baffled than shocked.

"Ryoto told me he had it in his room last night, yeah," Hana explained. "But when he woke up this morning, it was just...gone. Right, Ryoto?"

"That's right! And it's even more baffling because my room was locked and secure, and no matter where I looked in my room it just...wasn't there!" the racecar driver confirmed. "I don't know, I don't know how the killer did it, but knives don't just VANISH out of the blue and then reappear in your classmate's chest!"

"Well, don't look at me again- I didn't take it!" Hinata immediately claimed. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't because of that one rule of Monokuma's, about not being able to break into locked rooms. And if your room was locked like you said, then..."

"I...Ryoto, do you- do you actually expect us to believe any of that?" Asuna demanded. "I'm sorry, but your story...i-it's just too impossible!"

"IMPOSSIBLE!?" Ryoto yelped. "B-But it's true! Really!"

"I don't think so! Th-The idea that you kept the knife locked in your room all night, a-and then it just inexplicably disappears by the time you wake up..." the gardener went on. "E-Even the idea that it was stolen is impossible because of the locked door! N-No one could have broken in to your room even if they wanted to, th-the rules don't allow it!"

"I have to agree, Miura. So far, your story has just been that- a story, just your word," Akira responded. "But you have nothing to confirm or back it up, do you? And for the record- you telling Amari the same story you're telling us now does not automatically make it credible."

"Y-You've gotta be joking! _I'm_ the main suspect now!?" Ryoto cried. "But- But I didn't do anything! I'M INNOCENT, I TELL YA!"

 _And there's the backfire..._ Hana lamented with a sigh. _Asuna makes a good point, though...Ryoto's story is pretty unbelievable without evidence to back it up...so does that mean he was lying...? Was he lying to me before...?_

The surfer immediately perished the thought. _No. No, there's no way Ryoto's the killer- he may have had the knife, and his story may be weird, but I know he's not capable of killing Hiroshi like that. I can't prove his story right or wrong...but maybe I can find something else to convince the others that Ryoto's innocent._

"I-I don't want to think you killed Hiroshi, Ryoto, but..." Asuna began, taking a deep breath. "Right now, you're the likeliest suspect!"

"FALSE! Just because I had the knife before the murder doesn't mean I was the one who did the stabbing!" Ryoto refuted. "I told you, it went missing! Probably stolen, even!"

"Again, that's just your story- and a strange one indeed..." Akira remarked. "I can't fathom a way in which the culprit could have broken into your bedroom to steal the knife."

"Yeah- you said you had your door locked, right?" Hinata inquired.

"A-And you're sure it was in your room when you fell asleep last night?" Asuna added.

"Y-Yes to both of those..." Ryoto answered with some hesitation.

"Then how, pray tell, could the knife have been stolen?" Akira demanded. "The fact remains that you were the one with the easiest access to the possible murder weapon- and your story about it going missing is nothing but hearsay."

"That's right! A-And it was odd of you to take the knife in the first place!" Asuna remarked. "But you making it clear to all of us that you wanted it for protection...th-that must have been to make yourself look less suspicious!"

"Yeah- then all you had to do was grab the knife, leave your room while we were all asleep, find Hiroshi..." Hinata went on. "Then _bam!_ You plunged that knife right into his chest!"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana suddenly refuted- at last, an issue in the theory against Ryoto presented itself, and as such the surfer wasn't about to let it slip away.

"Hinata- are you saying the stab wound to Hiroshi's chest was the cause of death?" the Ultimate then inquired once she had the students' attention.

"Well, yeah- did you see that thing? How could it _not_ kill him?" Hinata responded, bewildered.

"Y-Yeah, but...what if it's not that simple?" Hana replied. "What if...the knife in his chest wasn't what killed him either?"

"W-What...?" Asuna began, her eyes widening in surprise.

"WHAT!? But the knife must have gone straight through his heart! No one could survive that!" Ryoto shouted.

"...Ryoto, this is helping you," Hana flatly reminded the Ultimate Racecar Driver.

Ryoto blinked a few times, then happily replied, "Oooh! In that case, I agree with you 100%!"

"Enough games- Amari, do you have evidence to prove the stab wound wasn't what killed Ashi?" Akira demanded. "If not, I suggest you kindly shut it."

"Well- if Hiroshi was stabbed right in the heart, wouldn't there be _a lot_ more blood?" Hana asked. "But...there wasn't. No matter where you looked, there was barely any blood around that stab wound. And do you guys remember what Hiroshi told us about, during the second and third trials?"

"Hiroshi talked about a lot of science shit, you're gonna have to be more specific," Hinata responded.

"He told us about how, after a person dies, their blood stops flowing, and they stop bleeding- no pulse, no blood flow," the surfer clarified. "That's how we figured out the stab wounds Kaneki had were from _before_ she died, and the slit in Saku's stomach was done _after_ he died- remember?"

"I-I...remember..." Asuna replied with a frown. "So...you're saying because there was no blood around the stab wound in Hiroshi's chest, it's...a case of the latter...?"

When Hana nodded in confirmation, Akira scoffed. "Quite the story you've come up with, Amari- however, it has a significant flaw!"

The Ultimate Prosecutor went on, "In case you didn't look at the body close enough, the majority of Ashi's wounds were rinsed of any bloodstains- meaning it would be difficult to know for certain which wounds exhibited more bleeding. Surely, if the killer rinsed off most of Ashi's other injuries, who's to say they didn't do the same with the stab wound, the potential fatal injury?"

 _Shit, I forgot about that...! Of course the killer would do something like that to throw us all off, the killer never makes things that easy for us! Or me!_ Hana thought, apprehensive. _I can't give up now, though- the more I think about it, the more sure I am that the chest wound is just another red herring...but do I even have evidence to prove it...?_

Hana then took a moment to calm herself and suppress her growing panic. _No, no- there's_ gotta _be something that proves it. Maybe...I just need to...look at the evidence a little differently. Look for a different angle!_

It took her a few seconds to think, but finally the answer- or _an_ answer, at least- came to her. Clinging to that little bit of hope, Hana answered, "Okay- maybe the killer did rinse the wounds off...but that doesn't explain why there was no blood on his shirt, either!"

Akira narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"That knife was stabbed through Hiroshi's shirt too- you guys all saw, and the big hole in the fabric is even more proof," Hana explained. "But if that's the case, then the shirt should have been covered in blood too! And there's no way the killer could have just cleaned it off- blood doesn't come out of fabric _that_ easily!"

"W-Well...maybe the killer went into his room and got a spare shirt, then swapped the bloody shirt out with the clean one?" Asuna suggested. "Then...stabbed him...again...?"

"You know, that's actually where I was headed next with this," Hana remarked. "I think that's exactly what the killer did- they switched out Hiroshi's bloody clothes with clean ones, then stabbed him in the chest to confuse us even more about how he died!"

"That's possible! With Hiroshi dead, they could have totally taken his room key off of him and got into his room without worrying about Monokuma's breaking and entering rule!" Ryoto agreed. "Plus, we do have weird identical copies of our clothes."

Akira glared. "While that would explain how the stab wound was done post-mortem, it's just speculation at the moment- do you have any actual proof, besides the knife, that the blackened swapped Ashi's outfits to hide evidence?"

 _Maybe not physical proof- but I'm sure observations are the next best thing._ Hana told herself, her gaze determined. _Either way, I can't choke up here- there was something missing from Hiroshi's outfit, and I need to make that clear to everyone right now!_

"How's this for proof: did anyone notice how Hiroshi was missing his vest?" Hana responded, crossing her arms. "No, not _just_ his vest- his pants pocket didn't have any latex gloves in it either!"

"O-Okay, Hiroshi missing his vest, that's...a little weird, b-but what's so weird about him not having any gloves in his pocket?" Asuna asked. "He had to have run out at some point, right...?"

"You kidding? He never ran out- he probably stuffed some gloves into his pocket every morning or something..." Hinata observed.

"Exactly- Hiroshi barely ever went without his vest or some gloves- so isn't it strange that he didn't have either of those when we found him?" Hana went on. "My guess is that the killer didn't think to put any gloves in his pockets when they switched out his pants, and that's why his pockets were empty."

She continued, "And as for his vest...well, I can only assume Hiroshi only ever had that one vest. So, there was probably some evidence left on it when the culprit killed him, and since they couldn't switch _that_ out like the rest of his clothes, they had to just...take it with them and get rid of it along with his old clothes."

"Aaaaand all that proves the stab in his chest was done after he was dead?" Ryoto inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh- obviously, the tear in the shirt means he was stabbed after the clothes were swapped, and since there was no blood in the fabric..." Hana replied. "That means it must have happened after the switch- _after_ Hiroshi was already dead!"

"YES! And that means I'm innocent! Ryoto Miura's in the clear!" Ryoto happily shouted.

Hinata gave a little whistle, "Wow- quite the theory you've got there, Hana. I gotta admit, I can't come up with a good enough argument to counter it, so..."

Akira appeared less pleased. "Don't get cocky, Amari- a good chunk of what you've discussed is very circumstantial. Should I find a contradiction in your argument, mark my words you will pay for it, understand?"

"H-Hey! Th-This is a debate, not a gladiator battle!" Hana sheepishly remarked- no matter what, it seemed she could still count on Akira to be the epitome of intimidation.

The surfer, attempting to regain her footing, went on, "Anyways, uh...since it's pretty clear the kitchen knife wasn't the murder weapon, let's hold off on suspecting Ryoto for now, okay-"

 _"I-I can't let you say that!"_ Asuna suddenly shouted, causing Hana to freeze in shock.

"What the-!? Asuna? _Y-You're_ arguing against me now...?" Hana asked once the surprise wore off- and in fact, she actually sounded somewhat hurt when she said the last statement, her voice even cracking a little bit.

Hearing the sadness in the Ultimate's voice, Asuna's bravado disappeared almost instantly and she responded, "Um...y-yeah, uh...sorry about this..."

Then, the firmness returned just as quickly as it vanished. "But I don't think we should let Ryoto off the hook that easily! I-It's too soon to say the kitchen knife wasn't the murder weapon, a-and I'm going to explain why!"

 _I...do_ not _know what to do about this..._ Hana thought. _On one hand, I want to be proud that she's making such a huge effort to be confident and make herself heard, but on the other hand..why does she have to make an argument against_ me?

She sighed in resignation. _I wish I didn't have to, but...sorry, Asuna- but I know Ryoto's innocent, and if it means proving that, then I'll take down your arguments too!_

"O-Okay, so maybe the stab to the chest wasn't the cause of death, I can understand that. B-But that doesn't mean the knife wasn't used at all!" Asuna argued. "Hiroshi had tons of other injuries on him- injuries that, uh, could only have been caused by something like a blade! Hana, y-you saw the corpse too- you saw the wounds Hiroshi had for yourself! Y-You've _got_ to know what I'm talking about!"

"The wounds on Hiroshi...do you mean the cuts on his ankles and his wrists?" Hana inquired.

"E-Exactly! Now, granted, I didn't look at the wounds too closely myself, but- but from I did see, even I could tell the cuts were pretty severe, e-especially on his hands and wrists!" Asuna continued. "Now, if someone was to be slashed in that area, on his wrists like that- even I know that it would cause a _lot_ of bleeding! N-Not enough to kill him right away, no, b-but left alone...Hiroshi definitely would have bled out from the cuts on his wrists alone! A-And that's not even taking into consideration the ones on his ankles!"

"Well, you're not wrong about that..." Hana conceded, but then firmly continued, "But even if those slashes _were_ the cause of death somehow, they don't connect Ryoto himself to the murder!"

"Sure they do! I-It's obvious the kitchen knife was still the weapon used to actually make those slashes, right? A-And both you and Ryoto admitted the knife we found at the scene and the one Ryoto took yesterday were most likely one in the same, right?" Asuna quickly insisted. "Th-Then there's still a chance he could be the killer! He could have taken that knife a-and mutilated Hiroshi's hands and wrists! He, uh, could have done the same to his ankles too-!"

Finally, Hana had something she could use against Asuna's argument- the moment she heard it, the surfer interrupted her with a resounding, _"I'll cut through that claim!"_

"Asuna- you didn't get a good look at Hiroshi's ankles, did you?" Hana inquired once the Ultimate Gardener was quiet.

"Uh...? N-No, not...really..." Asuna admitted. "Why do you-?"

"Because Hiroshi's ankles weren't cut like his wrists were- the gashes on his ankles were a lot more uniform. A little _too_ uniform, if you ask me," Hana explained. "There were three cuts on both his ankles- and they all looked almost identical to each other, and they were _perfectly_ parallel to boot."

Asuna was looking more and more concerned by the second. "So...?"

"Sooo- can you imagine the kind of precision you'd need to make cuts like that? The only people I can think of who could do that are Shiori and Hiroshi- and they're both dead!" Hana yelled in response. "No matter how you look at it, Ryoto just doesn't have the skill to make those kind of slashes! He's not that precise at all!"

She then quickly added to the racecar driver, "No offense."

"None taken," Ryoto casually replied.

"But...what about the gashes on Hiroshi's hands and his wrists...?" Asuna asked. "Couldn't those have killed him...?"

"Even if they did, I don't think it was Ryoto either," Hana went on. "The gashes there had to have been caused by the knife too, right? I mean, why would the killer use two different weapons like that? So if Ryoto wasn't the one who used the knife on Hiroshi's ankles, then it's pretty unlikely he was the one who cut up his hands too."

The others didn't have much to say to that, but they weren't the ones Hana was worried about- even Asuna, who was the one to start accusing Ryoto in the first place. Turning to the deathly silent Akira, she asked, "So- Akira. Anything to say to that?"

"..." Akira's arms were crossed, and there was an unmistakable anger in her eyes. Nevertheless, the prosecutor replied. "Perhaps...you do have a point. In regards to Miura, I do have one more thing to add."

She explained, "The cuts on Ashi's hands and wrists were severe, and no doubt would have led to heavy bleeding- that much can be seen by the traces of blood having been rinsed off. However, it's actually quite hard to die in such a way, as the main arteries in the arm are quite deep- and you don't even need to be an Ultimate Coroner to know that, just pay attention in school."

"So, what you're saying is- even though the killer cut his wrists, it's _really_ unlikely he bled to _death_ from it?" Hinata inquired. "Musta hurt like hell though, right? And he definitely bleed to some extent, right?"

Hana winced- she didn't disagree with Hinata's observations, but the image of the calm and collected Hiroshi in so much pain just before his death was one she didn't want to think about too much.

"True- but that doesn't necessarily make those wounds the lethal ones either..." Akira conceded with a low sigh. "Therefore, it looks like it was another red herring. For now- _for now,_ it seems Miura's in the clear..."

As she said that, the Ultimate sighed again- not just a sigh, but gave a minor grimace- and ran a hand through her hair, as if to smooth it out. Seeing this, Hana tilted her head a little- was Akira becoming...stressed?

However, the surfer couldn't dwell on that, as Ryoto immediately spoke up, "But- But what about the knife? How'd that get from my room to Hiroshi's chest?"

"I...guess we'll just have to figure that out later," Hana told him. _He's right, though- it's still super weird that the kitchen knife just...disappeared from his room like that..how did the killer do it...?_

"Hey, uh- speaking of wrists and all that..." Hinata then chimed in. "I was there when Hana was looking at Hiroshi's body, got a few glimpses of what she was looking at myself- and if I recall, those cuts weren't the only thing weird on his arms. Right, Hana?"

"Huh-? O-Oh! Oh, yeah, I know what you mean!" Hana responded with a nod.

"Are you referring to the abrasions extending around Ashi's wrists?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah- you think those might have something to d with...well, anything?" Hinata questioned.

"Well, while I can't speak for what exactly caused those scrapes, I can only imagine the killer had Ashi bound by his wrists at some point- most likely before they mutilated his hands and wrists,"

"Uh...I-I might be able to answer that," Asuna said. "I know I was wrong about Ryoto, a-and I'm sorry about that, but this time I know I have a point!"

"What do you mean? You know what caused those scrapes?" Hana asked, surprised.

"Uh-huh. I-I was investigating the South Wing, and I was going to look into Hiroshi's bedroom, b-but before that I investigated the storage room," Asuna explained.

"Oh? Is that what you were doing in the South Wing?" Akira questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Why the storage room?" Ryoto asked. "The murder happened in the _North_ Wing, the storage room is in the _South_ Wing! Can't ya read a compass!?"

"I-I know that! B-But the other day, I noticed..." Asuna anxiously clarified. "Something...Something was missing from the storage room."

Akira's eyes gleamed in interest. "Missing?"

"How could you tell? There's a million things in there," Hinata pointed out, surprised.

"Well- she's been in charge of locking and unlocking it since the South Wing's second floor first opened, so she's been around it more than any of us," Hana pointed out. "If anyone would notice something being missing, I'd think Asuna would be our best bet."

"Buuut I thought she wouldn't want to go into the storage room that much," Ryoto claimed with a frown. He continued in more of a whisper, "You know, after what happened to you-know-who in-"

"Ryoto, I can hear you and I know who you're talking about," Asuna flatly told him.

"Crap! I should've used pig Latin!" Ryoto yelped in sorrow.

Ignoring Ryoto, Asuna continued, "Anyways- he's not wrong, I haven't wanted to go in there too often after...what happened, b-but that doesn't mean I've _never_ gone in there ever since that incident. And from the times that I have peeked in, I _have_ gotten a pretty good feel for what's in there."

"W-Well- don't keep us in suspense! What was missing?" Hana quickly asked.

"Tape. A-A roll of duct tape, sitting on one of the shelves- th-that's what was gone," Asuna explained.

"Duct tape, eh...? Well, the abrasions on Ashi's wrists were certainly rectangular in shape, wide enough to match the width of normal roll of duct tape," Akira surmised. "Not to mention applying tape to one's skin, especially something like duct tape, and then tearing it off would cause the superficial injuries I saw. Like ripping off a partocularly strong Band-Aid."

Narrowing her eyes, the Ultimate Prosecutor then asked, "But here's my question, Izumi- why didn't you mention this missing roll of duct tape before?"

"Well, I only noticed it was gone in the middle of the day yesterday, s-so I didn't think much of it at the time..." Asuna explained. "But when we discovered his body, I started to wonder...m-maybe that missing tape wasn't so innocuous after all...?"

Akira huffed. "Well, while it does explain the abrasions...it doesn't actually provide much evidence pointing to the killer. First of all, I don't suppose anyone found this missing roll of tape during the investigation? I'll be the first to admit I didn't."

Unsurprisingly, no one said anything to disprove the prosecutor.

"Furthermore, the only time the storage room is completely locked is during nighttime- during the day, it's completely open and unlocked, meaning anyone can access it at any time," Akira continued, as stern as ever. "And since there were numerous times throughout the yesterday that several of us wandered around alone and unaccounted for, anyone could have taken it. So, while it explains Ashi's abrasions, it's _not_ useful evidence in terms of identifying a new suspect."

"Oh, ah- sorry, I just...wanted to make up for derailing things by suspecting Ryoto..." Asuna replied with a little sigh.

"Well, Asuna- we know a bit more about how Hiroshi was killed thanks to both that and your tape info, so they weren't _total_ losses," Hana told the gardener with a reassuring smile.

"Besides- I think that little discussion gave me a bit more reason to speak up about something..." Hinata said. "Namely, that I kinda have a suspect of my own."

That changed Hana's mood significantly, and she turned her gaze to the thief swiftly. "W-Wait, what? You too, Hinata?"

"It's not me again, is it!?" Ryoto cried.

"Don't worry, it not you," Hinata responded, then sending a glare at the student he was _actually_ referring to. "It's _her."_

Asuna's eyes went wide. "M-Me!?"

"Hell yeah, you!" Hinata retorted. "Look, I was following your logic when you were accusing Ryoto, but then that got shot down pretty quickly, and- honestly, I've _been_ suspecting you, even more after you were so sure of Ryoto being suspicious-"

"B-Because I thought he was! I-I hoped he wasn't the killer, b-but I couldn't deny my suspicions!" Asuna replied, looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but behind that podium.

"Slow down, both of you," Akira commanded them. "Yonade- you're accusing Izumi now? And you claim you've suspected her for some time now? Care to explain that?"

"Sure thing- I've got my reasons, for sure," Hinata agreed, putting a hand in his hoodie pocket. "Even beyond the whole 'really quick to accuse Ryoto' thing, Asuna's the only one here with total access to the storage room- so if she wanted to take something from there, like a roll of duct tape, wouldn't she be able to at literally any time she wanted?"

"Y-You can't prove I'm the one who took the tape! I-I'm the one who told you guys about it, why would I do that if I took it?" Asuna asked.

"To throw suspicion off yourself- wouldn't be the first time someone's done something like that," the Ultimate Thief smoothly answered.

"B-But like Akira said- anyone else could have gone into the storage room at any time yesterday to grab the tape, there's no way to prove it was Asuna specifically!" Hana refuted.

"You're not wrong," Hinata replied with a shrug. "Buuut that's just a little speck compared to the _main_ reason I think she's suspicious."

"Well, I hope this 'main' reason is more substantial than a missing roll of tape," Akira scoffed, readjusting her tie. "Otherwise, this will be an _actual_ waste of our time."

 _You've gotta be kidding me...! What's going on here, some kind of accusation party!?_ _Why are Ryoto, Asuna, and Hinata all suspecting each other so easily!?_ Hana thought with growing dismay. _I don't get it, I...no, no, I can't worry about that right now, I need to pay attention to what Hinata's saying- because no matter what, there's no way in hell that Asuna's the killer either!_

"Oooh, I get it- it makes total sense you'd think it was Asuna!" Ryoto remarked to Hinata. "She had full access to the storage room, and no one EVER suspects the short people!"

"B-But I was a suspect in the second trial..." Asuna reminded him, pulling her fedora down to cover her face slightly.

"Regardless- do you have more ground to suspect Izumi on, Yonade?" Akira questioned the thief.

"Oh I've got ground alright," Hinata told her. "And it all goes back to yesterday- when we were looking around the castle for Hiroshi."

"Oh yeah! Weren't you and Asuna assigned to the West Wing?" Ryoto asked.

"W-We were, but- I don't see why that's relevant..." Asuna responded.

"Really? Because while I was wandering around in the dark, something a little _strange_ happened," Hinata pointedly told the gardener. "Care to tell 'em about it, Asuna?"

"T-Tell them about what? What are you talking about?" Asuna asked him, baffled. "I was searching the West Wing just like you! A-Aside from some blackouts, nothing weird was going on!"

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana interjected. "Wait- I think I know what Hinata's talking about! He told me about it during the investigation!"

"Told you about...what?" Asuna asked, still just as confused.

"Asuna- he told me that, during his search of the West Wing, he heard you in the wine room," Hana explained. "You told him you wanted to investigate the wine room yourself. Also, the door was blocked off, so he couldn't get inside anyways."

"Hmph- Yonade told me the same story," Akira observed. "So the fact that he didn't change it at all between the time he told me and then Amari adds some credibility, at least."

"And I'm still sticking to that story! I know what I saw, I know what I heard!" Hinata angrily insisted. "And I know for a fact it was _you_ I heard in there, Asuna!"

"What!? B-But I never went into the wine room!" Asuna responded in panic. "I-I wasn't even supposed to be up there, w-we agreed that I'd search the first floor!"

"I never said I knew why you were up there, and I don't know how you just...disappeared by the time I got in there- but it _was_ your voice I heard, I'm sure of that," Hinata claimed.

"W-Well...in all fairness, Hinata, even if you did hear Asuna in the wine room..." Hana began with a concerned frown. "I'm not really sure if it's completely relevant to the case. I know it's suspicious, and the way she was trying to pin the murder on Ryoto was weird too, and I know we need all the leads we can get, but- seems kinda like you're grasping at straws here, you know?"

"Actually...Yonade may have solid reason to be suspicious," Akira spoke up after a moment of thought. "Because I have something he seems to be lacking: evidence."

"Evidence...? Of...what?" Hana asked, feeling a pang of anxiety in her gut.

"Well, first, let's go back to the original topic of discussion- Ashi's true cause of death," Akira began. "We established it wasn't suicide, it wasn't strangulation, he wasn't stabbed in the chest, and he didn't bleed out through his wrists. However, Ashi had another visible wound that could have killed him..."

 _Another one...? Well, he had a bunch of other injuries, which one is she talking about...?_ Hana asked herself. The surfer ultimately decided to take a guess and answered, "Uh...do you mean his head injury?"

"Yes, I'm referring to the head wound," Akira replied, as if the answer was obvious. "I'm no medical expert, but based on the depth and general severity of the injury, I believe it would be sufficient enough to kill- or at the very least, render him completely unconscious. Left in that state, he would likely die at a later time if he didn't die instantly."

"Sooo, Hiroshi was bludgeoned to death!" Ryoto concluded, clapping his hands together. "WE FIGURED IT OUT! CASE CLOSED!"

"But we still don't know who killed him," Hana reminded him.

Ryoto clapped his hands again and declared, in same tone, "NEVERMIND!"

"A-And even if he was bludgeoned- what did the killer use to do it...?" Asuna asked.

To this, Akira chuckled. "Well, I would expect you'd know that, Izumi...after all, you were the one who led me to the potential murder weapon."

Turning to the others, the Ultimate Prosecutor explained, "During the investigation, I commandeered Izumi to help me figure out why the dumbwaiter in the West Wing stopped working- after all, with the dumbwaiter on the bottom floor, she'd be small enough to fit into the shaft and reach the mechanisms on top."

She smirked, visibly confident. "And wouldn't you know, there _was_ something quite odd shoved into those gears that prevented them from moving. It was a glass bottle of grape juice from the banquet room on the ground floor- the base of which was covered in dried blood spatter."

"A-A bottle...? Covered in blood?" Hana began, dumbfounded. "You think that's the murder weapon?"

"The base of the bottle would match quite well with the shape of Ashi's head injury, and with enough force it would inflict significant damage- not unlike what Shimaru did to you and Yamamoto," Akira explained. "So, yes, it does have potential to be the murder weapon."

"Holy shit! That was in the wine room since yesterday, and I didn't even notice?" Hinata cried.

"Y-You mean you were accusing me just now w-without actually knowing if it tied to the murder!?" Asuna yelped, bewildered.

"I-I, er- i-it doesn't matter if I may or may not have thought it through or not!" Hinata refuted. "Because Akira just _gave_ me a connection! You must have been in the wine room yesterday to hide the drink bottle, went back later to grab it so you could attack Hiroshi with it, and then after the murder you hid it back in the same place!"

"Doesn't that timeline sound a little, you know- weird? Or inconvenient, at least?" Hana asked. "Why would she go and hide it twice, once before the murder happened and again after?"

"I don't know, I don't have all the answers! It's just the order that makes the most sense!" Hinata snapped.

"B-But I'm the one that helped Akira find the bottle!" Asuna yelled, her tone a combination of distressed and angry. "Why would I help her if I was the killer!?"

"Simple- as Yonade said earlier, it was to throw off anyone's suspicions," Akira answered. "Sure, it would cause problems for you later on, but being uncooperative with me would be worse in the long wrong- choosing the lesser of two evils, as it were. And beyond that, with all the other injuries Ashi sustained, you were probably banking on us believing one of those were the cause of death, causing us to suspect someone else entirely."

"...Uh- yeah, what she said," Hinata awkwardly agreed.

Hana's face went pale. "No way- you really think Asuna's the killer? Both of you?"

"I'm the one that started accusing her, wasn't I?" Hinata pointedly reminded her. "Hell, if anything, the stuff Akira talked about only made me _more_ certain!"

"AHA! THE TRUTH HAS BEEN REVEALED!" Ryoto declared. "For real this time!"

"N-No, no! No it hasn't! I-I'm not the killer, I swear!" Asuna cried out, her panic only growing.

"You say that- but can you prove it?" Akira asked with an icy gaze.

"I...I...!" Asuna stammered- she looked like she might start crying. "No, no, not this again...!"

Hana grimaced. "Guys, really- can you guys really say Asuna's the killer? Of all people? I- she wouldn't-"

"The same goes for you, Amari- either provide proof, or be quiet. After all, you were the one who disproved the previous theories and accusations- there's only so much evidence and so many suspects left, you know," Akira responded with an angered. "Unless _you'd_ like to confess to being involved somehow."

 _Okay- I know for a fact that I'm not the killer, and I can't imagine Asuna being the killer either- but how can I prove her innocent? I can't do anything about the drink bottle, I didn't even know about it until now..._ Hana thought worriedly. _Come on,_ think! _There's gotta be a contradiction in Akira and Hinata's theory somewhere!_

"P-Please stop, I'm innocent! What have I done so far that's been suspicious!?" Asuna anxiously asked.

"Like I said- yesterday, I heard you in the wine room! You even blocked the door to keep me from getting in!" Hinata hotly reminded her. "And since the wine room was where the bloody bottle was hidden, and the dumbwaiter stopped working at that point..."

"I-I can't explain any of that, b-but all I can say is that it wasn't me!" Asuna insisted. "Someone must have- must have been impersonating my voice or something!"

"HUH!? Impostors!?" Ryoto shouted. "Nuh-uh! You've got a pretty distinct voice, Asuna- I don't think anyone would be able to replicate it that well!"

He then added, more like an afterthought, "Well, maybe Hana might..."

"That doesn't matter! I know it was her voice!" Hinata refuted. "I didn't need to see her to know that!"

"Besides, the timing does add up somewhat," Akira pointed out. "You probably used the dumbwaiter for transportation, as Shimaru did during his murder plan, which is why Yonade didn't see you when he got into the wine room."

She continued, "You probably hid the bottle in the shaft just before he got in, hence why the lift stopped working at that point. Then, you returned later- probably during the night- to retrieve the bottle to use as a weapon."

"Th-That's- not-!" Asuna stuttered.

"Then, since you were the one who initially saw Ashi heading into the East Wing last night- as you told us- you were probably able to go and track him down after retrieving the bottle, and from there..." Akira went on, ignoring Asuna. "You struck him in the head with it, either killing him instantly or giving him a fatal wound."

"Sounds about right to me- nothing really stopping her from doing that, right?" Hinata asked. "Yeah, she's small and scrawny, but..."

Hana's eyes widened as something clicked in her mind. _Wait a sec-! What he said just now- that's it! I know how to prove Asuna couldn't have bludgeoned Hiroshi!_

Before Akira could continue, Hana shouted in her usual way, "Wait, that's wrong!"

Akira turned her fierce gaze towards the surfer, snapping, "Amari! What are you doing?"

"Proving you wrong! There's no way Asuna could have killed Hiroshi like that!" Hana yelled. _That's right- I knew something was bothering me about what Akira was saying! ...Okay, there were a few things, but this one's the most relevant!_

"Why not? What's so hard about smashing a bottle over a dude's head?" Hinata inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty hard, actually- at least, it would be for Asuna," Hana replied. "Guys, look at her- knocking someone out with a glass bottle, even killing them with it, isn't that easy. Yeah, Tadao did something similar before, and he wasn't exactly the strongest in the class either- but even he was a lot stronger than Asuna!"

"...Uh...this is gonna help me, right...?" Asuna, whose confidence was thoroughly bruised, asked.

"Yeah, I've got a point, don't worry," Hana assured her, before redirecting her attention to the other students. "And another thing- look at Asuna's height! According to the Monokuma File, Hiroshi was about 5'7"- and Asuna is still way shorter than that! So with both of those combined- how the hell would she have been able to knock out or even kill Hiroshi by bludgeoning him if she's not tall or strong enough!?"

"Seriously? Your argument is 'she was too short to commit the murder'- again?" Hinata asked, unamused.

"Am I wrong?" Hana simply asked.

"...Not really..." Hinata muttered in response.

Akira glared furiously, but then let out a low chuckle. "Grasping at straws, I see. Did you forget that Ashi's ankles were also sliced- specifically, his Achilles' tendons? With those cut, he'd be unable to run away or properly stand- meaning he'd be lower to the ground, one way or another. Therefore, the issue of height and possibly strength is addressed."

"But that's another thing! To slash Hiroshi's ankles, she'd need Ryoto's knife- how would she have gotten it? How would she have gotten into Ryoto's room? It couldn't have been while he was sleeping because his room was locked!" Hana quickly pointed out.

"Mmmm- HAH! Speaking of being the killer..." Ryoto spoke up, having come to some kind of realization. "Wouldn't they need to lift up Hiroshi's body with the rope? Weeell, since this is Asuna we're talking about, I don't think she'd be strong enough to do that! Hiroshi wasn't, you know, heavy or anything- but lifting up an entire PERSON requires _some_ level of strength!"

"...Are, uh...are you guys done now...?" Asuna asked, downtrodden. "I-I think they got the point..."

"But...But, what about what I heard in the wine room yesterday? That had to have been Asuna, and since the dumbwaiter stopped working after that, and the glass bottle was the thing that made it stop working...!" Hinata responded, baffled.

"Not to mention Izumi was, apparently, tasked with investigating the ground floor of the West Wing- where the banquet room was," Akira observed. "Thus, she'd have the best opportunity to retrieve the weapon in question."

Hana grimaced. _Right, that- I can't explain that. I don't know what's going on with what Hinata heard, but...that couldn't have been Asuna he heard, right...? When would she have even gone into the wine room, I talked to her in the courtyard after she got done investigating, and then she-_

Then, the Ultimate Surfer's eyes widened in realization- maybe, just maybe, there was another way to fully prove Asuna's innocence...but that would depend on how her next question was answered.

"Hey, Hinata- let me ask you this..." Hana began. "What time was it when you heard Asuna in the wine room?"

"Huh? What...time was it...?" Hinata responded, taken aback. "Uh- I...think it was around...12-ish? Like- noon, noon or something, maybe a little after."

Hearing this, Hana couldn't help but let out a small, relieved laugh. "Then- Then, if that's true, then- it couldn't have been Asuna you heard! Because she had an alibi for when Hinata was at the wine room!"

"What!? What alibi!?" Akira immediately demanded. "If this is some lie, then-"

"It's not a lie! She's got an alibi- because I'm her alibi!" Hana told her. "Asuna and I had a conversation out in the courtyard around noon!"

* * *

 _Subconscious anger took hold of Hana and she found herself snapping back, "Of_ course _I'm worried about him! Why wouldn't I be worried about the guy who's been there for me the most throughout this entire damn killing game!?"_

 _Asuna yelped in fright at Hana's sudden anger, but quickly composed herself and responded, "I-I get it- you were-_ are _probably the closest one to Hiroshi out of all of us, s-so...it's hard to imagine what you're going through right now..."_

 _She went on, more resolute, "But- you can't lose your head right now. There's...There's still a chance that Hiroshi's fine, and is_ going _to be fine, so...d-don't give up yet, okay? We're all doing our best to help find him, a-and I'm sure Hiroshi would want you to do your best, too."_

 _The gardener's words were enough to extinguish the anger and bitterness that had grasped Hana, allowing her to think clearly again- though, with that clarity came the urge to break down into tears due to stress and fear, but Hana was able to suppress any tears or sobs._

 _"You're...You're right, I'm sorry, it's...been a really tough day so far," Hana replied with a long sigh. "And it's only barely past noon by now..."_

* * *

"Th-That's right...! I-I didn't register what time it was, b-but..." Asuna replied, becoming more hopeful by the second.

Hana turned her own glare towards Akira, then reminded her, "And it's not a 'lie', Akira- you _saw_ the two of us out in the courtyard! You know I'm telling the truth, even if you don't want to admit it for some reason!"

* * *

 _However, before Asuna could comment, another set of doors opened- these ones being the doors leading into the East Wing. Out of these doors came Akira, a stark contrast to Asuna's friendliness. The prosecutor looked around the courtyard for a moment, then caught sight of the two Ultimates standing by the South Wing's entrance._

 _"Amari, Izumi- what are you two doing?" Akira inquired as she approached them. "I don't suppose you're done searching."_

 _"Uh- I am. Hinata and I split up to cover more ground," Asuna explained. "I finished my area, s-so I figured I'd head to the dining room and wait for everyone else."_

* * *

Akira's eyes widened- although Hana couldn't tell if it was because of surprise, realization, or something else entirely. Either way, Hana knew she had hit the mark.

"Then, if Hinata heard Asuna at noon...but she was talking to Hana in the courtyard at noon..." Ryoto said, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Then...Then...SOMEONE MADE A MISTAKE!"

"It was Hinata- he never actually saw whoever was in the wine room, the only reason he thought it was Asuna was because of that person's voice," Hana answered. "It was an honest mistake- he couldn't get into the wine room anyways, right?"

"Right...Right, I tried, but the door was..." Hinata confirmed with a sigh. "Welp- guess I was wrong to instantly accuse Asuna like that, too."

"...Wait, what?" Hana asked, surprised. "You're not gonna...not gonna try and make more arguments...?"

"How can I? You poked more holes in my ideas than Swiss cheese, and you basically proved it wasn't Asuna I heard in the wine room anyways..." Hinata replied with a shrug. "I'm still wondering about that, but...maybe I was a little quick on the draw...?"

Hana was still surprised by the lack of further argument, but it was soon replaced by refreshing relief. _Oh thank god- for a second there I thought I'd need to come up with even more proof. Maybe now, the others will finally stop-_

Akira's frustration only seemed to grow- she ran one hand through her hair again, and tightly gripped the podium with her other hand. "Amari...you need to be quiet. Right now. Just...stop... _talking!"_

 _...Nevermind, I shouldn't have forgotten about Akira._

"What in the world do you think you're doing!? This entire trial, you've done nothing but continually shoot down theory after theory, suspicion after suspicion..." Akira snarled at her. "Have you forgotten that this is a class trial!? Suspecting others is part of the process of finding the blackened! But by 'proving their innocence', you're hindering any chances of moving forward with finding the blackened!"

"Heeey- that's right! We've been talking on and on about what may or may not have killed Hiroshi, but...but we haven't actually made much progress finding the killer! I-In fact, we have gone backwards! We're _clearing_ suspects instead of actually finding new ones!" Ryoto realized with growing panic.

Hearing these words, Hana looked over to see the same realization dawning on Asuna and Hinata's faces- and soon, the apprehension and panic was as visible as can be on them as well.

Ryoto furiously shook his head. "W-Well no more! Ryoto Miura's not gonna let the killer win because _we_ ran out of time! So- I say we talk about that rope and how Hinata may or may not be involved again!"

"What!? You can't just-! W-We already established-!" Hana cried. _Oh, crap, not again...!_

"W-What!? No way, I'm not the killer!" Hinata shouted at the other Ultimate. "You know what, screw what I said before, there's a good amount of evidence pointing to Asuna! Let's talk about that instead!"

 _No no no, they can't just go back to mindlessly accusing each other! This isn't like them at all, they're just-!_ Hana thought, frantically looking back and forth between her classmates. _A-Are they just_ that _worried about the trial...? Is that why they're so desperate?_

"M-Me again!? N-No way, I'm innocent too!" Asuna refuted. "A-And for the record, there's even more evidence pointing to Ryoto, s-so maybe we should take a closer look at _him!"_

"ME!? NO WAY! RYOTO MIURA'S NO KILLER!" Ryoto practically roared in outrage.

 _This is bad, this is so bad- no, this isn't just 'bad', this is wrong!_ Hana thought. _I know Akira said doubting each other is a part of every trial, but this-! This isn't-!_

Akira narrowed her eyes as the three argued. "Okay, when I said we should move forward with finding the blackened, _this_ isn't what I had in mind!"

However, none of them listened to her- not Hinata, not Ryoto, and not Asuna- as they continued to throw various accusations at each other.

Meanwhile, Monokuma let out an amused laugh. "Man! I knew this trial was gonna be a ride, but to see more than half of you at each other's throats- I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!"

"You _stay out of this!"_ Hana snapped at the bear, her frustration and panic boiling over.

 _I can't take this- Ryoto, Hinata, Asuna...I can't let them keep going like this! This isn't right! But- But they're not gonna listen to me, how do I get them to stop!?_ Hana anxiously thought, her gaze going towards Hiroshi's portrait right next to her. _Hiroshi...if you were here, what would you do? How would you react to this? How would you fix this...?_

* * *

 _Hana couldn't tell how it happened, but suddenly the dining room was filled with arguing, defending, and accusing from just about all sides. All the confusion and tension that had been building up since Monokuma's announcement seemingly exploded in these moments into a series of bickering. Hana herself found herself attempting to defend herself against Akira and try to make a defense for this hypothetical 'traitor'- which only made her look more suspicious to Akira._

 _The only student who wasn't arguing was Hiroshi; he was deathly silent throughout everything- for a time. However, after a few seconds of listening to his classmates tearing each other apart with words, he finally stood._

 _"You guys..._ you guys...!" _Hiroshi began through clenched teeth before shouting,_ "You guys!"

 _Hearing Hiroshi raising his voice- an occurrence rarer than seeing Bigfoot- was more than enough for the students to quiet down and turn their attention to him._

 _"Why are you all fighting like this? Don't you understand this is what Monokuma and the mastermind want!?" Hiroshi furiously demanded. "When Monokuma said the information he gave us would be a motive if we made it one-_ this _is what he meant! The arguing, the distrust, the frustration-!"_

 _He put a hand to his face and continued, still angered, "I can't believe after everything that's happened, after everything we've all gone through, you all just- so_ easily _fall into this trap! Why!? Why is it still so hard to have faith in each other!?"_

* * *

Hana stared down at the floor, distraught. _Who am I kidding- you'd hate this. You'd hate seeing almost everyone attacking each other again- you'd do everything you could to bring them back to their senses. But- would they listen to you...? Would it work, would it- would it-?_

She glanced at all the others- Asuna, Ryoto, and Hinata still furiously arguing, Akira trying to bring order back to the discussion despite looking more frazzled than usual, and Monokuma watching silently while looking like he was having the time of his life.

Hana's hands clenched into fists. _No- Hiroshi's dead, but I know if he was here, he'd hate this as much as I do. And that's why- for my sake, for his sake, for_ everyone's _sake- I've gotta stop this! I've never actually taken charge like this beyond sorting out the pieces of the actual murders, but this time- this time, I don't have a choice!_

"Guys! _Guys!"_ Hana shouted above the clamor. _"EVERYONE! SHUT! UP!"_

Finally, Hana's shout caught the attention of her three angered classmates, whose arguing almost immediately faded out as they turned their attention to the surfer.

"Listen! I get that this is a class trial- someone here is the killer, we've gotta find them, we've gotta have suspects, we have to have doubt," Hana told them. "And I- I also get that this is really hard on everyone- this whole case is confusing and frustrating, and we all thought the killings would finally stop, but...to see that Hiroshi was murdered too, it's..."

She shook her head and continued, "But I...I don't want to just stop believing in you guys! I know, we'll have to reveal the killer at some point, but until I know for a fact who that is, I...I don't want to doubt anyone here! Not after everything we've all been through! And if Hiroshi was here, he'd not only agree with me, he'd be _really_ disappointed that you guys are fighting with each other, just like you were the night he disappeared!"

This time, her voice took on a more pleading tone as she went on, "Don't you remember what he said? Why he was so mad? He'd want us to have faith in each other as long as possible- and so do I! I don't want to go through this trial just accusing people outright until there's no other choice, until we know who the killer is, and even then I..."

She couldn't keep going- the idea of any of her four classmates, even Akira, being Hiroshi's murderer was too painful to think about.

"...I...I..." Asuna finally spoke up- but her voice was strained, and one could see tears in her eyes. At last, she cried out, "I- I don't want any of you to be the blackened! I don't want to see anyone else I care about die, o-or be executed! I-I'm sick of it! I just want this nightmare to end!"

"I...I was tried of this from the end of the _first_ trial!" Ryoto admitted, burying his face in one of his hands. "You guys know how much I hate murder! Why do you think I kept doing stuff to try and _stop_ another murder!? Because I HATE seeing everyone die, and I HATE having to keep sending the killers to a goddamn EXECUTION!"

"...You guys should know how I feel about this damn killing game well enough," Hnata stated as he stared at the floor, unable to make eye contact with anyone. "But right now...I'm not...accusing anyone outta malice or anything, I just...don't want to die down here because the blackened was a _little_ too crafty, because that means everything...everything would have been for nothing, right...?"

"Aaah, Hiroshi was right to be disappointed! Why _is_ this so hard!? I wanna keep believing too, but the trial and the murder and the graduation-!" Ryoto rambled on, exasperated. "And this trial's STILL gonna end with another execution! _Why!?_ Why did someone have to go and murder the guy!?"

"I...want to know that too...more than anything, I want to know why Hiroshi had to be..." Hana quietly spoke up with a sigh. _Maybe that's why this trial is so much harder on everyone- there's just...no reason for it...why would someone want Hiroshi dead...? What motive could there_ possibly _be, after everything that's happened!?_

Akira sighed, still appearing rather stressed. "It doesn't matter whether anyone _wants_ to doubt or how much you hate the process- the reality is, there is still a blackened in our midst, and if we don't find them, the rest of us _will_ be executed. That's how it is, that's how it's _always_ been- to talk about how much you despise it is pointless in our current situation."

She crossed her arms, regaining some of her composure as she continued, "But I do think bickering and constant accusations without full proof- something even I'm not innocent in- has been nothing but a hindrance to us so far...even if it did solve a few mysteries surrounding Ashi's death. So for now, let's be done with that, and debate on the important matters until we have a _real_ suspect."

Hana glanced away, but she found herself unable to be angry at Akira or her words; there was no malice or disdain in what she said- the Ultimate Prosecutor was simply stating the facts just like she always did, reminding the others of the harsh reality they were in.

"Couldn't have said it better myself! You know, the mass arguing was kinda fun at first, but I was starting to wonder if I'd need to get the Arms of Gungnir out again!" Monokuma suddenly interjected from his throne. "But now that _that's_ all over, I'd certainly hope you all would get back to the actual murder..."

He added, with a sinister edge to his voice, "Because, if I recall...your original topic was sorting out Mr. Ashi's cause of death, wasn't it? And- oh! It looks to me you lot haven't even figured _that_ much out yet! Puhuhuhu! At the rate you're going, I might just have to give the blackened the win by default! And you guys don't want that, do you?~"

Hana's face paled as an even harsher truth dawned on everyone. _Oh my god- we really_ haven't _made much progress...! We've spent all this time going back and forth, and we still don't even know how Hiroshi was actually killed! That's, like, one of the more basic things in these murders!_

 _If we can't even figure that one thing out- no, if we_ don't _figure it out soon, then...! There won't be much time left to find the real killer!_

* * *

 **A/N: Well this trial's certainly an odd one, isn't it? Word of advice- no matter how concerned you are about the outcome of a trial, do not just go mindlessly accusing your classmates without actual, solid ground and evidence. Even Akira knew that in the other trials, even if she ended up suspecting the wrong person in the end. But wow- the 80th Class sure is stressed out, eh? Of course, after everything they've been through only to end up in a fifth trial- can you guys really blame 'em for being a little desperate? Oh and also other factors- but I won't get into the details right now, you guys'll just have to wait.**

 **Now, a bit of trivia for this latest part- after Hinata's argument against Asuna was sufficiently destroyed and he mentioned how he was still wondering about the voice he heard in the wine room, I was gonna put a joke/humorous exchange there. Buuuut with Akira's blow-up at Hana and the resulting mass panic debate that wasn't a Mass Panic Debate, I thought it'd be too great of a mood whiplash- and not a good, clever kind. And since I didn't want to mess up the emotional mood of this part's conclusion- Hana's speech, the others getting all upset, etc.- I decided it'd be best to scrap it. But don't worry- if you're curious, I still plan to implement the joke at a different, more appropriate point...but I won't tell you guys what the joke is/was, needless to say.**

 **But anyways- how in the world is Hana gonna sort out this case with what little evidence that's left, eh? And if she and the others do figure out Hiroshi's true cause of death, will they still have time to sniff out the true blackened? And if they do find that elusive killer, how heartbreaking is it going to be? And what's the deal with all those other mysteries that have yet to be solved, how will they tie into the murder? _Will_ they be resolved, or will they be left for Chapter 6? All these questions and more may or may not be answered in the next part- and I can't WAIT to see you guys there! So long, until then!**


	49. Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth (Part 8)

**A/N: H-Hey everyone. So uh- crazy time, eh? The world's almost literally imploding in on itself because of a horrible virus and the resulting mass hysteria, everything is shutting down, my own school has been closed until early April...things are insane right now. But you know what never changes? Complex murder mysteries between high schoolers! That's right- despite the state of the world, it's time for the continuation of the Chapter 5 trial! Will it be the last part? Will there be a Part 3 where everything's revealed? ...You guys'll just have to wait and see, hehe.**

 **Last time, the gang made some progress in finding out what happened to their coroner friend...but it was slightly hindered by everyone bein' a little clueless because reasons. You don't need me to do a full recap, you read what needed to be read, and if you didn't...well, what the heck are you doing here, go read the story in order you heathen! But if you have read in order, then- go ahead and read the new part!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _BloodyCarnage:_ Three things- one, hey anime-style 'next time on-' outros are my endearing personality quirk! Two, I like the speculation, the only thing I'll say is that impersonating someone's voice isn't _too_ difficult under the right circumstances, so it's not that out of the question. **

**Three...hey are you okay or-**

 ** _HoneyBeeGirl94:_ Well, the thing is only the blackened students' portraits have the customized X's, like in SDR2- although that's not to say I haven't thought about what alternate, custom X's would be on the other students' portraits if they did become killers, and your ideas for Shiori and Hiroshi are pretty neat!**

 ** _PokeDrifter:_ That's the magic of (most) Chapter 5 cases, friend.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- Class Trial (Part 2)**

"S-So, uh, hehe...now what...?" Ryoto asked, his usual boisterousness heavily deflated. "He's right, we uh- we still don't know how the blackened _actually_ killed Hiroshi, so..."

"I think at this point, it'd be easier to recap what _didn't_ kill the guy, we've got a whole damn list of that," Hinata scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Well, based on what we've discussed so far..." Akira began, readjusting her glasses. "Ashi did not commit suicide, nor was he strangled, he was not stabbed to death, and it's highly unlikely he bled to death from his wrists."

"H-Hey, uh- the last thing we actually talked about was Hiroshi being bludgeoned, right...? W-With that drink bottle Akira talked about?" Asuna reminded the others. "A-And while I'm _not_ the one who did it- I-I have to admit that, so far, the bludgeoning idea seems like the likeliest one."

"It does, doesn't it?" Ryoto agreed, nodding. "Sooo can we just say the killer bashed him on the head and move on finally?"

"Wait a second, guys- maybe it's...not that simple," Hana immediately interjected. "...Well, okay, _nothing_ about this case is simple, but the idea that Hiroshi was bludgeoned to death-"

"Let me guess- you don't think it's correct, do you?" Akira guessed with a sigh. "You're going to say 'something' is telling you that maybe there's still more to Ashi's death?"

"...Well, I was gonna say 'a feeling', but I guess 'something' works too," Hana muttered in response.

"Aaaah, Hana! I thought could finally move on to other things, can't you just let this one thing go?" Ryoto asked, exasperated. "WE'RE ON A TIME CONSTRAINT HERE!"

"I-I know that! But if we're wrong about _how_ Hiroshi was killed, it could screw up everything else we talk about, and we might come to some big, wrong conclusion!" Hana told him. "If I'm wrong, fine, but I want to be absolutely sure!"

"Well, I mean- nothing's gone _too_ wrong by listening to your instincts before, so..." Hinata pointed out, turning his attention to the surfer. "Why _don't_ you think Hiroshi was killed by being hit with the bottle?"

"I-I admit it's not that obvious or gruesome compared to his other injuries, but...maybe that was the point...?" Asuna pondered, uncertain.

"But that's the thing- yeah, the head wound is more subtle compared to, say, the stabbing or the hanging, but despite that..." Hana explained, thoughtful. "There's something that raises a _major_ red flag for me, something pretty big."

 _Well, here I go again, talking like my gut feelings are legit evidence- good thing I've got_ actual _evidence to back myself up! ...I think._ Hana thought. _Maybe it's a stretch, but if I'm right about this- then the others should be able to pick up on it too._

"It's the Monokuma File," Hana told them. "Did you guys notice how it actually does mention the fact that he was hit in the hit?"

"And that's bad...how? Better for us, actually, since it means we wouldn't have missed it," Hinata stated. "Not that we _could_ have missed a big head wound like that, but- y'know."

"No, but- remember during Saku and Shiro's trial? That time, the Monokuma File also had some missing information- and that information ended up being _extremely_ important to figuring out the blackened!" Hana reminded the class. "That's probably why Monokuma did the same thing here, too- if he gave us the cause or time of Hiroshi's death, it'd probably make the trial too easy- isn't that right, Monokuma?"

"Don't turn your accusations at me, Blondie! I may...leave out something here or there, but you can be sure what I _do_ choose to include in the File is truer than true!" Monokuma answered. "After five trials, even you must realize that by now, right?"

"That's not the point- the point is sometimes, you leave out important stuff from the File because that same information would give away the killer's identity or a major part of their plan somehow," Hana argued. "And that's exactly what's going on here!"

She concluded, "So the fact that he actually put Hiroshi's head wound into the File means it's, in the end, not _as_ important to finding out who the killer is- which means it's probably not the actual cause of death!"

"But hold on- in the past, the information that _was_ in the File ended up being pretty important too, even if Monokuma, uh, did leave out other stuff," Asuna pointed out. "S-So what if the head wound is the cause of death, a-and Monokuma just didn't want to specify because of what a major clue it'd be?"

"That's not how he operates- considering all the trouble the culprit's gone through to conceal how Ashi died, if the head injury _was_ the true cause of death, Monokuma wouldn't have mentioned it all," Akira refuted. "It doesn't add up to claim 'cause of death is unknown' and then state the cause of death anyways. The Files, tricky as they might be, have never worked like that- and I doubt Monokuma would start now."

"You know...you're not wrong about that," Ryoto admitted. "Monokuma's always liked that kinda fuckery, hasn't he...?"

"Grr-! You guys, putting words in my mouth, dragging my good name through the mud- RAH!" Monokuma growled to himself as he angrily clawed the air in front of him, clearly irritated by the discussion. "Look- I am my favorite topic of discussion, but _I'm_ not who this trial's about! So get back to the actual murder before I end this trial right here and now!"

"Oh? Getting defensive, are we?" Hinata inquired of the bear with a chuckle.

"I'll do it, I swear to god!" Monokuma shouted again, fuming even more than before.

Hana, not wanting to take chances, quickly spoke up, "A-Anyways! Uh- yeah, so...since the Monokuma File brought up the head wound, and based on the other times the File was vague or missing information, I think we can assume the bludgeoning's probably not the real cause of death either."

"Aaaaah! Seriously!? How many times can a buncha people go back to square one in a single trial!?" Ryoto yelled, frustrated. "HANA! You'd better have some other idea about how Hiroshi died, DOES TIME NOT EXIST TO YOU?"

"H-Hey, cut me some slack! I don't like being confused any more than you guys do!" Hana replied, defensive. "It's not my fault the killer tried to mislead us in a million different ways!"

"B-But...we're just about out of leads, right...?" Asuna asked. "We talked about the rope...the stab wound, the slashings...e-even the head wound, and now- now, what's left? Th-There were no other injuries on Hiroshi, were there...?"

"..." Akira was silent, clearly deep in thought before she answered, "No. No, that's not true. There's still one more thing that could very well point to how Ashi died."

"A-Another thing!? Even after everything Hiroshi already went through!?" Ryoto asked, incredulous. "Man, the killer must have REALLY hated him!"

 _And I really can't imagine who in this room would hate him that much, but...I can't deal with that right now._ Hana told herself, trying to fight down any lingering feelings of doubt and grief. _I know exactly what Akira's talking about- and I agree, it might just be our best bet and finding Hiroshi's real cause of death. ...Or, well, it_ better _be- it's more or less our last lead..._

"You're talking about those burns, aren't you?" Hana asked with a little nod. "You saw them too, didn't you?"

"Burns...?" Hinata began, then gasped. "W-Wait! I saw them too! The- The- yeah! Burns!"

"W-What? What do you mean _burns?"_ Asuna asked, dumbfounded.

"Exactly what you think I mean, Izumi," Akira replied. "Ashi exhibited numerous, severe burns on his body. They were mostly concentrated around his torso, the most severe of which being around his chest and spreading from there. However, the burns were covered up by that shirt, so unless you actually lifted the shirt up, it's unlikely that you would see the burns."

"And you think those...burns had something to do with how Hiroshi was really killed?" Ryoto guessed, crossing his arms. "I SENSE A DEBATE COMING!"

 _At this point, there's no doubt in my mind that whatever caused those burns was what killed Hiroshi- and I think the others are starting to agree._ Hana thought with a mental nod. _But figuring out that 'what'...well, that's gonna be another challenge entirely, I'll bet._

"So, mysterious burns all over a dude's trunk..." Hinata pondered aloud. "Not a lotta things in this castle that'd cause that, huh?"

"Think outside the box, Hinata!" Ryoto told the thief. "It's obvious! The killer set Hiroshi on fire!"

"I-If the killer set him on fire, wouldn't there be burns all over his body? A-And not just around his chest?" Asuna asked, visibly cringing at the idea of setting someone on fire like that.

"Uh...maybe they contained it somehow?" Ryoto lamely argued.

"And why would they do that? If the blackened did decide to set Ashi on fire, it'd be in their best interests to let the flames do as much damage as possible to ensure his death," Akira responded. "In other words, not 'containing' it somehow."

"And even if they did use fire- how'd they get it? How'd they burn Hiroshi with it?" Hinata then asked. "I doubt they could have used the furnace or a fireplace..."

"Then they could have used one of the torches! There are some in the North Wing, right?" Ryoto inquired, confident.

"That can't be it either- those torches are completely attached to the walls, you'd need some kind of tool to remove any of them," Akira then refuted, shaking her head.

"Uh...i-if it wasn't fire, then maybe..." Asuna then spoke up after a moment of thought. "Could he have been burned by...electricity...? Electrical burns are a thing, aren't they?"

"Electricity? YEAH! NOTHING CAN BEAT THE POWER OF LIGHTNING!" Ryoto eagerly shouted.

"Now you guys are just being silly- electricity? How could the killer have done that?" Hinata demanded. "What, did they call down a lightning strike or something? Zap 'im with wires? There's even less evidence for that than the fire suggestion!"

It was difficult to sort out the different theories everyone was discussing and arguing- but finally, the mention of electricity triggered something in Hana's memory, and on reflex she found herself shouting, "Wait, that's wrong!"

"Actually- even if the idea that he was killed with fire is a bit far-fetched, I don't think the idea that he was _electrocuted_ is too out of the question," Hana explained a moment after. "First of all, there's an obvious place the killer could have done that: the power room."

"WAIT! I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS!" Ryoto suddenly interjected. "I was in the power room too! And there were a pair of really big cables hanging from the ceiling all broken and sparky!"

"I can confirm that- I, too, investigated the power room," Akira added. "And, since I walked near the cables to investigate the other side of the room-"

"You did _what?_ Without getting zapped?" Hana yelped, surprised.

"-I was able to tell those cables were still sparking quite powerfully, even though I imagined they'd have been broken for at least a day at that point," Akira explained. "Therefore, it's entirely possible the culprit could have electrocuted Ashi using those cables. The amount of electricity running through them, broken as they were, was immense- touching them would have at least severely injured any of us, possibly killed us as well."

"And I'm no expert, but I'd imagine electricity burns are different from fire burns," Hana chimed in. "That'd probably explain why the burns didn't go all over his body, instead just kinda spreading all over his torso. Especially if the killer just took the end of the cables and put them on Hiroshi's chest- that's...where the worst of the burns were."

"If that's true, then- that's probably _exactly_ what the killer did!" Ryoto surmised. "They just grabbed the broken ends of the cable and used them to ZAP Hiroshi to death! With so much electricity running through his body, there's no way he'd survive something like that!"

"That's right- if it didn't fry Ashi's insides and nerves, then the electricity passing right near his heart would have sent him into cardiac arrest almost immediately," Akira explained. "He'd be dead within seconds, if not instantly."

Asuna shuddered. "Oh my god...! Th-That's such an awful way to die...!"

Hana herself turned away as Akira described what most likely happened to Hiroshi as he died. "No kidding..."

"Okay...I can get behind that, except for one _little_ problem," Hinata replied. "You're saying the killer just took that broken cable- just _grabbed_ the thing and shoved the ends onto Hiroshi's chest to zap him?"

"That's what we said, yeah," Hana responded.

"But remember what Akira was saying about how much electricity was running through the cable?" Hinata pointed out, putting a hand on his hip. "How the hell could the killer have grabbed the cable like that without getting shocked themselves? I don't care how crazy they mighta been, no one would just grab a broken zappy cable with their bare hands!"

"Normally you'd be correct, Yonade," Akira responded, adjusting her glasses. "But the power room has some tools made specifically for working with dangerous wires and cables- the killer must have used one of those."

"Yeah, but what did they use? Tools or none, they're kinda useless without something to safely grab the cables with," Hinata argued with a frown.

 _Maybe not- maybe Akira has a point..._ Hana thought to herself. _I haven't been in the power room too much, but if I'm remembering things right...I think there is something in there the killer could have used to grab the cables without shocking themselves. I just gotta remember what it is...!_

It took a few moments of thought, but soon enough the surfer answered Hinata with, "Wait, Hinata- Akira's right, there _was_ something in the power room that would have let the killer hold the cables without hurting themself!"

"Whoa! Hana and Akira agreeing about something!?" Ryoto remarked, unable to hide his surprise. "Oh god, this trial really _is_ insane!"

"Quiet, Miura," Akira ordered the racecar driver. "Besides, I believe I know what Amari's referring to anyways. You're talking about those insulated gloves, correct?"

"Yeah, exactly! The rubber gloves on the table in the back- that's _gotta_ be what the killer used!" Hana confirmed with a nod. "Those gloves looked like they were made exactly for that- to protect whoever's wearing them from being electrocuted by live wires or cables! They're rubber, after all, and even I know rubber's a really good insulator!"

"I KNOW TOO!" Ryoto confirmed. "And I've been in the power room way more often, so I've seen those gloves for myself- they'd be PERFECT for safely grabbing onto those big cables!"

"I mean...that _has_ to be it, right? If those cables are so strong, then the killer would have needed some kind of precaution," Asuna remarked. "A-And if you're right about those gloves, then..."

"Then it really is the last piece of the puzzle, eh?" Hinata concluded with a satisfied nod. "M'kay- I can agree with that. We've seen plenty of weird stuff in these cases so far- a killer using insulated gloves so they can electrocute a guy with live cables doesn't seem that unreasonable, honestly."

"But more importantly, the evidence lines up," Akira went on. "The burns, the broken cable, the discrepancies with Ashi's other injuries...all of it points to electrocution being Ashi's true cause of death, with the true murder weapon being that cable! _That,_ finally, is the truth behind how Ashi was killed in the end!"

Turning to the others, she asked, "Any objections?"

Asuna spoke up, "Uh- not an objection, per se, but...what _about_ all those other injuries Hiroshi had? W-We can't just ignore those now that we've figured out how he really died, right?"

"Well, you're right about that- but finally figuring out how Hiroshi died is a step in the right direction," Hana responded. "Now that we know that, we can probably figure out the rest of the killer's plan more easily."

"Maybe, but- where do we go from here?" Hinata asked. "What do we talk about now?"

"Perhaps...knowing _how_ Ashi died, perhaps now we can sort out _when_ he died too," Akira suggested. "That should narrow down our list of suspects."

"But how are we gonna do that!? No one saw him for, like, two days! I think Hana was the last one to actually see him!" Ryoto shouted. "He could have died at ANY point after that!"

Hana was silent for a moment, then answered, "No, Ryoto- I may have been the last one to actually talk to Hiroshi, but I wasn't the last person to see him at all. That was someone else."

 _That's right- if Akira wants to narrow down a possible time of death for Hiroshi..._ she pondered. _Then what_ she _saw last night should give us a pretty major clue!_

"Asuna- you saw Hiroshi last night, didn't you?" Hana asked the gardener. "Just after the nighttime announcement- you even got us all out of our rooms to tell us."

"Th-That's right, I did!" Asuna confirmed. "But, uh- I already told you guys about it a bunch of times by now, especially you and Akira. I-I'm still standing by it, though!"

"I wouldn't expect you to change it- I'll admit, you've at least kept your story straight so far, so that at least indicates you're being truthful to some extent," Akira commented. "But more importantly- it provides to us the last time Ashi was seen alive."

"Yeah- about...a little after 10 last night, right?" Hinata surmised.

"And we found his body this morning at- what, 7:20-ish?" Ryoto guessed, frowning. "Waaaait, that's still a gap of WELL over nine hours!"

"Not to mention Hiroshi was missing for the entire day and night yesterday, too..." Hana pointed out. "To be missing for such a huge gap of time...what in the world was he doing?"

"It's irrelevant what Ashi was doing during the time he was missing before Izumi saw him last night- for right now, anyways," Akira refuted, glancing at Hana. "Our focus should be on what he was doing between when Izumi saw him and when we found his body- that nine-hour gap, as Miura said. That's when he was killed, no doubt."

"BUT HOW!?" Ryoto demanded. "We were all asleep! Well- except for Hiroshi and the killer, I guess- BUT THE _REST_ OF US WERE ASLEEP! That means no one really has a solid alibi! Any one of us could have woken up in the middle of the night, tracked down Hiroshi, and MURDERED him while we slept!"

"A-And I really don't think narrowing down a specific time during that gap will do much good..." Asuna also pointed out. "No matter what, i-it'd still be nighttime more or less. The only way that would _slightly_ help would be if it turned out the murder took place between the end of nighttime and when we found the body- and somehow, I-I don't think that's the case..."

"Yeah, that...doesn't seem like it's the right answer," Hana agreed with a sigh. _So much for things becoming easier once we figured out Hiroshi's cause of death..._

Akira let out a little, dissatisfied 'hmph'. "Well- it wouldn't be the first time we've had to deal with a culprit to killed while the rest of us were asleep. And every time, they left behind _some_ form of evidence pointing to their identity, just like all the other killers, so there's no reason to believe this killer was above that."

"Oh yeah? Well if you've got evidence that makes things just a little clearer, we'd all love to hear it!" Hinata growled at her. "Face it, this battle's still as uphill as it was when we started!"

Now, Akira narrowed her eyes at the thief. "Did I mumble, Yonade? There's always evidence of something- and with that evidence, we'll find a new path to tread in this trial."

 _And yet, she's not actually bringing up any evidence of her own..._ Hana observed in worry. _Not that I have much evidence of my own, but- I wonder...does she not have that much evidence to show either...?_

"..." Asuna shifted a bit in her spot, uncomfortable, before murmuring, "I, uh...I was wondering about something else too, but...I don't think it's relevant to what we're talking about now..."

"Who cares about relevance!? We're at a dead end, we'll take ANY leads AT ALL!" Ryoto insisted.

"W-We are not at a 'dead end', we just need to-" Akira attempted to argue, but even she didn't sound too convinced by her own words.

"Asuna- whatever's bothering you, it might be a major clue to finding Hiroshi's killer," Hana told the gardener. "So don't worry about what's relevant or not- just tell us, okay?"

"Well- if you insist," Asuna responded with a nod. "W-What I'm wondering is...ah..."

She then turned to- surprisingly- Monokuma. "Monokuma- you were doing work in the power room since the blackouts started yesterday, right? Th-That _is_ the reason you blocked off the North Wing to us, isn't it?"

"Oh? Am I a participant in this trial again?" Monokuma inquired, tilting his head a little. "You don't need me to answer that anyways- I told you guys loud and clear yesterday, didn't I?"

* * *

 _"Anyways! Sorry for this being such short-notice, but I've got an important announcement for you all!" Monokuma declared. "I'm not sure if you're all aware, but there was a bit of an issue with the castle's lighting a minute ago..."_

 _"Yeah- we noticed," Hana stated._

 _"W-What happened with that, exactly...?" Asuna inquired with a concerned frown._

 _"Oh, nothing too terrible! Just a, um- damaged cable in the North Wing's power room, pretty major one might I add," Monokuma explained. "Anyways, it'll take some time for me to repair it, during which there may still be some more intermittent blackouts throughout the castle- but nothing as big as the one that just occurred!"_

 _The bear continued on, "And one more thing- while these repairs are going on, the North Wing will be completely closed off! I'll even be re-blocking the entrances again to make sure of that! And if someone still manages to worm their way in, they're gonna be punished into next Tuesday!"_

 _"What? Why close off the entire wing?" Hinata asked, incredulous. "Wouldn't you just need to, you know, close off the power room alone or something?"_

 _"Because, Hoodie, it makes my job muuuch easier if I don't have to worry about you brats walking in on me or getting in my way!" Monokuma growled at him in annoyance._

 _Then, Asuna furrowed her brow and then asked, "Wait, why are you the one fixing the power room? Aren't you a robot?"_

 _"Well I don't suppose any of you people are Ultimate Electricians, are you?" Monokuma sarcastically responded to the gardener._

 _"Are you...?" Hana then inquired, raising an eyebrow._

 _"I'm more qualified, that's for sure!" Monokuma barked in response. "Now, enough with the interrogation! Heed my words, or get the axe!"_

* * *

Asuna nodded. "I...thought so. Okay, so...since that's the case..."

She then turned back to her classmates and blurted, "Th-Then how was Hiroshi's body in the North Wing!? N-Not even that- how did the killer _and_ Hiroshi get inside the North Wing? The murder must have happened in the power room, s-so they must have gotten in somehow, but- but how!?"

Hana's eyes widened. "Hey- you're right! That _is_ weird! We weren't allowed to go into the North Wing, and Monokuma wasn't exaggerating about blocking us out- the main door was locked, and the doorways all had those gates put back up..."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Indeed...in that case..."

She turned her scrutiny towards Monokuma yet again. "Monokuma- you were being serious about punishing anyone who went into the North Wing while it was blocked off, were you not?"

"I...I was..." Monokuma responded, sounding almost hesitant. "If you're gonna ask me how the murder happened in the same room as the one I was primarily working- don't! As the impartial judge, I can't tell you guys something like that!"

"But- you were working on it all day, weren't you?" Hinata asked, baffled.

"As long as I could, but even robotic overlords like me need beauty sleep at some point!" Monokuma answered.

"Uh...no you don't, you're- you're a robot..." Hana pointed out.

 _"...Wow-_ is that stereotyping? Are you discriminatory towards robots, Ms. Amari?" Monokuma asked, sounding almost offended by the Ultimate's comment. Then, he pondered to himself. "Hm- discrimination towards robots...is there a word for that...? Robot-ist? No, no- 'robophobic'!"

Then, he sighed in disappointment. "Nah, that'll never catch on either..."

"W...What are you-?" Hana asked, dumbfounded by Monokuma's rambling.

"Enough distractions!" Akira snapped. "Answer me, Monokuma- why didn't you punish Ashi or the killer for breaking your temporary 'no entering the North Wing' rule?"

"Puhuhu- well, _that's_ easy enough to answer!" the ursine robot responded as he returned to his usual, gleeful disposition. "Like I said, I needed to give myself a break- I was just about done with fixing the place anyways, all I really had to was fix that bigger cable- and since I had fixed just about everything else, I figured I could do it on my own time! It's not my fault someone decided it'd make a neat murder weapon!"

He chuckled. "But back to your question- if it was just Mr. Ashi waltzing into an off-limits area, I'd have clobbered him for sure. But then I saw our little blackened heading into the area as well- and, well, I could read in between the lines, I could read the mood! So who would I be to interfere with that, huh?"

"So- you didn't do anything to them...because you didn't want to interfere with a murder?" Hana surmised.

"J-Just like what you said during Shiori's trial about someone breaking something..." Asuna remarked. "If it was done for the sake of a murder plan, th-then you wouldn't punish them..."

"And the same idea applies here, too!" Monokuma cheerfully confirmed. "Because the blackened entered the North Wing to murder Mr. Ashi, I had no reason to punish either of them, and thus their plan was allowed to continue without interference!"

"Well- that explains why the murder was able to happen, even with Monokuma's new rule..." Hinata stated. "But that doesn't explain the bigger question: _how_ did they get into the North Wing to begin with?"

"Hm...what if..." Ryoto began.

"Please don't say that they phased through a wall or something else stupid," Akira told him, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Wha-!? You don't know that I was gonna say that!" Ryoto shouted at her defensively.

"...Were you?" Hana then asked.

"...Mmmmaybe..." Ryoto admitted, crossing his arms with a pout.

"...Anyways, uh- what Hinata said, that's...what I was _really_ wondering about, more than anything..." Asuna said, changing the subject back to relevance. "If all the entrances were really blocked, a-and I don't think any of them were tampered with or broken into, then..."

"Yeah- kinda a weird situation, huh? Like one of those locked room things, but- reverse," Hinata remarked, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought.

"I mean...you guys don't think there was some kind of secret passage into the North Wing, do you...?" Hana suggested. _I know, it's a stretch, and I've got literally no proof of it, but...it's kinda the only option, isn't it...?_

"Secret passage...?" Asuna began. "I...guess it wouldn't be the first time we've seen something like that in the context of a murder, b-but can we really be sure that's the case this time too...?"

Akira went silent, deep in thought, before her eyes widened in realization. "Actually...yes. Yes, we can be sure- I have evidence to prove it!"

Hana's shock was almost tangible. "You _do?"_

"HUH? _MORE_ SECRETS!?" Ryoto shouted in surprise. "N-Not even that- an actual secret passage!?"

"Well- perhaps calling it a 'secret passage' would be inaccurate," Akira replied, crossing her arms. "Towards the end of investigation, I was looking around the West Wing when I found something...interesting."

"The West Wing...?" Hana muttered to herself. _Huh- that's weird...the West Wing was where I showed Hiroshi that other catacomb entrance..._

"On the floor of one of the rooms, I found a...door of some kind," Akira explained with a furrowed brow. "And when I opened it- I found a set of stairs. Stone stairs, just like the ones leading to the North Wing catacombs."

Hana's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat from fear. _Wait...wait, wait, wait- the thing she's describing, it...it sounds a lot_ like-

"S-Stairs...?" Asuna began as realization dawned on her. "Th-Then-! What you found, could it have been-!?"

Akira nodded. "While I didn't have time to go down and explore myself- I have no doubt I found another set of catacombs, just like the ones that run under the North Wing."

By now, Hana's face was as pale as ever. _Oh no...oh god, this...this could be really,_ really _bad for me..._

"More catacombs!?" Hinata yelped in shock. "What, do the other wings have catacombs too!?"

"I can't confirm that, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case," Akira speculated.

"But..." Asuna began. "But- Monokuma, when Hiroshi and Hana were in the North Wing catacombs, didn't you tell them catacombs only extended under the North Wing and the north end of the courtyard!"

"No, I told them _those_ catacombs only ran under the North Wing and a bit into the northern section of the courtyard!" Monokuma answered. "Pay attention, Shorty!"

By this point, Hana was too worried about where Akira's train of thought was going to comment on anything that was happening. _Okay, okay, maybe- maybe I'm worrying for nothing! Sure, Akira found the West Wing's catacombs, but- but what are the odds they're connected to the murder, right...?_

"So Akira's telling the truth!? There ARE catacombs that run under the castle!?" Ryoto asked, bewildered. "Does that mean the East Wing and South Wing have them too!?"

"Puhuhu- use some of that deductive reasoning you guys love so much to figure that out!" Monokuma responded, leaning back in his throne with a wider grin.

"Like I said- that must be it. It would be odd if it was exclusive to two of the four wings," Akira repeated with a nod.

"Well...o-okay, more catacombs exist, that's...something..." Hana finally (and hesitantly) spoke up. "But- Akira, how does there being catacombs in the West Wing prove how Hiroshi and the killer got into the North Wing?"

"Well...admittedly, this is just speculation on my part," Akira responded with a frown. "But I believe the catacombs may be connected to one another in some way."

"C-Connected!?" Hana yelped, gulping. "H-How do you know that?"

"Again- it's just a theory of mine, and yet...somehow, it makes sense," the prosecutor explained. "If there _are_ catacombs under all wings of the castle, it stands to reason they'd be connected in some way. A massive stone maze, running right beneath our feet all this time."

"Whoa- I, uh...guess I shouldn't be _that_ surprised..." Hinata said to himself after a double-take. "We _are_ in a murder castle, so an...even bigger catacomb maze seems like it'd fit right in..."

"Y-Yeah, but- you can't say that for sure, right...?" Hana nervously pointed out. "They might not be connected, y-you can't really prove otherwise, s-so-"

"She's right!"

Hana quickly turned towards the source of the response- once again, Monokuma. "...Huh?"

"I mean- Ms. Rimutsu is completely right! Yeah, I'll confirm it right here for you guys- the catacombs are all connected to each other!" Monokuma suddenly declared. "Connected in a nice little circle- I'd show you guys a map, but I can't give everything away, now can I?"

Even Akira appeared shocked by Monokuma's revelation. "You're...just confirming this for us? Just like that? No strings attached, no...anything?"

"What's so shocking about that? It's my job to keep the trial fair, right?" Monokuma inquired. "Why would I hinder that in any way?"

"Well, uh- you did cut the investigation a little short, didn't you?" Ryoto pointed out with a little glare.

"Irrelevant!" Monokuma retorted.

Akira looked like she was about to point something else out...but ultimately, she sighed and turned back to Hana, remarking, "Well, Amari? Satisfied?"

"I...uh..." Hana stammered, unsure of how to go about responding.

"So THAT'S how Hiroshi and the killer did it!" Ryoto concluded, slamming a fist into the palm of his hand. "They both musta figured out how the catacombs were connected at some point, and THEN they used that knowledge to sneak into the North Wing!"

"Well, with the blocked doors, it's the _only_ way they could've gotten into the North Wing," Hinata clarified.

Meanwhile, Hana was trying to hide her growing panic as she listened to the others. She wasn't sure how well she was doing, but no one called her out on it right away, so perhaps she wasn't doing _so_ bad of a job. _Okay- okay, just...just stay cool, Hana. This looks bad for you, but- but there's gotta be a way to sort this all out. I know they're right about the catacombs being the only way Hiroshi and the killer could have gotten into the North Wing, but...there's gotta be some other angle to this..._

Asuna nervously adjusted her fedora before adding, "Question is- other than Akira, wh-who _else_ knew about the catacombs...?"

"Yeah- and come to think of it, Akira, how did _you_ find out about it?" Hinata inquired, leaning forward a bit with a narrowed gaze.

Akira, however, was unfazed. "I discovered it by chance, honestly- nothing too deep to explain there. As I said, it was during the tail end of the investigation. And while I was sure it would prove relevant eventually, I had no idea how at that point- which is why I didn't bring it up until now."

"As for who else could have known..." she went on. "I couldn't tell based on what little I was able to look at. It was clear someone had accessed the West Wing's entrance at some point, but as for who..."

"Well obviously Hiroshi knew about it- or at least saw it before he was killed!" Ryoto guessed. "And the killer, too! They musta found out about it at some point to use it in their murder plan!"

"I-I'm not sure about the killer, but if Hiroshi found out about it...why wouldn't he have said anything to us?" Asuna then asked with a downward glance.

Despite her better judgement, Hana found herself quickly responding, "I-I'm sure he would have, maybe he- maybe he only found out about it _that night,_ the night he was murdered, and he got killed before he could tell anyone about it!"

 _Oh goddammit, I am actually lying to their faces, why do I do these things!?_ Hana asked herself in her internal panic.

"Maybe- I can't imagine Hiroshi having a reason to hide something like that from us..." Hinata replied with a small, thoughtful frown.

"At any rate, we don't have time to dwell on whether Ashi knew or not, nor his motivation to hide the knowledge if he did," Akira remarked. "What we need to figure out is who else could have known- that person, or persons, will be our likeliest suspect or suspects."

Hana tried to mask how pale she was becoming with calmness, but it was proving more and more difficult by the second. _I was afraid she would say that..._

Even still, she tried to remember and make a note of all she could about the catacomb entrance in the West Wing- perhaps one of those details would lead to some kind of breakthrough, one that wouldn't lead to her becoming the top suspect.

"Well, Hinata and Asuna were investigating the West Wing the other day, right?" Ryoto pointed out before accusingly declaring, "That makes them SUSPICIOUS!"

"Uh, I think I would have remembered seeing something like a hidden door in the...floor?" Hinata began. "Akira said floor, right?"

"Yes, I found the entrance hidden in the floor of one of the rooms," Akira repeated.

"Yeah, I would have remembered that!" Hinata insisted.

"M-Me too, a-and I would have said something if I _had_ found it!" Asuna responded earnestly. "M-Me or Hinata wouldn't have a reason to hide it!"

"I'll admit, it's not the easiest to see at first glance," Akira conceded. "Much like the entrance in the North Wing, you probably wouldn't find it unless it was by pure accident or unless you have a particularly scrutinizing eye that can see those types of minor, ill-fitting details like an uneven brick or two."

"But what about access? Would the killer have been able to get into the passage if they found it?" Ryoto then asked. "It didn't have some impenetrable lock on it, did it!?"

"If it did, I doubt either the killer _or_ Ashi would have been able to enter the North Wing," Akira pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, I can personally attest to there being no locks."

Asuna then added, "Besides- the entrance in the North Wing was just a hidden door in the wall, right? Hard to find, b-but not to get into? S-So maybe the West Wing's entrance is the same way- a-anyone could have accessed it, really..."

"Wait, that's wrong!" Hana immediately yelled. "Hold on- the entrance in the West Wing is a little different than the one in the North Wing!"

"Uh...?" Asuna began with a furrowed brow. "What are you-?"

Hana, however, just kept going, desperate to make any kind of point that would narrow down some other suspects. "Unlike the North Wing, the entrance isn't something as simple as a hidden door or hatch- there's a huge, heavy piano on top of it too!"

When nobody said anything, she kept going, "You've all seen the piano in the ballroom- it wouldn't be easy to move by yourself unless you were one of the stronger people here! That means to access it, the killer would have needed help or they would had to have been-"

"Amari. Stop," Akira suddenly spoke up- her eyes were widened, and she even looked a little dumbfounded.

"Huh...? What? What'd I say?" Hana asked, just as confused.

"Just now- you were talking about the location of the West Wing's catacomb entrance," Akira explained, her bewilderment slowly giving away to anger. "About how that large piano was on top of it."

"Yeah...? What's wrong with that? It proves how-" Hana began...then let out a horrified gasp as realization dawned on her, one hand flying up to her mouth at the same time. Panicked, she thought to herself, _OH FUCK!_

Akira's glare grew all the more intense as she elaborated, "That's right...I said the entrance was in the West Wing, but I never once said it was in the ballroom, let alone _under the piano!"_

Hana didn't say anything in response- by now, both hands were over her mouth, her wide-eyed gaze was firmly fixed to the ground, and her face was as pale as a bedsheet as she quickly realized the terrible mistake she had made without initially realizing it.

"Wait, wait- the secret entrance is under the piano?" Hinata asked, dumbfounded. "That's the best the people who built this place could come up with...? I thought you were gonna say it was somewhere in the wine room or something..."

"Not the point, Yonade!" Akira shouted, her attention still focused on Hana. "Amari- explain yourself, now! How did you know where _exactly_ the West Wing's entrance was!?"

"I...I-!" Hana stammered, her heart racing as she tried to find a proper answer. "I-It's not what you guys think, I swear!"

"Sooo you didn't secretly discover the West Wing had a hidden second entrance to the catacombs at some point before the murder and kept it a secret from the rest of us until literally just now?" Ryoto asked- although based on his tone, he wasn't being sarcastic or accusatory in any way, he sounded genuinely curious.

Hana was silent for a moment, but she then responded, "O-Okay, so it's exactly what you guys think! B-But I swear I can explain!"

"E-Explain? Hana, you- you knew about the catacombs this whole time...?" Asuna asked as she tried to make sense of what had just been revealed. "W-Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"B-Because I didn't think it would be relevant to the case! How was I supposed to know the killer knew about it too!?" Hana cried. "And even when Akira first brought it up, I- I was worried you guys would think I was involved somehow, so I was hoping I could narrow down some other suspects-"

"What in the world did you think would happen!?" Akira demanded, furious. "Withholding information like this- of course you'd become suspicious!"

"When did you even find the entrance, anyways?" Hinata then inquired, still baffled. "Yesterday, a week ago, when the West Wing first opened-?"

"Ah- I don't know, like...the night before Hiroshi first went missing? S-So about...two days ago, I think?" Hana answered. "I-I swear, I knew keeping it a secret would be a bad idea, but Hiroshi mentioned how knowing there was a second set of catacombs wouldn't really help-"

"WHAAAAT!? HIROSHI KNEW TOO!?" Ryoto exclaimed in shock.

Once again, Hana yelped and threw her hands over her mouth in horror. _DAMMIT, NOT AGAIN!_

"What the fuck!? So he _did_ know!?" Hinata also cried. "H-Hana!? You wanna explain that, or-!?"

"I- okay, yes, he knew too! I found it, and then I told him about it that same night!" Hana confessed. "We both knew, and as far as I know we were the _only_ ones who knew before Hiroshi's murder! I didn't tell anyone, and I don't think he did either! He suggested not keeping it a secret forever, just...for a short time, that's all! We would have told you guys eventually, but-"

"Do you honestly think it matters what you two _would_ have done?" Akira asked. "Honestly, with this information, there's only one way to look at this: two people, Amari and Ashi, knew about the other catacombs before I found it during the investigation. And now one of them winds up murdered in a location that, at the time, could only have been accessed with those same catacombs."

Asuna's eyes widened in realization, and she asked, "W-Wait, Akira...! Y-You're not actually saying-!"

"I am," Akira coldly answered, then declared, "Hana Amari is the blackened of this trial!"

Hana nearly fell over from the shock of the prosecutor's words. "W- _WHAT!?_ "

"HOLY CRAP! I never thought I'd hear _that_ sentence ever!" Ryoto shouted in surprise.

"Get used to it, Miura- that appears to be the truth," Akira told him, sending yet another glare Hana's way.

"Truth!? No! No, it's not! I'm not the killer!" Hana cried, desperate. "Look, I know I should have said something about the catacombs sooner, I know it only makes me look worse, but I swear I had nothing to do with the murder!"

Akira scoffed. "That's hardly an argument, coming from you. Tell me- do you deny you and Ashi were most likely the only ones who knew about the western catacombs prior to the murder?"

"Uh-?" Hana began, taken aback. "N-Not exactly, no..."

"Do you deny you agreed to keep that information a secret, regardless of whose idea it was?"

"N-No, I-"

"Do you deny the only way the killer could have accessed the North Wing and its power room to murder Ashi was using the catacombs, since Monokuma blocked off all other entrances?"

"No! I just-"

"Then why, pray tell, should I _not_ believe you're the prime suspect!?" Akira snarled. "You were the only other person with the means to enter the North Wing- unless someone else wants to confess to knowing about the catacombs' secret."

"But...But-!" Hana stammered, attempting to grasp at some kind of argument. "What about what I was saying before!? I wasn't wrong when I was talking about how hard it'd be to move the piano to actually descend the steps easier, was I?"

Akira raised an eyebrow. "I was able to move the piano. Was it difficult? Yes- but not as impossible as you're trying to imply. And I'm not even that athletically inclined!"

Hana's face paled a little more upon hearing that. "...Uh..."

"And I'm assuming you and Ashi were able to fully access the stairs themselves?" Akira then inquired. "After all, I saw drag marks on the floor where the piano legs were, proving the piano was moved at least once before. Was it you that moved it then, Amari?"

"It...uh..." Hana began, unable to form a real response at first. "Not exactly...Hiroshi and I moved the piano together. He...asked me to help move it so he could get down the stairs easier."

"So in other words, two people can move the piano more easily?" Ryoto concluded.

"Well- we already know who knew about the other entrance, so talking about who would have capable to getting to it or not is kinda pointless by now," Hinata pointed out, glancing at Hana.

"B-But does that really mean Hana's the killer?" Asuna asked, worried. "I...I just can't believe it! She's been helping us this entire trial, just like always, s-so why would she keep doing that if she was guilty?"

"Yeah! Why _would_ I do that!? It makes no sense at all!" Hana shouted in affirmation.

"Well- perhaps Amari feels some level of remorse for her crime, and so is trying to allow herself to be caught in an indirect manner," Akira speculated. "It's not too different from what happened with Kunata or, to a lesser extent, Hamasaki."

"Don't go putting words in my mouth!" Hana yelled...then added with less certainty, "Or...thoughts in my head...y-you know what I mean!"

The surfer then pointed out, "Besides, we didn't actually go deep into the West Wing's catacombs- we had no idea where they led or whether they were connected to the North Wing or not, let alone if there were even more entrances in the other wings! We _never_ confirmed that! Wouldn't Hiroshi and/or the killer need to _know_ that in order to use the west catacombs to get into the North Wing?"

Akira, however, scoffed and responded, "That's easy for you to say, no doubt- but how can you prove to us you two truly didn't know? For all any of us know, you two _did_ explore the western catacombs at some point prior to the murder and, at the very least, discovered it connected to the North Wing's tunnels. Unless you can provide actual proof that I'm wrong?"

"Y-You are wrong! We really didn't know!" Hana insisted out of desperation. "I-I don't have proof of that, but...but-!"

She looked around to the others in a panic and said, "Guys, you have to believe me! Y-You guys _know_ me! I know I shouldn't have kept the western catacombs a secret, both me and Hiroshi, but- you guys know I'd never commit a murder! Not for _any_ reason! You know that!"

The Ultimate watched the expressions of her other three classmates, hoping for some kind of support...but all three of them had various faces of doubt and hesitation.

"...I, Ryoto Miura, would love to fully believe in you, Hana Amari!" Ryoto finally spoke up. "But...Akira makes a good point- the killer _had_ to have used one of the other tunnel entrances to get into the North Wing...and you and Hiroshi _were_ the only students who knew about the one in the West Wing..."

"Not to mention you _kept_ trying to keep it secret even after it started coming up in the trial..." Hinata added, his voice low. "If it hadn't been for that slip of the tongue, we might not've figured out you knew."

"I...want to believe in you too...!" Asuna went on, her tone shaky. "But there's...there's no evidence to completely _refute_ what Akira's suggesting, s-so...!"

Hana's eyes widened, and she nearly did a double-take. "W-What...!?"

 _No way- no, no, this is...this is wrong! This is SO wrong!_ the Ultimate Surfer told herself as she shifted her gaze between the other students. _I'm innocent- I know it! Unless someone bashed me over the head again, I_ know _I didn't kill Hiroshi! There...There has to be something that proves it, there HAS to be!_

"There's- There's gotta be more evidence! Look at the evidence again!" Hana suggested. "What about- what about in Hiroshi's bedroom? There had to be evidence in there, I'm sure _one_ of you had time to go inside during the investigation! Anyone!?"

Upon hearing this, Akira's expression shifted from accusatory to hesitant- much to Hana's surprise. Then, the Ultimate Prosecutor admitted, "Ashi's room...remained off-limits to us during the investigation."

"...Huh?" Hana began, baffled by this admission.

"It's true- I-I overheard her talking to Monokuma about it," Asuna spoke up. "H-He wouldn't _really_ explain why he wouldn't unlock the door to Hiroshi's bedroom, he just...refused to."

"Uh, I did explain! I said there was no relevant evidence to the case, so I figured there'd be no reason to waste your guys' time by opening the place up to investigation!" Monokuma explained.

"Wha-!? What kind of reason is that!?" Hana yelled at him. "You opened up _Mikio's_ room before his trial, and there was no evidence to find in there either!"

"I should know, I remember went in there to uh...borrow some stuff," Hinata affirmed...then chuckled and added, almost nostalgically, "Ah- those were the days, weren't they?"

"It's only been a couple weeks..." Asuna pointed out to him.

Monokuma growled, then shouted, "Okay, I'm not going through this interrogation again! The point is, I didn't open the door to Hiroshi's room during the investigation because there was no evidence inside, there's no changing anything now, so get over it already!"

 _'Get over it'? You probably just held back evidence from us! Am I the only one that sees a problem here!?_ Hana asked herself, bewildered.

"While I despise what Monokuma did during the investigation..." Akira said, shooting a withering glare at the bear before turning back to Hana. "It looks like we didn't need whatever was inside Ashi's bedroom after all- Amari's knowledge of the catacombs is compelling proof on its own."

"How many times do I have to say it!? Hiroshi and I barely knew anything about the West Wing's catacombs other than the fact that they existed!" Hana insisted again. "We didn't know anything about how it connected to any other catacombs, or- or-!"

"Well, there's no mistake the killer had to have utilized the catacombs to gain access to the North Wing- therefore, they would have needed knowledge of one of the other entrances," Akira reiterated. "In addition, you've done quite a job proving Yonade, Miura, and Izumi more or less innocent in one form or another, and I doubt you have evidence that paints _me_ in a suspicious light."

Narrowing her eyes, the prosecutor concluded, "With all that in mind, _Amari-_ do you see now why you're the last and likeliest suspect?"

"That's...That's it? You're just going based on process of elimination!?" Hana cried. "Yes, the fact that I knew about the West Wing's tunnels makes me suspicious, but- but what about the other evidence!? All that other evidence we've been talking about!?"

"That's...a good point, actually...!" Asuna remarked, her eyes widening. "I-If Hana is the killer, then- does that mean she did all that other stuff to Hiroshi?"

"Well...she _was_ the first person I told about the kitchen knife..." Ryoto pointed out, contemplative.

"That doesn't mean I could have taken it from your room! If you had the door locked like you said you did, how would I have been able to get inside to steal the knife?" Hana asked. "And even if I _did_ have the knife, it still would have been really hard for me to make one of those injuries we saw on Hiroshi!"

"What? Which injury?" Akira demanded.

 _That's easy enough to answer- we talked about it before, it was what I used to help prove Ryoto innocent..._ Hana pondered. _So, who says I can't use it to prove_ myself _innocent too?_

After gathering her thoughts, the surfer answered, "I'm talking about those cuts on Hiroshi's ankles. We talked about how precise and perfect those lacerations were, and how unlikely it is that Ryoto could have made them."

"And? What's that got to do with you?" Hinata inquired.

"Yes, you're the suspect here, not Miura," Akira pointed out.

"Well- do you guys really think _I'd_ be any more capable of making such perfect cuts in Hiroshi's ankles?" Hana asked. "No way! I'm not _that_ skilled with any kind of sharp thing! My talent is surfing, not...I dunno, surgery or something!"

"Oooh, those are some good points! You'd probably be HORRIBLE at surgery anyways!" Ryoto remarked with a nod.

"Well...what about what I heard in the wine room during yesterday's search?" Hinata then asked. "Wouldn't Hana have been able to kinda imitate Asuna's voice enough to trick me?"

"...Well, uh- I hope you're not gonna ask me to try, because I'm not a voice actress either," Hana stated with a worried frown.

Akira growled a little to herself and began, "That's not a-"

"H-Hana wouldn't have been able to do that anyways!" Asuna called out, cutting Akira off. "Remember when she talked about how me and her had a conversation in the courtyard around the time Hinata tried going to wine room? W-Well that alibi applies to her too! She saw me, I saw her, Akira saw both of us- we're each other's alibis! S-So there's no way she would have been able to be at the wine room to imitate me!"

In response, Hinata only let out a little 'tsk' and remarked, "Well- fair point, thought I had something there."

Akira, who was fuming at this point, refuted, "This-! This is...irrelevant! You- You dealt the killing blow in the power room, so you must have-"

"But what about all the other injuries Hiroshi had!? The other injuries!? If I killed Hiroshi with the cables, then I must have done all that other stuff to him!" Hana argued. "Bludgeoning him, mutilating his hands and wrists, hanging his body- all of it! There's no way I could have done _all_ of that!"

"Unless...did she have an accomplice?" Ryoto then asked.

"I _really_ doubt any of us would have anything to gain from helping out with a murder like this," Hinata refuted, shaking his head.

"A-And besides, Hana proved earlier how the three of us had little involvement in the crime," Asuna then reminded them. "So I think it proves how unlikely it is any of us would have been accomplices too..."

If Akira was merely fuming before, now she was so engulfed in rage that Hana was concerned the young woman would actually burst into flames.

Despite this, Hana spoke up, "See? I may the prime suspect right now, but that hardly means anything when there's so many other questions we need to answer! So unless we can-"

 _"Enough!"_ Akira suddenly shouted, even slamming a fist down on her podium- both of which were more than enough to render the class silent.

Panting, Akira haphazardly adjusted her tie (which actually made it look less neat) and snarled, "Why...Why don't you _ever_ know when to stop talking!? Face the facts! You're the only suspect left, Amari, whether it makes perfect sense or not! That's the _only_ truth we can see with the evidence we have! Why can't any of you just accept that!?"

"Well maybe if _someone_ hadn't cut off our investigation, we wouldn't be in this bullshit!" Hinata growled, turning to Monokuma.

"Hey, what are ya blaming me for? You all know the rules by now! It's not my fault you didn't know how to use your time wisely!" the robotic bear responded innocently.

"It...doesn't matter..." Akira began, appearing both exhausted and frustrated. "There's only one suspect left- and based on how this killing game works, it _must_ be you, Amari! There's no way around it!"

"Well that's- that's wrong! Because it wasn't me!" Hana retorted with just as much fire.

 _I can't believe this is blind accusation thing is happening again- why is Akira so desperate to make me the blackened? I really don't think she's the killer, so that can't be it..._ Hana asked herself with growing worry. _What, does she hate me that much? No, no, she wouldn't make it that personal. But..._

She gazed at Akira again, who looked a little more disheveled than when the trial started. _I'm started to feel like even_ she _doesn't totally believe what she's saying anymore. So then...why is she still going with it...?_

"Stop saying it wasn't you, _that's not evidence!_ You've proved how it wasn't Miura, or Yonade, or Izumi, I'm certainly not the culprit and I don't believe you have evidence to contradict that, Ashi didn't commit suicide-!" the prosecutor rambled. "So if it wasn't _you,_ then who was it then!? Who murdered Ashi!? Answer _that,_ if you're so innocent!"

"Well- maybe it was- it was-!" Hana stammered, scrambling to form some kind of argument- anything to prove her own innocence!

Finally, the Ultimate Surfer found herself blurting out, "Maybe it was someone else entirely! Some kind of third party! You ever think of _that!?"_

Akira let out a small, humorless laugh. "Really, Amari? A _third party_ was responsible for this crime?"

"Can that even happen?" Ryoto asked, glancing down at the floor as he tried to contemplate the idea.

"O-Of course not! Why would someone outside the killing game's participants commit a murder?" Monokuma asked with a little, almost nervous-sounding chuckle. "And it's not like I'd allow that to happen anyways! This killing game's no good unless you guys are the ones killing each other!"

Hana cringed, mentally agreeing that it was an odd idea and wondering why she suggested it. But then, the Ultimate began to think on the idea more...and soon enough, her doubts towards the idea diminished.

 _"...Is_ it such a weird idea...?" Hana asked, her eyes narrowed contemplatively. "I proved how Ryoto, Hinata, and Asuna didn't commit the murder...there's nothing to implicate Akira...Hiroshi didn't commit suicide... _I'm_ sure as hell not the killer..."

Looking up with determination in her eyes, Hana ignored Monokuma and concluded, "By this point, a third party being the blackened doesn't sound too crazy at all!"

"What the-!? Yeah it does! You're saying someone _outside the killing game_ committed the murder!?" Hinata blurted in bewilderment. "Why would someone do that!? _Who_ would even do that!?"

"I can't believe you're actually following this asinine law of reasoning!" Akira shouted. "I always knew you were an idiot, but to actually entertain such an idea- do you have a death wish!?"

"W-Well...she makes a good point..." Asuna admitted. "It wasn't suicide, it wasn't the three of us, I don't think it was you Akira, a-and I really doubt it was Hana...!"

"Exactly! There are literally no other obvious suspects- but Hiroshi was _clearly_ murdered by someone!" Hana claimed. "So what does that tell you?"

"'No other obvious suspects'? That's completely false- I'm looking at one right now!" Akira refuted, glaring at the surfer. "And if you're so insistent that the culprit was some mysterious third party, then you must have some evidence of this suspect's identity or existence, right?"

"I..." Hana began, deflating somewhat. "It's...just an instinct, honestly."

She furiously shook her head and went on, "But you can't deny there's something really wrong with this trial! Monokuma cut the investigation shorter than usual, he refused to let us enter Hiroshi's bedroom- doesn't that seem wrong to you guys!?"

"...You know, I think I might just revoke your right to speak after all," Monokuma coldly stated, his gaze laser-focused on Hana.

"What!?" Hana yelped.

"Monokuma's actions are irrelevant- if you have no real proof, why should we give your idea the time of day!? It's just useless babbling, that's all you're doing!" the Ultimate Prosecutor retorted. "The way I see it, you're still _quite_ suspicious!"

She then glanced around the room at the other three students before remarking, "And in fact, much of what you used to prove these three innocent could be interpreted as circumstantial, so they're not entirely off the hook either!"

"CIRCUMSTANTIAL!?" Ryoto cried in panic. "NO! I'M INNOCENT I TELL YOU!"

"I...I...!" Hinata stammered, looking around. "I don't know what to think anymore! Can we take a break or somethin'!? My brain feels like it's gonna explode!"

"I-I don't want to suspect Hana...but I don't know what we'd do if the culprit turned out to be a third party..." Asuna said to herself, her panic growing more and more as she gripped her fedora like her life depended on it. "I-I think I'd like a break too!"

 _I don't know why, but I'm really starting to like the idea of Hiroshi's killer being someone outside the killing game- but I...I don't have proof!_ Hana thought, anxious. _At the very least, I have to prove it couldn't have been the five of us, and I- I just don't have anything like that! Do I? DO I!?_

"What's wrong, Amari? Finally learned how to be quiet?" Akira inquired in what was close to a sneer.

Hana didn't answer, grasping her head in her hands as she desperately tried to think. _Come on, come on, there's gotta be something! If I'm right, then- then the evidence should reflect that, right...? But- I think we're just about_ missing _evidence, what am I supposed to do about that!?_

She took a short, quiet breath to try and calm herself. _No, no, I can't give up yet! With the evidence I_ do _have- there_ must _be something that proves all five of us innocent! What is it, the- the time Hiroshi first disappeared? When Asuna saw him heading into the East Wing last night? The...The rope, or the knife? Or- Or what about the cables in the power room, the actual murder weapon? Or maybe those blackouts we've been having are-_

 _...Wait a second..._

Suddenly, amongst her panicked and disorganized thoughts...by some miracle, an idea formed in her head. It was a long shot, and a hunch, and she could very well be wrong...but in Hana's mind, it was her last chance.

"...Hey...Monokuma, can I ask you something?" the Ultimate asked the monochrome bear.

"I don't know- I'm still considering revoking your speaking rights," Monokuma answered matter-of-factly.

"D-Don't worry, I'm not gonna accuse you of anything! Just a normal question, that's it!" Hana quickly insisted.

"...Alright. Ask your dumb little question," the bear finally conceded, sitting back in his chair.

"Okay- ah...about the power room, and the blackouts..." Hana began, trying to choose her words carefully. "The power room looked like it had a ton of work done on it, but...the main issue was that big, broken cable hanging from the ceiling, right? The same one the killer used on Hiroshi?"

"That's right! All those cables up there are major power lines running through the castle- if even one of them were to be damaged, as you all saw, it would cause tons of issues like blackouts!" Monokuma explained.

"Alright..." Hana replied with a little nod. "So my question is: how did that cable get broken?"

"...Eh?" Monokuma said, doing a little double-take.

"How did that cable get broken?" Hana asked again, this time with more force in her voice. "It's been perfectly fine since this killing game began- I mean, we've never had any blackouts- so what changed? What caused it to be broken in half like that?"

"Uh...ah...that's..." Monokuma began, floundering in his seat as he tried to form a response. "That, uh...there's a lot of things that could have caused it, you know? Like- Like you teens using too much electricity!"

Angrily, he ranted, "Yeah! Kids these days forgetting how to conserve electricity, not shutting off lights and devices when you're done with them- don't any of you care about the environment!?"

"I care about the environment!" Asuna spoke up, indignant.

"THEN CARE HARDER!" Monokuma shouted at her.

"You didn't answer my question!" Hana snapped at the bear...then took a deep breath. "No, actually- you know what? I think I already know the answer- the way you avoided my question just now proved it."

"Whaaat!?" Monokuma demanded.

"Amari, what are you going on about now?" Akira also asked. "Why are you asking about the broken cable?"

"Because I think we were mistaken about something- we've _been_ mistakenly about something," Hana explained. "This whole time, we assumed the cable being broken was from some electrical issue- that's what was causing the blackouts and why the killer was able to use it to murder Hiroshi."

"Well- yeah," Hinata stated, as if Hana's words were completely obvious. "What's wrong with that? Are you gonna say that cable wasn't the murder weapon?"

"No- I'm as certain as you guys that the cable was what the culprit used," Hana responded. "What we were wrong to assume, though, was _how_ the cable got broken."

"How it was broken...? Are you saying it wasn't some- some power surge?" Asuna asked.

"Exactly," Hana answered. "I think the reason the cable was damaged was because..."

She hesitated a moment to gather her thoughts- after all, she couldn't afford to be wrong here- and declared, "Because the _killer themselves_ broke the cable!"

"WHAT!? What does that mean?" Ryoto yelped. "And why are you treating it like some massive bombshell?"

"Because this entire time we were assuming the cable bursting and causing the blackouts and the killer using it to kill Hiroshi were two separate events- but the way Monokuma answered just now proved it's not like that," Hana explained. "Because he tries his hardest not to give us any information that would directly lead to the blackened- so why would he avoid telling me how the cable got broken unless it was because the culprit was the one who damaged it?"

"Buuut that doesn't explain why you think it's so important!" Ryoto responded. "Okay, so- the cable was physically ripped in half by the killer, and then they used it to zap Hiroshi to death, big deal! What's changed now that we know that?"

"It changes _everything!"_ Hana told him. "It's the proof that none of the five of us- not me, not Akira, not any of us- are the blackened!"

"You're not even grasping at straws anymore- you're grabbing at every straw imaginable!" Akira yelled at her. "To actually go ahead and say that no one is the killer- are you insane!? That's never been how this killing game worked! The victim is a student, the blackened is a student- it's a terrible bastardization of justice, but it's the situation we've been in for weeks now, and its format hasn't changed at all!"

She thrust a finger at Hana and shouted, "The killer _has_ to be one of us- that's how it's always been! There's no mistake!"

 _...She's still trying to prove one of us is the killer, huh...?_ Hana thought with a frown. _I still don't really get it, but...if it's proof she wants, then it's proof she'll get._

"It's not that simple, Akira- and I'll prove it to you!" the Ultimate Surfer responded. "But first, I've got a question for you guys- did you notice how, even though that big cable in the power room is still _very much_ broken, we haven't had any huge blackouts since this morning?"

"Probably because Monokuma fixed some other stuff, right?" Hinata surmised.

"Yeah, but- you know what that means? It means that broken cable wasn't the real cause of the blackouts, or at least not the _major_ cause- yeah, the smaller ones that came after probably were, but not that first one we had yesterday morning. Otherwise, I'm sure even Monokuma would have fixed it," Hana explained, glancing at the bear in question.

"Well- okay!" Ryoto yelled in response. "So what _did_ cause that first blackout!? And how does it prove anyone innocent!?"

"Easy- the killer broke the cable in half so they could use the live, sparking ends to electrocute Hiroshi, right?" Hana began. "So they had to have done that _just_ before Hiroshi was murdered, right? And if breaking the cable itself wasn't necessarily what caused the first blackout..."

She then concluded, raising her voice as she did, "Then it must have been shocking Hiroshi that caused it! All that electricity running through his body and the cable must have caused some kind of surge that not only killed him, but blew out some other stuff that triggered that first blackout too!"

"H-Huh!? So...you're saying that first blackout happened at just about the same time Hiroshi was murdered...? _That_ would be his time of death?" Asuna concluded.

"Uh-huh- it still fits with how we know Hiroshi was killed, and it explains some of those other discrepancies I talked about," Hana explained. "Like the fact that the cable is still broken, and the way Monokuma answered my question before..."

The surfer continued, "But more importantly- do you guys remember where each of us were when that first, huge blackout hit?"

* * *

 _"Gaaah- can't we go ONE DAY without DEATH?" Ryoto shouted to the ceiling. "I, Ryoto Miura, hate it! We can't even go_ one _morning without something AWFUL happening!"_

 _That's when the entire dining room became covered in pitch blackness, the faint sound of the lights shutting themselves down the only thing to precede the event._

 _"W-Wha-!?" Hana blurted in absolute shock, barely registering what had just occurred for a moment._

 _After that, a high-pitched scream cut through the air, and it sounded eerily close by..._

 _"Izumi, pull yourself together!" Akira shouted through the darkness. "Now's not the time for panic!"_

 _"Th-That wasn't me!" Asuna indignantly responded._

 _"Y-Yeah, no way to know who that was, totally..." Hinata spoke up sheepishly. "Honestly, I think- I think it was Ryoto, really."_

 _"I can't even SEE you, and even I KNOW THAT WAS A LIE!" Ryoto roared into Hinata's direction._

 _"Okay, I hate blackouts, sue me!" Hinata finally admitted, the sound of his hoodie rustling indicating he had thrown his arms into the air._

* * *

"The...The dining room! The five of us were all in the dining room, Ryoto Miura heard everyone!" Ryoto responded, raising his hand as he answered.

"Exactly! We were all in the dining room the entire time the blackout happened- no one left, no one hid anywhere..." Hana explained, growing more eager as she spoke. "So if I'm right about my theory about when Hiroshi died, then- then we're each other's alibis! We all saw and heard each other the whole time- nobody could have been at the power room!"

Turning to face Akira directly, Hana shouted, _"So unless one of us can be in two places at once, it's_ impossible _for any one of us here to have murdered Hiroshi!"_

Akira had gone completely silent, looking completely stunned by Hana's conclusion.

"...Think about it, Akira- even you can't deny facts, right?" Hana stated, crossing her arms as she awaited a response.

The prosecutor remained in shocked silence for a few more seconds before muttering, "There's...no way, then...this whole trial, it...it's...!"

"...Guuuys? I think Hana broke Akira!" Ryoto called out, pointing to the dumbfounded Ultimate in question.

"Well, shit- I knew it was only a matter of time," Hinata remarked rather nonchalantly.

"Uh- guys?" Asuna spoke up. "I-If we're agreeing that first blackout happened almost in tangent with Hiroshi's death, then- does anyone remember the time the first blackout happened?"

"I think I do," Hana responded. _Right- the time of the first blackout, the one in the dining room, was..._

The Ultimate answered, "It was 7:50- I saw it on my e-Handbook when we decided to use them as a light source."

* * *

 _"Uh- uh- maybe we should turn on our e-Handbooks?" Asuna suggested. "As, you know- a light source?"_

 _"I like that plan!" Hana quickly responded as she whipped out the device and turned its screen on. She was greeted by the usual blue light and the colorful icons, as well as the time (being 7:50 AM) displayed clear as day. The others followed suit, turning on their own handbooks and illuminating their faces in blue._

* * *

"GREAT! We finally got Hiroshi's cause of death and time of death!" Ryoto cheered with a laugh. "And it only took us- uh, I dunno how long it's been, does anyone really keep track of how long these trials are?"

"I do!~ As your headmaster, judge, jury, secretary, and brutal executioner, it's my job to keep close tab on the length of trials to know when the voting time should start!" Monokuma chimed in, pumping a little metal fist in the air. "But I'm glad you brought that up, because it allows me to make a smooth segue into..."

He whipped out that familiar gavel again and banged it on the wooden armrest of his throne. "TIIIIME'S UP!"

The whole room fell into a baffled silence upon hearing this. Finally, Asuna was the one to break it by asking, "C-Come again...?"

"I said 'time's up'! It's over! Done! Completed!" Monokuma responded. "This trial has come to an end!"

"The trial- _what?"_ Hana asked, dumbfounded. "What do you mean it's over?"

"I mean you guys have run out of time! This trial's dragging on way too long, and so I'm using my authority as this killing game's overseer to skip straight ahead to the voting time!" Monokuma gleefully explained. "The time for debates is over- the time for punishments is now!"

"What!? 'Way too long'!? Bullshit, we've had trials that went on way longer than this!" Hinata shouted, then asked himself more quietly, "I think...? Yeah? Yeah, we have!"

"Not only that, but- but Hana JUST explained how all five of us are innocent!" Ryoto cried. "Literally NO ONE here could have been the killer!"

"Ah-ah-ha! You know the rules- each trial must end with a vote for who you think the blackened is! It's not my fault you all didn't use your time wisely enough to find the killer," Monokuma coldly responded, all with that trademark grin on his face.

"But no one's the killer! I just proved how!" Hana yelled in panic. "You can't start the voting like this!"

"Can and will!" Monokuma replied. "Guess you'll just have to play the luck game- pick a person and vote! You've got a one in five chance- those odds aren't _so_ bad!"

Akira looked around for a moment, then turned to Monokuma and said, "Monokuma, really- you can't just do this! There- There must be more to discuss, more to figure out who the killer is! How do you expect us to vote if we don't have a suspect to vote for!?"

"I dunno! You guys are smart- you can figure something out!" the bear casually responded.

"But-! But if Hana's right, then we'll be wrong no matter who we vote for!" Asuna cried out, anxious. "A-And if we're wrong, then- then we'll be executed! We'll be killed!"

"Not my problem! I just make sure the rules are enforced, and lo and behold execution for voting for the wrong person is in the rules!" Monokuma reminded her. "So, I'm perfectly fine with a mass execution if it comes down to it!"

He then added, "Oh, and- remember, you all _have_ to vote for someone! No abstaining, otherwise you'll _definitely_ face punishment!"

"N-No way...!" Hana gasped, her face paling as the reality of the situation set in. _Oh god- this is just a lose situation no matter what we do, isn't it? We can't get out of voting, but if we vote for_ anyone _we'll be wrong, and then we'll be dead, and then-!_

She looked around at the panic-laden faces of her classmates- even Akira's calm composure was tattered at the seams, complemented by her already somewhat disheveled appearance.

 _Think, think, there has to be a way around this- if we have to vote, then- then what can we do? We can't take a one in five chance- it's not a chance at all actually, because I just proved all of us innocent!_ Hana thought, growing more fearful by the second. _Even if we try to split the voting- there's five of us! It'll create a majority for someone, and that person will be considered our vote, but it won't matter because we'll be wrong no matter what-!_

She softly groaned, burying her face in her hands. _Why can't we just have a five-way tie or something!?_

 _...Wait a second- that's...not a bad idea, actually._

"S-So- what, are we just supposed to take the one in five chance...?" Hinata asked, visibly uncertain.

"NO WAY! We're all spotless! We can't vote for ANYONE!" Ryoto loudly reminded him. "THAT CHANCE IS FAKE! WE _CAN'T_ TAKE IT!"

"We won't have to!" Hana suddenly shouted. "Guys- listen to me! I have an idea!"

Akira growled, "Amari, now is _not_ the time for one of your stupid-"

"No, hear me out! Seriously!" Hana pleaded, swiftly looking around at her classmates. "I know how to get past the voting- let's all vote for ourselves!"

"W-What? What does _that_ mean?" Asuna asked in bewilderment.

"I mean- I vote for myself, Asuna- you'd vote for yourself, Hinata would vote for himself..." Hana explained. "So on, so forth, all that!"

"But how's that gonna help us!? It'll just create a five-way tie!" Hinata told her.

"Exactly! A five-way tie! That way we won't get in trouble for not voting at all, and there won't be a majority, which means we won't be voting for the wrong person!" Hana replied.

"What!? That'll never work! We'd just be signing our own death warrants!" Akira yelled.

"But- we gotta do SOMETHING!" Ryoto shouted in response. "I don't really get all that loophole shit, but I'm gonna trust that Hana _does_ get it!"

"I-I'll trust Hana too! Even if we weren't in a life-or-death situation, I-I'd still trust her!" Asuna declared with a nod.

"Well- at this point, we don't have many options, do we?" Hinata pointed out with a sigh. "I'll do it, if it means not dying a horrible death- hope you're right about this."

Akira stared at the other students, baffled, before speaking up, "What!? You're all going along with this!? Have you lost your senses completely!?"

"Akira, Hinata's right- we don't have any other options anyways! This is the best thing we can do!" Hana insisted. "Can't you realize actually voting for someone for real will definitely kill us!? At least this way-"

"This way is just as much of a risk! What makes you think Monokuma will accept the vote!? How do you know this won't be considered breaking the rules either!?" Akira demanded. "This latest little gambit of yours is a certified death trap!"

"So is voting normally! At least with my idea, we have an actual possibility to survive!" Hana yelled. "But we need everyone to be on board for it to work- including you! Why can't you see this is the best choice!?"

"Because this can't be the right choice! Messing with the voting like this- we've never done anything like it before! You can't know the risk will pay off!" Akira shouted. "You're just sending everyone to their deaths, that's all this 'plan' of yours is doing!"

She went on, growing angrier and more desperate as she said, "As usual, you're putting everyone's lives at risk with your baseless assumptions and gambles- and just like before, I _won't_ allow it! On my honor as the Ultimate Prosecutor, I _can't_ allow this to happen!"

"'As usual'!? 'Again'!?" Hana cried, dumbfounded, before growling, "When have I _ever_ put our lives on the line by-"

Suddenly, Hana froze as she considered Akira's words...and then, realization struck her.

* * *

 _"Hmph! So that's it then, your entire argument right now is that 'Izumi is innocent because she was friends with the victim'?" Akira inquired with a glare. "Pathetic. Those kinds of relationships mean nothing in this game, and your argument is completely empty."_

 _"Well! Maybe there's something we missed! Another angle!" Hana insisted._

 _"Oh? And I suppose this 'angle' is based on your feelings too?" Akira asked, shaking her head. "Is that honestly what you're doing Amari? You're putting our lives at risk, just because of your damned feelings?"_

 _"N-No! I want to find the truth as much you do! But I just...I can't imagine Asuna as the culprit!" Hana explained. "Akira, if you're wrong about this-"_

 _"If_ you're _wrong, Amari, we die," Akira scowled. "I at least have evidence to support my theory. What do you have, huh? Baseless emotions? Those feelings will only blind you to the real truth."_

* * *

 _"Would you be quiet already, Amari?" Akira growled at the surfer. "Face it, you've lost, I've uncovered the truth of this case, and all we have to do is vote for the blackened!"_

 _"But he's not the blackened!" Hana shouted. "This is a mistake, I'm sure of it!"_

 _"Yamamoto literally wrote a note telling Koichi that he would kill him! You yourself even confirmed that he was the one who wrote it!" Akira yelled._

 _"He was trying to_ help _Shiro, not kill him-!" Hana yelled right back, her anger only growing by the second- it would probably lead to a massive headache on the count of her concussion, but the surfer didn't care at that moment._

* * *

 _"Arguing that I'm the one in the wrong is bold, coming from you- at least my theories are based on more than just goddamn_ instinct!" _the Ultimate Prosecutor furiously said to the surfer. "You haven't changed in the slightest, Amari, and I refuse to allow you and your faulty reasoning to get us all killed. There is no way Sauchi was killed anywhere besides the tower, and I will prove it!"_

 _"Ah, you've gotta be kidding me...!" Hana told herself, staring back at Akira as she tried to hide her apprehension._

* * *

"...Ooh..." Hana muttered to herself, her eyes growing wide. "Oh, I...I get it now..."

"What? What are you going on about now?" Akira furiously inquired.

"Ah...Akira- do you remember when you and I talked in the courtyard yesterday?" Hana asked. "And...I asked if there was more to why you hated me besides the whole 'I have a useless talent and yet I keep solving the murders while you can't so it hurts your pride' thing?"

Akira narrowed her eyes, but nodded regardless.

"Well, I...I think I finally figured it out. The real reason- or, well, the other real reason you hate me..." Hana began. "It's because I take risks, isn't it?"

Now, Akira furrowed her brow. "What?"

"You're Akira Rimutsu- the greatest prosecutor in Japan! You've gotten to the truth in so many cases, even if it meant you'd lose a trial, right? You had to have taken risks in those trials, haven't you?" Hana asked. "But during this killing game, you...haven't really done that. When it comes to these trials, you've been the _least_ riskiest person of all of us- you focus on what the evidence _alone_ says to find the most obvious suspect, and then you just- stick with that person until there's no more denying it!"

Akira's anger returned in full force with a furious glare directed at Hana. "Amari, I suggest you-"

"B-But! But- I get it now! This killing game, its class trials- they're nothing like the normal courtroom trials you're used to, right?" Hana then asked. "In those normal trials, the most that's at stake is...you know, the defendant and their freedom, but you're used to that- _you_ and everyone else in the courtroom will be able to keep going with your daily lives."

She shook her head and continued, "But this place? This place isn't like that at all- it's either you find the truth or...you die! You can't really afford to take so many risks here- a wrong answer would mean death to everyone, including you, except the culprit!"

Akira took a few deep, exhausted breaths before snarling, "Don't...Don't talk as if you know me. You _don't_ know me- you don't understand how I think! What I believe!"

But Hana kept going. "But me? This entire killing game, I've been doing the opposite- most of the time, I'm doing nothing _but_ taking risks. To you, I'm probably no better than a devil's advocate- I argue for the minority side, the side that you're usually not on, Akira...the side that, to you, is misleading and misguided because it's not backed up by evidence. Well- at first, anyways."

"So to you, who's trying to take as few risks as possible to avoid dying..." Hana concluded. "To you, every time I make an argument against you is like...it's like I'm trying to get everyone killed, even though that's _definitely not_ what I'm trying to do! And that's why you can't stand me, right? Right?"

"..." Akira was deathly silent for a few moments, then she quietly responded, "Everything I do in these trials...everything I do in _any_ trial I take part in...is for the sake of finding the truth. This killing game...these class trials...have only made me more acutely aware of that. Because it's as you said- finding the truth is survival, and anything less means the innocents become hanged in place of the guilty."

She gripped her podium a little tighter and continued, "And me- I'm the Ultimate Prosecutor. Uncovering the truth is what I strive for, it's my life's purpose- nowhere has that become more apparent than inside these damn trial rooms, where failing to live up to that purpose means we _all_ die. The thought of dying in such a meaningless way, that alone is enough to...it's enough to..."

"It... _scares_ you...?" Asuna realized, unable to hide her shock.

"...That thought alone would be one thing..." Akira went on, not confirming or denying Asuna'a realization. "But to think that such an outcome would be on _my_ shoulders...because I failed to find the truth, failed my job as a bringer of justice...it's an outcome I would do anything to avoid, even if meant I'd have to play the trials as safe as possible."

She clenched her fists and glared daggers at Hana. "And then _you_ come along, with your baseless arguments with barely any evidence initially, destroying my own carefully laid theories- and then _you_ turn out to be the one in the right? You were the one who found the truth, found the culprit, while _I_ was in the wrong- and had _you_ not done anything, everyone would have listened to me, and it would have resulted in all of our deaths!"

"Do you have any idea what it's like to live day by day with that knowledge!? The knowledge that everyone's deaths would have been your shoulders had someone else not stepped in?" Akira demanded -by now, her hands were starting to tremble, but the rage in her eyes hadn't diminished. "Every time I so much as _look_ at you, Amari, I'm reminded of that fact!"

She then took her glasses off and concluded, "You are the embodiment of all my shortcomings in these trials, all the times I nearly led everyone to death- that is why I hate you! Because not only do you undermine and upstage my skills as the Ultimate Prosecutor, but you put everyone's lives at risk with your opposing arguments in almost every single trial...! Even now, with this gamble of yours, it's..."

As the Ultimate Prosecutor fell silent, Hana remained quiet as well as she tried to sort out what to say in response...but then, someone started for her.

"...You know, Akira- if you'd been a little more honest and open about how you really felt, I'm sure _someone_ around here woulda listened to you," Hinata informed her. "Believe it or not, a lot of us are pretty scared of dying in these trials too, so it's not like anyone would have judged or thought less of you."

"Exactly! We're _all_ doing our best in these trials- except the killers, most of the time, I guess- even if certain _somebodies_ are a little misguided sometimes!" Ryoto added, vaguely gesturing around him. "Ryoto Miura says it's not a good idea to just keep all that fear bottled up like that- you have to LET IT OUT! SCREAM OR SOMETHIN' I DUNNO!"

"..." Akira scoffed and turned away. "I don't need a lecture from any of you."

"Akira- another thing you told me is that you and I are nothing alike," Hana spoke up. "And I completely agreed with you- I still agree, actually, to an extent. But now...you know what we _do_ have in common?"

The prosecutor only glanced at Hana, saying nothing.

"We both try our damn hardest to make sure the blackened doesn't win," Hana explained. "And we're both afraid of what will happen if we fail at that. Right now, I'm terrified out of my mind, but- I'm going through with my plan, because it's the right decision. It's what will help give us that win over the culprit, whoever they are!"

She looked Akira straight in the eye and pleaded, "But it won't work unless all five of us commit to it- that means you too, Akira! I want to survive this trial as much as you do- we all do! If you want to make up for your mistakes from before, then _please-_ help us with this! It's all we've got!"

"...How do you know...?" Akira asked, turning to face the other girl directly. "How do you know it will work? How do you know Monokuma won't just turn around and execute the spotless anyways?"

"I...I don't," Hana admitted with a wince. "But- But I didn't completely know Hiroshi was killed by electricity until I proved it! Same goes for Hinata's innocence in the last trial, Saku's innocence in the trial before that, Asuna's innocence in the trial before _that_...before I proved those things, I had to follow my instincts, I had to just...trust that I was on the right track."

Akira let out a little 'hmph' and responded, "Are you trying to give me a rousing speech?"

"Um- a little bit," Hana replied. "I mean, I've been told I'm better at talking from my heart than I am from my head, so..."

"Akira? Please- trust her, and trust the rest of us- w-we...we know what we're getting into here," Asuna implored the prosecutor. "A-And even if something happens, at least we'll know we did _everything_ we could to get out of this alive!"

Hana looked around between her classmates. _Asuna...Ryoto...Hinata...I sure am glad to have their support. Even Akira, she...she finally opened up a little, even if the circumstances are kind of terrible..._

Her relief and joy, however, faltered as she added to herself, _I hope this works...god, I really hope this works, I don't...I don't think I can take letting them all down like this...!_

"...You know, ah- you really shouldn't conspire to mess with the voting right in front of the guy who runs the entire killing game," Monokuma deadpanned from his throne.

"What? Gonna stop us or something?" Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow.

"..." After a moment of silence, Monokuma regained his cheerful demeanor and declared, "Now then! After that little...tangent, we'll call it, it's time to get on with the thrilling, the bone-chilling, the spine-grilling voting time! You all know what to do with those nifty little levers, so let's get it on!"

"Now then- who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?" Monokuma dramatically went on. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

Hana reached over and gripped her own lever as she had done many times prior- but this time, she paused to glance at her classmates one more time.

 _I wasn't lying- I really don't know if my plan will work...but I've got a good feeling about it anyways._ Hana assured herself, then glanced at Hiroshi's original spot- his portrait and podium. _And if you were here...I know you'd agree with me._

With that, she pulled the lever and cast her vote, as did her other four classmates.

Immediately after all five votes were cast, the large monitor from before descended from the ceiling and turned on, basking the dark trial room in artificial light. The screen depicted the usual, brightly-colored slot machine from the previous voting times, and its identical three slots soon started to spin at rapid speed once more. However, while the slots would have usually stopped on the face of the chosen blackened, this time the slots just...slowed down and stopped, not even completely stopping on anyone's face at all. Not only that, but the lights and colors dimmed and the noises just...faded out, as if the power had gone out of the machine.

"...Uuh...I said..." Monokuma began. "What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee!?"

In a split-second flash of static, the animation on the slot machine restarted, and it played like usual...but once again, the slots slowed to an unceremonious stop and the lights faded. There was no fanfare, no flashing 'GUILTY', no rain of coins erupting from the machine. It was just...dead and quiet, as quiet as the rest of the trial grounds.

* * *

Monokuma stared up at the monitor- though he still had that perpetual grin on his face, it was certain he would be deeply frowning at that moment if he could.

"I...I don't- WHAT!?" Monokuma cried, dumbfounded. "H-How did-!? You guys-! You _broke_ the damn _voting screen!_ How did you even-!? Don't tell me you actually-!"

The bear went silent for a few moments, but then the display on the monitor changed; the dead slot machine was replaced by a screen with pixellated sprites of the fifteen students (with the deceased students being grayed out), all arranged into a single column on the far left side of the screen. Adjacent to each sprite and extending to the right was a row of fifteen rectangles, no doubt to represent a vote from each of the students.

Next to each sprite of the five surviving students, a single rectangle was lit up in pink- five rectangles in total, one for each student.

"What the-!? You've gotta be kidding me! You five actually-!? I-I mean you-!?" Monokuma stammered, staring up at the screen for a few seconds before angrily turning to the students. "What do you all have to say yourselves!?"

No one said anything at first. Hana stared at the screen in shock for a few seconds, fully understanding what she was seeing but still somewhat surprised nonetheless. She glanced around at the others, who were also looking around at each other, but no one was speaking. Soon, however, the air of disbelief faded. Asuna let out a long sigh of relief; Ryoto chuckled a little bit, as if also releasing some of that internal tension; Hinata and Hana glanced at each other for a moment, and the Ultimate Thief responded with a little triumphant smirk; and Hana turned to where Akira was, her and the prosecutor making eye contact.

In all honesty, Hana had been the most concerned about Akira and whether she would follow through- but the sight of the voting screen was all it took to relieve those fears. As if to further reassure Hana, Akira's gaze was calm and steady- for the first time in a long while, little to no hostility towards Hana could be seen in those eyes.

Slowly, Akira put her glasses back on, turned to Monokuma, and spoke up, "Give it up, Monokuma- you really have been rigging this trial from the start, haven't you?"

"R-Rigging!?" Monokuma blurted. "How dare you accuse me of-"

"She's got a point though- cutting down the investigation, keeping people out of Hiroshi's room..." Hinata listed out.

"AND you made us vote EARLY! You cut the trial itself off before we could keep going anywhere!" Ryoto shouted, outraged. "YOU'RE THE WORST JUDGE EVER!"

"I-! You- You all were the ones who messed up the voting!" Monokuma retorted. "Look at that! A five-way tie- I can't believe you all actually went through with it!"

"You didn't give us a choice! You tried to railroad us into voting for someone even after I proved everyone innocent!" Hana furiously argued. "If that doesn't make you look more suspicious, I don't know what does!"

"And by the way- we wouldn't have _needed_ to do Hana's weird voting idea if you had just _let us investigate normally!"_ Hinata growled at the bear. "All your trials are bullshit, but this one? This one takes the cake by a long shot!"

"'Bullshit'!?" Monokuma replied, growing more enraged as the others continued to talk.

"H-Hana and Akira- they're right, aren't they? About you doing something to this trial..." Asuna concluded accusingly. "Everything you've done so far was to make things even harder for us! I-It's like you've been _trying_ to make us vote for the wrong person!"

"Indeed it does," Akira agreed, crossing her arms with a blazing glare. "Explain, then! What the hell was this trial!? What exactly were you trying to pull!?"

Now, Monokuma's rage shifted to apprehension and avoidance. "W-Well, it's...you see, I-"

"Yeah! Why would you try to screw with a trial all of a sudden!?" Ryoto questioned, exasperated. "What, were you just THAT tired of the killing game and you wanted to get rid of us in one fell swoop?"

"And what does all this mean for Hiroshi's killer, huh!? Are you trying to protect them or something!?" Hana then demanded.

"At this point, I'd be willing to believe it was you! Or the person controlling you!" Hinata yelled, pointing to Monokuma. "Sky's the limit in this trial, I don't even know anymore!"

Monokuma looked out at the angry glares of the surviving Ultimates. Finally, he roared, "Shut up, shut up, SHUT _UP!"_

With that exclamation, the bear continued on, "Did you forget!? You all voted! The trial is _over,_ more or less! You can't just go accusing me or anyone like this- you cast your votes already!"

Suddenly, Asuna's glare fell, and she asked, "Uh- what...happens now...?"

"Huh?" Hana began, glancing at the gardener.

"He...has a point about one thing," Asuna explained. "We voted...the trial's just about over...b-but we never _did_ conclude on a killer, did we...?"

"Right, it was...we made a five-way tie, there was...really no win for anyone," Hinata remarked with a frown. "So- yeah. What _does_ happen now?"

Hana's eyes widened as she listened to the two Ultimates, and she realized she hadn't quite thought of that. All she had been worrying about was whether Monokuma would consider the voting legit and, as a result, not execute them all- she hadn't stopped to think what any alternatives could be.

"Weeell...we'd get a redo, obviously!" Ryoto suggested with a grin. "Yeah! Like a rematch between boxers! We just do the trial over, and THIS time come to a real conclusion!"

"We wouldn't have to redo _just_ the trial- we'd have to go through the investigation itself again," Akira pointed out, crossing her arms. "Because a certain someone decided to do more meddling than usual."

"All excellent suggestions!" Monokuma interrupted (although Hana had a feeling he wasn't so genuine about that statement). "And it _is_ quite a conundrum- one that I've never seen in a killing game before, I can tell ya that!"

"He says as if there have been other killing games before..." Hinata muttered.

"Hmm...what to do..." the bear mused to himself. "The students did not, technically, expose the true blackened...yet the blackened did not completely win the trial either because there was no majority..."

He then clapped his paws together and said, "Okay! Since a blackened was not identified nor did the blackened completely get away, I see only one proper, just solution!"

"You _are_ letting us get a redo?" Ryoto asked, hopeful.

Monokuma chuckled. "Nope!"

His jovial voice took on a darker edge as he declared, _"I'm going to execute all five of you!"_

Hana felt like she had been slugged in the gut- the visceral shock of Monokuma's words actually almost caused her to fall over.

"W-WHAT!?" the surfer cried in horror. "Execute us!? All of us!?"

"THAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF A REDO!" Ryoto yelled as his face went pale.

Even Akira could not hide the disbelief on her face as she said, "No- you...you can't do that! The rules only say you can execute the spotless if they do not successfully identify the blackened!"

"And you guys didn't! You voted without coming to a real conclusion!" Monokuma pointed out. "In saying that, the blackened did not completely win either, since the voting ended in a five-way tie...no winners, just like Mr. Yonade said!"

"D-Don't use my quotes against me!" Hinata shouted in rage.

"For the last time- _I proved all of us innocent!_ None of us are the blackened!" Hana shouted once more. "How many times do I need to say it!?"

"And if there are no winners, then that means you're _all_ losers!" Monokuma went on with a cruel laugh. "And if you're all losers, then I have perfect grounds to execute each and every one of you!"

When he said that, the red button from all the other executions rose up from the floor, indicating the robotic bear's imminent verdict.

Hana became more engulfed in fear and panic the more Monokuma spoke, and it only intensified upon seeing that button. _No-! No, this can't be happening! This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't-!_

"N-No, no you can't! You can't kill us!" Asuna pleaded. "This- This isn't fair! Y-You messed with the investigation, you cut the trial short, you-"

"Blah blah blah, do you guys have to blame _everything_ on me all the time?" the bear demanded, shaking his head. "Life isn't fair! Welcome to the real world, everyone!"

"Th-This isn't just a matter of unfairness- to execute us like this because of a clearly faulty trial, it goes against your own rules!" Akira yelled. "It must!"

"Puhuhu! My dear prosecutor..." Monokuma then spoke darkly. "I'm the one that _makes_ the rules."

"Gh-! SCREW THE RULES! Ryoto Miura's not gonna let you wrongfully execute anyone- HIMSELF INCLUDED!" Ryoto yelled, breaking away from his podium.

He then turned to Hana and told her. "Hana, come on! We're probably the two strongest ones here- we can hold him back! He can't execute all of us if he can't reach that button, right!?"

Overcome with fear of execution and intense rage at Monokuma, Hana broke out of her panic and responded, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Asuna gasped and cried, "W-Wait! Don't! Monokuma might retaliate!"

But Hana and Ryoto were deaf to Asuna's cry. Blistering with anger and determination, Hana and Ryoto sprinted towards Monokuma and the button, leaving Asuna, Hinata, and Akira unable to stop or restrain either of them.

"WHA-!? NO!" Monokuma shouted as he was charged at. "STAY AWAY FROM THERE!"

Suddenly, their 'headmaster' extended his metal claws and, with a shout, leaped off his throne with the same deft as when he knocked out Hana at the start of the investigation. Before anyone could register the counterattack, Monokuma was flying forward and aiming his claws at...only Hana?

Sure enough, before Hana could dodge or react, Monokuma was raking his claws against the girl's face. In reality, he slashes were more superficial- not enough to bleed horribly or cause deep injury, but strong enough to cause Hana to yelp in pain and be knocked back away from Monokuma and the button.

Upon landing on the ground, Monokuma hissed at Hana, "Don't you dare get any closer to that button! Get BACK! BACK, I SAY!"

Hana, whose face was still stinging from the clawing, immediately scrambled away. However, the attack left her baffled- why was Monokuma worried about the button? And why did he single her out when Ryoto was ready to fight back as well?

Adding to this- Ryoto had frozen upon seeing Monokuma attack Hana, as if he too was just as confused.

"...Oh, yeah, you too," Monokuma stated, turning to Ryoto. He then sprang forward and slashed Ryoto's face in the same manner, knocking him away as well. Although, it was clear this counterattack was more of an afterthought compared to Hana's, which baffled the girl even more.

There was no time to dwell on the matter further, however- Monokuma quickly made his way back to the throne, panting a little. "Okay...now I suggest none of you try that again, otherwise you'll just earn yourself a _far_ less flashy death than the ones I'm about to give you all!"

"W-We don't want _any_ deaths! You can't do this!" Hinata shouted, practically pleading by this point. "After everything, you can't just off us like this!"

"You put us into this situation on purpose, didn't you?" Akira demanded, as angered as ever but doing her best to retain some of her composure. "That's why you forced us to vote, forced us to- you've been _trying_ to make this situation unwinnable, weren't you!?"

Monokuma ignored her and gleefully declared, "Now then, I've prepared some very special punishments for- well, everyone! Hana Amari, the Ultimate Surfer..."

Hana stood frozen again, initially unable to react- she was aware that her gamble hadn't paid off like anyone hoped it would, and because of that her worst nightmare was playing out right before her eyes...and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"...Akira Rimutsu, the Ultimate Prosecutor..." Monokuma continued. "...Hinata Yonade, the Ultimate Thief..."

Akira clenched her teeth and her fists, turning away from everyone- clearly, she was still trying to appear calm, but by now it was clear she was as afraid as all of them.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming panic in the room, but Hana soon found herself breaking out of her stupor once again to ask Monokuma, "Hey- Hey, answer me! Akira's right, isn't she!? This whole time you- or whoever's controlling you- you've been playing us, haven't you!?"

Hinata's breathing was growing more rapid as his fists clenched. "No- No, I can't go out like this! I can't! Not now! I-I made a promise, I-!"

"...Ryoto Miura, the Ultimate Racecar Driver..." Monokuma went on. "...and Asuna Izumi, the Ultimate Gardener!"

"No...no, no no no no-!" Asuna whimpered, shaking where she stood as tears began to build in her eyes.

"I...I'm not giving up! I AM NOT GIVING UP!" Ryoto roared, clenching his fists in fury. "YOU HEAR ME!? I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THROW AT ME, I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!"

"Hey! I said _answer me,_ Monokuma!" Hana shouted, even taking a step forward. "What're you planning!? Why go through any of this!? _What is going on here!?_ _Answer me already!"_

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma called out, his sick grin more sinister than ever. "It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"NOOOOO!" Asuna screamed.

"DON'T! STOP!" Hinata cried almost at the same time.

Hana, overcome with terror and desperation, practically roared at Monokuma, _"I SAID ANSWER ME!"_

The words of the students fell on the bear's deaf ears. With that same gavel, Monokuma eagerly slammed down on the large red button, triggering a new animation; pixel sprites of Ryoto, Asuna, Hana, Hinata, and Akira (respectively) stood in a straight line in the same background as the usual animations. Two Monokumas ran across the screen, carrying Ryoto and Akira away to the left and right; nearly simultaneously, two chains shot out from the left and right and dragged away Hinata and Asuna; then, almost at the same time as those, a third chain descended from the ceiling and dragged Hana back upwards. All while these animations played, text appeared on the tiny screen.

 _ **GAME**_ ** _OVER_**

 ** _The 80th Class voted incorrectly._**

 _ **Time for the punishment!**_

* * *

Five chains shot out from five different doors behind each students' podiums- somehow, the chains even managed to find their way to the students who had left their usual spots, namely Hana and Ryoto.

Akira was the first to be dragged away; she didn't look up from her vow of silence until the metal clamp closed around her neck. At that moment, she grimaced at the pressure and discomfort on her neck, and then she was violently dragged through the door by the retracting clamp before anyone could even attempt to help her.

Asuna was right behind her. Her own chain emerged from behind and grasped the terrified girl by the neck, immediately dragging her away with enough force to cause her fedora to fly off her head onto the floor right behind her podium. The only thing the Ultimate Gardener could do was scream and feebly struggle for a few moments as she was taken away.

Next was Ryoto; the moment the clamp closed around him, the racecar driver grasped at the metal band and tried to struggle out of it. However, even he wasn't stronger than whatever mechanism made the chains work, and soon enough he too was swiftly dragged away through the doors, kicking and struggling and roaring in anger the whole way.

Hinata came next, and he too tried to take a few struggling steps forward while reaching his hand out for something- anything- to act as a lifeline. Inevitably, he lost his footing and was carried off as well, the thief only able to scream in anguish as it happened.

Hana was last. Frozen in horror at the sight of her classmates being taken away to their executions, she only regained her senses at the feeling of cold, heavy metal wrapping around her neck- it was her turn. Despite already feeling the chain pulling her back, Hana grasped the clamp with her hands and fought like the devil to resist it, her face contorting into a grimace of strain and fury. But soon that fury faded to dismay as she realized she couldn't fight the pull of the chain any longer, and with a short scream she, too, felt herself falling back and being dragged along the stone ground through the doorway and into cold, heartless darkness.

The monitor in the trial room depicted the live feed of the five executions- not that anyone besides Monokuma would be around to watch them.

* * *

Hana had no idea what was happening- she was being dragged through a hallway, a hallway that looked similar to the ones the previous blackened students had been pulled through. She continued to try and struggle, but it only exacerbated the pain of being swiftly dragged along a stone floor. She glanced up ahead and found she was approaching...a changing room? With little time to react, Hana was pulled into and through the changing room, feeling some kind of robotic appendages undressing and redressing her before she was dragged out again. Before she knew it, her outfit had been changed to a black and blue wetsuit and a pair of blue goggles.

With even less time to react, Hana's surroundings changed from the dark hallway to a sunlit beach shore, and she was being pulled across sand rather than stone bricks. Then, the clamp was undone, and she was somehow _hurled_ a long ways beyond the shore and into the deep saltwater; it took the Ultimate a few seconds to register what had happened, but when she did she wasted no time quickly swimming up so her head was above water. She took a few breaths of air and frantically looked around to try and understand what was happening, but was interrupted when a sleek, yellow and light blue surfboard was haphazardly tossed at her from an unknown source, hitting the water next to her with a _splash._

Even more confused, Hana looked towards the shore again- the shore that was several meters away- and was shocked when what appeared to be about a dozen large, thin, metal triangles emerged from the water. Then, the 'triangles' rose a little more to reveal they belonged to about a dozen mechanical sharks, each of them having an eye resembling Monokuma's red eye and rows of razor-sharp teeth...and in a split second, the metal sharks began to quickly advance on the defenseless surfer.

 _ **Execution: Wipeout!**_

Hana's eyes widened in horror at the sharks, and she quickly turned back to the surfboard floating beside her- it didn't take her long to realize what she needed to do. With a terrified cry, Hana scrambled onto the surfboard, laid down in the proper position, and paddled forward as fast as she could. Admittedly, she probably didn't even need the surfboard, she was a strong swimmer on her own- but her instinct as the Ultimate Surfer took hold, and soon enough she was speeding through the water with a dozen mechanical sharks chasing her. These same sharks gained ground incredibly quickly, and one after the other they leaped and flew out of the water towards Hana like a bunch of torpedoes to try and take a bite of her her or the board.

Despite her intense terror, Hana was able to maneuver around the attacking sharks- barely managing to avoid the fangs most times and being nicked in the arms by their sharp metal fins on more than one occasion. As she swam for her life, the sky grew dark with clouds, and the water grew more violent- but not in a natural way, a way that felt like they were artificially generated (which didn't surprise Hana- after all, there was no way she was in the real ocean in the outside world). In addition, Hana looked ahead to see she was approaching a series of large, razor-sharp rock spires jutting out of the ocean like the fangs of the sharks that were pursuing her. She had no time to think or wonder how she would escape those rocks- because, in that moment, Hana felt the water rising and lifting her and the board upwards.

A massive, tsunami-like wave had formed behind her, sending the sharks flying and raising Hana up with it. Normally, Hana could have been able to handle such a wave, but once again the surfer was able to sense that this wave was generated mechanically somehow- nothing like the natural sea waves she was used to. Despite this, the Ultimate attempted to stand up on her board and ride the wave out- but as she was about to stand, one of the sharks was hurled towards her, nicking her in the head and sending her flying into the water as the wave crashed down onto the spiky rocks.

Hana swam up to try and resurface, only to find herself being carried up by yet another large wave; this time, she was unable to swim against it, and when it crashed down she was forcefully bashed against the side of one of the rock spires before falling into the ocean again. In her dazed and pain-stricken state, Hana was powerless to struggle when a third tsunami picked her up and did the same thing with another rock spire; then, a fourth and fifth wave performed the same action, the only difference being they took Hana higher and higher. By the time the fifth wave had crashed down, Hana's torso felt like it was on fire, and she could unmistakably taste blood in her mouth.

Finally, a sixth wave- this one bigger and more powerful than the last, carried Hana upwards once again. At first, the Ultimate barely had the strength to even keep her head above water...before she saw where the wave was carrying her. Before her was an even bigger rock spike, the pinnacle horribly sharp and would surely pierce her through if she was dropped on it- and, lo and behold, that's exactly what the wave was aiming to do.

Adrenaline resurfacing, Hana fought against any aches and pains and tried to swim against the wave- but it was no use. The current forced her to face the quickly-approaching rock spike, and even the Ultimate Surfer knew hitting it would mean certain death- but just like she was powerless to prevent the executions, she was powerless to stop the wave from approaching the razor-sharp spire.

* * *

Akira found herself in familiar scenery- a normal, every day courtroom. Well, there was one oddity about it: the people in the courtroom in the courtroom were Monokumas. The judge, the jurors, the defense attorney, the prosecutor, everyone was a Monokuma in some outfit or another. The Monokuma defense attorney wore a simple black suit with a blue tie, while the prosecutor Monokuma wore the same outfit except for a red tie. Akira herself realized she was handcuffed to a seat on the defendant's side, with the chair attached to a conveyor belt of some kind. The juror Monokumas were shouting unintelligibly at Akira, forcing the judge Monokuma- who wore an exaggerated powdered wig- to slam his gavel down a few times to bring order to the courtroom.

 _ **Execution: Final Judgement**_

Akira could do nothing but remain in her seat as the two Monokuma lawyers argued back and forth with each other in an exaggerated manner, the 'debate' devolving into the two throwing various things at each other- papers, pieces of evidence, coffee mugs, etc. Meanwhile, the jurors kept furiously yelling for a 'GUILTY' verdict- and all the while, Akira tried to remain as calm and stoic as possible as she glanced around the room.

Finally, after the defense Monokuma appeared sufficiently flustered, the judge Monokuma slammed down his gavel again to quiet down the room. He pointed to Akira accusingly, not saying a word...before slamming down his gavel and pointing towards a door on the right side of the courtroom where the conveyor belt led. The jurors and the prosecutor cheered, the defense attorney dramatically fainted, and the conveyor belt beneath Akira jerked in movement for a second as it was activated. Seconds later, the Ultimate could do nothing as the chair was moved along the conveyor belt towards the right of the room, near the jeering Monokuma jury, before passing through the mahogany doors and out of the courtroom.

The environment dramatically shifted from the interior of the courthouse to what seemed to be a lab or dungeon of some kind. Ultimately, Akira was transported to a brightly lit, grayish-white room that looked like it was taken from a hospital. Another chair- this one bigger, made of wood with leather straps on the armrests and legs, and what seemed to be some kind of metal helmet suspended on top. The helmet was connected to various wires, which were connected to two devices: one was a large dial, the other was a switch. Also in the room was a group of Monokumas in lab coats, two being stationed near the dial and switch.

Akira's handcuffs spontaneously came undone, freeing her...but only for a moment, because in the next moment the Monokumas tackled into her and forced her across the room. In the next moment, she was forced into the electric chair- the leather straps rendering her immobile once again and the metal headpiece snapping atop her head. Once preparations were complete, the first Monokuma turned the dial to a '10'- then, the second Monokuma flipped the switch, sending electricity through the wires and into Akira. The shock wasn't too terrible, but it was enough to cause the young woman to tense up and grimace slightly.

The switch Monokuma shook his head, and the dial Monokuma turned the level up to '30'. The switch was flipped again, sending a stronger and longer-lasting voltage through Akira- in response, she once again tensed up, tightened her grip on the armrest a little, and clenched her teeth again. The dial was turned up to '50', then '60', then '70'- each time, the shock was more powerful, lasted longer, and was far more painful than the last.

Despite her best efforts to remain calm and collected, the agony of being electrocuted over and over again with increasing intensity was too much, and by the time '60' and '70' came around the prosecutor was shouting in pain and involuntarily struggling in her seat. But by some miracle, she was still alive- exhausted, slightly singed from the shocks, but alive. Visibly frustrated, the dial Monokuma turned the dial to the highest level- it wasn't even numbered, it just depicted a little black graphic of a skull and crossbones.

But then, before the switch could be pulled, the building shook and the lights flickered, causing Akira and the Monokumas to look up in confusion. Suddenly, the room's ceiling was torn off like a scene from a monster movie, causing the Monokuma's to run away in terror- but Akira couldn't flee even if she wanted to. Looking up, she saw the judge Monokuma from before, except now he was the size of a skyscraper. He glared down at Akira, his eyes glowing menacingly, then raised his now massive gavel above the chair and the trapped Ultimate. Akira's eyes widened as she realized where the gavel was about to fall, and even her face grew pale at the idea of her coming doom; however, as the giant hammer quickly began to descend towards her, the Ultimate Prosecutor closed her eyes and awaited the deadly blow.

* * *

Hinata was dragged and thrown into what looked like a large hallway- the floor and walls were made from a sleek, dark blue tile, with the ceiling being a jet black. The hallway itself was incredibly long, with some kind of hatch or door at the farthest end with a brightly lit 'EXIT' sign above it; in the middle of the hall was a small, golden key suspended by a string. Between Hinata and the key, and then between the key and the door, were dozens upon dozens of obstacles: swinging axes, buzzsaws, darts flying out of walls, fire shooting out of the floor, etc.

 _ **Execution: The Heist of the**_ ** _Century_**

Hinata immediately realized what he needed to do, and was initially deterred by the numerous traps- but since the door behind him was locked shut, he knew he had no other choice. Thus, with determination in his eyes, he got down into a sprinter's position...and then he ran forward into the gauntlet of traps. In reality, Hinata was rather good at dodging the majority of the traps- he didn't stop or slow down, he ducked under axes, he sidestepped the fire pillars and spiked floors, and jumped over deadly pits in the floor with the skill of an Olympics racer. One might even say he looked a little graceful.

Unfortunately, the hallway was long and the traps were plentiful, and by the time he got close to the key there were cuts along his arms, legs, and back, not to mention his clothes were burned in several places. Sweat was running down Hinata's face, but he still didn't stop- when he arrived at the key, he simply jumped up, snatched it right off the string, and kept going. But the distance between him and the door was still immense, and the thief's fatigue was obvious. His dodging was sloppier and more sluggish, resulting in him being sliced by axes and buzzsaws and spikes and what-have-you even more severely. Despite his increasingly serious wounds, however, the fire of resolve in Hinata's eyes did not diminish, and he kept moving forward as quick as he could manage.

At long last, Hinata made it past the last of the traps, and only then did he slow down- slightly. He trudged over to the door- which was more like a hatch angled towards the floor- and caught sight of the large lock across the handles. He quickly gripped the key he had taken and shoved it into the lock- it fit like a glove, making a little clicking sound before the lock fell away. Hinata then tossed the key aside and threw the doors open, seeing nothing but inky blackness; the thief decided to take a leap of faith, as they say, and jumped down the hatch and into the darkness.

He didn't fall far or for too long, eventually finding himself inside a large, pitch-black room with the same general design as the hallway. Light only came from two sources: from the opening right above, and a light shining down on a large, fancy door at the end of the room. Believing this to be an exit, Hinata took a few hopeful steps forward...and then the rest of the lights came on.

The room Hinata was in was designed to look like a museum, with many glass displays lined up on the sides of the room. And surrounding the Ultimate Thief was a circle of Monokumas in police uniforms, each of them standing on stepstools to put them at Hinata's height...and all of them carried shotguns or rifles, the barrels of the firearms pointed right at the Ultimate Thief's torso. The young man barely had time to register what was happening, but he knew one thing- there would be no running or dodging or escaping from the onslaught of bullets that were about to fly at him.

* * *

Ryoto found himself thrown into a racecar, becoming completely strapped to the driver's seat- he couldn't move his arms, legs, or torso too much, the only body part he could freely move being his head. Despite this, Ryoto struggled against his tough restraints as hard as he could, but once again he could only move so far. Around him were several other cars, each driven by a Monokuma racer, but their track was not an official racetrack- it appeared to be a metropolitan highway of some kind. Above them, the sky was overcast and dark- a storm was brewing, no doubt. Then, a woman with a Monokuma head in a tight red dress and black high heels approached the center of the road, carrying a checkered racing flag.

 _ **Execution: Highway to Hell**_

The woman raised the flag up for a moment, then swung it down, signalling the start of the race. All the cars accelerated forward in that moment, driving around the woman before speeding down the highway itself. It was here that Ryoto discovered his car was driving all by itself- the steering wheel was turning, the gas pedal was pressed down, and occasionally the brake would lower and raise by itself...Ryoto was simply along for the ride, it would seem. Although the car was driving rather erratically, violently jostling Ryoto around where he sat (the restraints were _just_ loose enough to cause him to be slammed against the door, the steering wheel, and any other tough surfaces around him), the highway itself was not too dangerous or challenging of a track.

No- the real threat came from the Monokuma racers. Most of the time, the other racers would drive over and either slam into Ryoto's car directly or hit him in the back wheels to try and cause him to spin out. That alone resulted in the Ultimate being slammed around the car once again- and Ryoto's face was very much bruised and battered, not to mention his lip had been cut and blood was freely flowing from the wound- but the car he himself was in would often return the flavor by slamming and ramming into the opposing cars. Thus, the race was also partially a demolition derby, and Ryoto could do nothing but be stuck in his seat as he was bashed around and made slightly dizzy and nauseous from the car's terrible driving.

After what felt like an eternity, with more bruising and dizziness for Ryoto, something else happened: lighting erupting from the sky and striking the highway, dangerously close to the cars. The other Monokuma racers found difficulty in dodging the lightning strikes, with the majority of them being hit and being blown up with their cars; but Ryoto's cars maneuvered around the lightning and flying car debris expertly (if not recklessly). By the time they were speeding towards the finish- which appeared to be marked by a gas station with a large, neon sign next to it- only one other car was left, and it was about to pass up Ryoto...but then it, too, was struck by lightning and blown up, nearly causing Ryoto's car to spin out of control.

One of the pieces of the car was hurled down the remainder of the road, striking one of the station's gas pumps and sending gasoline spraying out everywhere, resulting in a huge and lengthy puddle of gasoline being left behind. In spite of this, Ryoto's car triumphantly passed the finish without incident and finally stopped...right on the top edge of the gas puddle. Ryoto was not thinking about this, however- he was leaning back in his seat, trying to allow his heart rate to slow down and his breathing to steady itself. Never in his life had he believed he could be so terrified while inside a racecar , and yet here he was.

Then, what sounded like an explosion nearby caused Ryoto to look out his car window at the source. Another lightning strike had hit the side of the large neon sign, resulting in the tall metal post holding it up becoming precariously bent and the sign to dangerously spark with shorted-out electricity. Then, to Ryoto's horror, the sign began to tip towards the gasoline puddle with a loud metal _creak_ \- meaning the sign would fall on the puddle, and the electricity would set the gas on fire, and the fire would spread to where the car was, and the car would surely ignite and explode as well. Ryoto desperately struggled against his still taught restraints to try and escape somehow- but no matter how hard he tried, there was just no time to flee as the sign was mere seconds away from tipping over completely.

* * *

Asuna found herself tossed onto what felt like stone ground. She slowly picked herself up and looked around- the ground beneath her was a path made of circular stone tiles with some patches of grass poking through, and the surrounding landscape was filled with tall trees and vines that obscured the sky, hedges that almost acted like walls, and archways speckled with roses. The stone tiles beneath her feet ran in front of her and split off into twisty paths that led to who-knows-where. Normally, Asuna would have found such a landscape to be beautiful- but she knew she was in one of Monokuma's executions, and so all she felt was terror and panic.

 _ **Execution: Little Garden of Horrors**_

Suddenly, the roses on the archway moved on their own to point at Asuna- and then, with little time to reach, they started shooting little thorns out of their centers at the panicked gardener. The first few struck her right in the face and chest, alerting the girl and causing her to cry out, raise her arms to try and protect herself, and run forward under the arch and down one of the paths. As she would quickly discover, however, the roses were just the beginning, as almost everything in the garden lashed out at her in some way. The trees' vines would shoot out and whip her, the hedges would unleash branches that poked and stabbed at her as she ran past, and the roses on the arches would continue to fire barrages of thorns at her. Even the stone tiles she was running along would randomly change elevation to trip her up and leave her to endure further onslaught while she tried to pick herself back up.

Asuna blindly ran along the twisting stone paths, which formed something of a maze. She had no idea where she was going or even if there was an exit anywhere- the girl was just trying to escape the attacking vegetation by any means necessary. However, it hard to tell where she had been or where she was going, as the hedges and trees and arches looked so similar to each other. It didn't help that she had to deal with thorns, branches, vines, and rogue path tiles attacking her, and by now her clothes had little tears in them and there were several little cuts and bruises scattered on her skin.

Finally, an ominous wind swept through the area, causing Asuna to stop for a moment. In that instant, the girl felt something strong and sharp wrap around her right shin, causing her to yelp in pain and look down. A large, tentacle-like vine covered in large thorns had emerged from the hedge on her right and tightly grasped her leg; moments later, a second vine emerged from the hedge and wrapped around Asuna's left leg, the thorns digging into her skin the same as the first vine. Then, the vines swiftly retracted, sending Asuna to the ground as she was dragged away- the impact of her fall, nearly a faceplant, knocking her glasses off.

Asuna was violently dragged through hedges, across paths and grass, to some unknown location in the maze-like garden; she tried struggle and free herself, even clawing at the ground to try and resist the vines, but nothing worked. Finally, Asuna was taken into a large, grassy clearing, and the vines stopped for a moment; then, two more large vines shot out and wrapped around Asuna's forearms, resulting in another cry of pain. Before long, Asuna found herself being lifted into the air by the vines, ending with her being suspended upright in the air and her limbs positioned in a star-shaped pose.

The vegetation on the ground in front of her rustled...and then, something rose up from the plants. It was a massive plant monster of some kind- its body was hard to see, but its plant neck and head were very much visible. The creature's giant head resembled a Venus fly trap- but it had rows of actual, razor-sharp teeth instead of the hairs the plant usually had. Additionally, the vines holding Asuna up seemed to wind and converge towards the monster, meaning they were its appendages; as if to confirm, the vines retracted towards it and moved Asuna closer.

The monster let out a roar, opened its large maw, and lunged towards Asuna- more specifically, aiming to bite her head off. Seeing the monster lunging at her, Asuna could do nothing but scream in terror as its maw quickly grew closer and closer.

* * *

Now, all five of these executions were taking place at the same time- naturally, as the five students had been taken away relatively simultaneously. However, there was one massive flaw in this act by Monokuma- perhaps Monokuma or the mastermind hadn't thought about it, or they had simply forgotten, but the live cable in the North Wing's power room was still very much broken. While Hana's deduction from earlier had been correct- in that the first major blackout was the result of Hiroshi's lethal electrocution rather than the damage to the cable itself- that didn't mean the broken cable wasn't an important component in ensuring the castle's power remained on and working properly. And running five executions at once...that needed a lot of electricity.

So, innumerable amounts of power ran through the generators and cables in the power room to keep the executions running...and that included the damaged one. But of course, the damaged cable could not transport that electricity, and so the ends began to spark and crackle much more violently than before. The backup of power in that area soon threw off the other machines, causing them to spark and sizzle with strain as well. Inevitably, a much louder _POP_ split through the air of the power room; less than one second later, the entire castle was engulfed in darkness once again. All machinery, all moving parts- they all stopped dead the moment the power room died again...and that included the executions.

All five students would find their worlds covered in pitch-black, with barely any noise to precede it...but more importantly, they would also find they were not dead, far from it.

Asuna looked around fearfully as the killing blow never arrived; she could only faintly make out the shape of the plant monster's head, its jaws and teeth deathly close to closing around her neck. Moments later, the vines around her limbs loosened, and the gardener found herself being dropped to the ground below.

For Ryoto, as everything went dark and powerless, so did the neon sign. He heard the sigh fall over completely and crash onto the pavement- on the gasoline puddle, but with the power out there was no electricity in the sign, and so there was nothing to spark a fire or explosion.

Hinata stood frozen in place even as the power went out- but he would realize there was no sound of guns being fired, and no bullets flew at him. In fact, all he heard was several metallic _clacks_ onto the tiled floor- either the dead Monokumas dropped their guns or they had lowered the weapons to where the tips of the barrels made contact with the floor.

Akira slowly opened her eyes when she realized the crushing blow never arrived, and was shocked to find everything was completely black. Then, she heard a faint metallic groan as the giant Monokuma tipped over to the side, finally lowering its gavel completely...but instead, it landed on the floor _adjacent_ to Akira and the chair, a faint _thud_ being heard as it fell.

And for Hana, the wave that was about to impale her on the rock spire suddenly and spontaneously died out- as if all the energy behind it had been sucked out. As a result, Hana quickly fell, and fell quick enough to avoid being stabbed on the tip of the rock spike- instead, she smacked into the side of the spire itself, remaining there for a moment before sliding down and landing in the water with a soft splash.

* * *

For a moment, Hana believed she had really died- she remembered being hurled towards the razor-sharp top of the rock spire, and then her vision suddenly going dark. It wasn't until she realized she was still flying through the air and then hitting the _body_ of the spire rather than the peak that her mind registered she was still alive. She then felt herself falling into the water once again, but something was different- the water felt _much_ calmer, almost dead. The Ultimate Surfer quickly swam up and resurfaced, but she realized the area was completely dark- she couldn't see where she was, and because of the wetsuit she couldn't retrieve her e-Handbook (if she even still had it, and Hana couldn't tell if she did or not).

 _What the-!? Is this...is this another blackout?_ Hana asked herself as she tread the water and looked around. _Wait, no- I shouldn't be questioning this, I should be happy! I'm alive! ...I'm alive, right?_

She poked herself in the chest to ensure she was still corporeal- and when she did, she felt faint pain in her ribs, confirming that she was still very much alive. Hana nodded to herself, then turned to where she thought she had come from and where the shoreline was- she certainly couldn't remain here, that was for certain. With that, she fought through the pain in her chest and swam through the calmed water as fast as she could manage. Luckily, with the waves gone, the surfer's powerful swimming ability was no longer hindered. That was one of the benefits of being a pro surfer- great swimming prowess.

It figured- the one time Hana's talent came in handy, and it was when she was escaping her own unjust execution.

After swimming through pitch darkness for what felt like an eternity, Hana finally felt her legs and feet make contact with sand. Having reached the shore, the surfer stood up on the sandy ground and sprinted- well, 'sprinted', as actual sprinting exacerbated the aches in her chest and arms- to where she thought the door she had been dragged through was. She didn't find it right away- instead, she found herself feeling some kind of metallic wall. Feeling along it, Hana finally found the doors in question- however, she needed to use what little strength she had left to force the doors open so she could enter the hallway on the other side.

Once inside, she ran down the stone hall with her heart racing- the only sound in the hallway being her own soggy footsteps and the water dripping off of her. Hana didn't dwell on that, though- she just kept running down the hallway. Eventually, she felt herself pass through a curtain, and she knew she was back in that changing room where she had put into the wetsuit. She didn't want to remain inside too long- but then, out of the corner of her eye, she could see a faint blue glow...a _familiar_ blue glow.

 _Hey, wait a second- that's my-!_ Hana realized, immediately walking over. She blindly grasped around the area, feeling the familiar fabric of her skirt and the metal of the mechanical claw holding it before she found what she was looking for: her e-Handbook, still in her pocket right where she had left it.

Sighing in relief, Hana quickly exited the changing room and continued down the hallway, now using her e-Handbook as a light source. She eventually reached the initial door she had been pulled through, once again needing to force it open before she could squeeze through the tight opening she had made.

The moment she made it through, however, and found herself back in the trial room, Hana ran in further and shouted, "HEY! GUYS! ANYONE IN HERE!? HELLO!?"

There was no response- the trial room was completely empty, it seemed. Hearing nothing, the Ultimate's heart raced with panic- sure, _her_ execution had been interrupted by the blackout, but not all executions ran through in the same amount of time. What if the others had shorter executions? What if theirs had already run through to completion by the time the blackout occurred, and Hana was just lucky to have one that lasted longer?

 _No...no! I can't believe that! I WON'T believe that!_ Hana thought, clenching her fists before shouting, "ASUNA! HINATA! RYOTO! AKIRA! HELLO!? IS ANYONE STILL ALIVE!? ANYONE!?"

She feebly called out, "...Anyone...?"

For a few horrible seconds, the room remained silent- Hana was completely, utterly alone. But then, she heard some kind of metal creaking and groaning- the same sound she had heard when she forced open her own door moments earlier. She turned to where the sound was coming from, seeing another blue glow moving around through a crack in the doors. And then, a voice erupted from the opening as the person successfully squeezed through...

"I LIIIIIVE!" Ryoto roared as he reentered the courtroom, e-Handbook in hand and panting in exhaustion. "NOTHING HOLDS RYOTO MIURA BACK! NOTHING!"

Hana gasped upon hearing and seeing the Ultimate Racecar Driver. "R-Ryoto!? Ryoto! You're alive!"

"Huh!? Hana!?" Ryoto yelped, immediately turning to where his classmate was. "HANA! YOU'RE ALIVE TOO!"

Overwhelmed with joy, Hana ran over to the other teen, and the two hugged...for about a second before they both cried out in pain and backed away from each other, wincing and grimacing.

"Okay, okay- no hugging, not right now," Hana gasped, clutching her side.

"Good idea, very good idea," Ryoto agreed, just as breathless...but then, he looked down at himself in confusion and asked, "What the fuck-? Are you _wet?"_

He shone his e-Handbook on Hana, seeing the sleek wetsuit and the water still dripping off the surfer's body. "Wha-? Is that a wetsuit?"

"Yes, yes it is- long story," Hana answered with a sigh before taking notice of the bruising on Ryoto's face and his cut lip. "Uh- what happened to your face? Are you alright?"

"HAH! THIS IS NOTHING!" Ryoto shouted in response. "I'll survive, don't you worry! What about you, though? You don't look too good yourself."

"I-" Hana began- only to hear another metal creaking sound on another side of the courtroom. She and Ryoto turned their attention to the source, seeing another e-Handbook's glow as someone else attempted to open the forcefully-shut doors and reenter the trial room.

"God- fucking- just- open-!" Hinata's gruff voice angrily muttered, strained as he tried to make it through the mechanical doors.

"Hinata!" Hana cried out, running over alongside Ryoto and assisting the thief in opening the doors.

"Hana? Ryoto? You guys made it out too?" Hinata remarked in disbelief as the two helped him through the doors. "Well thank god for that- you would not _believe_ what I have just been though!"

"I, uh...think we can imagine..." Hana responded with a little glance at Ryoto.

"HOLY SHIT! Dude, you're bleeding all over!" Ryoto yelped as the lights of their e-Handbooks shone on the numerous gashes on Hinata's arms, legs, and back- not to mention the burns on his clothing. "What, did you wrestle paper shredder!?"

"Something like that..." Hinata responded, stretching for a moment with wince. "Nothin' too terrible though- just gotta visit the medical room, then I'll be good to go."

He then glanced at Hana and observed, raising an eyebrow as he did, "Uh- costume change?"

Hana sighed again, more exasperated. "Don't ask me, I didn't have control over what was happening!"

Ryoto looked around, frowning as he remarked, "Three of us...but five of us were taken away...WHERE ARE AKIRA AND ASUNA!?"

Hinata grimaced as he looked around as well. "Don't have a clue- who knows if they made it out or not, these executions are as unpredictable as they come!"

"D-Don't say that! If the three of us made it out, who's to say they didn't too!?" Hana argued. "Maybe...Maybe we should go into where their executions would be, they might be trapped or something-"

Fortunately, the sound of another door being forced open indicated that wouldn't be necessary; this was accompanied by a frantic knocking on the other side of the door to the left of Hinata's door, further indicating their two stragglers had survived as well.

On the farther side of the room, Hana could make out Akira's form as the prosecutor struggled to make her way through the tightly-shut opening, but luckily the young woman appeared to pass through without needing any assistance.

"Akira!" Hana shouted from where she stood. "Akira! We're over here!"

Akira swiftly turned to where Hana was, also using her handbook for light, and her eyes widened upon seeing the other three lights in the dark. "You? All of you- you all survived too?"

"We did! And Asuna did too, but I think she's stuck behind _that_ door-" Ryoto explained, pointing to the door in question (where frantic knocking could still be heard). "-so I'm gonna take care of that!"

True to his word, the Ultimate ran over and grasped the two doors, pulling with all his might as he shouted, "RYOTO MIURA, AT YOUR SERVICE!"

"-let me out let me out let me out-!" Asuna pleaded in a panicked manner, her words becoming easier to make out once the door began to open.

As soon as the opening was wide enough for her to fit through, the girl stumbled out into the trialroom, dropping to her knees once she was on the other side. She then looked around to see that the rest of her classmates were also alive, then stifled a sob before suddenly hugging Ryoto's nearby leg.

"So- all of us are accounted for," Akira remarked as she walked over. "That's...That's good to know indeed..."

Hana looked over at Akira, shocked to see that her clothes were singed and strongly smelled burnt, not to mention her hair looked a little more frazzled. "Whoa, uh- Akira, are you-?"

"I'm fine- I'll be fine," Akira curtly responded.

"YEESH! Asuna, you're bleeding even than Hinata! And- OH MY GOD, YOU DON'T HAVE GLASSES!" Ryoto cried out as he shone his e-Handbook light on the gardener.

Sure enough, in addition to several bruises and small cuts sprinkled all over her- as well as the aforementioned missing glasses- there were numerous deeper gashes and puncture wounds concentrated around the middle of her shins and forearms. Additionally, her clothes were covered in dirt and grass stains, as if she had been dragged through an entire forest.

"I...I'll be fine, I just...need to go the medical room..." Asuna told him, standing upright as she took out her own handbook and turned it on, gaining a light of her own at last. "A-And I'll be fine without my glasses- I'm just nearsighted, I can still generally see where I'm going. Now, uh- one second, I need to-"

With that, Asuna worriedly ran over to the area around her podium, scanning the blue light around the proximity as if looking for something...

For a few moments, the room fell into an awkward silence- save for the sound of Asuna's searching. Even Hana had no idea what to say- on one hand, she was overjoyed that all of her surviving classmates had escaped their executions, but on the other hand...what did all of it mean? And what were they supposed to do now?

"...So, uh...one hell of a trial, huh...?" Hinata awkwardly began. "Hehe...heh- Asuna, can you be quiet back there?"

"H-Hey, I'm looking for something!" Asuna indignantly responded. "I'm not trying to be- _oh!_ There it is!"

With that joyous and relieved exclamation, Asuna bent down and picked up Kaneki's fedora- she dusted it off for a second before putting it back on her head, finally looking a little more at ease.

"...Okay, that's _one_ crisis solved," Hinata stated, raising an eyebrow before turning to the others.

"But- now what?" Hana asked, finally speaking the main question that was on her mind. "What even happened? Did another blackout happen?"

"THAT IS THE OBVIOUS CONCLUSION! The power room was still pretty badly damaged after Hiroshi's murder..." Ryoto pointed out. "And the fact that Monokuma had not one, not two, but FIVE WHOLE EXECUTIONS running at once- that couldn't have been good for the power!"

"Ah- lucky for us, then," Asuna remarked, looking around in concern. "But- where do we go from here? W-We escaped our executions now, but- the power has to come back on at some point! And Monokuma may be offline now, but won't be happy with us when he comes back!"

"Very true, Izumi- but before we figure that out..." Akira began. "There's something I need to do first."

"Huh? What's that?" Hana asked, facing the prosecutor directly.

Akira herself proceeded to face the surfer and said: "This."

She then punched Hana in the face, Akira's fist connecting with her left cheek and sending her sprawling to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Holy shit!" Hinata cried in surprise as he and the others witnessed the attack.

"And that-" Akira stated with an angry edge to her voice. "-was for your _damn_ voting idea."

Hana groaned- the angle that she landed resulting in the pain in her chest coming back in full force, and she profusely coughed while struggling to stand back up.

"Hana! A-Are you alright?" Asuna immediately asked. "You got hurt during your execution too, didn't you?"

"W-Well, yeah- didn't we all?" Hana responded as she slowly picked herself up, clutching at her chest again. "I...I think my ribs got bruised or cracked or something, but- but I don't think it's life-threatening. I'll be okay."

She then added with a sigh, "Besides, I...I deserved that punch anyways... I really didn't think Monokuma would try and execute us like that, I-I'm really-"

"Now hold on, Hana- maybe you shouldn't settle yourself short just yet," Hinata told the surfer. "I'm not too happy that I almost died, but at the same time...it kinda proves you were right."

"I was...right?" Hana asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah- why else would Monokuma rush to kill all of us like that? The explanation he gave was bull, I think we can all agree on that," Hinata explained with a shrug. "So...what other explanation is there besides that there really is something bigger behind Hiroshi's murder?"

Akira's earlier anger softened somewhat, and she replied, "Well- I never disagreed with that idea. I simply would have preferred it if we each individually didn't have to come within mere seconds of death to confirm that."

"Huh. Well then- great job, everyone! We uncovered a conspiracy!" Ryoto said, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "Go us!"

"B-But we're still stuck down here!" Asuna reminded him (and the others). "And I don't think we'll get lucky a second time!"

"That- is also a very good point," Hana remarked with a quick nod. "Yeah, uh, we- we _really_ should get going."

"Agreed," Akira remarked, already making her way towards the main doors. "This way! Hurry, the power could come back on any moment now!"

The students wasted little time running towards and through the large red doors, the blue of their e-Handbooks lighting the way as they exited the trial grounds in the way they had many times before- except this time, the situation couldn't be any more different.

* * *

The students sprinted down the hallway without a word, only their footsteps breaking through the silence. Then, they all stopped almost simultaneously in front of the elevator- the cold, metallic, powerless elevator.

"OH NOOOO! THE ELEVATOR'S NOT GONNA WORK!" Ryoto cried. "The power's outta that, too! We're TRAPPED!"

"T-Trapped!? We can't be! Th-There's _got_ to be another way out!" Asuna yelped, frantically looking around.

Akira narrowed her eyes, and then she stepped onto the platform and shone her light on the sides of the wide elevator shaft. "...Hey. You four- have any of you ever looked at the mechanisms on the side of the elevator before?"

"Huh? Why are you asking about...?" Hana began, walking over herself- then seeing what Akira meant.

Akira's light shone on a large, wide steel rack- the toothed slab being about a meter and a half in width with nearly a foot and a half of space between each tooth- that extended vertically all the way up the height of the elevator shaft. There were two more of these metal racks on two other parts of the elevator shaft; walking right up to the perimeter of the elevator platform and shining her light downwards, Akira revealed a massive pinion fitted into the bottom slots, and it could be assumed there were two more gears fitted to the two other racks. It was most likely with the mechanism of these gears that the elevator platform was able to ascend and descend like it did before and after each trial.

"...I wonder..." Akira muttered, then turned to the others. "Okay- it looks like we have no choice. See these racks on the side of the elevator shaft? We're going to have to climb one of them like a ladder."

"C-Climb those things?" Hana asked, dumbfounded. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"A-Are even physically well enough to do that?" Asuna then questioned, looking over at the wounds of herself and the other students.

"That doesn't really matter- seeing as how we don't have a choice. It's either this or we stay down here, because there's no way Monokuma will let us use the elevator to go back to the surface," Akira told them.

"But...what if the power comes back on while we're climbing? W-Won't Monokuma be able to...I don't know, kill us with the elevator or something?" Asuna then asked, not entirely reassured.

"If this is the only way to get out of here alive, I'm willing to take that risk," Hinata spoke up, walking over to where Akira was.

Hana turned towards one of the racks herself, staring up at it with apprehension. Despite her many misgivings about the idea, she had to agree the group had few options for escape- and besides, she could think of worse things to be used as makeshift ladders.

"Okay...I say we should do it, too," Hana agreed with a nod. "It- It shouldn't be too bad, right? Like- Like a giant ladder, that's it..."

"Well then, as they say..." Ryoto began, stepping to the side. "Ladies first!"

"Actually- Miura, you're the least injured of all of us, so I believe you should go first," Akira informed him. "I'll go up behind you, followed by Yonade, then Izumi, and Amari will go last."

"Because I'm still wet, right?" Hana surmised, glancing down at her wetsuit, which still shone with remaining water. It was the logical choice- couldn't have some of that water be left behind on the teeth of the rack and risk causing someone to slip and fall.

"Well, while you're waiting for us-" Ryoto began, walking over to Hana before unclipping his familiar blue cape and tossing it to her. "Use that to dry yourself off a bit! That way you'll be able to climb up easier!"

"Y-Your cape?" Hana asked, surprised. "But- you love this thing! Won't it get ruined if I use it to dry myself off?"

"No worries! It's a cape- Ryoto Miura can always get a new one at his local party store!" Ryoto assured her, then pocketed his e-Handbook and declared, "And now- I DEPART!"

He ran over to the edge of the elevator before swiftly scaling the metallic fence that separated the inside of the platform from the walls of the elevator shaft; once he did, he was able to step over the small gap onto one of the thick teeth of the rack, then began to climb up. Akira did the same, putting away her own e-Handbook before beginning her ascent.

"You know...this isn't the first time I've had to climb an elevator shaft..." Hinata dryly remarked as he put away his own handbook. "But somehow, this time is _definitely_ the weirdest."

He then scaled the fence and made it onto the rack as well; despite his execution injuries, he was still as skillful and dexterous in his climbing as ever- very befitting of the Ultimate Thief.

Asuna audibly gulped, then said to herself, "W-Well...not climbing will _definitely_ mean death, so I...I've got to do it...! I'm gonna do it, I...I'll do it!"

Though she was still visibly trembling, the girl put her handbook away and climbed the fence just like the others- fortunately, though she seemed to have the most trouble, she was able to begin her ascent up the rack without incident.

Once she knew her hands and feet were dry enough, Hana tossed Ryoto's cape aside- she still felt bad about ruining it and then leaving it behind, but she knew taking it with wasn't an option. She looked down at her wetsuit, realizing it had no pockets; then, she stared at her e-Handbook, wondering how she could take it with her. With a little sigh/groan, Hana realized she had no choice and came to a decision- she fitted the gadget into her mouth, the firm plastic and glass not feeling too pleasant against her teeth. Only then was the surfer able to climb over the fence and onto the rack to begin her own ascent under the others.

 _You know...if present me told past me that one day she'd have to climb up this metal rack thing in an elevator shaft to escape execution by a psychotic robot teddy bear while_ also _carrying a glorified tablet between her teeth...past me would either laugh, or think it'd be cool because it sounds like something out of an action movie._ Hana pondered to herself. _But this- this isn't funny, and this_ definitely _isn't cool._

Hana also had to wonder- how could one class trial turn out so wrong? Not to mention the biggest question on her mind remained unanswered- why had Hiroshi been murdered? And if there was some kind of conspiratorial cover-up behind it, what was the reason for _that?_ And what did Monokuma (or maybe even the mastermind themselves) have to do with any of it, what was _their_ motive for trying to kill the rest of the classmates?

Despite the dozens and dozens of questions Hana still had, she tried to shut them out for the time being. She could find those answers later- right now, all she tried to focus on was the climb at hand. After all, all her questions in the world wouldn't matter if she didn't survive to ask them.

 **Chapter 5: Ultimate Truth- END**

 **STUDENTS REMAINING: 5**

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

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 **A/N: Welp, this part took way longer to write than I expected AND it was longer in general than I expected! In fact, I actually considered cutting it in half- not because of the length itself, but because I was worried about the pacing. That is, until I realized why this part is so long: the executions! Putting in four more executions rather than the usual one added in a whopping ~3,000 words! At that point most people would ask "you know, do I really need to show all the characters' execution"? And to that I say- YES! I'll do it! I didn't come up with all of them to _not_ show all five! So, in the end, it was this discovery that made me decide _not_ to split this part in half- so...you get the full part, and the full conclusion to Chapter 5 in one! Hooray!**

 **But I'll be honest for a moment- this chapter's murder was, without a doubt, the hardest one for me to come up with. I think it was because I wanted to come up with a case so confusing and complex that it left the entire class stumped for the most part- the kind of case worthy for the rollercoaster that is Chapter 5. It also didn't help that, for plot reasons, I wanted to go for something similar to the Chapter 5 case in THH- you know, Mukuro's case. Despite the challenges, though, I think it turned out pretty well in the end- a crazy trial ending on one heck of a cliffhanger...not bad for the penultimate trial of Fractured Fates, eh?**

 **Anyways- next time! Next time...next time. Just- next time. You'll see.**

 **Anyways, one more little update- because of virus stuff, I'm off of school until April 6th, so theoretically that means I'll have all the time in the world to work on FF, right? Well- I also have school stuff I need to do during these next three weeks, so that'll take up a lot of my time I'm sure. So in other words- I don't know what'll happen! I _hope_ to get more progress done and I will certainly _try_ to get more progress done, but- you know how life goes, especially considering how America is very nearly on fire right now. **

**So with that...remember to keep up that good hygiene, don't give in to the panic and fear, and more than anything- stay safe out there, everybody! See you next time!**


	50. Chapter ? ? ?: A Simple Plan

**A/N: AHA, BETCHA DIDN'T EXPECT** ** _THIS!_**

 **Okay, admittedly- I wasn't gonna write this part, I was gonna go right into Chapter 6, buuut...ideas started rolling in my head while I was writing the last part of the fifth trial, and lo and behold- this is a thing now! The third "mystery"/"? ? ?" chapter of the story! And since this is being placed between Chapters 5 and 6...I guess you could also consider this to be "Chapter 0", much like in SDR2. I'm not gonna call it Chapter 0 though, I'm gonna keep going with my naming scheme of Chapter "? ? ?"s.**

 **Additionally, I think it would be good to have a little intermission between the two chapters, considering the rollercoaster that was the end of Chapter 5. So without further ado- let's get started with some more** ** _mysteries!_**

 **P.S. Okay since a couple of the reviews brought this up, I'm gonna address it right now (and, uh- spoilers for the fangame Super Danganronpa Another 2, I suppose): I did not intend for the mass execution at the end of the last part to be a direct shout-out to Super Danganronpa Another 2. I had the idea to do a mass execution before Chapter 5 of SDRA2 came out, but obviously I'm not about to go accusing LINUJ of stealing my idea- nor do I expect to be accused of stealing his. D** **on't get me wrong, I like the Another games, I think they've got some super creative ideas in terms of DR cases and stories, and I'm flattered people are bringing up such a famous Fangan in relation to mine. But I just think calling my Chapter 5 ending a reference to SDRA2's Chapter 5 ending is, well- inaccurate.**

 **Anyways thank you for coming to my TED talk-**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _Philip Clark:_ I, ah, refer you to my author's note above.**

 ** _HoneyBeeGirl94:_ Thank you! I'm glad my plot-twisting skills are still top-notch. Also- the electricity thing may be true for V3, but this killing game is not V3, so...**

 ** _gabriswitch:_ First- thank you for the praise! Second- I like the speculation! Unfortunately, this is not Chapter 6, so you'll have to wait a wee bit longer for those questions to start being answered. But hopefully, this part will keep those theorizing gears turning! Lastly- yeah, Chapter 5 is, at long last, where Akira's character arc/development starts kicking into high gear. Where will it go from here? You'll just have to wait and see! ...After this short mystery chapter!**

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 **Chapter ? ? ?: A Simple Plan**

Someone was briskly walking through the dark, run-down halls of a building. The place seemed like it had once been an office building of some kind, several stories tall...although the topmost few stories had been destroyed ages ago, reducing the building to almost half of its original size. Not that this was unusual- a lot of buildings in these metropolitan areas were in a similar state, if not in far worse condition. It wasn't even unusual to see or hear about ruins being turned to even more decrepit ruins- luckily, this particular building had managed to avoid such a fate these last two years.

The person continued to walk down the hallway before finding a pair of stairs, which they quickly ascended; this building used to have an elevator, but needless to say it was long since out of commission. They climbed the stairs to the 'top' floor before continuing down another hallway- this one lacked any windows, only being lit by the flickering ceiling lights above, but was as dilapidated as the other places in the building.

Even before they were halfway down the hall, the person saw their destination: a pair of doors, with an imposing man standing in front with his burly arms crossed. It was a certainty the man saw the person approaching almost right away, and as soon as they were close enough the man said, "Agent 44- fancy seeing you here. What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to talk to the boss," Agent 44 explained without hesitation. "People are only allowed up here if they have business with him, right?"

"That's right- but I wasn't informed the boss had made an appointment with anyone," the guard responded with a narrowed gaze.

Despite the man easily towering over Agent 44, they replied without fear, "Well, it was pretty short-notice. He probably didn't really get a chance to let you know. And anyways- have I ever lied about needing to see the boss before?"

"..." Considering this, the guard finally grunted and turned to the side for a moment, then quickly knocked on the door to signal to whoever was on the other side that they had a visitor. Then, the guard stepped aside to allow Agent 44 inside.

The agent approached the doors; they were made from a fancy mahogany that had lost its luster over time, as well as a pair of silvery door handles that also appeared dull. The most glaring change to the door, however, was the symbol that had been spray-painted in red over it: the outline of a stylized hand with a modified version of a...certain figure's eye in the 'palm'.

Agent 44 pushed open the doors and stepped into the room on the other side. The room in question appeared to be an executive's office; it was decently spacious, with the left wall being one big window. It was mostly devoid of decorations, save for a suit of decorative medieval armor displayed on the right side (something the boss had put in himself). A large mahogany desk sat on the opposite end of the room from the doors, with a few black cushioned chairs set in front of it; on the desk was a laptop, a wine glass, and a desk lamp. More importantly, however, was the fact that someone was sitting on the other side of the desk.

Despite the large window in the room, the majority of the man's features were obscured by darkness- aside from his imposing stature and those piercing, bright red eyes. Still, the subordinate was not afraid of the dark man- they simply stood in the doorway for a moment, as if waiting for something.

"Hm- so you _were_ serious when you sent me that message," the man stated in a deep voice. "You're lucky I'm fond of you, Agent- I don't usually like it when members ask for a meeting on such short-notice."

He leaned in a little and added, "But- be that as it may, it would be in your best interests not to waste my time."

"It won't be a waste of time, sir, trust me on that," Agent 44 assured their boss as they walked over to take a seat.

Then, they hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to segue into what they hoped to discuss. After a moment of thought, the agent began, "Ah- before I tell you what I wanted to talk about though, I'm... _very_ curious to know what you thought of the conclusion."

The boss furrowed his brow. "To the school life? Why would you ask about that?"

"Um- I remember you expressed some interest in it when it first began," Agent 44 explained, stiffening in their seat somewhat. "To me- it made sense. You used to work with that girl before Dark Hand, right?"

The man scoffed. "That's right- and if anything, the conclusion of the school life proved to me that I made the right choice, leaving when I did."

He stood up and walked over to the window; from his vantage point, he could easily see the ruined city surrounding the office building, the landscape taking on a more sinister appearance by the blood-red sky.

"That entire event...what a travesty..." the man muttered to himself with a little shake of his head.

A pang of fear shot through Agent 44's body as they listened. "A...travesty, sir...?"

"Yes- she had an entire class of Ultimates at her mercy, successfully manipulating the majority of them into murdering one another," the man explained, glancing over his shoulder at the agent. "I regret not coming up with the idea myself- the systematic destruction of hope through a mutual killing game, disposing of those so weak-minded that they would never survive in the current world anyways..."

He shook his head again. "It could have brought great things to the world, but- no. That girl, she had to go and...!"

He sighed and walked back to the desk. "I won't deny the brilliance of the idea, but- pardon my pun- the execution of it was faulty, to put it lightly. She was so focused on despair for nothing more than despair's sake that she caused her _own_ downfall, and the killing game ultimately brought _more_ hope to world...and the worst part is, I don't think her utter failure would have displeased her."

Agent 44 thought about their superior's words for a moment (after a wave of relief washed over them), then responded, "Well, I- I'm really glad you feel that way, sir."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Are you, now?"

"Yes- and I agree," the person elaborated. "I thought it was a brilliant thing- forcing Ultimates, the _symbols_ of hope, to kill each other? And force the world to watch? It's a great way to kill hope, no doubt."

They then added, leaning in a little out of eagerness. "And that's why...I think Dark Hand could do better."

The boss's expression remained neutral. "'Do better', you say? Are you actually suggesting-?"

"Yes, I am," Agent 44 answered. "We should make _our own_ killing game."

They explained, their own red eyes gleaming with crazed fervor, "We can learn from the mistakes of the killing school life, the mistakes of Ultimate Despair, and make somebody even more effective. We- _you_ have the resources to pull it off. Even if it can't be broadcasted around the _world,_ that doesn't matter- Dark Hand's goals aren't really about _spreading_ despair anyways, we're trying to destroy hope. And of course, you'd be the main man in charge- we could set it up so you and your inner circle can keep an eye on things, including whoever the 'mastermind' would be. Y-You could even oversee the game yourself, if you want!"

"..." the boss closed his eyes in thought, then stood up again and turned away from Agent 44. "...You've thought this through, Agent."

"Of course, sir- I want what's best for Dark Hand, and I think a series of killing games made by us would be a great step towards our goals," Agent 44 responded in earnest. "You know I do whatever I can for the sake of Dark Hand's ideals, sir."

"And that's what I like about you, agent- what you lack in age, you make up for in passion," the man remarked with a dark, approving tone. "In saying that...I must say, I quite like the idea of creating a killing game of my own. And you'd be right to assume I have the resources- wealth may not mean as much in this new world, but rest assured I can provide in other ways."

He added, "And that includes a location to hold this little...prototype game, we'll call it."

"Really?" Agent 44 inquired.

"Yes- an old...project, you could say, that I helped fund," the man vaguely explained. "A secretive location that only a few people knew about- and considering the state of society, I'm sure the vast majority of those other people have been long since slaughtered by now. The odds of someone on the outside coming across it are slim to none. And if all goes well, perhaps we can make it our permanent killing game location."

He sat down again and put his hands together, like he was in a business meeting. "Me and my inner associates will be able to...put everything together easily- it may take a few months, but I doubt the conclusion of the killing school life will be enough to reignite hope in the population overnight. Chances are, this world tragedy will still be raging strong by the time everything is gathered and ready."

The boss then turned his piercing, crimson gaze on Agent 44. "As for you, Agent- you will have a role to play too, of course."

"Anything you need, sir, I'll do it," Agent 44 assured their superior.

"Since this was your idea, I expect you to act as the main overseer- the 'mastermind', if you will- of the killing game," the man explained. "Controlling the overseeing robot, observing and maintaining to ensure the game runs smoothly, providing 'motives'- that sort of thing. And of course, me and my closest associates will be watching the game ourselves- and you. So, it would be in your best interests to play your part properly."

"Sure! I won't let you down Mr. Kurosora- ah, I mean- sir!" Agent 44 responded with a little shake of their head at the slip of the tongue. "I'll be a great mastermind, and I won't make the same mistakes she did. I've already got a lot of ideas for possible motives, and I-"

"Hold on- there's one more job for you," the man- 'Mr. Kurosora'- added. "Naturally, this being a game in which people are forced to murder one another, there need to be participants."

"I see..." Agent 44 replied. "And you want me to go find some, right?"

"Precisely- 15 to 16, preferably," the man elaborated. "Since this is our prototype killing game, I want to be _absolutely sure_ it will be sufficient at snuffing out any lasting hope the participants may enter the location with. Therefore, I want whoever you choose for this particular game to be truly hopeful individuals, not some optimists randomly plucked off the street."

He raised an eyebrow and concluded, "That won't be an issue, will it?"

Agent 44 tried not to appear overtly hesitant- in truth, they had doubts about whether or not they would get this far. And most of all, they hadn't the foggiest idea of how they would be able to find any 'truly hopeful individuals' bu the time their leader's preparations were completed. They pondered this for a few moments...and then, an idea formed in their head. It would require a bit of luck, and more importantly it would add to the preparations needed- and yet, the agent had a feeling their boss wouldn't mind the latter, as long as it ensured that the future prototype would not be hindered.

"...Actually- it won't, sir. Far from it," Agent 44 finally answered.

A wicked smirk appeared on their face as they further contemplated the idea, and then elaborated: "I've got some old friends of mine who would be _perfect_ for a killing game."

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it! The third (and final) 'mystery chapter', done! Shorter than I expected, but that just means I can get it out to you guys sooner!**

 **I don't have much to say on this part- aside from what I said above and the fact that I debated whether to reveal the name of the boss man or not, but you guys can clearly see what I chose to do in the end sooo...**

 **Anyways! Don't worry, rest assured Part 1 of Chapter 6 will be coming soon- so until then, hopefully this little intermission will tide y'all over. I'm certain it'll provide more fuel for questions and speculation, and I'm all for that theorizing.**

 **So, uh- yeah! Hope you guys enjoyed this, and stay tuned for the myth, the legend, the arriving storm of plot twists and feels- Chapter 6! How in the world will things escalate from what happened in Chapter 5? You'll just have to wait and see!**


	51. Chapter 6: A Fractured Fate (Part 1)

**A/N: It's here, everybody- the beginning of the end, Chapter 6! I'll be honest- it still feels a little surreal to get this far with Fractured Fates' story. I mean- this is it, this is the endgame, and it's...man, it's a little wild. I'm happy, though- or, 'proud' I guess would be the better word. I've gotten so far, and a lot of you have continued to read this for so long, and it's- in all aspects, I'm really glad about how FF has turned out so far. Based on my track record with my previous fics, I wondered about how far I'd get with Fractured Fates, I wasn't sure if I'd even get to Chapter 6, and yet- here we are, I still have every intention to keep going to the very end (unless I spontaneously die), and I've got a great audience of readers, and...man, I'm just happily rambling at this point, I'd better get back on topic-**

 **Anyways! So, Chapter 6 begins now- tons of questions about tons of things, Hana and co. were last seen climbing up an elevator shaft after narrowly escaping execution...things got crazy, and this being Chapter 6 things are probably gonna get even crazier. And the crazy train keeps rolling- now!**

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 ** _HoneyBeeGirl94:_ H-Hey now! While I can't explain what the person meant by "prototype killing game" because spoilers (kinda), I _can_ say it does not mean there will be sequel. In saying that- at this moment in time, let it be known I am neither confirming nor denying a Fractured Fates sequel, and if I do confirm/deny one I'll do it _much_ later on.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: A Fractured Fate- Deadly Life (Part 1)**

"Aaaaah- how much more do we have to climb!?"

"Why're you asking us? _You're_ the one on top, bud."

"But we've been climbing for DAYS! Shouldn't we be _kinda_ seeing the top of the shaft by now!? Or the sky through the opening!?"

"Quit complaining, Miura, and keep going."

"Y-Yeah, please keep going- a-and _maybe_ go a little faster...? I don't know how much more my muscles can take..."

 _I'm just wondering why they had to make this elevator go so damn deep..._

The banter between the Ultimates periodically started up and ended like this throughout the entirety of the ascent- Hana would have contributed were it not for the e-Handbook she was carrying in her mouth, so she was left with inner monologue. At the very least, the sound of her classmates' voices made up for the dull darkness of the climb and assured her that they were all still going strong, despite the circumstances and the fatigue. Even still, Ryoto's latest statements brought up a good point- why _hadn't_ they seen the opening of the shaft yet? Even if it was still far above them, it should have been possible to see the sunlight or starlight or the sky through the opening- so why was the shaft still mostly pitch black?

"You want fast, eh? I'll show you fast- RYOTO MIURA'S THE FASTEST CLIMBER AROUND!" Ryoto boasted, his loud voice echoing in the elevator shaft.

"I sincerely doubt that," Hinata stated.

"WATCH ME!" Ryoto yelled, then (presumably, it was hard to see) quickened his own ascent.

Hana sighed a little at the racecar driver's antics, but continued to climb as normal...that is, until a shocked and somewhat fearful yelp from Ryoto cut through the air, causing the others to stop dead.

"R-Ryoto? What happened?" Asuna called up worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I- I'm fine, but-" Ryoto responded, sounding baffled. "W-What happened to the rest of the wall!? Where's the- why is- w-wait a second, is this-?"

Scuffing sounds could be heard, followed by what sounded like footsteps on stone or some other hard surface. Seconds later, the blue light of another e-Handbook shone downwards on the other students; next to it was Ryoto, whose face was illuminated by the light of the screen- and it was a face of utter bafflement.

"Uh...we made it to the top, guys," Ryoto remarked with a little frown. "But, ah...something's...not right...at all..."

"What...?" Akira began, also in disbelief. "Wait- hold on, let me-"

Akira climbed up and over the edge of the large, fountain-sized opening; Hinata, Asuna, and Hana soon followed. Even before she removed her e-Handbook to hold it in her hands, Hana recognized the stone path circulating around the fountain (or where the fountain would be)- turning on the e-Handbook and shining it downward confirmed this.

Meanwhile, the others were also using their handbooks as flashlights once again, illuminating the ground as they all collectively confirmed they were, in fact, in the courtyard...despite the area being as pitch black as the underground trial grounds. There was no light aside from that being emitted from the handbooks' screens- no sun, no sky, no moon, no stars, it was just inky blackness on all sides.

"I...can certainly see what you meant by things not being right..." Akira remarked, uneasy.

"Th-That's an understatement!" Asuna yelped, frantically looking around and shining her e-Handbook in all directions. "What happened to the sky!?"

"Is it- it just a _really_ cloudy night...?" Hinata pondered aloud, shining his own light upwards. "Overcast nights, they can get...pretty dark..."

Hana shook her head. "No way- I've seen cloudy nights, and they weren't _nearly_ as dark as this. This isn't your average, every day darkness, this is-"

"-ADVANCED darkness?" Ryoto finished.

"Something like that, yeah..." the surfer agreed.

Hinata looked around for a moment, still pointing his e-Handbook upwards...but then, when he looked up himself, his eyes widened. "...What the fuck...!?"

"Hinata? You okay?" Hana asked, walking over to the thief.

When he didn't respond right away, she followed Hinata's gaze up towards the sky- and it was then that she saw what had him so bewildered. There was now a single, tiny spot of bright blue on the black sky- a spot that appeared right where Hinata was pointing his e-Handbook.

Now, it was Hana's turn to stare in disbelief and say, "W-What the-? What is that?"

"I...I don't know, I was just-" Hinata began, lowering his e-Handbook...and when he did, the blue spot in the sky moved and disappeared with the light.

"Huh-!? Did you see that?" Hana yelped as she watched. "What's going _on_ here? First the place is all pitch-black, and now that-!"

Hinata frowned and raised his e-Handbook up again- when he did, the bright blue spot reappeared in the sky, mirroring the movement of the e-Handbook. By now, the other three students had taken notice, and were just as baffled.

"What the _fuck!?"_ Ryoto yelped as he watched the blue spot move. "What is that, a REFLECTION!?"

"Well it's acting like a reflecting, that's for sure," Asuna remarked. "...I think...I-I can't really see it too clearly."

"I don't get this at all..." Hinata muttered as he moved his e-Handbook around some more, and the bright blue dot followed the screen's movement- like a reflection, as Ryoto said.

Akira's gaze was narrowed...but then, her eyes widened in realization. "Wait a second..."

The prosecutor took out her own e-Handbook and shone the screen's light upwards like Hinata was doing. Sure enough, a second blue dot appeared in the sky, this one mirroring the movements of Akira's handbook.

"What...?" Hana asked herself as she watched the two light spots, feeling like she was drowning in confusion.

Akira nodded, then lowered her handbook before turning to the others. "Miura's right- it's reflecting the screens of our handbooks, or at least the light being emitted."

"But- But how is that possible!?" Hana asked, bewildered. "It's the sky, not a mirror!"

The prosecutor was silent for a moment, the answered, "That's the thing- it's _not_ the sky."

She looked up again and elaborated. "What we've been looking up at- it's not a real sky. It must be a...a giant screen or series of larger screens installed and implemented to give off the illusion of being in the open outdoors..."

"W-WHAAAAT!?" Ryoto cried. "S-So you're saying the sky- the sky is- is _fake!?_ HOW THE FUCK IS THAT POSSIBLE!?"

"I-I know they're doing great stuff with technology these days, but this is-!" Asuna began, incredulous.

Akira shook her head and said to herself, "Of course- why didn't I realize it sooner? The constant perfect weather, the lack of any wind or temperature changes...!"

"But- But if the sky is just a bunch of screens, and we haven't actually been outside all this time...!" Hinata asked, growing more panicked by the second. "Then- Then where the hell have we been all this time!?"

"If the sky's fake- what, does that mean EVERYTHING'S fake too!?" Ryoto cried. "IS THIS _GRASS_ FAKE!?"

Before anyone could respond, he crouched down and plucked up a single blade of grass, holding it up to his face as if trying to examine it on the cellular level.

"A-As the gardener, I can _definitely_ confirm all the plants are real!" Asuna informed the racecar driver.

Ryoto tossed the grass blade aside and stood back up. "RIGHT!"

"Then...if this sky is fake, then..." Hana surmised. "The sky we saw in the greenhouse must be fake too, right...?"

"Without a doubt- there must be some kind of heating and lighting apparatus in there too, to ensure the plants would be able to perform photosynthesis- like an indoor heat lamp," Akira responded. "That must be the case in here, too- albeit larger and in a wider area."

"This is wild...who in the world would go that far to make a...a fake skyline to make us think we were outside...?" Hinata asked, shaking his head. "And _why_ would they do that? What, is the _actual_ sky some kinda clue to where we are?"

Akira sighed. "I don't know- right now, I can't fathom _many_ things, but...in all honesty, the issue with the fake sky should be the least of our worries..."

"No kidding- as soon as the power comes back on, Monokuma's gonna be on us as soon as he can..." Hana agreed with a little shudder. _I can't believe I almost forgot about that damn bear...what's he gonna do to us once he comes back online...?_

"Well- I mean...we're out, we're back up top, what...what should we do?" Hinata asked, looking around in concern. "No way in hell he'll let us live- if anything, he'll just be _more_ mad now that we escaped..."

"...I have an idea," Akira then spoke up, crossing her arms. "But- we'll have to wait for Monokuma to come to us, and since we've escaped our executions I have no doubt he'll do just that."

"W-Wait for him!? Is that really a good idea?" Asuna asked in fear. "W-What if he just charges in and tries to rip our throats out with his claws? Or what if he-"

"LET HIM TRY IT! I'LL CLOBBER HIM FOR TRYING TO KILL US!" Ryoto shouted, cracking his knuckles.

"No! There will be no clobbering!" Akira immediately responded. "When Monokuma arrives, just let me do the talking- trust me, I have a good feeling about my plan."

Normally, Hana would have had her doubts about such a response- but considering the dire situation they were all in, the surfer found herself replying, "Let's trust her, guys- I'm sure Akira knows what she's doing."

Hinata sighed, "Well- whatever this mysterious 'plan' of hers is...what should we do until then? The power's still completely out, so..."

"W-Well, I don't know about you guys, but I...really need to sit down by now..." Asuna spoke up- and true to her word, she sat down on the stone path around the elevator shaft with a small wince.

Hinata grimaced himself and responded, "You know what, that's- that's not a bad idea, I think need to take a seat too..."

As the thief sat down on the ground next to Asuna, Hana finally remembered how Asuna and Hinata were more injured as a result of their executions compared to the other remaining students; in remembering this, the surfer immediately walked over and knelt down in front of her two classmates.

"Hey- Hinata, Asuna, you guys doing okay?" Hana inquired with small, worried frown.

"Not gonna lie- the whole fake sky thing made me forget about all the cuts all over me, but now that things have wound down..." Hinata explained, shifting uncomfortably. "The adrenaline's gone, but the pain's all back."

"S-Same here, I'm surprised I didn't get blood on the rack while we were climbing it..." Asuna added with a little grimace.

Hana's frown deepened somewhat, and she looked around for a moment. "Well...I know Akira wants us to wait until the power comes back on, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to take you guys to the East Wing's medical room sooner instead of later..."

Akira, who had evidently heard the conversation, chimed in, "I don't think that's the best idea- it's not wise to try and treat injuries like that in pitch blackness. While I agree, you two should go to the medical room soon, but in the middle of this blackout-"

"Yeah yeah, we get it- we can sit by for a bit longer, no big deal," Hinata assured her. "Not like we're bleeding bad enough to be dying."

"I-I guess..." Asuna agreed rather hesitantly. "Still hurts a lot, though..."

"Well..." Hana began, gently putting a hand on Asuna's shoulder. "Hopefully, the power will come back on soon, and when that happens-"

 _Bleep...bleep...bleep..._

All conversation cut off as a loud beeping could be heard through the darkness. The group looked around with their handbooks as flashlights- but Hana went motionless where she was kneeling.

"...What...is that?" Akira asked as she looked around.

"Wait- NO! IT'S A BOMB!" Ryoto cried in panic. "EVERYBODY RUN!"

"It's not a bomb!" Hinata yelled at the racecar driver before he could run off. "Why would there be a bomb in the courtyard?"

Hana remained deathly silent, however- because she knew what the noise was. She became acutely aware of the weight of her e-Handbook in her hand- she didn't even need to look down at it to know it was flashing green like it always did. Of all the times for one of those cryptic messages to appear on her device, that moment was probably one of the worst; Hana was aware of this, yet she found herself frozen in place as fight-or-flight took control, and all she could do was tighten her grip on her e-Handbook.

However, the confusion felt by the rest of the students wouldn't last, as Asuna (who was nearest to Hana) spoke up and asked, "Uh- Hana...? Why is your e-Handbook flashing...?"

Hana snapped back to attention as the gardener spoke, holding up her handbook and looking down to its green flashing screen. "That, uh..."

Akira, Ryoto, and Hinata all turned their attention to Hana and her flashing e-Handbook- no doubt, they also realized the _bleep-_ ing sound was being emitted by the gadget.

Ryoto's eyes widened, and he then shouted, "AHA! HANA'S HANDBOOK IS THE BOMB!"

"There _is no bomb!"_ Hinata shouted in response, exasperated.

Akira gazed at the e-Handbook as well in confusion and scrutiny. "Amari- what _is_ going on with your e-Handbook? Care to explain?"

"That...is an excellent question..." Hana responded sheepishly.

When the Ultimate Prosecutor narrowed her eyes, Hana sighed and responded, "Okay, uh...I think we _all_ need to sit down. I...I need to tell you guys something."

* * *

Everyone moved to the grass, where the students sat in a circle; Hana's e-Handbook had stopped beeping and the screen was black, but the surfer hadn't bothered to check the text that had inevitably appeared. While her gadget was lying in her lap, the other Ultimates held their handbooks up to illuminate their faces.

"Okay- I...should have told you guys, or someone about this a long time ago, but I just...I didn't know how to talk about it, I didn't even know what to make of it, I..." Hana explained with a guilty sigh. "But, if I learned anything from the last trial, it's that keeping secrets will just screw me over, and- well, you guys saw and heard my handbook anyways, so..."

"Don't beat around the bush- what's going on?" Hinata asked with a frown.

Hana took a deep breath and began, "The...The truth is-"

"You're the traitor Monokuma mentioned!" Ryoto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Hana.

"Wha-!? No! That's not it!" Hana yelled at him.

"Let her finish before you start accusing anyone of anything, Miura," Akira told the Ultimate, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, the- the truth is..." Hana began again, hesitated a moment, then blurted, "The truth is I've been getting really cryptic messages on my e-Handbook for a while now and they have some really weird and incriminating things on them that make it seem like this killing game isn't what it seems and I don't know what any of it means!"

The others were silent for a few moments, but Hana could see how baffled they appeared. Asuna was the first to break the silence by asking, "Cryptic...messages...?"

"Can- Can e-Handbooks even do that?" Hinata then questioned.

"I imagine it'd be difficult to pull off, considering how advanced these devices are..." Akira pondered. "And I can't imagine what someone's motive for that would be..."

"Hey- you said messag _es_ , right? As in plural?" Ryoto inquired. "How many of these have you gotten?"

"Well- it's about to be five," Hana answered, holding up her e-Handbook to indicate the text on the screen.

"But how long have you been receiving these messages?" Akira then asked, partially crossing her arms while still holding up her own e-Handbook.

"Uh...ever since Mikio's trial...?" Hana admitted. "Or, more specifically, a little bit after his trial...you know, when we all went back to our rooms..."

"WHAT!? That early on!?" Ryoto exclaimed.

"And...you've been keeping these messages a secret this whole time...?" Asuna asked.

When Hana nodded, Akira pressed on, "And you haven't told anyone until now? Not even Ashi?"

"Not even Hiroshi," Hana confirmed with another nod.

"Well...why _didn't_ you tell anyone?" Hinata then questioned with a furrowed brow. "And for that matter- what did you mean by the messages having 'weird and incriminating things' on them?"

"It'd be easier to show you guys, but...I need to look at this newest message first before it'll let me go back to my normal e-Handbook stuff," Hana explained, picking up her handbook to start reading. "If you guys want to see for yourselves what these messages are like, be my guest- not really trying to hide this anymore, so..."

Akira, unsurprisingly, was the first to take Hana up on that offer, walking over and bending down so she could see the screen. Before long, Ryoto, Hinata, and Asuna followed; once everyone was in place, Hana looked down to begin reading the newest message...

 _ **Hello again, Hana. I'll be honest- I really hope you don't see this message. Because if you've seen this message, the fifth message, then you and the others are STILL in the killing game, and have been in that killing game for...god, I don't even know how long it would be. Too long, let's leave it at that. I'm really hoping the other four messages would have been enough to help you realize what you need to do- hell, that last message combined with everything else should have been enough, but if it wasn't...well, maybe something a little more direct will finally do it.**_

 _ **I'm really hoping it does...mostly because I think this is the last message I'll be able to make. The rest of the files that came with the previous messages should be hidden somewhere on your e-Handbook, so if ever want to look at those again- they'll be there. The same will go for the file on this message. With those messages, you should be able to figure out some things- and especially with this one, you should be at least able to figure out how to shut that damn killing game down.**_

 _ **Hana- I'm sorry my other messages weren't enough, and that I won't be able to provide anything else after this. And I'm sorry I can't do anything else but hope you and everyone else are still okay and still alive- but no matter what happens, I still believe in you and I know you'll be able to sort things out one way or another. I don't know what will happen to me, but you don't need to worry about that- if you even worry about your weird messenger at all, haha. All you know need to worry about- all you need to do- is**_ _ **remember everything.**_

 _ **Remember the class.**_

 _ **Remember your own role.**_

"...Huh...that's cryptic alright..." Hinata muttered as he finished reading. "A little creepy too, seeing it call you by name like that..."

"What does it mean by 'remember'? Remember what?" Ryoto asked in confusion. "'Class'? 'Role'? What?"

"Your guess is as good as mine..." Hana replied with a little sigh.

"What I'm most curious about are those files..." Akira claimed, thoughtful. "Are those the 'incriminating things' you mentioned, Amari?"

Hana nodded. "Speaking of- this one has a file too, lemme just-"

She clicked on the latest file attachment- an image file- and it opened almost straight away. After the photos of the students and the article on 'The Tragedy', Hana had no idea what to expect from this one...and yet, she was still surprised. The latest image was quite different from other files- it was another photo, but it was of a piece of paper on some kind of innocuous desk. On the paper was a drawing of a diagram: a box with a smaller rectangle on the front face and some kind of hemisphere on top of the box. On the right was some kind of swirl, with an arrow pointing to the left onto the smaller rectangle. Under the box was a second arrow pointing to a drawing of a building- a castle?- with an 'X' through it, and a smiley face to the right of the castle.

"...Uh...d-did the other files look like that...?" Asuna asked. "You know- looking like photos of cryptic drawings on paper...?"

"Ah- not in the slightest..." Hana responded, just as baffled.

"..." Akira shook her head, then told Hana, "We'll deal with that later- show us those other files."

"Well- they're hidden, and it takes a minute to navigate to them," Hana explained, hesitant and apologetic. "And even still, I don't...the stuff in those files, I don't know if you guys-"

"Show us, Amari," Akira ordered again. "Or do you have something to hide after all?"

"Yeah, come on! We can take it! I mean, as long as there aren't a MILLION BOMBSHELLS in those files- what have you got to be worried about, Hana?" Ryoto asked, optimistic.

 _Aha...oh, if only he knew..._ Hana thought, still hesitant. _It's not like_ I've _got anything to hide with what the messages showed, and yet...the photos of us at Hope's Peak, the article on that 'Tragedy' thing..._

* * *

 _"Thaaat's right! Rest assured, you all walked through those doors and become official students of Hope's Peak Academy before being thrust into this killing game," Monokuma told them. "But that time? The time between that moment of blacking out and when you each woke up?"_

 _He clapped his metallic paws together. "BAM! Gone! Erased! Deleted! You guys had your memories wiped!"_

 _Hana could hear many of the others reacting to this revelation, but she was too focused on her own reaction to process theirs; she could almost feel the color draining from her face, her heart rate increasing from fear, and she couldn't say or do anything but let out a short gasp of shock._

 _"W-What!? What are you saying!?" Hinata yelped, his eyes going wide with horror._

 _"Uh- you had your memories wiped," Monokuma slowly repeated himself. "I think that's pretty self-explanatory, Scarfy."_

 _"You...You're lying," Hiroshi quickly claimed, sounding almost breathless._

 _"Y-Yeah!" Asuna added in. "This...has to be a trick- why should we believe anything you have to say?"_

 _"What's this now?" Monokuma asked, looking around at the others. "You all have been begging for answers since day one, but now that I give them to you all you_ reject _them! Talk about a bunch of ingrates..."_

 _"But you- you can't_ prove _that's what happened, can you?" Akira pointed out, her eyes narrowed into a glare. "You have no evidence that we were students at Hope's Peak and then had our memories erased, do you?"_

* * *

 _The majority of these photos...they'll prove Monokuma right...they prove we were students at Hope's Peak before the killing game, that we had our memories wiped somehow..._ Hana told herself. _Knowing how badly everyone freaked out before...can I really put them through that again, but- but worse...?_

"Hana? Don't tell me there's actually something that makes you look bad on there," Hinata spoke up, crossing his arms."

"There's...There's not, but..." Hana began before sighing- with the scrutiny of her friends on her, the surfer realized there was no going back. "Just...give me a second..."

Feeling almost sick to her stomach, Hana made her way to the e-Handbook's empty files until she found the 'dnlh' folder. Once she did, she saw the numerous documents and image files- with a fifth document and a new image file added to the prior ones.

"Okay- the documents, from what I've seen, just have the text from the messages- you know, what you guys read," Hana explained. "And the images...they're, uh..."

"W-Were they the things the other messages showed...?" Asuna asked. "What _are_ those pictures, anyways?"

Hana grimaced, hovering her finger over the first file. "Just...Just see for yourselves."

She tapped on the file, opening it; the picture that popped up was the very first photo she had seen from the second message- the one depicting Asuna, Azami, and Kaneki together in Hope's Peak uniforms in what appeared to be a school hallway.

Akira's eyes widened as the image popped up. "What the...!?"

"H-Hey- hey!" Ryoto began, just as bewildered. "That- hey! What the hell is-!?"

"That's...That's...!" Asuna began. "Oh my god, that's me! That's me with- with-!"

"W-Why are you and Azami and Kaneki in school uniforms!? Uniforms with the Hope's Peak logo on them!?" Hinata blurted. "And that hallway, it looks like- are they inside-!?"

"...That's not the only photo," Hana told them. "Here, let me-"

One by one, she showed her classmates the various pictures that came with the second message she had received- the same photos that depicted all the members of the 80th Class (including the mysterious, green-haired 'Nanako') being normal, happy Ultimates attending Hope's Peak. She ended this by showing them the picture that came with the third message- the one that showed everyone all together in one big class photo.

When she was done, she lowered the e-Handbook and looked back at everyone sorrowfully. "...I know they're just digital photos, so I can't...I can't say for sure how uthentic they are, but...but even still, they...they..."

"They prove Monokuma was right...!" Akira finished, realization dawning on her face. "When he told us about the memory loss, about how we had our memories wiped, he...he was telling the truth...!"

"Then...Then we really were classmates at some point...!?" Asuna spoke up- she reached up and took her fedora off, staring down at it with a mixture of horror and grief. "We attended Hope's Peak...we knew each other, we were friends, we-"

"A-All of us!? Even the ones who died!?" Ryoto cried, appearing to be the verge of a panic attack. "Me, and Akira, and Hinata, and- and Tadao, and Shiori, and Rumi, and Saku, and-"

"And if that's the case then...then the ones who have been dying...the ones we've been convicting and sending off to be _executed..."_ Akira went on, haunted. "All of them, they...Kurobe, Kunata, Shimaru, Hamasaki, they were our...!"

"Oh my god- oh my _god!"_ Hinata cried, burying his face in his hands. "We've been killing our own classmates! Our _actual, legitimate_ classmates! What the _actual fuck!?"_

Seeing the distress of her classmates only made Hana's guilt and sorrow even stronger, and she blurted, "I-I'm really sorry, guys! That's why I was so hesitant to show you the photos, because- because I knew they proved Monokuma right, I knew they proved we all really did go to Hope's Peak, and I didn't-"

"Wait...wait, Amari you- you've had these photos for a while now, right...?" Akira then inquired, the horror of the revelation making her almost breathless. "Why...? Why did you keep this information a secret!? What would you-"

"Because I didn't know what to make of any of those photos at first!" Hana cried with all her fears and doubts in relation to the messages pouring out. "I first got these pictures after Kaneki and Saku and Shiro's trials- _way before_ Monokuma told us about the amnesia! What was I supposed to think!? What was I supposed to do!? After what we'd been through with Kaneki's trial _alone,_ would it have been the best idea for me to show up and be all 'Hey guys, so I got this weird message on my e-Handbook that also came with a bunch of photos showing us at Hope's Peak so I think we were actually students and friends and just don't remember for some reason'!?"

"But- But what about afterwards!? When he did talk about the amnesia, you still didn't say anything!" Ryoto pointed out. "Why didn't you say anything _then!?"_

"You guys were already freaked out over the _idea_ of amnesia and the reveal of someone being a traitor- me showing the photos would have just made things worse! Especially with Shiori's trial and Hinata just coming out of his depression, I-" Hana went on as tears began to build in her eyes. "How do you think _I_ felt!? After Monokuma talked about the memory loss, I-I realized those photos were real, I realized we were all actual classmates, and _I_ could barely come to terms with it! How was I supposed to explain that to you guys!? I didn't want _this_ to happen, I-"

"G-Guys, guys! Stop this, we shouldn't be fighting like this!" Asuna interjected, despite the tears in her own eyes. "It's not Hana's fault, it's not _anybody's_ fault, it's...please guys, please stop..."

The others went quiet; Hana lowered her head in shame before wiping at her eyes. She wasn't sure if she had made the 'right' decision by waiting to show the others the mysterious photos, or even by revealing them at all. Sure, it proved once and for all that the students had their memories wiped, but that did not mean Hana didn't feel guilty about the grief that came from the pictures.

"...I...guess the memory loss explains something..." Hinata spoke up. "It explains why Hiroshi looks kinda different in those pictures- shorter hair, shorter in general, a different demeanor..."

"...But there's another mystery the revelation of our memory loss doesn't explain..." Akira pointed out. "That green-haired girl...who is _she...?"_

"Oh yeah- I was wondering about that too..." Ryoto remarked, furrowing his brow. "Hana? Did any of the messages explain that?"

Hana shook her head. "All I can say is- well, her name just kinda...came to me when I got that third message and that last photo, but other than that..."

"Her name?" Asuna inquired, surprised. "Can you tell us what it is?"

"Ah- it's Nanako Tokumei, I think," Hana explained. "But that's literally all I remembered about her."

"Knowing her name is one thing- but it's hardly useful information on its own..." Akira claimed. "It doesn't tell us her Ultimate talent, why she's not in this killing game with the rest of us, where she is now..."

"Aaaah, it's too many mysteries for me!" Ryoto cried out. "We already figured out we got our memories wiped after all, we had to deal with that bullshit trial, I'm done with mysteries for today!"

Hana grimaced. "I wish we could be, but...there's something else that I got- another picture."

"OH COME ON!" Ryoto cried.

Akira frowned. "Another picture? Is it related to our lost memories?"

"Well...it's not another class picture, so not exactly," Hana replied. "I...really don't know how to explain it, it's like-"

In that instant, the darkened courtyard became engulfed in light, causing most of the students to yelp or flinch from the sudden brightness. Hana herself immediately threw her arm up and shut her eyes; after a moment, she opened her eyes again to a completely changed scenery. The 'sky' had returned- appearing to be a beautiful mix of reds and oranges as the sun began to set somewhere the students couldn't see. However, its beauty was tarnished with the knowledge that the sky was nothing but a projection on a series of screens- although it was a convincing illusion, admittedly.

"Well- quite the timing," Hinata remarked, looking up at the 'sky' as soon as his eyes adjusted.

Akira scoffed. "Nevermind- we'll have to discuss this other picture later, then. So in other words- keep those files ready, Amari, because we'll be coming back to them."

"Understandable," Hana stated with a nod.

"Well- if it gives us more clues about what the fuck is going on, then I guess we-" Ryoto began, looking around at the others. "...WHOA! I couldn't really tell in the dark but- Hana! You look great in a wetsuit!"

Hana groaned in exasperation as she stood up. "Not the time, Ryoto."

Asuna shakily stood up as well, the fear in her eyes returning. "S-So...uh- if the power's back on, does that mean Monokuma's-!?"

"He's on his way, no doubt," Akira confirmed, also rising from her position and looking around in scrutiny. "I doubt he'd waste time- stay vigilant, in case he does decide to take matters into his own hands."

As he stood up as well, Hinata looked towards Akira and remarked, "Huh- you know Akira, I don't know what happened in your execution, but man it was _not_ kind to your hair."

The prosecutor raised an eyebrow. "Says the person with several gashes and lacerations all over him."

"What? Can't I make casual conversation while waiting for an inevitable confrontation with a killer robot?" Hinata inquired with a casual shrug. "...Plus, I need something to take my mind off the 'amnesia' thing, lemme have this okay?"

"But I mean, he's not wrong about- hey! You've even got a little hair sticking up like Hana does!" Ryoto pointed out in surprise.

Hana looked towards Akira's hair in curiosity- sure enough, thanks to the light returning, Hana was able to more easily see how frazzled her classmate's hair looked. And sure enough, a lock of hair was sticking up towards the back and arching to the side. Akira furrowed her brow, glanced at Hana- then, with a little 'hmph', reached up to smooth her hair out. ...Then, seconds later, the hair poked right back up again, earning a snicker from Hinata and a sigh from the Ultimate Prosecutor.

That was when a new noise cut through the air, ending the small amount of lightheartedness that had been made. Hana recognized this sound as well- although it started out faint, she could clearly make out the sound of the elevator ascending. As the noise's volume grew, the students backed even further away from the hole in the ground than they already had. The only exception to this was Akira who, while still stepping back, positioned herself at the front of the group, likely because of that 'plan' she mentioned.

At last, the elevator platform finished rising from the bottom of the elevator shaft- and there, standing atop the platform and looking _incredibly_ furious, was none other than Monokuma.

"...You kids...you _fucking_ kids...!" Monokuma snarled, his red eye practically glowing with rage. "I'M GONNA TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"

When he said that, he extended his metallic claws, making his intentions terrifyingly clear.

"Shit!" Hinata yelped, taking another huge step back.

Asuna cried out in terror upon seeing the deadly claws, and Hana stepped in front of the shorter girl just in case Monokuma lashed out- although she hoped it wouldn't come to that, and she hoped whatever Akira had in mind would ensure that.

"NOT IF I TEAR YOU APART FIRST!" Ryoto declared. "RYOTO MIURA-"

"Hush, Miura," Akira ordered the other Ultimate, taking a step forward. "Remember what I said before."

With that, the Ultimate Prosecutor walked towards Monokuma calmly and silently. The other students remained where they were, even Ryoto- despite the tension in the air being almost tangible. Surprisingly, Monokuma did not make any moves towards Akira, instead allowing her to stroll up to the elevator platform.

"Well well- I'm surprised, Ms. Rimutsu! After that whole debacle about how you feared execution, you volunteer to be cut down first!" Monokuma remarked. "Fine by me- makes my job way easier!"

"And why do you assume that's what I'm here to do?" Akira asked, crossing her arms.

"Well- if you have _other_ intentions, it doesn't really matter! Because I'm gonna kill you guys anyways!" Monokuma answered, gesturing to the group as a whole.

Akira narrowed her eyes. "No you're not."

To this, the bear laughed. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're not executing me, or anyone else in this courtyard," Akira firmly told him.

"Uh, I just said I am! What, gonna try and bargain with me?" Monokuma mockingly inquired. "TOO BAD! You all walked out on your executions, despite losing the trial fair and square!"

"FAIR AND SQUARE-!?" Ryoto began in outrage, but he was interrupted when Hinata slapped his hand over Ryoto's mouth.

"'Fair', you say? Funny- wasn't it you who cut the investigation and the trial itself shorter than usual? Wasn't it you who denied us access to certain areas that would have given us more evidence for the trial?" Akira replied accusingly. "Face it- you interfered with the trial for your own ends, whatever they might be, and for that reason you tried to kill us all."

"Puhuhu- didn't you guys make this spiel before the executions?" Monokuma pointed out, leaning in a bit. "And if I didn't care down there, why would I care up here?"

"Because- it would be a rather anticlimactic end to your killing game, wouldn't it?" Akira stated, raising an eyebrow.

Hana furrowed her brow as she listened to the conversation. _What's...Akira doing...?_

She went on, "It would be one thing if we genuinely came to a wrong conclusion and were executed for that reason- but that's not the case here. You more or less rigged the trial against us to _make_ us lose."

Monokuma went silent, but Hana could tell his grin would falter if it physically could.

"Knowing you, with your extravagant executions and general dramatics- just outright killing us like this wouldn't be very satisfying, would it?" Akira inquired, raising an eyebrow. "And above all, it wouldn't fit in with that 'despair' idea you've mentioned time and time again. No- wrongfully slaughtering us like this, or even wrongfully executing us, would go against everything this killing game stands for, wouldn't it?"

"Don't go telling me what this killing game does or doesn't stand for!" Monokuma snapped. "What's your point in all this, anyways!?"

"My point is: you broke your own rules by trying to execute us, even though we're all spotless," Akira explained. "And as someone who has been such a stickler for rules all this time, to try and kill a second time- in such an abrupt way, no less- would surely mean your own defeat, and the failure of this killing game."

"My...defeat!?" Monokuma demanded, growing angrier by the second. "Failure!?"

"Precisely," the Ultimate Prosecutor remarked with a smirk. "Of course, there's an easy way to remedy this-"

"No! No no no, you are not bargaining with me!" Monokuma interjected. "I am the headmaster! The lord of this castle! I-"

"You are not above the rules- you've said that before as well, haven't you?" Akira pointed out. "So unless you want this killing game to become null and void, you'll listen to what I have to say."

"I- I-!" Monokuma stammered, his anger making him tongue-tied.

 _Wow- Akira's actually giving him a hard time, and she's not even hesitating._ Hana thought to herself, impressed. ... _It's also nice to not be on the receiving end of her lawyer skills for once._

"Like I said, fixing this is rather simple," Akira told the robotic bear. "Let us redo Ashi's trial. No tricks, no withholding evidence, no forced voting- a normal class trial, just like we've always done. The spotless against the blackened, the loser being executed. Simple as that."

"...Haha...ahahaha...!" Monokuma laughed, sounding a little deranged. "This is comedy gold! You waltz right up to me, talk to me like I'm the one on trial, try to bargain for your life and the lives of the others- ahahah! If I had tear ducts, they'd be spilling like Niagara right now!"

He then turned his cruel gaze back to Akira and responded. "I'm the one running this show! My word is law! If I wanted to, I could change the rules to make it so I'm _completely_ allowed to kill you people on the spot! _You_ have no bargaining power here, you can't-"

Then, Monokuma fell completely silent. He didn't move at all either- it was as if the power had been knocked out of him once again, except this time there was no blackout.

"...Wow- you argued him so hard he lost his voice," Hinata finally spoke up from where he stood.

"Did...he die...?" Asuna asked, frowning in concern.

"Hope so!" Ryoto commented.

"I doubt _that's_ it, but...what did happen?" Hana asked, cautiously walking over.

"I'm...not sure," Akira responded, looking rather confused herself. "But...hold on..."

She leaned towards Monokuma, angling her head so one of her ears was directed at him. "Is he...is he mumbling to himself...?"

"Is he?" Hana asked, leaning in herself. Sure enough, she could hear...something that sounded like a voice faintly coming from Monokuma's mouth. "Huh...that is weird...maybe whoever's controlling him-"

"WHAT!?" Monokuma suddenly cried, causing both Hana and Akira to flinch from the sudden assault on their hearing.

Not acknowledging either of them, Monokuma shouted, "You want me to WHAT!? Why should I-!? I-I mean they're the ones-!"

He went silent again for a few seconds. Afterwards, Monokuma nervously went on, "But if I do that, then- then if they get it right, I'll be-!"

Another few moments of silence, followed by the bear pleading, "No, no! You can't! After everything I've done, you can't just-!"

Some more silence. Then, Monokuma growled and snapped, "Fine...fine! FINE! Whatever you say!"

After that, he turned back to the others as if nothing had happened. "Great news every-"

"What the hell was that?" Akira immediately asked. "Were you talking to yourself just now?"

"G-GAH!?" Monokuma yelped. "How- How much of that did you hear!?"

"I dunno, you were like 'you want me to WHAT' and then 'FINE!' and then..." Hinata responded, shaking his head. "Weird as hell, that's all that was."

"...Oh! Well- okay then!" Monokuma replied, calming down slightly.

 _As if things couldn't get any more strange..._ Hana thought, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"So- great news everyone! I have spontaneously come to the conclusion..." Monokuma began, retracting his claws at last.

"LIES!" Ryoto angrily blurted.

"...I have spontaneously come to the conclusion that Ms. Rimutsu is completely right! Just because I had a lapse in judgement doesn't mean you or the trial or the mystery fun should suffer for it!" Monokuma cheerfully told the others. "So I will accept your offer- a redo of Mr. Ashi's trial, with full time to investigate and no interference! I swear on my nonexistent heart!"

Akira crossed her arms. "Can we hold you to that?"

"Well if you want me to sign a contract or something, then tough luck! Just take my word for it, would ya?" Monokuma angrily responded. "I'm already giving you-"

Then, the bear stopped himself, and a gleam of realization seemed to flicker in his robotic eyes. "...No...you know what? I'll do you guys one even better!"

With a flourish of his paws, he declared, "I'll open up _every room in the castle_ for your investigation! Every nook and cranny that was locked up before, every suspicious door or hatch- that's all free game for you now!"

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh- I don't think you need to go _that_ far, we just needed-"

"So feel free to look wherever you like for whatever evidence or information you like- and I mean that in every sense possible! It's all open for you, so search, search, _search!"_ Monokuma insisted before adding, more sinister, "I think you'll find it'll be worth your while. Puhu...puhuhu...AHAHAHAHA!"

With that crazed laugh, Monokuma disappeared off the elevator platform and to parts unknown; however, the platform did not shift back into its usual fountain form this time, even when Monokuma left.

"...Did anyone else think that last thing he said sounded oddly suspicious?" Ryoto inquired, putting a hand on his hip.

"I mean- does it matter? We're actually getting to redo Hiroshi's trial, this is great!" Hana told the others, joyful. "Now we can find out what _actually_ happened to him!"

"But it's strange- why open up the _entire_ castle...?" Akira wondered aloud. "...I suppose we shouldn't complain, though- maybe it will help us in...other areas."

"Other areas?" Asuna asked.

"Yes- mainly, learning the secrets of this killing game," Akira stated, adjusting her glasses. "If _every_ room in the castle is accessible now, then that must included places completely inaccessible to us- namely that secret room in the North Wing, and perhaps others we haven't even found yet."

"Ah...let's do things one at a time," Hana remarked. "We still need to solve Hiroshi's murder more than anything."

"And, uh- still bleeding," Hinata remarked with a little wave. "Asuna too."

"He's right..." Asuna confirmed, glancing down at her own injuries.

"Hm- well, I know where I want to investigate right away..." Akira said to herself. "But it won't do anyone good if two of us are bleeding profusely."

"I'LL HANDLE IT!" Ryoto declared with a little salute. "My face might still be sore, but I can still help my classmates to the East Wing!"

His grin faltered as he went on, "My...classmates that I've known for way... _way_ longer than I thought I did-"

"I-I don't want to think about it too hard right now..." Asuna stated with a sad frown.

"If...you three are going to the East Wing..." Hana began. "Then- Akira, I think I've got a feeling of where you're going, and since I need to go back to my own bedroom and change out of this wetsuit...do you mind if I investigate with you once I'm done?"

Akira raised her eyebrows slightly, but then she responded, "Do what you want- just don't take forever either way."

Thus, she began to make her way towards the South Wing...but then stopped and turned back to the others. "Wait, wait- there's one thing I want to make clear before we begin."

The students turned their attention to the Ultimate Prosecutor- when the did, she asked them, "Can you all look me in the eye and tell me, with certainly, that none of you murdered Ashi?"

Hana couldn't hide her surprise at the question- no, not the question itself, but the fact that it was _Akira_ asking it.

"You kidding!? I've ALWAYS hated murder and the killing game! Why would I switch my tune now!?" Ryoto demanded, resolute.

"Look, I wasn't as close to him as, you know, Hana or someone else...but he was a good dude," Hinata replied with a sad sigh. "I've got no reason to want him dead- never have, and I definitely didn't before the murder."

"Hiroshi...he helped me during Kaneki's trial just like Hana did- if it wasn't for both her and him, I might have been..." Asuna began, shaking her head. "That's why I'd _never_ do anything to hurt him."

"..." Hana was silent for a moment, then spoke up, "Do I really need to say why I wouldn't have wanted to hurt Hiroshi? He was one of my closest friends- you guys know that. Do you really think I'd do something so terrible to him?"

"..." Akira gave a little nod of acceptance. "Alright then. Let's get started."

Hinata nodded as well, then remarked as he and Asuna followed Ryoto to the East Wing's door, "Well- see you guys on the other side, then."

Without another word, everyone split up, with Hana herself following Akira into the South Wing.

* * *

Hana jogged ahead of Akira so she could get to her room quicker, and thus change into some normal and non-wet clothing faster. Once inside, she did just that, grabbing her usual clothes from the closet and heading into the bathroom to take off the wetsuit, fully dry off, and change. Once changed, she tossed the wetsuit into the bathtub and looked at herself in the mirror.

There were still some cuts on her arms from the mechanical shark fins and some bruising on her face where she hit the rock spire, but luckily her injuries were not as severe as Hinata or Asuna. She also took notice of her hair, which was rather unkempt now- however, she ultimately decided against taking the time to fix it up, as there were more important matters to take care of.

Exiting the bathroom and pocketing her e-Handbook, Hana made her way to the bedroom door. As she did, she thought to herself, _Never thought this one trial would turn out to be so off-the-rails..._

She then added to herself, more determined, _Well- doesn't really matter what Monokuma tries. As long as we're still alive- as long_ I'm _still alive, I won't stop trying to figure out what really happened. Keep an eye on us, Hiroshi- we're gonna get to the bottom of this, whatever it takes._

With that, Hana stepped out of her bedroom and looked around for Akira- only to find the prosecutor almost right in front of her door, tapping away on her e-Handbook.

"Oh-! Uh, Akira! Were you waiting for me?" Hana asked in surprise.

"Somewhat- after all, your room is right next to Ashi's," Akira pointed out, gesturing to the door in question.

"Oh- right," Hana remarked with a little, sheepish nod.

Then, their talk turned to silence- very awkward silence, at that. This was to be expected, however- after all, this was the first time Hana and Akira found themselves genuinely working together, and with the added revelation that they were once actual classmates at Hope's Peak...

"...In addition to standing, I took the liberty of using the handbook's writing application to type up something," Akira finally informed the surfer, turning her e-Handbook back on and selecting the app in question before turning to show Hana. "Consider this a...better done Monokuma File. It should come in handy."

 **The victim was Hiroshi Ashi. Time of death was about 7:30 AM yesterday. The victim's body was found inside the North Wing dungeon. Cause of death was electrocution, resulting in burns being left on his body. However, the victim's hands and wrists were also severely mutilated, and both of his Achilles' tendons were sliced. The victim also received blunt force trauma to his right temple, and has odd bruising around his wrists.**

"Huh- it almost reads like a real File," Hana remarked, impressed, reminding herself to make a note of the 'sixth' Monokuma File later.

Akira put the device away and turned to Hiroshi's bedroom door. "Now- let's see what we have here..."

She put a hand on the doorknob and slowly began turning it- this time, it turned all the way.

"Hm- so Monokuma was telling the truth after all," Hana commented. "He really did unlock everything."

The surfer then questioned, "But...what do you think could be inside?"

"Something that Monokuma didn't want us to find before, that's what," Akira answered. "Well- that changes now."

With that, Akira opened the door fully, allowing her and Hana to see inside. Hana herself was unsure of what to expect upon entry, but...what they did see still managed to shock her.

On the surface, Hiroshi's room looked just like all the other Ultimates' bedrooms- same basic layout, same carpeting and walls, the only difference being the bedsheets being a soft blue instead of pink. Additionally, a poster on human anatomy was pinned to one of the walls and several textbooks on forensics and anatomy were stacked on the desk. That, however, would have been one thing- it was the rest of the room, and the abnormalities of it, that caught Hana and Akira's eyes.

The first thing she spotted was the room's camera- or rather, the fact that Hiroshi's blue bedsheet was thrown over it, covering the lens completely. The chair for the desk was also fallen over onto its back, and there was dried blood spatter on the carpeted floor near the desk. There was another dried bloodstain closer to the bed, and beyond that appeared to be bloody drag marks heading towards...the wall? Besides the bloodstains, there was something else lying on the floor: one of Hiroshi's latex gloves, strewn on the floor near the bed.

"Holy-!" Hana yelped, one hand going to her mouth as she stared at the scene.

Akira looked around as well, more composed but still surprised. "Well- I can see why Monokuma didn't want us coming in here."

She stepped into the room completely, being mindful of the blood and the glove on the floor. Hana soon followed, far more hesitant than her companion, also trying to avoid stepping on what could be evidence.

 _This...is a_ lot _more than I was expecting..._ Hana thought as she looked around the room. _Where do I even start...?_

She decided to investigate the most glaring piece of evidence: the bloodstains. Apparently, Akira had the same idea, as she was kneeling down to examine the stains more closely.

"Well- I think we can say this place is...definitely some kind of _second_ crime scene," Hana remarked as they stared down at the blood. "Unless that's food dye and not blood."

"It's blood- no doubt," Akira stated. "From the looks of it, I'd say the stains are about a day to a day and a half old- certainly not recent, that's for sure."

"Well, he _did_ go missing the night before yesterday, so you're probably right about that," Hana agreed. "But still- where _did_ the blood from?"

"Ashi had several wounds on him, which were inflicted before the fatal electrocution. The blood in here was likely a result of some or all of those other injuries," Akira surmised. "Which means, whatever torture the killer put Ashi through, it had to have at least _started_ in this room."

She stepped away to look at the bloodstains as a whole, looking down at the carpeting contemplatively. "It looks like...the blood almost forms something of a linear path. Granted, there isn't a _massive_ amount of blood here, and yet..."

The prosecutor gestured to the dried blood. "The spatter starts there, near the desk...then there's the other stain near the bed...and finally, the drag marks from both stains going towards the...wall..."

Akira turned her gaze towards the far wall- the one the bed was placed against, and the one the bloody drag marks moved towards. Of course, the drag marks faded after a small amount of distance and did not extend all the way to the wall, but the direction of the marks was indisputable. Hana herself looked to the path Akira had pointed out, baffled- why were the drag marks going towards the wall? Did the killer do something more to Hiroshi there?

Despite her confusion, Hana still made a note in her e-Handbook about the dried bloodstains, then turned her attention to the other suspicious item on the ground: the latex glove.

"This glove- it's definitely one of Hiroshi's..." Hana remarked, furrowing her brow. "Why's it lying on the ground like that, though?"

"It probably fell out of Ashi's pocket during whatever struggle happened in here," Akira concluded.

"Maybe, but...I don't know, Hiroshi's never really _dropped_ any gloves before, they've always been pretty secure in his pants pocket," Hana pointed out with a little frown. "It's weird, is what I'm saying- weird and suspicious."

In discussing the glove, Hana also made a note of it in her e-Handbook- she didn't know what its significance would be just yet, but she had a feeling it wasn't exactly worthless. She then looked around the room again, her eyes falling on the first thing she saw when she entered the room- the blanket draped over the security camera. Hana made her way to the corner of the room and gently pulled the blanket off the camera, allowing the camera lens to freely survey the room again.

"Huh- you think Hiroshi did this?" Hana questioned, looking down at the blanket she was holding.

Akira raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Well, I can't think of anyone _but_ Ashi who could have covered the camera like that- because _this is his bedroom."_

"Ah- right, good point," Hana responded, somewhat embarrassed at the question. "But, uh- Hiroshi must have put the blanket over the camera the night he went missing, right? Why would he have done that?"

"Probably to prevent Monokuma from seeing what he was doing," Akira guessed. "Although...I can't imagine what Ashi was up to that would have prompted him to take such measures..."

The prosecutor looked around the room as if searching for a clue to answer that question...and then her eyes fell on something on Hiroshi's desk. While Akira walked over to take a closer look, Hana tossed the blanket on Hiroshi's bed and made a note about the covered camera in her e-Handbook.

Meanwhile, Akira had picked up what appeared to be a piece of paper lying on the desk- Hana hadn't seen it when they first walked in because of the textbooks blocking her view of the. Whatever was on it, the red-haired Ultimate was reading over it closely, her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized over the note. Finally, she looked back up, her gaze directed at Hana.

"Amari. I think this paper- this note- was meant for you," Akira informed the surfer, holding out the paper for her to take.

"Meant for me...? Huh?" Hana asked before taking the paper. "What's...?"

The girl would soon receive an answer as she looked down to read the words on the note for herself. The handwriting appeared somewhat messy, as if the writer was in some kind of rush, but it was legible regardless.

 _Hana,_

 _Do you remember how I told you I'd be telling you something important "very soon"? Well- it's time._

 _I'll be waiting for you at a...certain place. Somewhere without cameras or monitors, where we can talk in total private. Go there as soon as you finish reading this, and be quick- but be careful too. I'd like to tell you exactly where to go, but if this note somehow ends up in the wrong hands...yeah. But, you don't really need me to tell you where to go anyways- you know exactly what I'm talking about, trust me._

 _After all, there was a time when only you and one other person knew about i_

Just like that, the writing cut off, like the one writing the note had been suddenly interrupted before he could finish.

"What the...? Did...Hiroshi write this...? Was he gonna give this to me?" Hana asked, more to herself than Akira. "I-I don't get it, what does- I knew he wanted to tell me something, that part's true, but- what's the _rest_ of this mean?"

"Something tells me that's a mystery you alone need to figure out- it's clear Ashi meant to give this to you himself before..." Akira responded, her eyes drifting towards the blood on the carpeting before continuing, "Even so, I don't see the need to turn it into some kind of riddle."

She shook her head and muttered, "That Ashi- still a mystery, even in death."

Hana looked down at the words on the note again, trying to decipher what Hiroshi could have been referring to. A place with no cameras or monitors- did that _alone_ even exist?- a place that Hana would definitely know about, and a place that only she and one other person knew about at some point.

 _This...is too much. Hiroshi was always a little vague a cryptic, but this? This is overboard!_ Hana thought in frustration. _Somewhere with total privacy, no cameras- there are the catacombs, and at one point only me and Hiroshi knew about them- wait, no, the way he worded it makes it sound like he's talking about me and someone else entirely, not me and him. Aaaah- come on, think! I've kept secrets before, think about all of them!_

And so, Hana did just that, remembering all of the times she had kept something hidden for one reason or another, thinking back even before Mikio's trial- and in that instant, the Ultimate Surfer had an idea. No, not just an idea- the only place she could think of that fit all parts of the description Hiroshi gave in his note.

"I...I think I know where Hiroshi wanted to meet with me," Hana spoke up, pocketing the note. "And something tells me it'd be a good idea to go investigate that place myself- even if there's nothing there, I need to at least look."

"Well, I won't stop you- but since this seems to be some kind of personal mission of yours, don't expect me to go with either," Akira responded. "Besides- I need to finish up in here anyways."

Glancing towards the door, she went on, "Afterwards- I plan to go find the other three and bring them to the dining room, so we can discuss the evidence we had during the last trial in addition to what we've just found in here. That way, we'll be able to come up with something more coherent than what we had last time."

"Sounds good to me- I'll meet you guys there," Hana responded, and she practically sprinted out the door and back into the hallway. Indeed, she knew exactly where she wanted to go- she just hoped there would be something there that would provide her with answers.

* * *

Hana didn't have to go far- in fact, she didn't even need to leave the South Wing. The surfer exited Hiroshi's bedroom and made her way straight to the wing's main chamber, then down towards the library. Without a moment of hesitation, Hana pushed the doors open and stepped into the expansive room; she passed all the tables and massive bookshelves, striding towards the back of the library. There, a familiar wooden door with a gilded doorknob awaited her, which the surfer also quickly opened.

At once, she was struck with the dimness of the back room- it was far darker than she remembered, but certainly not to the extent of the wine room without its light on. As such, Hana was able to easily see the the shelves lining the wooded walls and the occult books sitting on top of them- but that wasn't what she was here for. She made her way to the center of the room and knelt down as soon as she found what she was looking for: a wooden handle, jutting up enough for someone to trip on but camouflaged into the floor enough so one would miss it initially.

 _A place with total privacy...that only me and one other person knew about at one point..._ Hana thought. _This has to be the place Hiroshi was talking about- no doubt about it..._

* * *

 _Too late, Hana tried pulling on the handle-like object...and to her surprise, a small section of the floor suddenly lifted up, like a hatch or a door of some kind. With a grunt, she opened the section completely, revealing a set of stone stairs that seemed to lead down into another small room._

 _"Whoa...! Hey, it actually is a secret room! That's so cool!" Hana exclaimed in surprise. "Hey Azami, did you know this was here?"_

 _"...Ah...yeah, yeah I did..." Azami admitted, looking rather...disappointed. "I found it the day we arrived here. I think it used to be some kind of storage room- not that there was anything down there when I found it, just walls, a light, and a table. But, you know, I thought it would be cool if I could...I dunno, make it into my own little hideaway or workshop. A place to practice my tricks and dark arts in privacy- I mean, the bedroom is fine, but this place has a more...mysterious and dark feel to it, something I can really get into."_

 _She sighed and gave the stone steps a sad glance. "I guess that doesn't really matter, now that the secret's out. I should have known this was too good to last..."_

 _"Wh-Wha...? Hey, hold on a second, why do you assume I'm gonna tell anyone?" Hana asked, quickly standing and closing the camouflaged hatch. "Look, you really want this to stay a secret, right? And nobody else knows about it, right?"_

 _"Yes and yes," Azami responded._

 _"Well then, I'll just keep your secret, simple as that!" Hana assured the Ultimate Illusionist with a smile. "I won't even bother you about it or ask to use it myself- I'll just make sure you can have it all to yourself."_

 _"Y-You'd...really do that...?" Azami asked, visibly shocked. Then, with a somewhat threatening tone, she went on, "If you're serious, you'd better commit to your promise, got it? You_ cannot _tell anyone about the secret storage. If you do, I swear I'll...I'll...I'll put a curse on you or something!"_

 _"N-No need for that, no one will find out," Hana responded, stepping back a bit. "You can trust me, okay? It'll stay between us."_

* * *

Hana gripped the handle once more...but then she hesitated as she was about to open the hatch. After a few moments of saddened silence, Hana sighed and looked upwards, softly saying out loud, "Sorry about this, Azami..."

With that, the Ultimate finally opened the hidden door once again, coming face-to-face with those stone stairs again. As she began to descend into the hidden room, it occurred to her that, while she was once the only other person who knew about it, she had never actually seen it for herself. Well, no time like the present, as they say.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Hana took a moment to take in the surroundings. The room, while longer than it was wide, was not too large in general. It was just as Azami described it all that time ago: stone walls on all sides, a single light suspended from the ceiling, and a simple wooden table (and chair) on the far wall opposite to the stairs...but no security cameras or monitors to be seen. In addition, alongside one of the walls was a few items most likely left by Azami- a stack of folded spare cloaks, a few books, and a box that looked like it could be used for makeup storage. Of course, all of these items had dust gathered on them- after all, the owner hadn't been around to maintain them in a long time.

Tearing her eyes away from Azami's belongings, Hana sighed and told herself, _I really hope there's something down here- otherwise, I made myself sad for nothing..._

Since the only place of interest in the room was the table, the girl walked over to it; when she did, she noticed there was something resting on its surface. Walking closer, Hana realized it was a sleek, black laptop- there was a sticky note attached to it, as well as a gray flashdrive sitting on top. Furrowing her brow, Hana looked around it and the table- the dust on the table seemed to have been displaced in several areas, as if someone had been sitting here recently, not to mention the laptop itself was devoid of much dust at all.

 _Hiroshi- he must have left this here..._ Hana surmised, picking up the flashdrive. _But...why-?_

She looked down at the small drive she was holding- written on the side in faded permanent marker were the letters "Hi As", clearly denoting the object as belonging to Hiroshi. Then, the surfer looked down at the sticky note attached to the top of the laptop. There were only two things written on it in dark pencil; the first were the numbers "0104", the second was a drawing of a little USB symbol with the words "forensics 3" and then "watch me" written next to it.

Hana sighed and asked herself (and Hiroshi), "Seriously...? _More_ riddles?"

 _Guess it really was a good thing that I came down here, then- but why would Hiroshi leave all this for me to just...find?_ Hana wondered, taking out the note from Hiroshi's bedroom again and reading it over again. _...Unless...he didn't mean to just leave it here for me to find by chance, he was probably going to actually show me stuff with it, before he got killed..._

She frowned as she looked towards the laptop again. _But then- what's with that sticky note? What does any of that stuff mean...?_

The surfer shook her head- so many questions, so few ways to answer them by just standing around. With that, she made a decision- pocketing the note and the flashdrive, she went and picked up the black laptop, then started to make her way back towards the stairs and out of the hidden room. Maybe the paper or the sticky note alone wouldn't be enough to answer her many questions...but maybe, whatever Hiroshi had left on this laptop or the flashdrive would.

* * *

With the laptop under her arm, Hana quickly departed the library and made her way to the dining room. She had no idea if Akira had gathered everyone there already- but if she hadn't, then Hana would wait for them, simple as that. Luckily, it seemed she wouldn't need to wait; upon walking into the dining room, Hana immediately caught sight of Akira and the other three remaining students standing or sitting around the table. Hinata and Asuna in particular looked better, despite having not changed their damaged clothes- she could barely see what seemed to be gauze or bandages through some of the torn holes in their clothes.

"Oh, thank god, you guys are here already," Hana remarked, relieved.

"Yeah- we didn't take _too_ long in the medical room," Hinata told her from where he was sitting. "We were actually heading out of the East Wing when Akira came to get us- we didn't even have time to change or anything. I forgot what she wanted, though."

Akira sighed in annoyance and explained, "I told you, I want to talk about the evidence for Ashi's murder we found before, not to mention the new things Amari and I found in Ashi's bedroom."

Glancing towards Hana, she added, "Though it seems like Amari has something...interesting to share with us."

"Oh yeah! What's that!?" Ryoto questioned, pointing to the laptop Hana was holding.

"A-And where'd you go...?" Asuna also asked. "Akira said you had to do some kind of 'personal investigation' somewhere- is that where you found the laptop?"

"Yes, it was," Hana answered, hurriedly walking over to an empty seat. "As for where I went, it uh- it's hard to explain, just-"

She first pulled out the note found on Hiroshi's desk. "This note- we found it in Hiroshi's room, and it was probably supposed to go to me but I never got it because Hiroshi was probably murdered before he could finish and- and I read it, and I figured out he wanted to meet up in that hidden room in the library- the one Azami had, remember?- so I went there, and I found-"

She set the laptop and the flashdrive down. "-I found these! And they were clearly left by Hiroshi- like, the flashdrive has his initials on it, sort of- so...so whatever this stuff is, it's gotta be important!"

"WHAT!? HE HAD A LAPTOP!?" Ryoto exclaimed. "This whole time the guy had a laptop!? HE COULDA E-MAILED SOMEONE TO GET HELP!"

"I-I don't think it would have been that simple- Monokuma wouldn't have allowed Internet access in here, I'm sure of it," Asuna said to the racecar driver. "If Hiroshi could send an e-mail, he would have, knowing him..."

"But can we be sure this'll be related to the murder?" Hinata asked, skeptical. "Maybe Hiroshi started using the room after Azami died, and none of us knew, and _that's_ why some of his stuff was down there. We might be wasting our time here..."

"Well- the drive and the laptop must have belonged to Ashi, and he clearly wrote that note with the intent to bring Amari to the secret room to meet with him..." Akira speculated. "I can't say exactly what his plan was, but I'm sure these items were a part of it- so, there's a good chance that there's something related to his death either on the laptop or the flashdrive."

"Well- okay, but then what's _this?"_ Hinata then inquired, reaching over to peel the sticky note off the laptop. "'0104'? 'Watch me'? What is this, some kinda secret code?"

"I don't know- but I get the feeling we'll figure it out once I open this up," Hana responded.

With that, Hana flipped open the laptop while her classmates gathered around to see the monitor. Immediately, they were greeted with a screen depicting the inside of a beautiful-looking cave- a default background wallpaper, it would seem. In the middle of the screen was a white box where one could type in something, with a smaller box with an arrow inside to the right of it.

"Aaah, we need a password!" Ryoto lamented. "QUICK! WHAT WAS HIROSHI'S MOM'S MAIDEN NAME!?"

"H-How are we supposed to know that!?" Asuna yelped.

"I DON'T KNOW!" the Ultimate Racecar Driver responded.

"Wait a second..." Hana began, furrowing her brow. "Hinata, let me see that sticky note again."

The thief obliged, handing her the pale yellow paper in question. Hana's eyes fell on the first thing written: '0104'; then, with quick fingers, she typed the number into the password box and hit 'Enter'. Less than a second later, the box disappeared and was replaced with the word 'Welcome' and a spinning loading circle.

"...Oh. That was easy," Ryoto remarked, calmer.

Moments later, the screen changed to that of a pure black background with several icons placed to the side- Hiroshi's desktop. Hana looked down towards the desktop and noticed two things: there truly was no Internet access, and the laptop showed the time but not the day's date.

"That's odd..." Akira muttered, scrutinizing the screen as well. "It doesn't show the date..."

"It doesn't...? I-I can't really tell..." Asuna stated, having to squint to see better without her glasses.

"Well- someone must have messed with Hiroshi's laptop then, to make it not show the date..." Hana guessed. "You know, so we can't figure out how much time we lost with our missing memories. I mean, if someone was able to screw with my e-Handbook, then I think they'd be capable of screwing with a laptop."

"Fascinating- but what are we looking for?" Hinata asked, his arms crossed.

"Try the files- that's the only place I can think of to put or hide something you'd want to show someone else," Akira suggested.

Hana obliged, using the touchpad below the keyboard to direct the arrow to the file icon on the taskbar and then clicking on it. Unfortunately, there were few files to be investigated- the laptop had the default files (documents, downloads, videos, etc.) and a few extra folders, but the contents of these files and folders had no relevance to the case at hand.

After about five minutes of scrutinizing over every file and folder on Hiroshi's laptop, Ryoto shouted, "THIS IS POINTLESS!"

Hana flinched at the sudden yelling, then responded, "Well, there's- there's gotta be something on here! Why would Hiroshi have the laptop down where he wanted to meet if there wasn't-"

"Hana...I think you've looked through just about everything," Asuna spoke up with a little sigh. "I-If there was something, wouldn't you have found it by now...?"

"..." Akira furrowed her brow, then looked down at the sticky note Hinata had removed from the laptop. "...Amari- plug in that flashdrive."

"The flash- oh! The flashdrive!" Hana exclaimed, immediately reaching over and plugging the drive into the laptop's USB port. "I almost forgot!"

"The flashdrive...? You think that'll have much more info for us?" Hinata asked Akira, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know if it will or not- but it's worth checking," Akira remarked. "After all, Ashi drew the USB symbol on that note alongside those other words- there must be _some_ significance to that, and I bet it's tied to that flashdrive."

After a moment, a new icon appeared in the files, this one resembling some kind of hard drive- it didn't even have a real name, just some letters and numbers that probably had some meaning Hana wasn't understanding. Regardless, the surfer clicked the drive icon, and found herself in a new page of new folders- more folders than the group had seen before, but initially they all seemed to have unassuming and miscellaneous names. Then, Hana took notice of three folders in particular: they were 'forensics 1', 'forensics 2', and...'forensics 3'.

Hinata's eyes widened, and he quickly said, "H-Hey! That's one of the things on the sticky note!"

"I know!" Hana exclaimed.

"It is!?" Ryoto yelped in surprise. "TH-THEN CLICK IT!"

"I _am!"_ Hana yelled back at him, frantically clicking the folder to open it.

To her surprise, there was only one thing in the folder: a video, simply titled 'watch me'. Hana felt her eyes drifting to where the sticky note lay as she understood the meaning of the phrases written on it- she wouldn't be surprised if the others glanced at it in realization as well. Shaking her head a little bit, Hana moved the cursor over and clicked on the video; a new window popped up as the video loaded.

"Th-This is weirding me out..." Asuna admitted with a frown. "This video- what could be on it that Hiroshi had to...to basically write out instructions on how to navigate to it? Why keep it so hidden?"

"Well, we're about to find out..." Akira responded, nodding to the laptop.

The video began, and the first thing the group saw was...Hiroshi. He was sitting at a wooden seat in a dimly lit room- Hana soon realized it was the secret room in the library. At first, he said nothing, appearing to be fiddling with something on the laptop; moments later, however, he took a deep breath and turned to face the laptop's camera, his hands placed on the tabletop.

 _ **"...Hi there, Hana,"**_ Hiroshi on-video greeted.

Hana couldn't suppress a little gasp upon hearing the Ultimate Coroner's voice again- even if it was just a video, the girl still felt a sharp stab of sadness as she saw and heard her friend once again.

 _ **"So- this is a little weird. First of all, I'd like to point out that this video is meant for you and you alone-"**_ Hiroshi explained, his voice remaining neutral.

"Oh, shit-" Hinata began. "Ah...should the four of us go, or...?"

Akira frowned. "Whatever's on this video could benefit all of us- there's no reason to keep it a secret."

Hana neither protested nor affirmed their claims- she was silent, focused on the video above all else.

 _ **"I'm...sure you have a lot of questions, but I need you to hold off on those for now- and above all, keep calm, and wait until the video's done to ask me things or yell at me or..whatever you need to do,"**_ Hiroshi instructed. _**"Admittedly, I probably didn't need to make a video, but...there are some things I need to tell you that would just...be difficult to tell you in person. So, this video is meant to be something of an...ice-breaker, something to just get started."**_

Hana furrowed her brow slightly in confusion, but kept silent.

 _ **"Now then- if you're watching this, one of two things happened,"**_ Hiroshi began more firmly. _**"Either I was able to deliver my note to you and you're sitting in the secret library room with me while you watch this...or I'm dead and you somehow managed to find the note I meant to give you anyways, and you're watching this video after the fact."**_

Akira's eyes widened. "What...? Ashi...predicted that he would die? Or, at least, thought that him dying was a possibility? What's going on here...?"

 _ **"If it's the former, then rest assured I'll be able to answer**_ **eve** **rything-** _ **both in this video and afterwards,"**_ Hiroshi explained, then frowned. _**"I'll be recording this video mostly under the assumption that I'm still alive when you're watching it. But if I'm not...well, uh, sorry Hana, but this video won't have all the answers you probably want. But, I'll get into that a little later."**_

The coroner took a breath and closed his eyes. _**"Now then...where to start...?"**_

He looked back to the camera. _**"Well- I guess I should focus on the main thing I need to tell you. You might not like, and I wish I didn't have to tell you like this, but- that's what this video's for, because I don't think I could ever tell you this face-to-face without losing my composure."**_

Apprehension began to take hold of Hana. _That's...ominous...what's he talking about...?_

Hiroshi sighed and began, _**"So, earlier today- or, well, today as of the time I'm recording this- Monokuma made an announcement. He told us about how all of us had our memories from the time we first arrived at Hope's Peak Academy to when we woke up in this castle. He also told us about how there was one exception to that- a 'traitor', someone who had**_ **a** **ll** _ **of their memories intact and knew the full nature of this killing game."**_

He hesitated, then went on, _**"Well...he's telling the truth. Hana, we...all of us, we did attend Hope's Peak at one point. But...you probably already had a feeling he was telling the truth, didn't you? Thanks to those messages on your e-Handbook- and yes, I know about the messages."**_

Hana's eyes widened. "W-What!?"

"I-I thought you said you didn't tell anyone about those!" Asuna remarked, just as surprised.

"I didn't!" Hana responded. "H-How did he-!?"

 _ **"But what you probably didn't realize is that we spent just about an entire year as students at Hope's Peak, before...well, I'm getting ahead of myself,"**_ Hiroshi continued. _**"What you need to know, though, is that we were, in fact, a pretty tight-knit group. Even though some of us were a little more sour or mischievous than others...by the end of it our class formed a pretty strong bond- or at least, I believe it was."**_

He looked down at the table for a moment, then softly added, **_"But it wasn't just the time we spent at the Academy that was taken. It was more than that...although I can't really say_ those _memories are as pleasant, so maybe them being gone is something of a mercy."_**

Hiroshi then asked, _**"You want to know how I know all this?"**_

Deep down, Hana already knew what the answer was- she had probably realized it even before Hiroshi asked. Even so, she didn't want to believe it- but reality had a way of making itself known, whether it was wanted or not.

 ** _"That's right- it's me,"_** Hiroshi answered with a half-hearted smile. _**"The one who still has all of his memories- memories of everything- and the 'traitor' Monokuma talked about...that's me."**_

"What...!? _What!?"_ Akira exclaimed from where she was standing. _"Ashi_ was the-!?"

"THE HELL!? PAUSE THAT, PAUSE THE-" Ryoto cried, reaching over Hana to pause the video before the surfer could protest.

"N-No way! I thought- I thought Monokuma might have been lying about a traitor to get us to distrust each other-" Asuna stammered, her disbelief tangible. "But he was telling the truth!? And it was Hiroshi!?"

"Dammit...! YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THE QUIET ONES!" Ryoto shouted, balling his hand into a fist.

"You mean to tell me- this entire time, there really was someone who knew the truth behind the killing game!? And he didn't tell us _anything!?"_ Hinata yelled in outrage.

"Ashi...why would he keep quiet about something like that? All the times we wondered about our situation, asked where we were and who would put us through this- he had all those answers, why did he keep them to himself!?" Akira demanded.

"H-He must have had a reason...right?" Asuna asked. "Right?"

"Ryoto Miura can't think of one, that's for sure!" Ryoto responded, shaking his head with a grimace. "If I had the information that could bring down the killing game, I'd have used it in a heartbeat!"

"That's because there _isn't_ a good reason for that!" Hinata furiously responded. "He could have answered so many of our questions- he could have helped us end this on day one! But he didn't! That _son of a-"_

"SHUT UP! EVERYONE!" Hana shouted above the clamor. Before anyone could respond or argue further, she unpaused the video- and turned up the volume to make sure she could still hear it in case more yelling broke out.

 _ **"-and I'll admit, it's a big bombshell and I have no right to explain myself, but...just keep sitting, keep watching. Please, just...let me at least try to say something in my defense,"**_ Hiroshi pleaded. _**"...See what I mean? It's hard enough doing this in front of a lifeless laptop camera, if I had to explain this you in person I'd probably...I'd..."**_

His gaze turned to the side, then he humorlessly chuckled and remarked, **_"You know...when Monokuma first brought up the idea of the traitor, the way he described them- described_ me- _I won't lie, I was a little offended. I mean, I had done my best to help everyone, to be a friend and a companion and a voice of reason, to be a supportive force in the class trials..."_**

His already fragile, small smile faltered even more as he went on, **_"But afterwards...I thought about it more, and I realized...Monokuma was right. All those things he said to describe me, bringing all my mistakes to light like that..."_**

Hiroshi's smile faded entirely, and his gaze turned towards the tabletop. **_"So many...I made so many mistakes...mistakes I can't even begin to talk about in this video alone..."_**

 ** _"When I think about it more, I realize maybe Monokuma branding me a 'traitor' wasn't really the right word to use after all,"_** the coroner continued. **_"You know what would have been better, Hana? 'Coward'- that's what I really am."_**

It was at this point that Hana realized how...tired the Ultimate Coroner looked. Tired and...sad. _**"I know all about the killing game- why it's happening, who's behind it, how to stop it...but I didn't do anything with it..."**_

Hiroshi's gaze hardened a little as he explained, _**"In the beginning, I thought we'd be able to resist Monokuma's temptations, even with the memory loss- I**_ **ho** **ped** _ **we'd be able to. Because, at the time, I...I didn't see the value in revealing the truth right off the bat. Sure, having the knowledge would have been a relief to you and everyone else, but- that knowledge alone is nothing unless it can be used. And at that time, knowing how to end the killing game wouldn't have meant a thing without me having to explain other...less savory things about the ones behind the killing game..."**_

He shook his head. _**"It's not that I planned to never tell you guys, I just...wanted to wait for the right time. For everyone's sake- especially yours, Hana."**_

Then, he sighed, pain entering his eyes. _**"But then Azami killed Mikio. And from that point on, the killing game...it was real, irreversible. And I felt like...I felt like if I told the others after that, then...then it would be worse than it would have been otherwise. To tell everyone the entire truth, I didn't...I didn't know how'd they'd take it, how'd they'd react to**_ **m** **e... _I didn't know how_ you'd _handle the truth, Hana. The...The_ whole _truth..."_**

Clenching his fists, Hiroshi went on, **_"But- no. Not anymore. There's no excusing what I've done- or, what I_ didn't _do- but after everything that's happened...I won't let Monokuma and the mastermind manipulate us anymore. I can't bring back everyone who's died, and I'm sure the others will be furious with me...but I know what needs to be done."_**

He leaned in a bit as he said, _**"Hana, once this video's done, I'll answer any questions you have...and I'll also tell you everything. Everything about the killing game, about how to end it once again. I won't lie, though- it'll be a hard truth to accept, but it's the truth regardless. Because the truth is, Hana- we**_ **bo** **th** _ **had a role to play in this killing game."**_

Hana felt a small chill run down her spine as she heard that. _'Both' had a role...? W-What...?_

Hiroshi sat back and took a little breath. **_"Now- I consider this to be the end of the video if I'm still alive. And if I am still alive, then by all means ignore this next part and click out of the video. But if I'm dead and I'm speaking to you posthumously, then- first of all, I'm sorry I won't be able to answer your questions. Second of all, pay attention."_**

 ** _"I've got some other things on this flashdrive- little...notes that I wrote up over time. They're in the other two 'forensics' folders- you shouldn't miss them, they're the only files that have a default name,"_** Hiroshi explained. **_"Unfortunately, they won't be able to give you_ all _the answers, but they should provide a good amount of information on the nature of this killing game. The rest...I'm not sure, admittedly."_**

He hesitated a moment, then looked straight at the camera- managing to make eye contact with Hana, despite being separated by a screen and by life and death. _**"And...Hana. If you're going to end the killing game, you'll find out the truth one way or another- and like I said, it'll be a hard pill to swallow. But I...I know you'll be alright**_ _ **."**_

 _ **"When the time comes, you'll have to make a choice- but I know you'll make the right one. Because that's the kind of person you are,"**_ Hiroshi insisted, a smile forming on his face. **_"T_** _ **he** **person who didn't stop fighting to find the truth, the person who tried her best to become friends with as many of her classmates as possible, the person who isn't afraid to show what she's feeling, the person I've come to care about so much...!"**_

He stopped himself, then concluded, still smiling, _**"That's the Hana I know. Whatever happens, whether I'm alive or dead, I will always believe in you- never forget that."**_

With that, he reached over and clicked something offscreen, and with that the video finally ended. However, the dining room remained engulfed in heavy silence; Hana herself was no different, finding herself staring at the screen even though the video was done.

"...Well...at least he explained himself..." Akira finally spoke up with a sigh. "I agree that he made many, many mistakes with keeping that information from us...and yet, oddly enough, I don't believe his actions were completely malicious. Misguided, I'd say- very misguided."

"Did you hear the way he was talking? I thought he was gonna start bawling right there on camera!" Ryoto pointed out, shocked. "And here Monokuma made the traitor sound like such a villain, but...I didn't get that from Hiroshi at all! Did you guys?"

"...No...I didn't..." Hinata begrudgingly admitted. "And that makes it hard for me to keep being mad at him, even though I really want to..."

"The way he explained it- it seems like him revealing the truth wouldn't have done us much good at that time...though he _was_ vague, so I don't know _why_ that was the case," Akira pointed out. "'That knowledge alone is nothing unless it can be used'...what's the meaning of those words...? And how does knowing the truth of the killing game tie into finding a way to end it?"

"I get why he didn't want to reveal everything just on video- sort of..." Asuna remarked with a sad frown. "But...still, it would have been nice if he'd been a _little_ less cryptic. Then again, maybe he really didn't think he'd be murdered in the end. Hana, what do you-"

Then, the gardener's eyes widened in concern when she looked over at her silent classmate. "H-Hana-! Are you okay?"

"Huh-? Am I-?" Hana began, breaking out of her stupor- and it was then that she realized she had started crying, finally taking notice of the tears running down her face. "O-Oh! Uh- y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's okay-"

She quickly wiped the tears away so as to not make Asuna or any of the others worry any more. "I'm...okay. Just...hearing him again, seeing him again, I guess it just..."

The surfer trailed off as the room fell into silence once more. Again, it was Akira who broke the silence by asking, "Amari- Ashi said you and him both 'had a role to play' in the making of this killing game. We know how he fits into all this, being the traitor, but- what do you suppose he meant when he said _you_ had a role too?"

"...I wish I knew..." Hana quietly replied, turning back to the laptop. "I really, really wish he knew..."

"Well- he said something about having other files on the flashdrive, right? Files that'll give us some new information about the killing game," Asuna reminded the others. "Maybe...one of those will explain...?"

"Buuut I thought we were gonna talk about Hiroshi's case after the laptop stuff!" Ryoto protested. "Unless there's a photo of the killer in there, why would we go through the laptop's other junk?"

"That 'junk' could provide crucial information about the mysteries of the killing game- something we've been wondering about since the day we woke up here," Akira pointedly told him. "Now, we have answers right here in front of us- literally. Solving Ashi's murder is important, and it's the reason we're having another trial, but learning the secrets behind this game is important in its own right."

"...This laptop, the flashdrive, all the files on it- they were the last things Hiroshi left before he died. And he left them to me- to _us-_ because he wanted us to find the truth about the killing game," Hana said to her classmates, determined. "I'm not gonna waste it, that's for sure."

"Ah...alright, since it looks like we've got a bit more time than before, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of extra sleuthing..." Hinata conceded, shrugging.

"I think it'd be a good idea," Asuna agreed with a nod.

"...Oooh, FINE! PEER PRESSURE WINS!" Ryoto yelled out in defeat.

"Glad we're all in agreement," Akira remarked before turning back to the laptop. "Now then- Amari, click out of that video, and go to one of the folders Ashi mentioned."

Hana nodded, somewhat reluctantly exiting the video and returning to the window showing 'forensics 3's contents. Clicking the 'back' arrow and returning to the main folder window, Hana couldn't help but feel the slightest hint of apprehension- just what kind of information was Hiroshi hiding on this flashdrive? However, she knew just sitting and worrying about it would do no good- and so, she moved the cursor over and clicked into the folder named 'forensics 1'.

* * *

 **A/N: And thus, the first part of the end is done, and already there were some pretty sizable reveals- the outdoors isn't really outdoors, Hiroshi's room looks very much like a crime scene, and the biggest reveal so far: Hiroshi Ashi was the traitor who still had all of his school memories, just like Monokuma described! But for as many reveals as this part had, there are still tons of questions to be had- and I hope you guys will stick around to speculate, because it's always interesting what kind of theories you guys come up with!**

 **Also, here's an update for ya- school's been cancelled a bit longer for me now, so I am no longer going back on April 6th, instead sometime later in April. Which, even though I'll probably be getting online homework or something, is still good for you guys because it means I'll have even more time to work on Fractured Fates! So Part 2 of Deadly Life (which _might_ be the last part before the trial, it might not, it'll depend) should be out in the near future, so be on the look out for that! Until then- goodbye for now, and I'll see you all next time!**


End file.
